|
Packaging - Elrond ***; Balrog **1/2
Both boxes follow the standard pattern that has been set for the packaging
up to this point, although the Balrog has a slightly different color scheme
than most. The Balrog also lacks the handy window, probably due to his
enormous size, but it's still something that is sorely missed, especially if
you're buying these in store where you would want to see the bust in advance
of buying it.
As usual, both figures come with the baseball card style COA's.
Elrond is a limited edition of 2500, while the Balrog is a whopping 3000.
Sculpting - Balrog ***; Elrond **1/2
Perhaps I'm being a bit tough on these two, but hear me out.
Elrond is not a terrible sculpt, and I do like the design (more on that
in the later section). There's some wonderful detail work in the ring
holder base, and while the feature is fairly unnecessary, at least it
doesn't get in the way.
The head sculpt is mediocre at best. And Elrond (and
Hugo) isn't a pretty boy character, with difficult to capture features.
He has a very distinct appearance, with a jawline, nose, brow and forehead
that all set him apart. The head sculpt almost captures his look, and
it's not awful by any means, but it's not at the same level of quality as
their Gandalf, for example.
He also has a slack look to his face that doesn't really match the
character well. It's as though the muscles in his face are loose, and
Elrond has the kind of personality where he always has a hard set face, with
gritted jaw and furrowed narrow eyes. Here he looks...tired.
This bust is also hurt by a common problem with GG busts - the lack of
any texture on the clothing. They've actually gotten better about that
with some recent releases, but here all the clothing is the same smooth
resin. It loses reality points even on broad inspection.
The Balrog has much better small detail, and just like Elrond, I really
like the design. You can't fault them here for lack of texture or not
giving us an intricate sculpt, but two things bother me and bring the score
down.
First is the scale. Yes, we all knew it wouldn't be in scale with
the rest of the line, but the box this guy came in was about twice the size
of a regular GG box. That was there for all the extra padding though,
put in to protect the fragile wings. The bust itself (ignoring the
depth due to the long wings running out in back) is much, much smaller than
I expected, and is really going to look out of place with the rest of the
line.
The other problem is his pin head. Now, I realize that his wings
and body are going to be much larger than his head, but this guy does have a
bit of the puny noggin' thing going on, especially considering that even
with the horns it's tiny. The proportion of head to torso and wings
seems off, and is extremely noticable.
Paint - Balrog ***1/2; Elrond **1/2
One issue that the Balrog doesn't have is with paint. There's no
slop here, and GG did a terrific job of getting in lots of detail with very
few colors. The translucent plastic used for the various sections that
light up look great even in full daylight, and mess nicely with the resin
areas.
Elrond doesn't have any slop either, but the face paint doesn't do much
to counteract the slack appearance. The eyes lack life, and the lips
are too red for the skin tone. The color of the hair seems off as
well, although it's possible that the soft colors used in filming the movie
don't translate well. And perhaps the biggest issue - what's up with
those eyebrows? They are much longer and more 'human' in appearance
than I ever remember Elrond having. In the end, this bland paint job
does nothing to improve the overall appearance.
Design - ****
While I'm not thrilled with either sculpt, I do have to admit that the
designs were perfect choices. The Balrog is rising up to attack, mouth
wide, back in flames, and the huge wings are perfectly set for the body
pose.
Elrond is handing over the sword, a key moment for him and perhaps the
best choice for his pose. The sword itself is a separate piece that
simply sets in his hands, but it does so cleanly and with very little
effort. It's not likely to fall out either (unless you pick up the
bust without paying attention), and the hands and cloak were designed to
hold it nicely in place.
Features - Balrog ***1/2; Elrond **
While Elrond's feature takes a hit, the beauty of it is that it really
doesn't matter and won't effect the final score.
Elrond has the little ring drawer, which isn't particularly exciting for
me, but on the plus side, doesn't hurt the bust in any way either.
Balrog's light up feature was slightly disappointing, largely due to the
mouth. The back and shoulders light up great, but the bright light
tends to show seams and other defects in the mouth a little too clearly.
Still, considering the price point, I think they did a decent job.
Value - Balrog ***; Elrond **1/2;
Elrond runs the usual $40 - $45 depending on the retailer, and that's become
the norm for busts in this size and style.
Balrog is also running around $45 though, and while he's smaller than I
had hoped, he's just as large as the usual bust AND has the nifty light up
feature. It might not work perfectly, but it certainly ups the value
at this price point.
Things to Watch Out For -
Remember that the sword can drop out if you pick Elrond up!
Overall - Balrog ***1/2; Elrond **1/2
In the end, I liked the Balrog more the longer I looked at him. While
the scale is off, you can always put him far enough away from the other
mini-busts (or add in some AOME figures around him!) to avoid the issue,
which really only leaves the pin head problem. The wings and flames,
along with the terrific design, ended up winning me over.
Elrond didn't do quite as well. I do think they picked the perfect
design, but the final execution didn't live up to what we've come to expect
with the work we got on figures like Gandalf. I suspect he's going to
be one of those busts that is in the middle of the pack for most folks - not
the worst one they do for the overall line, but nobodies ultimate favorite
either.
Score Recap:
Packaging - Elrond ***; Balrog **1/2
Sculpt - Balrog ***; Elrond **1/2
Paint - Balrog ***1/2; Elrond **1/2
Design - ****
Value - Balrog ***; Elrond **1/2
Overall - Balrog ***1/2; Elrond **1/2
|
