1/2 Scale Leonidas bust

[Great Pheidias]

Originally Posted by Arkalogik

Now the thing about the the helmet not being attached is that Arahom did not finish the details on hair as much as the rest of the body because he knew it would be covered. If you want one custom made with removable helmet you will need to hire someone on the side for that job.

I am willing to do it for you but I will have to sand and resculpt all the hair and also line the helmet with felt or some fabric to keep it from scratching the paint. This will not be offered through ARH directly. You will need to buy a kit and then PM me to negotiate the price on the customization if you would be interested in that. You are always welcome to buy a kit yourself and hire someone else or build it up on your own as well.

Why would he not make it removable in the first place? You had potential buyers asking for it and again ignored them as usual..now we have to go through all this extra crap to get it done. Again failure to know and listen to your customers and make it a big head---- to get it done with extra costs and longer waiting time!

[Arkalogik]

Originally Posted by Great Pheidias

How long in months and years if I pay today?

No more than 90 days hopefully! Haha! I am not just painting statues for ARH but I am also making all the molds and pouring all the castings. Arahom is working on backorders. In the midst of all this I am also making molds right now for the new Sha Ryn 1/2 scale bust that will be out next.

[Arkalogik]

Originally Posted by Great Pheidias

Why would he not make it removable in the first place? You had potential buyers asking for it and again ignored them as usual..now we have to go through all this extra crap to get it done. Again failure to know and listen to your customers and make it a big head---- to get it done with extra costs and longer waiting time!

I realize it is frustrating and I actually pushed to have the helmet removable myself but after considering all the variables I think we made the right decision.

When you make something larger there are a lot of new things to consider. One issue is the weight of the helmet at this size. It is much heavier than a smaller statue helmet and this also effects the way it sits on the head unless it is glued on somehow or held in place. Unlike the light weight of a small statue helmet which can simply float around without scratching anything.

This is one of those examples where you just can't please everyone and honestly most people are not upset about the helmet not being removable. We were actually trying to avoid complaints about paint being scratched by attaching the helmet and I think if it was removable we would have all kinds of problems.

Arahom also told me that he had to make the hair and head a bit smaller in so the helmet did not look oversized. The walls of this larger helmet are thinner and form fitting.

Not all decisions are as simple as people think. We want to make as amazing statues as we can guys but we also have to consider all the pros and cons. I hope this makes some sense!

[Great Pheidias]

Originally Posted by Arkalogik

I realize it is frustrating and I actually pushed to have the helmet removable myself but after considering all the variables I think we made the right decision.

When you make something larger there are a lot of new things to consider. One issue is the weight of the helmet at this size. It is much heavier than a smaller statue helmet and this also effects the way it sits on the head unless it is glued on somehow or held in place. Unlike the light weight of a small statue helmet which can simply float around without scratching anything.

This is one of those examples where you just can't please everyone and honestly most people are not upset about the helmet not being removable. We were actually trying to avoid complaints about paint being scratched by attaching the helmet and I think if it was removable we would have all kinds of problems.

Arahom also told me that he had to make the hair and head a bit smaller in so the helmet did not look oversized. The walls of this larger helmet are thinner and form fitting.

Not all decisions are as simple as people think. We want to make as amazing statues as we can guys but we also have to consider all the pros and cons. I hope this makes some sense!

I was so looking forward to being able to remove the helmet..I blame you guys for showing it without the helmet on! Anyway its still awesome and I am still buying it and can live with the helmet stuck on and be very happy!!!!

I always have this bad boy to remind me of what could have been....

[TNovak]

Dave is right on this one. I have the 1/7 Leo and the helmet is removeable but I think only to prevent breakage in shipment. It cannot be displayed with the helmet off as the head is perfectly flat on top with a deep notch in the head to hold the helmet in place perfectly.

It would actually be much easier to have a second, unhelmeted head to swap out than to have a helmet that could be removed and replaced multiple times without scratching paint and would also sit decently and not slip or go crooked. Once you look at the expense of doing something like that and the expected sales run of a 1/2 scale Leonidas bust (100? 200?) the only way I can feasibly see it being done is to have the head and helmet be one piece on the statue with a magnet. The second head could be available in kits as a second head or a substitution. For those like the Great One who want the helmetless option they would just pay Dave/ARH for the extra head and have it painted in house. Even then there would obviously be additional costs involved. But it would work at least for everyone IMO.

But I'm sure it is too late for this now. It looks like the bust is one piece (probably better for rotocasting?) but if done from the get go this could have worked I think.

[Great Pheidias]

Originally Posted by TNovak

Dave is right on this one. I have the 1/7 Leo and the helmet is removeable but I think only to prevent breakage in shipment. It cannot be displayed with the helmet off as the head is perfectly flat on top with a deep notch in the head to hold the helmet in place perfectly.

It would actually be much easier to have a second, unhelmeted head to swap out than to have a helmet that could be removed and replaced multiple times without scratching paint and would also sit decently and not slip or go crooked. Once you look at the expense of doing something like that and the expected sales run of a 1/2 scale Leonidas bust (100? 200?) the only way I can feasibly see it being done is to have the head and helmet be one piece on the statue with a magnet. The second head could be available in kits as a second head or a substitution. For those like the Great One who want the helmetless option they would just pay Dave/ARH for the extra head and have it painted in house. Even then there would obviously be additional costs involved. But it would work at least for everyone IMO.

But I'm sure it is too late for this now. It looks like the bust is one piece (probably better for rotocasting?) but if done from the get go this could have worked I think.

[Arkalogik]

Originally Posted by TNovak

Dave is right on this one. I have the 1/7 Leo and the helmet is removeable but I think only to prevent breakage in shipment. It cannot be displayed with the helmet off as the head is perfectly flat on top with a deep notch in the head to hold the helmet in place perfectly.

It would actually be much easier to have a second, unhelmeted head to swap out than to have a helmet that could be removed and replaced multiple times without scratching paint and would also sit decently and not slip or go crooked. Once you look at the expense of doing something like that and the expected sales run of a 1/2 scale Leonidas bust (100? 200?) the only way I can feasibly see it being done is to have the head and helmet be one piece on the statue with a magnet. The second head could be available in kits as a second head or a substitution. For those like the Great One who want the helmetless option they would just pay Dave/ARH for the extra head and have it painted in house. Even then there would obviously be additional costs involved. But it would work at least for everyone IMO.

But I'm sure it is too late for this now. It looks like the bust is one piece (probably better for rotocasting?) but if done from the get go this could have worked I think.

Yeah we discussed doing a second removable head as an option in the beginning but once again the cost vs the amount of sales is what we have to consider. The cost of resin has gone up and up and with a bigger statue we would have to charge even more which would hurt sales. With these AP's all produced in the US so we don't have a lot of wiggle room with cost before we are losing money.

[Arkalogik]

I have several Leonidas busts being painted and also have some extra kits immediately available to ship for anyone wanting to have one custom painted. PM me if you want one now!

[zeus]

Can you take a pic with a 1/4 scale to see the size ,I have never seen a 1/2 scale bust.

[Arkalogik]

Originally Posted by zeus

Can you take a pic with a 1/4 scale to see the size ,I have never seen a 1/2 scale bust.

Here is a Leonidas bust next to a 1/4 scale Valkyrie from the waist up. If you have seen the Valkyrie in person she's a huge 1/4 scale so that gives you an idea of how big the bust is. 23 inches tall.