PETITION FOR FRODO RESCULPT!!!

[Vizcad]

I thought i'd start a little thread with a big Idea!!! I think we (being Sideshow freaks and huge supporters of the company) our voices shoudl be heard and taken serious.
I understand everyones points of "positive comments" on the statue, but i believe for the amount of money we have invested and contemplating investing in the future, we should get likenesses alot closer than what we've just seen with Frodo. If we are going to invest in even just 9 figures (fellowship) Thats approx 4000 u.s. x 2000 of us thats 1 million dollars dont we deserve to have a say. I say we petition SIDESHOW right here by collecting as many posts as possible.
I believe for most collectors the likness is the most important.
SO I PLEAD FOR EVERYONE to make their voice heard.

I appreciate all the positive aspects on it, but lets make this even better.

I believe the future of the whole line depends on it.

Now start posting!!!!

 

[RoboDad]

While I can appreciate someone wanting to encourage or request that a sculpt be corrected, I think the idea that we are "investing" in Sideshow and that we therefore should have some kind of say in the process (beyond the voice that any customer should have) is really kind of silly. We aren't investing anything in Sideshow, we are buying products. If you don't like them and Sideshow won't correct them to your satisfaction, then by all means, don't buy it.

As far as your petition goes, I respectfully decline to be included, since I am happy with the sculpt as it is.

 

[Bodie The Cursed]

*farts on hand*

*sniffs fingers*

*offers fingers to Viscad for a sniff*

 

[JohnyBoo]

Bodie for President!!!!!!!

 

[tomandshell]

I wasn't going to post in this thread until Bodie made me squirt milk out my nose!!



Vizcad, I admire your ethusiasm, but we're not stockholders. Our best form of protest is not to buy. This is the PF Frodo. If we don't like it, we don't have to purchase it.

 

[elwood49]

If we are going to invest in even just 9 figures (fellowship) Thats approx 4000 u.s. x 2000 of us thats 1 million dollars dont we deserve to have a say.

A little "fuzzy math" in your calculations there? I don't even understand where those numbers came from or what the're supposed to mean. 4,000 x 2,000 certainly does't equal 1,000,000.

I agree with what Robo said. You're not "investing" in the company. You're buying figures/statues. If you don't like it, then don't buy it. A resculpt certainly isn't necessary. I would at least wait for actual shots of the product before calling for a full scale resculpt.

 

[creecher]

Perfection is a myth to be striven for. Not necessarily to be obtained.

 

[Agent23]

If you don't like it. Don't buy it. (I'm not...)

Simple enough right?

 

[Seretur]

I'm not getting it either, but then again I wouldn't like to be in the skin of those who thought that the PF line would be their chance of getting a better Fellowship than the one Weta produced, and who ended up being disappointed with its first member.

Of course they can choose not to buy, but then that would mean letting that entire PF Fellowship dream go bust. I can imagine how disappointing it must feel.

 

[Wetanut]

We forget in our enthusiasm that we're not the only ones who collect these pieces. There's a big world out there and not all collectors are members of this board. And not all of the members of this board necessarily agree that Frodo -- or any other piece -- needs that kind of overhaul. I'd like to think that we represent a very small (albeit very vocal sometimes) portion of the collecting world.

In reading many of the posts, I sense a feeling from some that because we're customers, we have the right to abuse and demean. What happened to good manners? Why not try to remember that a talented human being with pride in his/her skills labored for hours/days/weeks/months on a piece...even if it may not be up to my personal expectations. If, after the piece comes out and I'm still dissatisfied, then I use my ultimate weapon....my pocketbook. I don't like -- I don't buy.

Goes back to lurking.

 

[LOTRFan]

We forget in our enthusiasm that we're not the only ones who collect these pieces. There's a big world out there and not all collectors are members of this board. And not all of the members of this board necessarily agree that Frodo -- or any other piece -- needs that kind of overhaul. I'd like to think that we represent a very small (albeit very vocal sometimes) portion of the collecting world.

In reading many of the posts, I sense a feeling from some that because we're customers, we have the right to abuse and demean. What happened to good manners? Why not try to remember that a talented human being with pride in his/her skills labored for hours/days/weeks/months on a piece...even if it may not be up to my personal expectations. If, after the piece comes out and I'm still dissatisfied, then I use my ultimate weapon....my pocketbook. I don't like -- I don't buy.

Goes back to lurking.

A fine post, worthy reading for every member here!

 

[Seretur]

And I perfectly agree with that, Rumi!

Good thing I'm not into the PF completeness, though.

 

[Agent23]

I agree Wetanut. I'm not gonna sit here and bash the heck out of the pice...it's just not for me. End of story on my part.

I'm happy for those that do like it, and are getting it.

 

[jdonoho]

Maybe should've been done a la Gentle Giant with some scans...they've been turning out pretty nice human pieces lately. Maybe not perfect, but I must say they look a lot closer to the actor than the Frodo piece does currently.

 

[Vizcad]

What the hell are some of you saying? I dont understan. Am i missing something here? "We are not shareholders?" We are the customers and we should mean more than shareholders....and if you are satisfied with sup par sculpts at eye gouging prices then go for it, i was trying to make a statement thast in my opinion has validity. Go read everyones reaction in the FRODO"S UP thread. 4000 x 2000 is in fact 8,000,000 dollars and was a typo.....and to the person with the finger sniffing comment why dont you shove them right up your ass!!!!

 

[DarkArtist81]

I agree.... it's a simple decision.. do I pay my hard earned cash for this collectible? DO I like it enough to drop a quarter grand? In my case, no I don't. I was a little excited at the prospect, and the lower price of a smaller PF.. But, the head sculpt was not what I expected.

Someone out there will like it, someone will buy it. And one day... if I change my mind... I might end up buying it too.

But demanding a new sculpt be done would be wrong and borderline disrespectful to the artist. It's very difficult to create an accurate likeness with any art, I know that because I draw movie covers for people all the time.. (mostly tattoo designs... but I digress...) It's harder than it looks.

At least they gave it a valiant effort, and it turned out great for the most part... No need to try again. Just make a choice and go with it... It's still the most accurate Frodo out there, regardless....

 

[Morris Fletcher]

This thread is a little off-base, but to me it kind of does beg the question: how hard is it to actually do a resculpt, or a tweaking of the sculpt? For example, IMO this Frodo really only needs revised, and bigger hair. The paint job is another issue.

Basically, once we see it, is it set in stone?

Yes. Maybe collectors ARE too picky, maybe they ARE too obsessive.

But if you're asking collectors to pay a significant amount of money for these pieces in the first place, don't you kind of exclude everyone BUT the picky and/or obsessive?

And that said, I am curious about the approval process for ANY Sideshow piece. Is the sculptor left to their own devices, trusted to make something quality, or is there a system by which tweaks and adjustments are suggested during the sculpting itself? What amount of influence on the final piece comes from the actors or property rights holders?

I know that we are dealing with artists here (and truly excellent ones at that) but even the best artists need outside perspective--seeing what you're not seeing. Especially with the portrait sculpts which involve so much small detail and so much nuance.

And as we've seen on several occasions recently, even the fan community is a great source of information and perspective on some of these pieces.

As an example, the Mace Windu sculpt would be unquestionably more accurate with larger eyes, and that is something that should be caught during the sculpting, not shortly before a pre-order goes up. And in turn, sales would be higher, not only because of an improved piece, but also considering how ubiquitous customizing has become in the last several years. Mace Windu suddenly becomes "SLJ sculpt that could be used for Jules or Shaft or Nick Fury," where now it's merely Mace Windu, the character.

It would be different if these weren't presented as "Authentic Likeness, etc." but since they are explicitly marketed as such, the bar is held quite high.

That all said (sorry for the long post), I don't sign this petition, but am curious to know how that would or could play out all the same.

 

[daelith]

The sculptor might have spent tons of hours on it, but I don't see the harm in starting a petition. Would it really benefit Sideshow to have lousy sales? Let's assume that everybody just doesn't care enough to sign the petition (I really don't expect Sideshow to do anything about it) and they end up with lousy sales. Is that really better than someone starting a petition to let them know that *perhaps* there are a signicant number of people who are disappointed in the sculpt? It's no different than a movie production where fans chime in on who should be casted etc. At worst, Sideshow looks at it and says "interesting." I for one do not think it's silly; to me, it's just another avenue of saying the same thing that non-buyers are saying--you're not happy with it.

As for whether consumers should be part of the process, it seems to work fine for Bowen--and even my software company, where we get petitions all the time for features, etc.

 

[Customikey]

A petition is just a list of names, lacking in specificity with regards to the perceived problem. I prefer to do what we are already doing: offering constructive critiques based on what we've been shown. It's easy enough to submit a list of people who think the sculpt is less than stellar, but evberyone has a different opinion on HOW the sculpt is lacking. No signage for me.

 

[The Josh]

We forget in our enthusiasm that we're not the only ones who collect these pieces. There's a big world out there and not all collectors are members of this board. And not all of the members of this board necessarily agree that Frodo -- or any other piece -- needs that kind of overhaul. I'd like to think that we represent a very small (albeit very vocal sometimes) portion of the collecting world.

In reading many of the posts, I sense a feeling from some that because we're customers, we have the right to abuse and demean. What happened to good manners? Why not try to remember that a talented human being with pride in his/her skills labored for hours/days/weeks/months on a piece...even if it may not be up to my personal expectations. If, after the piece comes out and I'm still dissatisfied, then I use my ultimate weapon....my pocketbook. I don't like -- I don't buy.

Goes back to lurking.

Outstanding Rumi!! Couldn't have said it better myself.