dfchang
Super Freak
Got it in and I'm pretty happy with it. Two of the bigger and more pricey grails from the original Sideshow Weta line were the Balrog and Cave Troll. Now, years and years later we are gifted with the Balrog Demon of Shadow and Flame and this War Troll in armor. I'm grateful for the opportunity and in all honesty these newer versions are probably equal to if not superior to the classics if seen through non-nostalgic glasses.
My main gripes are:
1. Price escalation. I know it's been 15 years but these pieces were 300 dollars back in the day and now this War Troll is 1K?? I like Weta's stuff but in this day and age where the competition in the collectibles market is FIERCE, it's hard to justify these prices. There must be some HARD CORE international collectors who are buying these because the prices are disproportionately high in my opinion.
2. Plastic helm. This is a MAJOR complaint which also crosses over to their new mini-helms. As a mini helm completionist I'm obviously ecstatic they are going back to the line and filling in some of the major holes from the original releases. But the plastic material feels cheap, is completely weightless, and is outrageous when you consider they are charging triple price of the old mini helms. One of the coolest things about the mini-helms in the first place that got me collecting them was the fact that they are all metal. At least give us polystone if metal is prohibitively expensive or impossible for whatever reason. The way it is, the plastic material creates situations where even the illusion of reality is lost because some of the parts are flexible and look bent out of shape. They look like toys you can pick up at Target not high end movie collectibles. I would have gladly paid double to keep the metal material intact.
3. Pose. it's pretty top heavy guys. Maybe it's just my piece but I'm fearful the thing is going to lean and topple over time. Hope this isn't an issue. I wish they a had made the troll lean just a little less severe.
Overall I'm satisfied with it but I can't see myself buying too many Weta products when taking into account cost-value. I'm still a mini-helm completionist but the change in materials with the increase in price is really leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
My main gripes are:
1. Price escalation. I know it's been 15 years but these pieces were 300 dollars back in the day and now this War Troll is 1K?? I like Weta's stuff but in this day and age where the competition in the collectibles market is FIERCE, it's hard to justify these prices. There must be some HARD CORE international collectors who are buying these because the prices are disproportionately high in my opinion.
2. Plastic helm. This is a MAJOR complaint which also crosses over to their new mini-helms. As a mini helm completionist I'm obviously ecstatic they are going back to the line and filling in some of the major holes from the original releases. But the plastic material feels cheap, is completely weightless, and is outrageous when you consider they are charging triple price of the old mini helms. One of the coolest things about the mini-helms in the first place that got me collecting them was the fact that they are all metal. At least give us polystone if metal is prohibitively expensive or impossible for whatever reason. The way it is, the plastic material creates situations where even the illusion of reality is lost because some of the parts are flexible and look bent out of shape. They look like toys you can pick up at Target not high end movie collectibles. I would have gladly paid double to keep the metal material intact.
3. Pose. it's pretty top heavy guys. Maybe it's just my piece but I'm fearful the thing is going to lean and topple over time. Hope this isn't an issue. I wish they a had made the troll lean just a little less severe.
Overall I'm satisfied with it but I can't see myself buying too many Weta products when taking into account cost-value. I'm still a mini-helm completionist but the change in materials with the increase in price is really leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
