Getting a lot of feedback on the 1/4 Azog, as said in one of our replies that we've been hesitant on releasing AZOG in 1/6 because for one Hobbit line is a harder sell and two we were looking to expand our collection a little. We didn't want to create a conflict between our own products so we weren't keen on making Azog in 1/6 too. But now we are open for discussion seeing all your comments. So basically would 1/6 be worth diving into and would it clash with the 1/4 we had already planned?
Dear Mr Asmus, there is something I don't quite get: if (as you say) The Hobbit line is harder to sell, and you have never had a statue release before, why going onto such a new ground with such a risky bet??? Why not establishing yourself on the statue arena with something LOTR?
And as said by others: what makes you believe that lower Hobbit sales are actually due to the support media being 1/6? It is obviously down to the subfranchise itself!
Also, there is no denying that there is a huge LOTR statue/bust market out there, even in spite of the clear 1/6-ness of the unsufficient statistical sample this thread actually is. Proof of it: other successful firms like SSC, Weta, etc. That, combined with what has been said before (lots of LOTR fan craze gathering down the decades), makes for a strong business case that Asmus should explore, because chances are it will be successful. On a personal level, I want to see Asmus thrive and be financially healthy so that they can keep providing the only thing I am interested in: 1/6. Diversifying into 2 successful product lines adds safety to the business (of course only if both lines are successful), so making statues might be a good idea.
Yet, I don't like the posibility of your 1/6 LOTR range being sidetracked, which is possible if Asmus is to proceed cautiously on the entrepeneurial side: you just can't hire more manpower for something its sustainability you are not sure of, so you use your current workforce to do both things at the same time, things take much more to get done, figures take a long time to become a reality. There is still much to be done yet on LOTR, especially now with the advent of the Crown Line (Sauron...... my prrrrrrrreciousssss...).
The The Hobbit range is controversial (even on the political front, with those labour struggles that went on prior to shooting), so extreme caution has to be applied (independent of media: 1/6, 1/4, whatever) and only well-loved characters with a fair amount of screen time and weight in the drama are to be done: baddies (like Azog) use to be loved as they provide a much needed antagonistic counterweight (with plenty of screen time) both on screen and on the shelf. Legolas, Radagast and Balin are, in my view, other examples that might work out well (big-bearded dwarves might be particularly successful: they look like quintessential dwarves, unlike Fili or Kili). If things work out well, you can go on from there (I hope you get some day to make Gloin and Ironfoot on its ride...).
Now that you are here, I will also present you with another of my "great ideas for products" for free: I'd like to build some not-too-big LOTR dioramas, with figs interacting among each other within an environment (I just don't like musem poses). To that aim, it would be useful to have secondary characters to fill the background of those dioramas, for realism. Why not creating a cheaper line of such LOTR characters (mainly orcs, maybe also Gondor/Rohan soldiers), using your experience and skills to cut corners where possible so that each fig would be around $100? That would be more or less the cost of kitbashing the fig in places like Toy Anxiety (kitbash parts are soooo expensive these days), it would look way better than a kitbash made of unrelated parts, and we fans would spare a lot of time and pain. You could even sell the sets without the body (only clothes, accessories, hands, feet and maybe head), for us to use our spare bodies on. I am daaaaamn sure people would deem these sets worthy and make the expense... well... maybe... right...?
Last but not least: that kickstarter thing, as said by others before, is your friend guys!
RfC,
m.
