Haldir

[Malvo]

Originally Posted by Hellboy

Up for pre-order. $399.

Portrait looks much better in these pics.

https://www.wetanz.com/shop/figures/haldir

It does look better though I still think the likeness is weak at best. Outside of that it looks fantastic. With an ES of 750 I'm not sure it will last until Black Friday, but I really don't have the desire to pay full price either. Decisions, decisions.

[pinkxter]

Price is too high in my opinion.

[Malvo]

Originally Posted by pinkxter

Price is too high in my opinion.

It's pretty hard to find a Weta statue these days that isn't too highly priced. Still, I'd pay that in a heartbeat had Weta gotten the likeness right. As it stands, I'm hoping he's still around for Weta's next 2 for $400 sale.

[Hellboy]

I dunno, I know prices have escalated across all companies but I don’t see this a being that far out of line with what is the new standard.

When you factor in Weta Dollars the piece is actually $340. The only company producing 1:6 scale pieces with as much regularity as Weta that I can think to compare them to would be Tweeterhead. All of their Super Powers 1:6 Maquettes are around the same size as Haldir and clock in on average about $280 and if you order direct you save $15. This makes the difference between the two roughly $75. Now factor in the difference in fine details (Weta’s LOTR/Hobbit pieces are far more intricate) and the difference it editions sizes (750 for Haldir Vs Harley Quinn for example with a collective ES that’s at least double) I’d say they’re pretty close.

[67L88Stingray]

Originally Posted by Malvo

It's pretty hard to find a Weta statue these days that isn't too highly priced.

Exactly, that seems to be their new pricing strategy.

[67L88Stingray]

Originally Posted by Hellboy

I dunno, I know prices have escalated across all companies but I don’t see this a being that far out of line with what is the new standard.

When you factor in Weta Dollars the piece is actually $340. The only company producing 1:6 scale pieces with as much regularity as Weta that I can think to compare them to would be Tweeterhead. All of their Super Powers 1:6 Maquettes are around the same size as Haldir and clock in on average about $280 and if you order direct you save $15. This makes the difference between the two roughly $75. Now factor in the difference in fine details (Weta’s LOTR/Hobbit pieces are far more intricate) and the difference it editions sizes (750 for Haldir Vs Harley Quinn for example with a collective ES that’s at least double) I’d say they’re pretty close.

Base weta dollars is only $20, not $60. Only gold collectors get $60. You also can't count that as cash, you don't earn more dollars when you redeem them so you lose out that percentage too.

[Hellboy]

Originally Posted by 67L88Stingray

Base weta dollars is only $20, not $60. Only gold collectors get $60. You also can't count that as cash, you don't earn more dollars when you redeem them so you lose out that percentage too.

True, but I’m trying to do the best apples to apples comparison I can think of and basing my comparison off the assumption most Weta collectors are Gold and get the max discount.

As far as earning dollars on top of Weta Dollars go... no company offers that kind of thing when you’re redeeming points/coupons etc. You always lose that percentage in those cases.

[Malvo]

Originally Posted by Hellboy

I dunno, I know prices have escalated across all companies but I don’t see this a being that far out of line with what is the new standard.

When you factor in Weta Dollars the piece is actually $340. The only company producing 1:6 scale pieces with as much regularity as Weta that I can think to compare them to would be Tweeterhead. All of their Super Powers 1:6 Maquettes are around the same size as Haldir and clock in on average about $280 and if you order direct you save $15. This makes the difference between the two roughly $75. Now factor in the difference in fine details (Weta’s LOTR/Hobbit pieces are far more intricate) and the difference it editions sizes (750 for Haldir Vs Harley Quinn for example with a collective ES that’s at least double) I’d say they’re pretty close.

The 6 human-sized DC Super Powers maquettes produced so far are averaging $268/statue. Or $253 when you factor in the $15 coupons. And that doesn't include those random free shipping coupons we'll be getting on occasion.

The average single character Weta 1/6 scale statue is now $440. True, Haldir and Isildur at $399 are below the average, but they are not the norm anymore, they are the exception to the rule. The Weta dollars of between $20-$60 on a statue like Haldir definitely help, but even in the best case scenario of $340 for Haldir (gold collector cost) that's still a good $87 more.....or $100+ when you factor in the additional shipping costs. And keep in mind with Europeans having to deal with that 20% VAT on top of the purchase price most aren't even ordering directly from Weta anymore if they can help it so those Weta dollars don't mean a thing.

As for the ES debate, that's like comparing apples to oranges. The Tweeterhead ES's are higher because the demand is higher. Weta didn't exactly lower their ES's out of the goodness of their hearts, they did so because their ES's of 1000+ were a disaster with supply far exceeding demand in most cases. Ironically, even with these significantly lower ES's they still can't sell out their products (with the exception of ToE), because they've jacked their prices so high.

Are the more recent Weta statues more detailed and intricate.....absolutely. They're also on average about $130 more all things considered. If you really want to get an idea of how far apart these two companies are today price wise, consider the dwarves Weta produced 2-3 years ago. Nicely sculpted (though hardly what I would call intricate) 8" characters on plain black bases for $250. Then compare that to the $250-$260 Tweeterhead is charging for statues twice the size today. All I can say is I'm glad Weta aren't producing these DC Super Powers characters.....at least with Tweeterhead I don't have to consider selling a kidney.

[Hellboy]

The gap is there, no question. I just don’t think it’s as bad as some make it out to be. As someone who collected 1:4 scale for a long time and had to basically pull out after prices skyrocketed in a very short span of time I’m just thankful you can still see the value in the Weta pieces.

[Malvo]

Originally Posted by Hellboy

The gap is there, no question. I just don’t think it’s as bad as some make it out to be. As someone who collected 1:4 scale for a long time and had to basically pull out after prices skyrocketed in a very short span of time I’m just thankful you can still see the value in the Weta pieces.

There's no doubt when Weta does it right the results speak for themselves. I didn't hesitate to shell out $700 for the MoSoS, $400 for Isildur, or even 1K for ToE, but I find myself less and less willing to pre-order any statues from Weta unless I'm convinced they'll sell out quickly because I know, as do most people apparently, that these will all eventually go on sale for significantly less than retail. I think if people truly thought they were getting value for their money, every single one of these low ES statues Weta has produced in the last year or so would be long sold out, but other than ToE I can't think of a single one that is. Though in fairness to Weta, I suppose you could say that of most collectible companies these days.