Summary
Sculpt: 10
As far as the sculpt goes this is really amazing. All the detail on the rider and his accessories are polished down to the buckles on the straps and engraving on his sword and sheath. The horse is just a work of art on its own. So much detail that a lot of it actually gets hidden by the rider which is kind of a shame. From the saddle to the bridle its easy to get lost in the exquisite detail. The exclusive included a switch out left hand with a sword that changes the dynamic some and adds to the imposing feel of the statue.
Paint & Mixed Media: 9.0
The mixed media is done very well. although it takes some patience to get it into place so it sits just so it correctly resembles the Nazguls garb in every fold and flap. The intricacy of some of the parts for assembly is a bit daunting and does require the before mentioned patience.
The paint app in colors and feel is very well done. The armor has a very realistic feel to it in tone and contrast. The horse I thought could have used a little more shadowing but nothing to complain about.
The blood, teeth and eyes of the horse have a gloss coating on them it gives great contrast from the flat paint of the rest of the horse which really adds to the effect. The base has a bit too much glaze i find it distracting.It could have used a larger color pallet as it just blends in with the horse a little too much. Some browns to give it more of a earthy feel could have greatly improved upon it with little effort.
Design: 10
The design of the statue is fantastic. The rearing steed and cloaked rider come to life in an surpassed expectation in representation of the character. Though made hollow to make it lighter I dont believe it has any fault in initial design but does so in the following category.
Production & Build Quality: 2.5
Here is where this piece falls apart. It had to be a hairy task in design of this but its not the design that falls short its the build quality that renders this piece of art subpar.
Id like to say beforehand I believe the one I received was a returned item as I will explain.
First the mixed media in terms of the leather straps that hold the sword to the figure are extremely fragile as they are glued together as are some of the tiny parts adhered to them. I do not know for sure if mine was a return but some of the straps were already unglued and missing one of the buckles on the end of the straps. This is either from prior assembly by someone of a major lack of QC.
Secondly the insertion of the tail into the horse was completely loose. I had to hold the tail on as i placed the horse into the base. Again I do not know if this was from prior assembly or a factory flaw. I believe it could be both as it should fit somewhat snug but was completely loose.
Thirdly and most upsetting is the balance of the horse on the base. This issue seems to be had by quite a few people who own this statue so its hit and miss because there are people who have it whom do not have this leaning issue. The problem lies with the tripod of attachment to the base. The two hooves have pegs and the tail has its own slot. People complained about after it being displayed only for a short time that from not resting properly in the base it creates stress cracks in the legs.
This issue is why I believe mine was a returned item as the stress cracks were already there upon initial set up. The right hoof peg did not insert all the way into the base which would cause it to lean. When I held it up as it should be sitting the peg of the tail did not sit flush or snug as it should. Either the peg needed to be larger or the hole deeper to accommodate this issue. The placement of the right hoof was also flawed in such that it only offered minor support when the peg should have fit snugly enough to give its needed percentage of support to distribute the weight properly as not to cause the stress cracks.
This is a major problem with this piece and cannot be over looked. I called before PO this and addressed this issue and was assured it was not a problem but the statue itself tells a different story. This seriously needed to be addressed and seems it didnt get the proper attention it needed.
This is hard to grade as the rest of the statue has so much effort put into it in design and paint that such effort is being swept aside by production and QC.
OVERALL: 7.5
I have since returned mine and as much as i wanted to just have it replaced as this would the pride and joy of my entire collection I couldn't warrant the cost vs having this issue coming up again after having it displayed. There are some people lucky enough to have ones that work as they should so its hit or miss. If you want to gamble or can fix the issues yourself id say go for it you wont be disappointed with the statue itself but thats outside my range of expertise so sadly Ill have to do without this in my collection.
but I really have second thoughts of buying it due to the fragile legs because I heard it so many times about this damn problem.
