The lack of eye detail in 1/6 scale

Stryker2011 wrote:

Valiarde, that is hands down the best Viggo sculpt (even without the hair) — so apparently with the right talent, it isn’t impossible to get his likeness right.

So there is still hope for a Crown Aragorn
I sold my other Aragorn not so long ago.

If that Viggo sculpt had been more widely available, I'd have dropped everything and tried to save up to buy it, lol. But it seems like it was a very limited custom/commission, and I think Shane Poole mentioned that he'd only painted and haired seven of them all together.

Yeah I know some people who went full on "Quality" over "Quantity" and rather have 5 super expensive figures than 30 normal ones. But this is a personal thing, how much you are willing to pay for those last 5-10% on figures. And you can even get very high quality figures from some companies in mass production too. Like some Poptoys Samurais or Gandalf Crown etc.

I like both ways and if I have some favourite characters, I could also see me spent more on customizations for ithem.

Valiarde wrote:Yeah I know some people who went full on "Quality" over "Quantity" and rather have 5 super expensive figures than 30 normal ones. But this is a personal thing, how much you are willing to pay for those last 5-10% on figures. And you can even get very high quality figures from some companies in mass production too. Like some Poptoys Samurais or Gandalf Crown etc.

I like both ways and if I have some favourite characters, I could also see me spent more on customizations for ithem.

Yes, everyone has different collecting goals and preferences. Some people are content to collect everything 'as is'. Some people only want 'the best of the best' and pride themselves that theirs is the most unique, most realistic, most accurate, and most expensive custom ever made.

I guess I fall somewhere in-between... I like some official figures as they are, while also wanting to create various customs (both on my own and occassionally commissioning others for specific parts and pieces). The thing with me though is that I'm actually not interested in 100% accuracy or 100% realism on a surface level. I'd rather make a figure that has slightly inaccurate costume and accessories, or that maybe has some minor stylisation or artistic license, but which has captured the spirit of the character.

But yeah... everyone is in this hobby for different reasons. Some are in it specifically *because* they are obsessed with realism and thus want to push the hobby as far as it can go on that score. Which is admirable. But I have a limit... ultimately to me these are still collectible 'toys' and I'm ok with the idea that there's only so realistic they can actually look. ;p

Your preferences sound pretty much like my own. I like many figures "as is" but also like to do custom stuff to create my own figures (like Pizarro or pure fantasy chars) and I also paid money for custom parts/heads. Since I have so many interests, I ccouldn't even tell which 5 super mega expensive ultra figures I would choose, if you force me to decide on some.  

I'm also okay when my Knight figure doesn't have a sword made of iron from the 12th century or doesn't use a real wooden yew longbow.
But I have to admit, I do like realistic HS or some materials besides plastic/resin for equipment.   I think HS are the part that makes the most sense to spent money on, because it makes figures so much more realistic/likeable compare to basic heads.

Valiarde wrote:Your preferences sound pretty much like my own. I like many figures "as is" but also like to do custom stuff to create my own figures (like Pizarro or pure fantasy chars) and I also paid money for custom parts/heads. Since I have so many interests, I ccouldn't even tell which 5 super mega expensive ultra figures I would choose, if you force me to decide on some.  

I'm also okay when my Knight figure doesn't have a sword made of iron from the 12th century or doesn't use a real wooden yew longbow.
But I have to admit, I do like realistic HS or some materials besides plastic/resin for equipment.   I think HS are the part that makes the most sense to spent money on, because it makes figures so much more realistic/likeable compare to basic heads.

Aw, yeah, of course, attention to certain details and materials can definitely add a lot of life to a figure in its own right. But as you say, it's moreso that if I am making something myself and I can't make everything perfectly because it's beyond my skill (I'm not Hot Toys, I don't have certain tech at my disposal), then at least I'd want the head/face to be a certain way that conveys a strong sense of character. Ideally would be great to 'have it all', but I'm already struggling to afford this hobby now as it is, so sometimes one has to pick and choose their battles so to speak. ;p

Valiarde wrote:I'm also okay when my Knight figure doesn't have a sword made of iron from the 12th century or doesn't use a real wooden yew longbow.
But I have to admit, I do like realistic HS or some materials besides plastic/resin for equipment.   I think HS are the part that makes the most sense to spent money on, because it makes figures so much more realistic/likeable compare to basic heads.

My thoughts exactly.

Just looking on instagram when I found this from 357partment:




REally liking how the eyes look vibrant here. A good light source also can make a difference, but this one looks great and since we have many star wars fans on here, I thought i add it to the good examples thread here.

That's a great example, Valiarde!

Wow. That really does look great, Valiarde. Do we know what was done to it, exactly?

They just state:
sculpt = hottoys
repaint = 357partment

So I don't know, if they just repainted the eyes or also skin (i think they often do skin repaints, too)

To me it looks like the eyes were re-done, too. At the very least, there is some more shadow/different makeup around the eyes, but I also think the whites of the eyes look different than the Hot Toys factory style (the eye-whites are often more noticeably darker blue-grey with HT sculpts).

Whatever they did, it ended up phenomenal.