The Argonath by Weta Workshop. My Product Review

My personal opinion on The Argonath Limited Edition Piece I received from Weta Workshop. I will start by saying that I am a long time fan of Weta and own many of their Statues and Environments. I think that they are the industry leader in regards to items produced from The Lord of The Rings and Hobbit Films. I started collecting Weta long after most of the main pieces were released which put me at the mercy of the secondary market values. On many occasions I was tempted to pay a premium for the original Argonath because for me it was such a great part of the movie. Wow was exactly what I said to myself when I viewed it for the first time. Like many others I was very excited when Weta announced they would be releasing a newer larger version. When it became available for pre-order I did not hesitate to purchase it. I received this quite some time ago and due to lack of space decided to leave it in the box. I read a few reviews posted to the online forum and received some thoughts from a friend who is also a collector and who's opinion I value. That brings me to this video. I opened the box with an open mind and wanting to love the piece. For the most part I do, I think most of the statue is well done and I fully understand that Weta does not produce these in New Zealand. There is a major flaw with the way this piece was Approved and Shipped to the Customers. Specifically where the water touches the base of the rocks, there is what can only be described as a sloppy caulked seam that had some rock colored paint slapped on it. This is very unfortunate as it does take away from the magic of the piece and I can not look at it without acknowledging that it exists. Weta outsources there products to be made overseas, at some point someone has to approve a sample or see this prior to being shipped to customers like myself and that is where I have trouble. I understand that stuff happens all the time in transit and things get broken, that is a topic for another time. Weta's name is on the box, this is Weta's design, Weta is paying the company to produce these on there behalf and someone from Weta has dropped the ball when it comes to quality control. The following quote is taken directly from The Argonath's product page on Weta's website. "It takes hundreds of hours to design, sculpt model make, mold and paint the prototype for each new Middle-Earth piece. Whether it be a prop replica, beautiful environment or iconic character, we treat our collectibles with the same level of care and attention to detail that we bring to our film work" end quote. I agree that the sculptors and paint work done on the prototypes are done really well, then you email the file overseas, collect a ton of deposits and turn a blind eye to the final product. If you keep up this trend you are going to lose at least one long term loyal customer (Me) because this piece is unacceptable and a slap in the face to Gary Hunts great piece that he worked so hard on.


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