‘Ask Sideshow’ Questions Answered - LOTR & Indy - 02/17/10

[woodsy]

Finally some LOTR questions answered...not alot, but it's a start.

https://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=8465&utm_source=wp_news

Question : LOTR I was wondering if there will be any more additions to the Lord of the Rings 1/6 Scale Figure line? It seems as though it has kind of stalled. There are still so many great characters left that have not been made.
-AND-
What is the full story on why the Lord of the Rings 12al hundred dollars on this collection, that not finishing it is unfair to collectors. You already have the bodies for the hobbits, so Merry and Pippin (and Bilbo!!!) are doable, why not make a limited exclusive 2-pack? A custom body for Gimli might take a little extra work, but there are other applications that having that body format could be useful in the future…like the 13 dwarves in the upcoming Hobbit movie. We still need a King Aragorn, Gandalf the White, Saruman, there are plenty of others too! Come on Sideshow, give the collectors an opportunity to finish what YOU started; don’t abandon the 12-inch LOTR line!

Answer : We do hope to return to the 12-inch LOTR line at some point in the later future, and if the Hobbit film gets going, it will greatly help us to do so.


Question : When will the Lord of the Rings Premium Format dry spell end and who will it feature?

Answer : Hopefully, you have Legolas in hand now, and you’ve locked your pre-order on Gandalf? We’re currently in development on several other PF LOTR figures, and we have a whole new line to tell you about today! [Watch the Inside Look Video Announcement]


Question : Any chance to see a King Of The Dead Premium Format figure?

Answer : He does seem to be a good candidate, doesn’t he?


Question : I’ve got a good collection of LOTR from Sideshow (16), and my question is: Are there any chance of these scenes for the next dioramas? Barad-dur tower (preferably falling down), Saruman in Orthanc Tower, Mithlond ship with Galadriel, Bilbo, etc… Gandalf the White, his first appearance, with Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli in Fangorn Forest.

Answer : All very interesting suggestions, and very BIG in scope! We prefer to capture more character-centric moments, meaning that your Fangorn suggestion is probably the most likely (and has been discussed). Towers make for very interesting environments, but it’s hard to work in scale characters.


Question : Most of us were overjoyed upon seeing your latest LOTR sneak peek [Thank You!], and ecstatic at the prospect of finally getting a Gandalf the Grey Premium Format!! My question is….Does Sideshow, within it’s LOTR licensing rights, have the ability to produce items [PF, LSB, and dio] with a light-up feature? We as LOTR fans are particularly interested in the prospect of getting a GTG PF featuring a light-up staff exclusive!

Answer : Of course! Gandalf will indeed have a light-up feature on his staff, and we will incorporate light-up features where appropriate on future releases.


Question : During a recent Q&A you hinted that, “we have high hopes of returning to Middle-earth in 12-inch form at some point in time”. Is it safe to say then that it has not been discontinued indefinitely? And would this have anything to do with the upcoming release of “The Hobbit”, or can we expect a continuation of the current line of characters? PLEASE SIDESHOW, WE LOVE THE 12″ LOTR LINE! If I could, I would purchase multiple copies of the same figure to support it. I will, however, remain loyal to the line and hope to see more additions to it in the future. I am also a huge fan of your Premium Format figures and Dioramas - but it is the amazing attention to detail, craftsmanship, as well as affordability of the 12″ line that will keep me coming back for more. I cannot praise your talented team enough and I hope that the support and encouragement of your LOTR collectors out there will make a difference!

Answer : Thanks for your kind words. While the delay in development is currently indefinite, something like the ‘firm’ announcement of the Hobbit could certainly make a change!


Question : Excellent news on the Ringwraith Premium format figure and now a possible Gandalf the Grey PF??? With money getting tight for a lot of people and collecting having to take a bit of a back seat to other less important things like bills, mortgage, food etc, could Sideshow PLEASE confirm one way or another if the Fellowship is to be completed in the PF line for LOTR? If not, who is least likely to make the cut and why? A detailed answer may help to answer more questions than it will undoubtedly generate (I hope!).

Answer : Please ask the majority of your fellow collectors if they would truly be interested in owning Premium Format figures of Samwise, Merry and Pippin. If the answer is yes, then you’re likely to see the full Fellowship represented in due time. Unfortunately, the hobbits, for whatever reason, do not seem to have the same appeal as other characters in collectible form, although we too wish it were otherwise. Similar to our approach with Marvel, characters of less popularity need to be mixed with more popular characters to best balance the line. So, if the line is able to continue long enough, all things are possible!


Question : Is there a realistic chance of ever seeing a treatment of Grond, the evil battering ram, before The Hobbit is released? I have long wondered if that was ever mentioned as a possible project. Perhaps w/ light-up eyes and mouth?

Answer : Grond is an interesting challenge and a strongly beloved prop (in house at Sideshow too). He’s MASSIVE. It feels strange to do him without including scale trolls and orcs to man him, but it’s tough to do justice to those characters in scale with Grond. We’ll continue to meditate on the idea and see if any wondrous design springs to mind.


Question : Any chance we will see LOTR 1:1 busts in the future?

Answer : It’s quite possible, but not in the immediate future.

 

[The Ringer]

The ongoing "Will the 1/6th line be unburied question"

 

[woodsy]

No kidding. I've got to say I'm more than a bit underwhelmed at the quality of the questions SS decided to answer. Nothing about the Ringwraith PF, nothing about the lack of pre-order item's available....too much fluff, not enough substance.

 

[The Ringer]

No kidding. I've got to say I'm more than a bit underwhelmed at the quality of the questions SS decided to answer. Nothing about the Ringwraith PF, nothing about the lack of pre-order item's available....too much fluff, not enough substance.

Hey this isn't SW.

They make us LOTR collectors think a bit.

 

[woodsy]

Hey this isn't SW.

They make us LOTR collectors think a bit.

Well they did answer one of my questions [the light up feature one], but they managed to ignore alot of the questions I submitted that contained a little more substance than the one's they chose. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who submitted better questions than some of the ones SS posted.

 

[The Ringer]

The only one I saw of mine was the 1:1 busts one.

I'm Famous!

 

[Maglor]

Answer : We do hope to return to the 12-inch LOTR line at some point in the later future, and if the Hobbit film gets going, it will greatly help us to do so.

Well that's better than nothing.


Man, a 1/6 Thorin Oakenshield would be so BADASS!!!

 

[woodsy]

The only one I saw of mine was the 1:1 busts one.

I'm Famous!

Thankfully you didn't ask any of those 12" doll questions Why SS continues to waste valuable space on that same question over and over again is beyond me.

 

[The Ringer]

Thankfully you didn't ask any of those 12" doll questions Why SS continues to waste valuable space on that same question over and over again is beyond me.

Try to get rid of the in-stock figures?

 

[woodsy]

Try to get rid of the in-stock figures?

Good point. I wonder if it's working.......

 

[DaveMac]

I think I'm the Fellowship question (not sure now it was that long ago!) is mine.

So, Hobbits in PF are soley down to demand if a Fellowship is to be completed? In that case, where's the Gimli and Boromir announcements?


Still, at least they are willing to admit that the likelyhood of a complete Fellowship is remote unless people start requesting Hobbits!!

 

[mikkipog]

Thankfully you didn't ask any of those 12" doll questions Why SS continues to waste valuable space on that same question over and over again is beyond me.

yup, i agree! wasted on such senseless, redundant questions!

 

[WrathofSauron]

Not great responses and a bit repetitive re that bloody 12" figure line ( you can tell I love them dearly!!)

We kinda already know that they are sticking lights on figures with the announcement of the GTG PF too

Best response for me was the possibility of a KOTD PF

Wouldn't say no to an oul 1:1 scale LOTR bust either though mind you!!

 

[Seaward]

Not the best Q&A, as some of the questions are long-dormant or the answers were frustratingly vague. It sounds like the PF line still has some long legs, and we can add the King of the Dead to the PF possibles list.

I think that the main message (and thanks to Darklord Dave for starting the thread on this topic) is that if we want any more PF hobbits, we need to show Sideshow how much we want these as part of our collections.

What else can we do to help promote this idea or this topic? I will shoot Geb at the Green Dragon a PM and see if he might be able to help, and I think I'll have to finally sign up for statue forum and shadow and flame to promote this topic on those boards too! I would really like to help make a concerted effort to promote the three hobbits as PF figures!

 

[Fritz]

The two things that interested me the most were...

Answer : ...We’re currently in development on several other PF LOTR figures, and we have a whole new line to tell you about today!


Although it's nice to hear they are currently in development on several other PF LotR figures, that could mean someone has drawn a concept sketch on a napkin. I don't get excited until I see in progress sculpts/sneak peaks and currently, we haven't been shown any.

The other thing I find interesting is they took a question regarding PF's and threw in a segway to the new line which is not PF or 1/4 scale.

Answer : ...So, if the line is able to continue long enough, all things are possible!

This doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence, especially the word "if".

 

[The Ringer]

Does anyone know when the PF line expires?

 

[Seaward]

The vague nature of that "if" didn't sit well with me either, but I think that is the general vague way Sideshow answers these things. They are always a little open-ended, because they know we would be uspet if they suggest something and don't deliver.

I think the PF line can keep things going for a long time, and hobbits need to be interspersed carefully so as not to drive away collectors that only want monsters, or only want action hero kind of characters...

 

[woodsy]

Not great responses and a bit repetitive re that bloody 12" figure line ( you can tell I love them dearly!!)

We kinda already know that they are sticking lights on figures with the announcement of the GTG PF too

Best response for me was the possibility of a KOTD PF

Wouldn't say no to an oul 1:1 scale LOTR bust either though mind you!!

Yeah, answering my light-up question weeks after announcing Gandalf's staff would have a light-up feature was another pretty useless question to post.

I do like the idea of a KOTD PF though.....

Not the best Q&A, as some of the questions are long-dormant or the answers were frustratingly vague. It sounds like the PF line still has some long legs, and we can add the King of the Dead to the PF possibles list.

I think that the main message (and thanks to Darklord Dave for starting the thread on this topic) is that if we want any more PF hobbits, we need to show Sideshow how much we want these as part of our collections.
What else can we do to help promote this idea or this topic? I will shoot Geb at the Green Dragon a PM and see if he might be able to help, and I think I'll have to finally sign up for statue forum and shadow and flame to promote this topic on those boards too! I would really like to help make a concerted effort to promote the three hobbits as PF figures!

The only way to show SS we want these PF's is with our wallets. As Markus over at S&F can attest, talk is cheap. Everyone who put their name down on the list for his amazing custom MOSoS project were 100% behind it, until he required deposit money that is. Then the majority [44/80] started bailing like rats on a sinking ship, to the point where this may be his last custom project. The only way SS is going to produce all three Hobbits at this point is one at a time, and whether SS produces a 2nd one after the 1st will be entirely dependent on the sales of the 1st one.

 

[Seaward]

I totally understand that talk is cheap, and many people will express interest in something without any intention to put money on the table when the same item is made available for sale. I would think that Sideshow is already well aware of that experience, or we wouldn't see waitlists for items. I'm kidding, as there are any number of reasons that people cancel, but as a retailer Sideshow has a sense that some people are all mouth and no trousers.


Without sending Sideshow a check now for all three remaining hobbits, I am not sure what else to do to demonstrate the interest in these figures.

 

[woodsy]

I totally understand that talk is cheap, and many people will express interest in something without any intention to put money on the table when the same item is made available for sale. I would think that Sideshow is already well aware of that experience, or we wouldn't see waitlists for items. I'm kidding, as there are any number of reasons that people cancel, but as a retailer Sideshow has a sense that some people are all mouth and no trousers.

Sad, but true!

Without sending Sideshow a check now for all three remaining hobbits, I am not sure what else to do to demonstrate the interest in these figures.

Like I said SS, will have to take it one PF at a time and guage the interest from there. I imagine they'll know pretty quickly just how many people really want the Hobbits once pre-orders begin. Another "2+ years sitting in the warehouse" Frodo PF and the rest of the Hobbits are doomed.