We live in a complex universe. Some simple, general statements deserve pretty verbose responses (and vice versa).
Perfection does exist. In fact, HT could easily deliver it, but I suspect they do not want to.
Let's get this straight: to me, the BIG PROBLEM with HT's headsculpts is that they tend to be so good, that the 15% - 10% that is off gets to be EXTREMELY ANNOYING (at least they are to me). On one hand, this annoys me because of the frustration you feel when you understand that the HS is so extremely awesome, but yet not fully there (sometimes, small differences in otherwise perfect copies are all the more evident). This is only aggravated when you are paying $225+ for the damn fig. On the other hand, frustration becomes irritation when you understand that something that is so realistic and well done, just falls short of being PERFECT AND DEFINITIVE for some silly, specific, very evident mistake that could and should have been fixed easily before entering production (such as a blank expression, eyes too sunk, wrong lips or whatever). These are the kind of mistakes that the so much revered HT artists can fix in a snap of a finger. It is business as usual to a world-class sculptor that gets awesomely paid for their output: fixing a clear, evident, I-can-put-my-finger-on-it kind of problem on a HS. Irritation turns into long-term smoldering wrath when you know that this was the last chance at having a perfect rendition of this particular character that there will be for a very very very long time (e.g. the extremely iconic HT ROTJ Luke, whose slightly monkey-ish HS gets to be even insulting to me after a while, because the above reasons).
So, these are the reasons why I am harsher on HT (and on any $250-per-fig manufacturer) than other guys are.
And here you have this Leia portrait, so lifelike, so accurate (head proportions, nose, hair...), and still not perfect and definitive. "PERFECT AND DEFINITIVE??? That doesn't exist!!!" I here you say: well as I just said, it is evident to me (and I do not need you guys to agree with me on this) that the guy who made that awesome HS could have easily nailed it to 100% accuracy, but somehow they didn't care to do so. Going paranoid: I feel like HT intentionally break their own perfect proto when going into production, so that you will never get to nirvana and hence will always keep looking for it, buying more and more versions of the character along the way. Because if they delivered 100% of what they can actually deliver, they would make the definitive portrait of the character and they somehow sense that would deprive them of future sales (e.g. Bespin Leia, or maybe even Endor Leia), just because people would be completely satisfied with that utterly perfect version (Hoth Leia). Total satisfaction would reduce the drive to purchase newer versions, even if clothes and/or hairdo were different.
What I complain about is not tiny. It is glaring. If it was tiny, I wouldn't even notice it.
I complain, don't hate or get "angry".
A 1/6 is meant to always be a clone of a living being. That's why they are so expensive. Not delivering on this contract is a baaad thing.
RfC
m.
