Thranduil on Elk

[pinkxter]

Originally Posted by Hellboy

The only way I could see you losing anything would be if you’re in a location that charges duties or VAT. I’m not so I can’t tell how those work when it comes to returning merchandise. As far as Weta is concerned, if they deliver a product that is damaged or not as advertised then the return shipping should be on them. I’ve had to return several pieces under both categories and they’ve never not given me a return shipping label. That said others may have had different experiences so don’t form your decision based on my example alone.

In the meantime some more pics have surfaced that may calm your nerves a bit. It’s studio lighting, which I think is still making the elk appear a bit too glossy but it’s much better than the previous pics and may ease concerns. I think the piece looks pretty good myself but we really won’t be able to tell for certain until we see it in some natural lighting.

Pics in Post # 1024 https://www.flameofudun.net/forum/co...old-out/page52

Thanks I'm in the US so no taxes in that regards.

Yeah I saw those pictures but those are like professional studio pictures, something like what Weta would post.

A close up of the face is key and natural light for sure.

Thanks

[Hellboy]

Keep in mind this new clear resin they’re using likely doesn’t photograph well. Just look at Isildur. He looks washed out and pale as well but collectors are saying the portrait is amazing in hand. Elves have a pasty look to them too so that’s probably not helping matters.

[Malvo]

We've seen some lousy photos, some goods photo's, and now some professional quality, albeit manipulated photo's. What hasn't changed in all 3 groups of photo's is the large cream-colored patches on the elk devoid of proper shading, armor that is the wrong color, and an elk shiny enough that you can see your own reflection. I think this new batch of professional grade photo's will provide some temporary comfort for collectors who desperately want this statue to be worth every substantial penny they paid for it, but I think that relief will be short-lived. Time will tell. These new photo's remind me of the old adage...... "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." That's not to say this statue is a "pig", but it certainly isn't what we paid for, nor is it what we thought we were going to receive.

Where this hobby is concerned, everything is about trust. For the most sought after of collectibles we cannot simply walk into a store, gaze upon these statues and walk out of the store with them. We have to depend on the photo's these companies provide, we have to reasonably expect [or at least the 99% of us who care] that what we see is what we are going to get....and this one simply doesn't line up with the prototype. And no amount of profession grade pic's manipulated by lighting techniques is going to change that.

I have this statue on pre-order, and I will not be returning it regardless of the subpar paint app's. Firstly because the sculpt itself is fantastic, and secondly because it's the only Thrandruil on Elk we're likely to ever see. But I will definitely never be pre-ordering another statue from Weta again. They fooled me with the War Troll, and now this one.....they won't get that opportunity a third time.

[goto]

I´m hopefull

[pinkxter]

Originally Posted by Malvo

We've seen some lousy photos, some goods photo's, and now some professional quality, albeit manipulated photo's. What hasn't changed in all 3 groups of photo's is the large cream-colored patches on the elk devoid of proper shading, armor that is the wrong color, and an elk shiny enough that you can see your own reflection. I think this new batch of professional grade photo's will provide some temporary comfort for collectors who desperately want this statue to be worth every substantial penny they paid for it, but I think that relief will be short-lived. Time will tell. These new photo's remind me of the old adage...... "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." That's not to say this statue is a "pig", but it certainly isn't what we paid for, nor is it what we thought we were going to receive.

Where this hobby is concerned, everything is about trust. For the most sought after of collectibles we cannot simply walk into a store, gaze upon these statues and walk out of the store with them. We have to depend on the photo's these companies provide, we have to reasonably expect [or at least the 99% of us who care] that what we see is what we are going to get....and this one simply doesn't line up with the prototype. And no amount of profession grade pic's manipulated by lighting techniques is going to change that.

I have this statue on pre-order, and I will not be returning it regardless of the subpar paint app's. Firstly because the sculpt itself is fantastic, and secondly because it's the only Thrandruil on Elk we're likely to ever see. But I will definitely never be pre-ordering another statue from Weta again. They fooled me with the War Troll, and now this one.....they won't get that opportunity a third time.

well said, i may just hold on to my pre-order and see how this turns up.

[Malvo]

Originally Posted by pinkxter

well said, i may just hold on to my pre-order and see how this turns up.

I would definitely recommend you keep your pre-order and then judge for yourself once in hand. You've really got nothing to lose in doing so.

[pinkxter]

Originally Posted by Malvo

I would definitely recommend you keep your pre-order and then judge for yourself once in hand. You've really got nothing to lose in doing so.

Yeah I guess will wait and see, definitely nervous.

Weta did respond in another forum saying they inspect every statue before it goes out, to trust their QC process.

[Malvo]

Originally Posted by pinkxter

Yeah I guess will wait and see, definitely nervous.

Weta did respond in another forum saying they inspect every statue before it goes out, to trust their QC process.

Yeah, that probably explains why Eowyn's white dress ended up being grayish-green, an entire run of Galadriel's were produced with arms that didn't fit properly into the body, the armor on Dain didn't remotely match the prototype, the orc warrior ended up with pink hair and the War Troll ended up looking like King Kong. If that's what Gareth's 'A' game looks like, I'd hate to see what his 'B' or 'C' game looks like.

Kudo's to Weta for their creative PR spin, but what they really said is what you see is what you're going to get. Weta were never going to recall this statue. They've screwed up in the past and they've never done a thing about those QC issues, so why would anyone think this time was going to be different?

[travis]

Bottom line here for whomever ordered this like myself...."We gonna find out real soon if it's _____ or if it's _____."

[Malvo]

Originally Posted by travis

Bottom line here for whomever ordered this like myself...."We gonna find out real soon if it's _____ or if it's _____."

You're right of course. The reality of the situation is that we all know the production pieces differ from the prototype in terms of paint app's in several areas. The only question now is whether or not those differences will prompt collectors to send them back, or keep them regardless of the changes. I suspect most people will keep them, but I also think a lot of people will think twice before pre-ordering from Weta again. Moving forward, Weta would do well to follow Prime 1's lead in terms of producing 1K statues that look like the prototypes.....they could start by sending "Nothing gets past him Gareth" to the Prime 1 factory to learn the true meaning of QC.....