ASMUS TOYS : Aragorn @ The Battle of Helm's Deep

[Chopper Face]

Damn, this face really is taking some abuse online. It must suck to be Asmus sometimes. This was the 4th attempt sculpt for this figure if I recall correctly and it’s just getting torn a new one. It has to be way beyond the point of trying yet again by now so I guess what’s done is done.

 

[Lizard Lips]

Tbf its not a terrible sculpt, its just not particularly good and breaks Asmus' run of excellent recent releases. Gimli, Thorin, Elrond and Galadriel in particular.

The thing is they're probably over 90% there.. fix the hairline, add a bit to the beard and tweak the eyes and nose slightly and he'll look incredible.

 

[Asmus]

Looks like we will definitely revisit the head, they are more promotions coming up in the next week or two, but just want you guys to know that revisit to the head sculpt will take place

 

[Bucky Underbelly]

Looks like we will definitely revisit the head, they are more promotions coming up in the next week or two, but just want you guys to know that revisit to the head sculpt will take place

You guys are the absolute best.

 

[Lizard Lips]

Looks like we will definitely revisit the head, they are more promotions coming up in the next week or two, but just want you guys to know that revisit to the head sculpt will take place

That's great to hear, thanks for listing to your fans and customers!

 

[Chopper Face]

Cool I guess. Did Hot Toys have anything to say about the Ant-Man outcry? This is an immediate response so respect.

Does it mean you’ll be taking the pre-order down as well, Asmus? That would probably be for the best as many will not be ordering until they see what you come
Up with next.

I kind of still want that sideways glancing head. It’s from what I consider the coolest part of the battle. You seem to have a fair few Aragorn sculpts in the archives now so it might be a good idea to release two notably different expressions in the deluxe version. That way you’ll double the chances of a potential buyer finding some merit in at least one of them.
I guess this month won’t be as expensive as I was predicting.

 

[jra81984]

Looks like we will definitely revisit the head, they are more promotions coming up in the next week or two, but just want you guys to know that revisit to the head sculpt will take place

Thank you so much! I myself greatly appreciate you being among the community and listening to everyone. I look forward to seeing how it turns out!

 

[Kalkylen]

Well that's great news Asmus. It's a shame that the reveal didn't go down well but I think we would all rather wait for the best possible Aragorn sculpt rather than something being rushed out for the sake of it.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[GaryPool]

Looks like we will definitely revisit the head, they are more promotions coming up in the next week or two, but just want you guys to know that revisit to the head sculpt will take place

Wow. Props to you guys for taking it on the chin. I haven't gotten anything from you before, but I've always seen you guys give the best interaction with customers and earnestly listening to feedback. Please keep that, it's a true quality to have and a testament that the community will always support and commend you over.

Mega props to you, Asmus!

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

Looks like we will definitely revisit the head, they are more promotions coming up in the next week or two, but just want you guys to know that revisit to the head sculpt will take place

Nice one Asmus, thanks for letting us know. It's awesome how you listen to your collector's feedback (unlike some other companies). I don't think the sculpt is as bad as some folks are saying to be fair (that's just IMO, and I do still intend to order him), as someone said earlier it's about 90% there - but, with a few alterations here and there it could look amazing.

Take your time in getting right Asmus, I for one am happy to wait as long as it takes in order to get the best Aragorn sculpt possible, as I am sure many others are. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out...in Asmus I trust!

 

[Sixth Scale Man]

Personally I'm happy with the sculpt, but if they can tweak it and make it better, then yeah, go for it! I'm guessing the September 2020 date's gonna change, which actually suits me with what's coming up before the end of the year.

 

[scumonkey]

Thank you Asmus!
Will still wait to see new sculpt before ordering though.
Get it right and I'll order the deluxe...

 

[ialtaf]

That's awesome Asmus! Thanks a lot for listening to the community, much appreciated.
If possible, please please revisit / redesign around the same expression (i.e. him charging towards the Uruk-Hai after the wall is breached). I would hate for you to shift to a stoic or deadpan expression. The intensity on his face looks great, it's just the sculpt that needs a little tweaking. Perhaps you could add gritted teeth (like HT do with their Captain America figures) and a bit more muddied look on the headsculpt as well?

Please take as much time as you want on this, no rush. Thanks a ton, Asmus!

 

[rjszar]

Well this is great news for us. I am very sorry for all the money you will be losing on this though. You must have most if not all of these heads done already. Maybe you could just sell these heads separately for anyone who thinks they might want to switch out previous heads. I would hate to see you just toss them all.

 

[Chopper Face]

That's awesome Asmus! Thanks a lot for listening to the community, much appreciated.
If possible, please please revisit / redesign around the same expression (i.e. him charging towards the Uruk-Hai after the wall is breached). I would hate for you to shift to a stoic or deadpan expression. The intensity on his face looks great, it's just the sculpt that needs a little tweaking. Perhaps you could add gritted teeth (like HT do with their Captain America figures) and a bit more muddied look on the headsculpt as well?

Please take as much time as you want on this, no rush. Thanks a ton, Asmus!

I agree that they should keep this expression and simply work more on the likeness. Don’t do gritted teeth though. It doesn’t work on Cap, Batfleck, anyone really. The lips always end up being shaped unnaturally.
Asmus really should take as much time as is necessary to get Aragorn right. He’s the fan favourite lead. So if they sideline Aragorn’s release for a bit they’ll have a slot to fill meaning another figure that’s in development could take its place (hypothetically.) It’d be a great time to finalise the Uruk Hai body so they could end up using both figures to promote each other.

 

[hoodonit00]

Well I’ll speak for myself but I think others feel the same way. They can lose a small amount of money on the head sculpt or they can lose all the money from this set as I am not getting it as is. Reading some of the posts here and many on FB many collectors feel the same way. I’m not sure why they would have approved this with the likeness being so poor.

 

[Sassafras]

I think Mr. ASMUS made a mistake this time: price does not match the product. I would had purchased it simply because of the head and diorama, but nearly 300 USD for that does not seem realistic: a re-use of many parts, no clothed boots, and (let's admit it) a cheap-looking chain mail... Greedy breaks the sack. I will stick to the first release of the character, the best version of Arathorn's son without any doubt.

Not sure if u are sayin' ASMUS is greedy but gotta disagree there.

As someone who is still futzing with the pricey Blitzway Zorro (~300$ with shipping) which I still wish ASMUS had done. (For one thing, I don't think ASMUS would have left off the whip holster, spurs, and would have done a better job with the sword. And the stand is - boring.)

As far as the chain mail thing, which has come up before, there's YT vids on how to weave chain mail and custom work in the Eowyn thread. Ur talking about rings 2-3 mm diameter. I'm happy with rising 1/6 prices to NOT pay 1250$ per fig just to get to-scale "real" chain mail.

Far as I can tell few companies put their back into their figs the way ASMUS does; and the time will come when for the work they do, they are going to have to raise prices (or cut accessories, which looks like what HT does a lot of the time). At least re their Crown series, they ask the community (also smart business).

And I don't have an Aragorn, so will happily buy this one. The sculpt looks OK. IMO a reasonable price for what u get these days. I haven't opened an ASMUS fig yet and not had a great time being amazed by the craftsmanship. Never got frosted over paying retail either; not when a company is (depending) giving me beautifully made diecast weapons and hand-sewn to-scale buttons. With multiple, screen-accurate costume layers AND extra accessories, depending. Like folks wanted a pipe with Thorin and we got the pipe.

ASMUS still has to make a profit (and survive, in a very trying time when folks are cutting back spending) or no more figs.

 

[Stryker2011]

Not sure if u are sayin' ASMUS is greedy but gotta disagree there.

As someone who is still futzing with the pricey Blitzway Zorro (~300$ with shipping) which I still wish ASMUS had done. (For one thing, I don't think ASMUS would have left off the whip holster, spurs, and would have done a better job with the sword. And the stand is - boring.)

As far as the chain mail thing, which has come up before, there's YT vids on how to weave chain mail and custom work in the Eowyn thread. Ur talking about rings 2-3 mm diameter. I'm happy with rising 1/6 prices to NOT pay 1250$ per fig just to get to-scale "real" chain mail.

Far as I can tell few companies put their back into their figs the way ASMUS does; and the time will come when for the work they do, they are going to have to raise prices (or cut accessories, which looks like what HT does a lot of the time). At least re their Crown series, they ask the community (also smart business).

And I don't have an Aragorn, so will happily buy this one. The sculpt looks OK. IMO a reasonable price for what u get these days. I haven't opened an ASMUS fig yet and not had a great time being amazed by the craftsmanship. Never got frosted over paying retail either; not when a company is (depending) giving me beautifully made diecast weapons and hand-sewn to-scale buttons. With multiple, screen-accurate costume layers AND extra accessories, depending. Like folks wanted a pipe with Thorin and we got the pipe.

ASMUS still has to make a profit (and survive, in a very trying time when folks are cutting back spending) or no more figs.

Good posting. While I may not have been entirely happy with the sculpt, all the time and effort that Asmus puts into these figures, the money they lose on just trying to satisfy customers has to get daunting. Their willingness to try to satisfy the most number of customers is beyond reproach, and they deserve to be the top of the industry — unlike HT, which even when people complain about them, they also continue to purchase.

 

[mitraheroe]

People always claim that companies need to make profit in order to survive... I never doubted it, but my point is that greed can make you loose credibility in the global market - a simple lesson of economy. Look what HT did: they increased the price to such an extent that now people are gladly looking into new directions. The same with Blitzway, etc... ASMUS is doing very well so far offering good quality for reasonable prices (considering, of course, that the price of LOTR license will never be the same as Star Wars for example)
Which lead us to the Aragorn question. I think that they need such popular releases in order to make some profit, which could lead eventually to release minor characters. 200 USD for the standard version is a reasonable amount, even with some drawbacks (the main for me: the non-clothed boots). However, nearly 300 USD for the extended edition is insane, and it reminds to what Hot Toys is doing in greater scale. I was going to purchase the latter because of the diorama and headsculpt. Not beeing the headsculpt as good as we expected (let's admitted, it is about time for a decent real hair sculpt), I will strangely pass this time. I think they made a miscalculation (bad timing/bad market survey).
As for the chainmail, I have manipulated myself all three possible materials (Eomer/Elrond style, the new Aragorn style, and the real chainmail), and I have to say that, for the price, I do prefer the old Eomer way for being more realistic. This being said, real chainmail only on the visible parts could also be perfectly possible, adding let's say 50/60 USD to final price? Look at what Coomodel is doing and you will see my point.
My diagnosis is that ASMUS want to give us a new Aragorn product because they know it will sell, saving themselves for real game changers with the Crown line. I just hope they won't screw it then!

 

[Wor-Gar]

Looks like we will definitely revisit the head, they are more promotions coming up in the next week or two, but just want you guys to know that revisit to the head sculpt will take place

Asmus as a company continues to amaze. And that's a great thing!