Sideshow LOTR Aragorn Maquette

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Monkey_Djinn

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Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Ok, registry done. Having seen that, I must get my two PF's numbers added.

Here are some pics of my Aragorn. In the kitchen, cos he's prob hungry after his long trip. They are only phone pics and I'm only me so be nice. Looks much better in person.

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Monkey_Djinn


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(yes, that is a bit of packaging under is robe)

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Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Got my Ex. The piece is pretty good. Of course the likeness is far better than the Weta, along with the quality of the paint on the face. The body paint isn't spectacular, but I honestly don't know what they could have done to make such a drab piece shine. If anyone is considering matching these with their Weta Villains (which I am), the scale is perfect, but of course these bases are MUCH taller than the Weta bases.

Here are the photos. Enjoy.


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Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Mine arrived today #323/550! Unfortunately there's a tiny chip on the back (like the one Ricardofeitoza had), but I'll be able to fix that myself.

Here are the first pics (click for enlargements):





I must say that despite the chip, I'm very happy with this one! :rock2
 
Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Got to open mine today, and..... wow. Just....... wow.

I cannot get across just how better it looks in person than ANY photo i've seen on the internet. This just IS Viggo, even saying 'Likeness isn't 100%, but Viggo's in there somewhere' isn't accurate enough in my opinion. Best Viggo likeness i've ever seen. The detailing, paint.... i can't fault it. Maybe the wonky eyes, but they're not even noticeable unless you're looking for it, or see maximum close-up shots in photos.
It's also bigger than i thought it'd be too, which is of course down to the base. I didn't think i'd like it, but i adore it. Really sets it off. But i do still love the classic black Weta ones too, which makes the character the focus, not a particular setting or moment from the film.
It's a nice chunk of poly. The hoodless version is my favourite as you can see Viggo more clearly.
I cannot wait to see more from this line. I hope they carry on doing good guys and leave the bad guys alone as i really can't see myself buying those aswell as owning the Weta ones..... Sauron already is done and has a great base too, and was done by the very people who created him for film, so i just can't see myself buying another expensive version.
Eomer, Faramir, High Elven warrior..... :love

Call me well and truly sucked into this line..... except GTG :lol
 
Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Well...yesterday, UPS showed up and no one was home to take delivery...stupid Signature Required! I called UPS and picked it up on my way home!

Have to say...I agree with so many of the folks that are astonished and amazed by this piece! Kudos to Sideshow for launching this line with an amazing sculpt and likeness.

Personally, I like the UNHOODED exclusive head sculpt because it gives more of the Strider picture to me...he had his HOOD OFF more IMO. It IS Viggo Mortensen...without a doubt. If you took this statue to someone who knew actors but had never seen LOTR...they would without a doubt say it was Viggo...that would be the ultimate test!

The paint apps are slightly dull and there is TOO much mud on the hood, but nothing takes away from the amazing presentation here.

If I was to criticize anything about this statue at all...it would be the turned head. While I think it gives the statue a unique pose, I think it would have been a bit better had his head only been turned 45 degrees instead of a full 90.

Needless to say, I am very impressed with this presentation from Sideshow...and I found myself lucky to get #33/550 of the exclusive...I was ALSO a January waitlist conversion. But I had preordered right away, canceled, waitlisted, canceled, and wiatlisted a second time before I finally decided to unload all my PFs in favor of this line. I believe, in the end, the decision will be the right one!

Cannot WAIT for a couple baddies to be done in this format!
 
Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Couple images of mine:

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This one shows some scale with the PF line:
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Enjoy!
 
Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Alright, after getting home late last night I finally had the opportunity to open my Aragorn this morning and I am in total agreement with those amazed at how good it looks in person. :drool Trolls and morons aside, it really is a stunning statue.

Are the paint app's perfect?....nope. Nor do they look to be quite on par with the prototype, but they are close. And considering that these were painted on a factory assembly line I'd say the paint-up is remarkably good. Most striking to me are the skin tones. There is actually colour to the skin, it looks real.....and this is a huge upgrade to the monotone skin tones of any SSW statues I've ever owned. And the eyes of mine are perfect......and incredibly detailed for such a small scale. Could this statue's paint app's be improved upon by a professional painter?...absolutely. Truthfully, the factory painted statue that can't be improved upon in the hands of a skilled painter doesn't exist....and someone expecting a professional quality paint job from these Chinese factories is living in a dream world. That is simply the reality of the situation. As a matter of fact, many of the painter's SS does employ to paint their prototypes have to scale back on the quality of the prototype paint-ups because the factory painters in China don't have the skill to duplicate the prototypes otherwise.

As for the likeness, there's really not much to say....in person it screams Viggo. :clap It is easily the best representation of Viggo I have ever owned.....and I have owned them all. And that comment is not meant to take anything away from the PF likeness, which IMO is very good, but this is the likeness by which all other's will now be compared. :lecture

The other thing that really strikes me about this statue, and something that I can't recall anyone addressing is the amazing complexity of the sculpt. This staue is comprised of at leat 15 separately sculpted components and that is amazing to see in a 1/6 scale statue and it's something that cannot be fully appreciated in photo's, no matter how good they are. I am also very impressed with the base. It has a very classy look and feel to it and it perfectly compliment's Aragorn.

Overall, this is a remarkable statue and personally speaking I rate it a solid 9/10. If it was SS's intent to launch this new line with a statement....mission accomplished! Because his line could not possibly be off to a better start. :clap
 
Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Better late then never, well maybe. As such, here's just a couple of pics of mine. (Click on image to access high resolution versions)







So a couple of quick things. Overall it's very nice, but like so many photo's the paint work does have a bit of a gloss/shine to it. It's not as bad as it looks in photo's, even mine, but it does still have a bit too much for clothes that otherwise really shouldn't shine.

As for likeness, I think the last photo says it all. The unhooded head is very good and about the best your going to get. The hooded head on the other hand, missed out somehow. I thought this all along, based on every shipping photo I've seen and having it in hand, just confirms it. If likeness is important to you, you need the unhooded head, which means you'll want the Ex.
 
Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

i decided to jump back into this line afterall. better late than never. my love of LOTR is too great. this line had better not die now that i've gotten on board.

a couple pics to highlight the amazing headsculpt on this piece.

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Re: Aragorn Maquette - Link in 1st post.

Some pictures of my maquette:


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Re: Aragorn maquette Reg or EX?????

I've flipped on this issue a few times myself. I used the hooded portrait for the first couple of months and since then have gone with the Ex. Either way you can't lose. Here's some pics of mine (sorry, the first shot is a bit out of focus). :duff

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Re: Aragorn maquette Reg or EX?????

So I guess to those who own him. o you think it looks better hooded or no. In person Does it look like Aragorn with the hood on?

Here's a comparison photo of mine:

Aragorn Closeup by theguru1, on Flickr

As you can see, regardless of what some may say, there's something that isn't exactly identical about the two heads. The hooded one isn't the unhooded version with just the hood added.

Before anyone jumps up and down about camera angles, etc. The statue wasn't moved, the camera was on a tri-pod and as you can see, the rest of the body, arm, etc all exactly match and align. What doesn't exactly match or align is the eye's, nose, mouth, etc of the face. Be it the sculpt, the production process or something else, there is some difference.

As such, I personally prefer the unhooded head and since I've got it, apart from those initial photo's, I've never had him displayed with anything else. But even so, if nothing else, the Ex gives you the choice, only you can decided if that is worth the extra $ to you.
 
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