12" Aragorn Image Thread

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We had this kind of bellyaching before Obi was in hand and everyone was fine with him when they actually got him.

You all are completely and totally overreacting in judging something you haven't seen.
 
Darklord Dave said:
We had this kind of bellyaching before Obi was in hand and everyone was fine with him when they actually got him.

You all are completely and totally overreacting in judging something you haven't seen.


Preach on brother. They won't listen, but preach on.

The only thing that bothers me is the outfit. It looks like Arwen took him shopping in Bree and he has brand new clothes. I'm honestly thinking of taking the coat and shirt and rubbing them up against something hard and abrasive to get some wear in them and them stomping them into the mud.
 
Darklord Dave said:
We had this kind of bellyaching before Obi was in hand and everyone was fine with him when they actually got him.

You all are completely and totally overreacting in judging something you haven't seen.

Not everyone. :cool:
 
I guess people have nothing better to do while waiting than to freak out. There are two truths when it comes to these figures:

1) The Production is always different than the Prototype

2) The figures always look better in hand

Remember these two simple rules and you may save yourself from an ulcer :lol
 
Wow, I didn't mean to open up a big ol' can of worms. :monkey4

Aragorn is probably the biggest difference between proto and production I've seen on a Sideshow 1/6 figure, but that's only because the proto was done at such an exceptionally high level. Anyone expecting that for $65 was either naive or fooling themselves, though I do place some of the blame on SSC's shoulders for being too ambitious with the prototype. The prod. Aragorn may not be as nice but it still looks fantastic in it's own right and the quality is completely appropriate to it's price point IMO. As has already been pointed out numerous time, having this thing in hand will be an entirely different animal than just seeing mediocre pics of it, and I suspect we'll all be blown away by just how nice it really is.
 
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I don't think we the collectors have any reason not to expect what we see from the prototype sample. That is what SS is selling since that's the pic they are using to promote the product.

If the production company won't be able to replicate the weathering of the material, don't weather it for the sample. Show us what we are going to get!
 
Darth Loki said:
If the production company won't be able to replicate the weathering of the material, don't weather it for the sample. Show us what we are going to get!
Agreed. Or at least have a caption on preorder day that says, "Sweet looking prototype pictured. Even more amazing convention figure to follow. Then shockingly bad production pics. Then some Hong Kong customs that are even worse than the production pics. Actual figure will look better than the latter two."

;)
 
Darklord Dave said:
We had this kind of bellyaching before Obi was in hand and everyone was fine with him when they actually got him.

You all are completely and totally overreacting in judging something you haven't seen.

How can you say that when it seems the overwhelming majority of us are not happy with this figure? Sure some of you will be content with it because you can customize it or rub it in mud or whatever you guys do that many of us would never dream of doing to a figure we just opened out the box. Maybe some of you old schoolers are just so desensatized to getting figures from SSC that look nothing like the images you were sold on that you just "accept" it now. Either way there's no denying SSC is having the biggest boom in customers since starting the SW and LOTR lines and that many of us new customers don't fall into either of those two catagories and are getting tired already of the disappointment in seeing how most of these figures are turning out and if they want to keep this huge new fanbase they need to start going the extra mile to make these figures better. Waiting almost a year in excitement only to be let down in 1 second of seeing the final product sucks and lots of us are getting sick of it and considering not continuing to buy from them which is something they should be very concerned about.

This " wait until you see it in hand" bit is tired and played out. I've heard that on every figure and guess what? Every single one of them looked exactly like the myriad of pictures posted all across the web before I got them. The pics don't lie and it's very plain to see what the figure looks like through them.The only difference is that you're seeing it and all of it's problems on a smaller scale when it's in your hands.

Also while Obi-wan's head sculpt was definitely a dissapointment from what was shown on the prototype, at least his costume was still pretty much like what was shown originally. Aragorn doesn't even have that 50% of satisfaction backing him up as he is a drastic change in every aspect from what we were shown all along.

The simple fact is there's no denying the final product is a pale imitation of what we were sold on to a level that it will be shown and pointed out everytime a new SSC fan stirs up this debate whenever he or she brings up the now common question "why does my figure not look like the prototype?"

He's not as bad an example as say, Pamela Vorhees, but he's damn close in terms of being such a drastic change in quality from the proto it's almost laughable.

jlcmsu said:
So SS is lying? Or I should say you're calling SS a company of liars? Prototype means it could change. I'm not sure where folks don't seem to understand that. Not to mention we don't know why some changes happen.

C'mon dude, you seem smarter than that.

Quit letting your personal feeling towards SSC get in the way and look at this situation from a casual or new SSC collector for once.
No one is outright calling them liars but how crappy is it that they showed all of the amazing protos at SDCC and made people who know nothing about SSC think that those actual figures could be bought for $65? If those people happen to read this or any other forum and see what they really would get, they will probably scoff and decide they don't want to waste their money on a company that can't deliver the goods like they seemed to promise.
I know that when I ordered my first SSC figure I was freaking out in excitement that I was going to be getting the figures in the pics and only when I started reading this site did I face the harsh reality that SSC is famous for showing one thing and delivering something entirely different almost every time. I've given them the benefit of the doubt and am continuing to see how they turn out but I'm not making $100,000 a year and can't afford to keep playing the guessing game as to whether or not my figure will look like crap once I get it.
Whether some here will accept it or not, SSC is going to lose a lot of it's customers buying these 2 lines unless there is a considerable rise in the quality of the figures or unless they lower our expectations based on what we see at ordering time.


Like I said before, the fact these prototype pics are being used to sell totally inferior products is the very definition of a bait and switch in a sense.
Since it seems to me as a new customer that they can't get their final version to match what we saw all along then they should tone down the work on the protos and make what they think it will end up like when it's ready to ship.
It's not cool to get us all excited that we're getting this fantastic figure and then ship us something that looks like a cheap knock-off from Taiwan. I still hope SSC does a major turn-around and the figures start turning out better but if we all sit on our hands and commend them for making halfass figures by making excuses for them, nothing will change.

I know you're a major LOTR fan more than a Star Wars one and I have even sensed a lot of disappointment in your posts about this figure since the first pics of the production version came out. You seem to be struggling now with doing your regular "cheerleader" bit (not taking a jab- it's that's your thing, fine) and wanting to express your true feeling like the rest of us and just say "hey, this figure sucks compared to what we thought we were getting".
 
Yes, the prototype should match the production figure. I can imagine that as the first prototype created, Aragorn was also their main pitching tool to New Line to show what they could do (in a perfect world).

I will admit that the weathering and paint ops on the proto are superior to the production figure. However the production figure is miles better than the DiD version (which cost more) and blows away the TB version. It is also the most detailed and intricate 12" that SSC has ever done.

I think with the other 12" we won't see near as much discrepancy between proto and production figures.
 
Darklord Dave said:
We had this kind of bellyaching before Obi was in hand and everyone was fine with him when they actually got him.

You all are completely and totally overreacting in judging something you haven't seen.

Why am I not surprised by this statement? Damage control. :lol

As we all already know, Obi-Wan's problem was really all in the dark paint apps on his hair, and to some, the eyes. Anakin, same thing with the hair, and most notably the lips. Easy things to fix for even the most timid novice painter.

I'm not even gonna get into what's wrong with Aragorn - just take a look, the pics don't lie. The "weathering" on that coat is very Hasbro-ish.

SS needs to make a trip to China to set things straight with the factory, AND put up a big fat disclaimer on their product pages that the final product will most likely result in paint apps of several orders of magnitude inferior to the prototype.

IMG_0284.JPG
ag2.jpg
 
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I can live with the facial sculpt, but the "just pulled the vinyl off the resturant booth" jacket, that has to go. :eek:
 
Here is what I know to be true, based on disscussions with SSC staff over the past 5yrs.

The difference from prototype to production is a drop in quality of close to.......50%. Sad but true, so get over it. There is no way that the inhouse brilliance of SSC can be recreated by 100 line production painting staff over in China.

So Knowing this I rarely question SSC about what we see in final production. However, Aragorn is not even close to a 50% drop. No Sir. He's far below a70% drop in quality and that's not going to fly. The headsculpt is badly painted in any light and should not have been released looking like this. As for the coat? see my opening statement. Seeing folks being called a whiny ***** or other such insults for voicing there dissatisfaction will only see this adversarial attitude spread and grow throughout the board. Not good boys and girls.

It's alright to disagree, but knock this **** off with the insults and name calling. it isn't needed and it's certainly not appreciated.
 
Darklord Dave said:
We had this kind of bellyaching before Obi was in hand and everyone was fine with him when they actually got him.

You all are completely and totally overreacting in judging something you haven't seen.

Dave, I think every issue brought up regarding Obi-Wan, and with the other SW figures continue to remain relative issues. In the case of Obi-Wan specifically, the main critical issue was the darker hair/beard color. That was it. The sculpt was amazing, the outfit accurate and the arms the correct length and did not come loose...

Unfortunately, the prevailing attitude adopted has been to simply "live with it" and hope for better with the next figure.

I do like all of the SW figures that I've gotten so far but they all still remain with their initial issues that were brought up in the forums:

Jedi Luke: Huge noggin, monkey arms
Anakin: Arm falling off, plum lipstick
Obi-Wan: paint aps
Han Solo: Where do I begin?...
Qui-Gon: badly applied clothing (in my sample), terrible looking hair

Kit Fisto and Mace Windu came out ok, for the most part.

Now we have Aragorn, the flagship of the new LOTR 12" line and every single photo, be it official production or from customers has shown definite issues across the board. In other words, it's not that this guy used too much flash or this guy too much shadow, etc., but that there is such a large difference between prototype and production as to appear to be two completely different figures. Throw in the $70+ price tag and the critics start getting "picky-er", with good reason.

One final thought. I'm a huge aviation buff and I picked up SS's "Red Baron" and "Eddie Rickenbacker" figures (great sculpts and well done figures). The paint apps on these figures are holloween scary, though. Walking Dead scary. Drained of blood scary. And yet I got them each for under $50 shipped and felt that at those prices, I could live with the paint apps. Now start raising the price by another $20+ and things start to change.
 
I'm going to chime in here...
First off, I never thought SST's Aragorn was a good likeness of Viggo, so I'm not too disappointed or surprised. Second, I've sort of got used to the (often) dramatic changes from prototype to production, so that doesn't surprise me too much either.
I still find it baffling, though.
As I stated before in some other thread (maybe the Obi thread), I don't understand why SST has such a poor record when it comes to the final production runs. I've never seen such poor prototype-production ratio in any other 1/6 company. Not DML, not DID, not BBI, not HotToys, nor Medicom.
A lot of people say you can't have a production figure equal a prototype. I don't agree. Just look at the websites of the companies listed above. None have such dramatic changes in their figures. The worst of the lot is probably HT with their colonial marines, but the difference is nowhere as drastic as what we're seeing with SST products.

I have Aragorn preordered somewhere (can't even remember where) and I look forward to getting him, but I do feel saddened that this is yet another figure I will have to intervene heavily to get it to look decent.
Can't wait to see all the customizing tips by the masters!
 
The Aragorn I saw at SDCC was breathtaking. His clothing was worn and aged so beautifully that it looked like he just stepped off the screen. I agree that we shouldn't judge a figure until we have it in our hands, but it seems clear that his green ranger coat will be bright and shiny and cleaner looking than the prototype. It will have a patch sewn on to imply age and wear, so I guess that's something. I will say that the beard looks better in this last picture, more textured and less "tootsie roll" looking. I would expect some variation in the paint apps and wish you all luck on your individual figures. Every controversial Star Wars figure has looked better to me in person than in the early photos that got everybody nervous. If you have the exclusive cloak coming for Strider, that will certainly make the figure look better, as it will cover up the green duster.
 
Have people never heard of prototypes before? Every toy and collectible company makes the first figure the absolute best they can and can use whatever materials and time (or at least more of it) they see fit. But when figures go into production many things have to be changed. My guess is the coat could not remain the same material (notice its a bit thicker) because they were unable to get enough of it, or at the right cost to go ahead with production. This happens all the time with paint, clothes accessories, etc... from a $5 action figure to higher-end items.

Sure, Sideshow does set the bar high. But consistently there is a ton of bellyaching right when the first photos show up and then after people start getting them in hand they are much happier. There are always people who aren't satisfied when it's in hand (nothing wrong with that) but you can keep it, have it worked on, sell it or return it. You don't have to buy the inferior products... although I still believe that these are going to be the best 1/6 SW and LOTR figures we will ever see.
 
galactiboy said:
Have people never heard of prototypes before? Every toy and collectible company makes the first figure the absolute best they can and can use whatever materials and time (or at least more of it) they see fit. But when figures go into production many things have to be changed.

So are you saying that Sideshow can display a 12" "premium format-type" 12" figure and then produce a figure that is in no way at the same level of detailing, materials or paint applications, that this is not only to be expected but the industry norm?? :confused:

In true essence, the "prototype" pieces are to be as close as possible to the production pieces to be manufactured. "Some" changes may take place due to unforeseen circumstances but the piece should be very close to the prototype being sent to the Chinese factories.
 
Anyone know where I might be able to find a stool for this 12"? I want to pose him sitting like he is at the Prancing Pony.
 
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