ACI Toys: 1/6 ARAGORN (Improved Production Copy updated!)

[Manannin]

Thanks guys, I think I will try hair product first as I don't want to cut it if I can help it (I wouldn't trust my hair cutting skills!)

I have not seen any Asmus parts in e-bay, where did you find them?

From Toy Anxiety, they parted the Asmus out a week or two ago. The parts all went pretty quickly I think.

 

[Mr.E]

I've got one of the special editions near mint and like new if anyone's still looking for one.

 

[zombini]

I found my old 12" Toy Biz Aragorn and decided to repaint the head. Here's how it looks like with the ACI body.

 

[DioramaMaker]

I wonder if you could transplant the ToyBiz hair piece to an Asmus or ACI figure sculpt...

 

[zombini]

I am just having fun with this old sculpt and testing. I don't think i would dare to attempt to remove that (ACI)hair piece. well maybe if i have an extra one.��

 

[CanadianBrandon]

Just sharing my Aragorn. I'm not game enough to thin out the hair but I'm very happy with how it looks out of the box. Just tamed it with a bit of water.

 

[okieh 2]

To start, I bought all existing Aragorns except the Asmus. I allways kept what I thought were the best parts and sold the rest. When I bought the ACI I had a hard fight with me if I'm happy with the head or not.

All in All I think Eric Sosas head (from Mr. Toy) was much better - so I tried to apply real hair, and again and again - then I finally was happy with the result

Final Aragorn: ACI clothing, DID boots customized, Sideshow Cape, Custom head (Eric Sosa/Mr Toy) painted by me and added real hair

 

[zombini]

i can see that not everyone ( including me) is satisfied with the ACI headsculpt. I wish i have those did boots.

 

[denrep-lilium]

ACI sculpt needs Hot Toys quality paint, and different approach to hairing, and it could shine. The sculpt is good, but paint is not as good.

 

[zombini]

i'm still surprised that no one has this repainted by an expert.

 

[denrep-lilium]

i'm still surprised that no one has this repainted by an expert.

exactly

 

[Sankari]

rehaired him, also gave him a repaint. Just a little practice because I'm about to do a job for a friend, so I wanted to test it on my own. shaved him and repainted, to have a go at him again.

 

[okieh 2]

Looks really good !!

 

[Sankari]

Looks really good !!

thanks Okieh, yours looks marvelous

 

[Travis Baumann]

I for one find this figure amazing. I still love pulling him out of the cabinet and messing around. This weekend I finally put his quiver and cloak on. I have no idea how to string that bow of his.

I think the head sculpt is awesome and I like the paint too. I also love rooted hair and mine came good out of the box.

 

[FlyAndFight]

I think that rooted hair just looks awful. Makes the nice sculpt look like a Tonner figure.

 

[jra81984]

I think that rooted hair just looks awful. Makes the nice sculpt look like a Tonner figure.

The rooted hair looks ok if you gel or wax it down.

 

[Travis Baumann]

I think the "hair helmet" look on everyone looks terrible so each to their own. I am really glad that Asmus has started doing more and more rooted hair. Long hair looks worse than short hair when sculpted but even the new HT Star Wars figures have some really problematic hair pieces in my opinion.

Tonner figures suffer first and foremost from the cartoonish expressions they give them. Second from not being really a compatible scale and thirdly, their accessories are not made for enthusiasts but more for younger or "friendlier" audiences. I guess you could have said "Barbie" but the problem with those are the same criteria as Tonner. The hair is not the problem but if you want to associate it, I doubt anyone will convince you otherwise.

I am really glad I got my exclusive while I could.

 

[YoNoSe]

This is the only figure I've ever been caught up in the hype on. Picked it up and was thrilled I managed to get it. Within a couple of days all I could see was...

But as stated above, luckily we have options to suit our tastes.

 

[FlyAndFight]

I think the "hair helmet" look on everyone looks terrible so each to their own. I am really glad that Asmus has started doing more and more rooted hair. Long hair looks worse than short hair when sculpted but even the new HT Star Wars figures have some really problematic hair pieces in my opinion.

Tonner figures suffer first and foremost from the cartoonish expressions they give them. Second from not being really a compatible scale and thirdly, their accessories are not made for enthusiasts but more for younger or "friendlier" audiences. I guess you could have said "Barbie" but the problem with those are the same criteria as Tonner. The hair is not the problem but if you want to associate it, I doubt anyone will convince you otherwise.

I am really glad I got my exclusive while I could.

My use of the Tonner comparison was simply to say that the rooted hair hurt the figure to the point that it detracted from the rest of the well done figure. It is what hurts the Tonner line the most, aside from the soft expressions of the sculpts.

Perhaps as previously mentioned, the addition of some hair gel may help to keep the hair "do" to scale. I think the main issue with rooted hair is that the strands are definitely not at 1/6th scale and can hurt more than help in the realism look. They work best when it's straight hair but any type of waves in the hair can hurt the sculpt. The wavier, the more difficult it is to capture correctly.

I have the Hot Toys "Selina Kyle" figure which utilizes rooted hair. I think that the fact that the hair style is long and straight allows it to work well and better than molded hair. On the other side of the coin, I also have the Hot Toys Leia and there is no way that rooted hair would work on those "buns". The sculpted hair works perfectly.

I hope you didn't take my post as some form of attack on your figure. It was certainly not my intent. I only feel that rooted hair should be the exception rather than the rule on 1/6th scaled figures. In regards to your ACI Aragorn pics, it was the rooted hair that kept grabbing my attention and not for the better. Instead of a miniature Aragorn, the rooted hair announced "doll" to me. Yes, they all are "dolls" but we all can agree that it is the realism that we strive for as collectors.

Of the Aragorn figures released so far, my favorite "hair" rendition has been from Sideshow. It's not perfect but does capture how the wet/greasy hair looked most of the time and doesn't take away from the rest of the figure.