Life after WETA -- Better than Ever!!!

[kierbaudy]

The only thing I ask of Sideshow is quality control! The poor paint jobs on some like theoden, boromir, helm's deep really hurt weta and sideshow. The 1/4 PF's will be amazing I'm sure, but no dumbing down of materials for the shipped version and no screwups with the paint job.

 

[joogle]

I for one would like to see a video or real user pics of the item to see if they are better than weta.

I absolutely am not a fan of the "accesories" with the hands -- considering it makes me think of it like a action figure, plus considering how the seems on the wolverine was shown don't know if it's any good.

 

[RodLonghi]

For those who collect the 1/4 scale pieces this new line came at the right time. For me who collect 1/6 pieces, and only statues, not mixed media stuff, I will keep loyal to Weta. The Weta LOTR line was responsible for my movie's statue-hobby, and there are lots of older pieces that I've missed to hunt, and plus will there be a 1/4 Cave Troll ? will there be a horse and rider series ? The line will be so big with so many character options ? I don't think so.

 

[screamingmetal]

Everyone go watch your Gollum DVD...

And re-appreciate your Weta pieces.

Sideshow's line is very nice. But, the Weta line broke the barrier and put Sideshow on the "Collecting Map" in my opinion. Like I said before....before the Weta line I never even heard of Sideshow.

They are different pieces...

Both are great in their own way. But, for me the Weta line will always be the standard.

I know it's your opinion, but Sideshow has been on the collecting map before they ever did the Weta statues. It's the complete opposite, Most people never heard of Weta before the LOTR movies, But Sideshow has been known for years by collectors since they started the 6" Universal Monsters line and the 12" line, which predates the LOTR Movies.

Weta do not sculpt or create human faces. They sculpt creatures. This is why you will not find a bad sculpt of a creature in the Weta line, but some of the human likenesses could have been better. Sideshow is more of a company who do human likenesses. For me, the likeness does not have to be spot on for me to like something.

You obviously don't know Sideshow, They've done more Monster head sculpts then ordinary Human Faces, it's what they specialize in. They also don't have a perfect track record with Human head sculpts, But they do with the monster ones. I've never seen anyone complain that Sideshow got a monster head sculpt wrong or imperfect, but I've seen a large share of complaints about the human head sculpts.

Maybe all this Weta Hype is because they're a special effects house that does Collector items on the side, earning them more prestige. But lets not forget that Sideshow also started out as a special effects house. In fact I think most if not all of Sideshow's sculptors have worked in the Special Effects industry in one way or another. Weta may have been directly involved in the LOTR movies but that doesn't mean they can sculpt a great statue.

 

[FrodoEyes]

It's not just Agent, but most of us here had never heard of Sideshow before. The only Sideshow I knew was the one in the Simpsons. True, I had never heard of Weta before either, it was LOTR that put them on the map.
But why are we fighting over this? Aren't we all just LOTR fans? Can't we all just.....get along?

I'm still waiting to be impressed by the human characters when I see them....just looking at the Star Wars PF's of the human characters, they really don't impress me.....they look wooden....the hands don't look real....so I think people should wait until they see the lotr human PF's before they start raving how superior this line is or how bad the Weta one was. And if new PF fans start coming on board and taking swipes at Weta and the paint jobs, I'd say Sideshow are likely to use the same painters for these pieces.

I'm impressed by Lurtz, and if every other PF figure is every bit as good, I'm going to have a VERY hard time in resisiting them all. If I like them, I will collect them and enjoy them, but I would never turn around and say "Weta sucks! PF will blow everything Weta ever did out of the water! Weta is lame!"
I doubt Sideshow would produce a Cave Troll, a Balrog, a Ringwraith on Steed etc which would be anywhere near as good as the Weta ones, if they even attempt to do them at all.

 

[FrodoEyes]

Maybe all this Weta Hype is because they're a special effects house that does Collector items on the side, earning them more prestige. But lets not forget that Sideshow also started out as a special effects house. In fact I think most if not all of Sideshow's sculptors have worked in the Special Effects industry in one way or another. Weta may have been directly involved in the LOTR movies but that doesn't mean they can sculpt a great statue.

And that's where you're missing the point. Weta aren't JUST an effects company. That part is Weta Digital, which was added onto the Weta Workshop side thanks to PJ. The sculptors who made these statues actually sculpted creatures and places for the film, and now they've turned to doing those same sculptures, but for US to collect. That's why many people like the Weta authenticity. As Peter Jackson says on the Gollum dvd, "So the person who sculpted Gollum for the film sculpted his statue".

 

[Mithrandier]

As far as LOTR, only WETA for me. Unless the 1/4 scale Gandalf is amazing, I will finish out my collection of LOTR with WETA and be done with it. They can change my mind though.

 

[darkknight-nyc]

Not interested in the PF versions, unless they come out with a 48"+ Sauron or a Morgul Lord . Maybe. I'll buy them.