I think it would be base relief yes. Not like the wall plaques.

I got an email from my family that my Rivendell arrived on Friday!!! Unfortunately, i won't be home for another 10 days...can't wait to open it up.

Got mine last Friday as well, great piece but mine has a few issues I'm still trying to sort out with Weta.

Hope Weta fixes things soon, N2Darkness.

I haven't gotten charged yet. I emailed WETA yesterday and they said the next shipment to the US would be in late January. The initial shipment here was just 60 pieces. Anyway, I don't have to worry about it hitting my credit card before Christmas!

Don't forget to post some pics guys

Yeah, I must be at the bottom of the list too, but that's ok. Like Olorin said, that's one visa charge I don't want before xmas.

N2, what issues did your sculpture have? Chipped paint or broken off parts?

Here is my post from over on the Weta board.

Well I got my Rivendell today #59/300 and with out any shipping notification either - already email Weta about that. Overall a very good piece. Very heavy at 25lbs and a little difficult to unpack due to the 3 bolts on the bottom of the base, glad they have them as you wouldn't want it to break during shipping. Colors seems to be a little more muted than in the pics and the roof seems a little more pink or more pronounced than the pics as well. I also have a little issue with one of the buildings not being centered and you'll see the picture, not sure if its worth the hassle on returning but will see how others turn out.





And the issue I was talking about.


And the limited edition print, and now I know why they never showed us before, nothing I would have framed.

And some more pic.

Here is a size comparison shot with some other environments



and another shot of the issue, this one shows the large space between the base and the building. After studying it for awhile now I'm not sure it could have been adjusted or not. I'll send some pics to Darren on Monday and see what they have to say, but I'm really curious to know how others have turned out as well.

Wow, those are some impressive photos and it really gives a good idea of what we'll be getting. I'm not surprised the colours are a little more muted than the prototype photos as this seems to be a common issue with all Weta statues, old and new. I do notice that the colours really come alive in the close-up shots as the flash brings them out, so I wonder if they photograph their prototypes with some special lighting which makes it look like the colours should be more vibrant overall, but then are not as much under normal lighting?

As for the gap under that building, that's pretty annoying. Nothing you can't fix with some modelling putty, touch-up paint, and a healthy dose of patience, but the point here is that you shouldn't have to. For the amount of money being paid for this, their Q&A dept. should have caught this. If this is a recurring problem with other people's statues, then they should stop shipping them out until the issue is resolved. For now, anyone else that has that problem should contact them and complain so that they are aware this is not a unique case.

I solved my credit card problems with Weta a week ago and I'm supposed to be in the first 60 shipping to the U.S. However, I haven't gotten a shipping confirmation and I'm getting worried. If it's not here Wednesday they're getting another email from me. I was charged for it, by the way.

OMG, OMG, it is stunning! I hadn't looked at the prototype pictures in a while, but I'd say the colors on the production model are vivid, certainly no less vivid than they should be...and maybe a little too vivid. I never realized the tops of the towers were green, or the roofs were terra cotta. I'm going to have to go put in my BD and have a look. My recollection is that the colors in the movie were more muted.

However, none of that is meant to detract from what is an unbelievable piece. Paintwise, this is worlds above the quality of the pieces that Sideshow was cranking out. On the vexing misalignment problem, I agree with Val. It is something that a person could fix, but for $400 it should be absolutely perfect. Keep us posted, N2, on what you hear from them.

Now I have to start thinking in earnest about where I am going to put mine when it arrives.

Oh, and as a footnote, that "limited edition print" doesn't appear to be worth the paper it's printed on, unless it looks a whole lot better in person. I knew roughly what it was supposed to be, but it failed to meet even my low e xp ectations for it. Now, if I'd been planning this and were offering a print to go along with this, it would have been one of the following, in decreasing order of preference.

1. Tolkien's original Rivendell watercolor from The Hobbit
2. Ted Naismith's Rivendell painting
3. Alan Lee's Rivendell painting
4. A Rivendell image from the movie

Of course, no one consulted me, so we have what we have....

Mine came today and I LOVE it!!! I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the bolts holding it in the styrofoam, but it is beautiful. Mine is #50. I've taken several pictures today, some inside in the cabinet it will be displayed in, some outside in natural light, and some from my kitchen table. In none of these was a flash used.

More:

and more:

Great pictures! Number 45 arrived safe and sound here today. I haven't had a chance to inspect it or even get it out all the way (still trying to figure that out), but mine looks great. I'll take some pictures and put them up in the near future.

Excellent pics, Arwyniel.

Well, I can tell from your photos that the issue N2 has with that one building does not appear to be a unique problem, unfortunately. I can clearly see the gap that separates the building's foundation from the base of the hill although it does not seem quite as pronounced on yours as it was on his. On the flip side, he posted a close-up of that area and yours is a bit further away. On that same building, the two tower steeples above the stone archway through which the river flows appear to be ill-fitted to the base as well. You can clearly see the gaps.

I'm hoping that these are issues we can all live with in general, but I'm starting to fear for the overall quality of this piece insofar as fitting all the pieces of this complicated sculpture together. Kinda sucks for me because I'm one of those perfectionist types that lets these little niggling flaws gnaw away at me.

I've gotten mine out and set it up. Mine has that problem too, but it's very small and only on the left side of the archway in one spot. It's barely noticable, much smaller than the gap on N2's piece. It doesn't bother me at all, really.

Thank you!
The flaws really aren't that bad. The individual buildings and such are sooo small and these photos magnify everything. On a personal note, I kind of wish that they kept the river flowing out to the base underneath the main bridge.

[quote=""Arwyniel""]On a personal note, I kind of wish that they kept the river flowing out to the base underneath the main bridge.[/quote]

Hadn't noticed that. Yeah, it does seem kind of silly/odd that they didn't bother with making the water go all the way to the main bridge.

the piece looks magnificent... makes me wish I had the 400 extra bucks laying around back then to order one, but I am happy that my first WETA piece is coming in May-ish.

I guess I must not have logged yesterday when I made my post, but whatever.
I had mentioned how much I liked all the photos you had posted Arwyniel, especially the outdoor shots. I'd like to see this piece photographed with the National Park in Croatia as a back drop.

[quote=""Thranduil""]I guess I must not have logged yesterday when I made my post, but whatever.
I had mentioned how much I liked all the photos you had posted Arwyniel, especially the outdoor shots. I'd like to see this piece photographed with the National Park in Croatia as a back drop.[/quote]

Thanks! I'd be more than happy to make that happen if you are willing to send me, lol.

Hey, I might still be going there next summer so I may take my Rivendell with me... lol.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Hey, I might still be going there next summer so I may take my Rivendell with me... lol. [/quote]
I thought about your possible trip there, but obviously knew you wouldn't be risking nor lugging that 25 lb beast over there.

However, you can shoot some photos that are intended to create the back drop and photoshop them together.

The pictures look real good. I've had mine on pre-order for a while now (not one of the numbered editions) I can't wait to get it!

[quote=""Thranduil""]I guess I must not have logged yesterday when I made my post, but whatever.
I had mentioned how much I liked all the photos you had posted Arwyniel, especially the outdoor shots. I'd like to see this piece photographed with the National Park in Croatia as a back drop.[/quote]

Genius idea Thranduil! That place is on my list of places to go before I die!

TORN has posted a review of the piece.

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/12 ... more-51226

Most notable to me is the information that the roofs are done with decals, not paint. I wondered how on earth they could have done that intricate design...and now I know.

Well, mines going back and getting a refund. No option for a replacement and from what I've seen most will have some sort of issue. If you like to look at your collectibles from a distance than this is the one for you.

Truly sorry to hear that, N2, and it makes me very worried for the quality of my as-yet to ship sculpture.

Would you care to share your e xp erience with us insofar as dealing with their customer service? How did they respond to your concerns, and was there any acknowledgment of your problem or were you simply brushed off with a "Don't like it? We don't care. Just return it."

Also, when you say no option for a replacement, is that coming from your own choice as you feel you will just get another flawed piece or did they outright deny you that option? I'm guessing nothing is stopping you from ordering a new one (aside from your bad e xp erience, of course) but then it would be an open edition one as opposed to the numbered ones, right?

Obviously you don't have to answer any of this, but it would be informative and even helpful if more of us are going to be faced with this dilemma in the near future.

It's distressing to think that for $400 US, people might get a piece that is less than perfect. When Sideshow was doing the pieces, we came to e xp ect that. But since Weta is doing these under their own name, you'd think they'd exercise tighter quality control. Of course, the sheer fact that their apparently shipping these things in batches of 60, which is very small, indicates the amount of time consumed in hand-painting them. I think the Sideshow pieces only got walked through a room where someone was swinging an airbrush around, in terms of their paintjob.

[quote=""Olorin""]TORN has posted a review of the piece.

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/12 ... more-51226

Most notable to me is the information that the roofs are done with decals, not paint. I wondered how on earth they could have done that intricate design...and now I know.[/quote]

Thank you for posting the review! The price compared to the size and intricacy of this environment has me willing to accept a little less than perfection. I'm still big time looking forward to getting mine.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Truly sorry to hear that, N2, and it makes me very worried for the quality of my as-yet to ship sculpture.

Would you care to share your e xp erience with us insofar as dealing with their customer service? How did they respond to your concerns, and was there any acknowledgment of your problem or were you simply brushed off with a "Don't like it? We don't care. Just return it."

Also, when you say no option for a replacement, is that coming from your own choice as you feel you will just get another flawed piece or did they outright deny you that option? I'm guessing nothing is stopping you from ordering a new one (aside from your bad e xp erience, of course) but then it would be an open edition one as opposed to the numbered ones, right?

Obviously you don't have to answer any of this, but it would be informative and even helpful if more of us are going to be faced with this dilemma in the near future. [/quote]

Here is my reply from Weta.


Hi Andrew,

Thank you for your patience while we have looked into this.

We have examined your photo's and we can see the issues you're referring to, but we personally feel - considering the complexity of the piece and the fact that there's no such thing as a perfect piece [with all pieces having minor imperfections] - that the issues are relatively minor, and acceptable within the context of variances we e xp ect to see from Rivendell to Rivendell.

We respect the fact that your view on the matter may differ to ours, and appreciate that you need to be happy with the Rivendell you have. This being the case, we are happy to provide you with a full refund if you do decide you'd prefer to return the item to us.

Please let me know your thoughts, Andrew.

Cheers,
Darren

I've had previous issues with pieces from Weta and they are usually very good with customer service but, this time it seems that don't want to deal with this issue and deem it "OK" due to size and complexity of this environment. I truly believe that all of these will have some sort if issue with them and it will be up to you to decide if its worth the money to you, and in my case it wasn't

N2, is Weta going to pay the return shipping cost?
And are they going to include the original shipping cost as part of your refund?

Imo they should pay/refund all shipping cost for a defective product (even if they consider the defect "acceptable" , it's still a defect.)

Thanks for posting that letter, N2.

I really do feel that's a bad move on their part. I'm figuring they think most people won't bother to go through the hassle of returning something that big and heavy and will have to swallow whatever issues they have. Still, for what is surely e xp ected to be a very low return rate, they should have been a little more considerate and offered a replacement that is free of flaws. What they are basically saying with this is that they cannot guarantee, neither you or anyone else, that their products won't have defects. It also seems that their opinion as to what constitutes a major flaw is very different from the average person because judging from the photos N2 posted, that building is very badly seated onto the base, creating a glaring problem that anyone admiring the piece can spot in a second.

P.S. - They should definitely refund your shipping costs both ways. If they don't, I would consider hanging onto the piece a while longer, then putting it up on ebay. As a numbered piece, you might be able to recoup all of your e xp enses that way.

This is very disturbing. From what I can tell from others photos of their Rivendell's, N2D's is so far offset that you can see into the base.
But what is far worse is that the prototype they used to "Sell" you buyers with, it's not right at all.
From what I can tell in those marketing images, there is no flat showing at all; The steep ground flows right into the building with no step (flat area).

I think I'd rather receive it as a model I need to assemble myself. I haven't built any models since I was a kid, but at least the pieces fit together. And for $400? Are you kidding, this thing is a disgrace.

It's very sad to see that Weta gave the response they gave. Sad indeed.

[quote=""N2darkness""]If you like to look at your collectibles from a distance than this is the one for you.[/quote]

That's me! I'll be keeping mine. Granted, yours had a bigger gap then mine does, but I can sit down in my chair and look over at a masterpiece. It looks awesome on my shelves, and I don't sit anywhere near it to be able to see the finer details. And I can tell you that I don't scrutinize every piece in my collection everytime I walk into the room. It doesn't really bother me.

I hope they pay your shipping costs, though. That's a lot to swallow.

I've finally been contacted by Weta with the news that a new shipment has arrived at the US warehouse and that my payment would be processed next week, followed by shipment.

Crossing both sets of fingers that this thing arrives with the least amount of defects possible.

[quote=""Valkrist""]I've finally been contacted by Weta with the news that a new shipment has arrived at the US warehouse and that my payment would be processed next week, followed by shipment.

Crossing both sets of fingers that this thing arrives with the least amount of defects possible. [/quote]

Ditto....I just got my notification too.

I almost canceled my order after reading N2's post, but I decided to wait and see what my Riv actually looks like.
If it has minimal and/or unobtrusive defects I'll probably keep it.

If the defects are more than I can tolerate, I will either return it or (more likely) sell it for what I paid for it (plus added shipping costs).

I got the message also, which asked me to contact my credit card to alert them so they don't decline it. I did that and they said they'd be happy to put a note on my account, but they'd probably still call me when the charge comes in anyway.

I went through the credit card mess with this one, it's a good idea to make sure. It was my bank that stopped the transaction actually.

Yeah, Weta's email did have a recommedantion that I contact Visa and have them notified that this transaction is going to occur. I called my card company and they said the same thing, that they would put a note on my account and there should be no problems.

I wonder why this is an issue with Weta. I've done tons of online transactions before, though granted most have their point of origin in Canada or the US. I can see how Visa might get jittery if suddenly a charge appears originating in New Zealand, but I've travelled before without notifying Visa ahead of time, then used my card overseas, and never had a transaction declined. I wonder if this issue is particular to Weta itself that they have to warn people, the remoteness of New Zealand, or just Visa being zealous?

I think it's a combination of NZ being so remote plus the thing being a bit pricey. If you bought a CD from NZ, they wouldn't blink because it would only be like $20, but a $400 collectible is something else....

Yeah I think it's the price. When I bought Gollum from Weta I had no problem, but he cost $65. You buy something for $400 and suddenly they're paying a tad bit more attention.

Good banks and credit cards watch for unusual purchases, one time someone got my debit card number and spent about 600 dollars worth of "adult webcam chat websites" and my bank knew I didnt ever pay for stuff like that and they canceled my card # and gave me a call to check into it

Got the "payment has been processed" email from Weta, along with a call from Visa to ensure the transaction was legitimate. All is well and Rivendell should be on its way very soon.

I got an email from Weta, long story short, I have them a mishmash card # that was a combination of my Visa and Discover, due to the card fraud problems I had last fall. I've sent them the correct # now, so hopefully all will be well soon.