Hey Ryan - superb vid as ever!! And really appreciate the shout out my mate!! Happy 2023 to you dude 👍🏻

Speaking as someone who works in the toy/collectible industry; given the complex nature of the Balrog's design, going with a single mold for production would've been very difficult for the factory to achieve and thus mean Asmus would either have to pay their contracted factory more to accomplish the task, or find a different, more expensive factory to work with. The molding process is always the most expensive part of development and production, so that's always where companies will try to save money - this is doubly true for a smaller company like Asmus. With that in mind, I'm thinking they had to mold his limbs separately in order to save on production costs, and then decided to market it as an 'action figure' in order to explain the odd articulation where the different pieces connected. That said, some masking and matte spray with an airbrush will tame the shine, and I'd be inclined to give the base a dark wash as well to give it some visual depth and bring out the sculptural detail.

This is such Masterpiece Love this channel keep up the amazing work

I can’t believe the shipping cost???? That is outrageous. I love your honest opinions in your reviews. I’ve also been waiting a long time for this Balrog, but after your video I’m not sure it’s worth it. Great video as always, can’t wait for your next one!

Thanks for the great video! You can always count on Asmus toys to drop the ball as usual

It’s nice to see you almost at 2K subs! Wasn’t that long ago when you hit 1K, keep up the great videos!

I think the coolest Balrog sculpture ever made is the first one made at the weta workshop. Currently, it is rare and very expensive, and it is very difficult to obtain, and the size is very small, so I do not want to own it, but if weta increases the size and sells it again, it will be the best Balrog. Asmus' balrog is also a nice shape, but it has a strong toy look. I always enjoy watching your videos.

Thanks for the review - this will be very helpful to others considering this! Meanwhile, in very happy with my Classic Series Balrog 😊

Thanks for the honest review. Now I saw in BBTS $110. I may buy and make Diorama for him. Thank you for review.

I am glad I found this comprehensive video on the balrog. I am wanting a good display worthy maquette/figure as well...and this isn't it! Great work...I really enjoy your content.

Ridiculous that they charged that much & it's such a disappointment. Thank you for saving us the money.

Man that’s unfortunate that it was so much different from the original pictures that they had shown. I’m super excited for you to get the P1 Gandalf with that Balrog Base though because that one looks phenomenal!

Well this is unexpected! Thanks for the unboxing and review! (Just finished watching the whole thing, oh man. Sorry to hear about the differences between the preorder and the actual product. We’ve all been there. Hope you’ll get the balrog you’re dreaming of one day! I’ve got the weta balrog classic series and the weta balrog bust and love em both!) Happy New Year!

Another great video Ryan and honest review. If that piece didn't cost so much it would be ripe for a custom piece just as someone else had already said. More reasons why I stick with statues and prop replicas. Hopefully you have some better luck with the next pieces!

Heat bottom of feet with hair dryer before inserting on the base.

Good review.

I highly recommend the sideshow weta balrog. Its a very old piece. But if you are not wanting to completely break the bank thats by far the best option. Looking at him now on my shelf beautiful statue. the only drawback is he doesn't have any if his weapons hes kinda just chilling. Love your channel.

The face discrepancies compared to the original LOTR movie Balrog made me steer clear of this figure. I ended up buying Weta's Classic Series Statue for this reason.

You just save me a bunch of money. It’s definitely very different from the early photographs which is very unfortunate because if they had been able to achieve what was in the photos, it would’ve been a home run.

Man you should have bought it in BBTS, it is 110 USD, shipping cost is not so high there

Thanks for the honest review. I’m surprised since Asmus has been nailing previous LOTR figures likenesses. I originally had the Flame of Udun statue from SIdeshow way back when. I seriously considered this but ultimately bought the Prime One EX Balrog v Gandalf and now am glad I didn’t go this route. I’ve been seeing other issues with production quality on not matching on some other non LOTR products from normally reputable companies **cough, cough…I’m looking at you Queen Studios

I got mine today from BBTS with the $4 shipping so like $120 total. Maybe not terrible for that price but overall a disappointment for the reasons you mentioned. Asmus wouldn't let me get my $20 back for the pre-order either so they've definitely lost any potential future business with me. I came to this video to see if the tail was supposed to be detached out of the box but it looks like mine broke during shipping. Hopefully I can get it put back on.

The gentle giant balrog is awesome. If you don't already have one I'd say you could get one at a decent price on ebay.

Another great video Ryan. Well done sir. Sorry you are, understandably, so unhappy with this Balrog. However, I'm sure you are handy enough to improve it, should you wish to do so e.g. pack the base with some filler, spray the balrog with a mat sealer and add some LEDs for the mane and whip. All of which I'm sure you are more than capable of doing. Give it a go and let us know how you get on. I'm sure it would be well worth doing, especially as you are so unhappy with it as it stands. Who knows, you may even end up loving the upgraded version and maybe even give it a 7 or 8 out of 10. Keep the videos coming, they are great.

Agree that it's too shiny. A coat of Krylon clear matte finish spay would fix that. Also fyi to anyone considering buying this, it's $110 at bigbadtoystore and shipping is only $4.

I'm really glad I didn't preorder this item. Regardless, sorry to hear that this purchase wasn't to you liking. Loving your videos 🫶🏻

You should check out the MASSIVE Neca Balrog. I still have mine.

Ya for the Balrog in my collection I have the Eaglemoss(large version) Balrog

Nice video, i'm not sure if i'm gonna order it or not but i'm gonna buy the witch-king of angmar on weta workshop 👍👍👍

Also try heating whip if it it not a hard ridged plastic.

It's 109 rn at bbts. I'm thinking of getting it as I always wanted a balrog. I do hate the shine though, do you have any recommendations for balrog figs that are not too expensive?

How hard do you think you had to press to get the whip into its hand? I just got mine today after it being pushed back almost three months lol and I’m worried about snapping something from pushing to hard

Have you seen the latest Inart pics of the 1/6 Aragon? It is perfection bro!!👌🏽👌🏽

Aw man, sorry that this balrog turned out so disappointing. It does look quite different from the promo pic. And what a jump in shipping cost compared to their other figures in this series. I appreciate your honest and respectful review though. Hopefully Weta will make another great balrog one day, so you and I can get our hands on one. I didn’t get the Weta classic series one because I didn’t really like the crouched pose.

I ordered mine last year December. If shipping cost like this from Asmus Toys I can't image how much Sideshow's can be.

Oof. BBTS has original price and $4.00 shipping. I’m assuming buying direct from Asmus end up being an overseas purchase. International shipping from Asia has absolutely exploded a crazy amount cost wise in the last two years.

Neca also made a good Balrog figure

I love all ur videos but could u please maybe consider getting Thorin Oakenshields regal sword?

Wow, Asmus really dropped the ball on this one...

Thanks for your video, I cancelled mine after watching it. Really disappointed. Truly I did not expect, what the differences between production photos and final result, what the shame. All statue companies saying that in final stage product details can be changed - size, weight , etc. but I did not expect kind of changes. Again thank you for saving my money.

Hi my balrog pose is different than yours don't know why

Get the Weta one Demon of shadow and flame he is absolutely amazing

This type of poor jointing reminds me of the "actionfigures" Neca did a long time ago. It they had left that gimmick off and be him a statue (I guess nobody would have been angry if they put him in the pose from the promos?), they probably could have kept their normal shipping costs. And everybody would be much happier. Oh well...

I think you should argue that shipping cost with them. That isn't right. :(

have you tried to contact them regarding the shipping cost ? maybe if you complain a bit, you could get a partial refund or a discount on your next purchase.

Don't forget the delay

You were robbed on this shipping cost. My giant MOTU Classics Castle Grayskull didn't cost that much and weighed far beyond this figure.

Personally I don't like any of the Asmus figures at all. To me they all look like Barbie dolls.... I did buy Lurtz however from them and at just $40 he was good but his shield was way off. This Balrog looks more like a kit to me. If I owned this one I would strip back all the paint.. pose and fill in the gaps...install an LED (its begging for it)...3d print a new hand with a sword fill the base with resin, repaint it with a mini Gandalf, and have a really nice figure...it's sculpted with a lot of detail and could be a really good model when it's finished. As it stands I just bought a 3d stl of a fantastic looking Balrog from RN and will be printing a large version of him... 50/50 if it's really worth doing tho as all the time and messing around would add up to this one anyways. Good video Cyber Hobbit, and happy new years.

Damn. No way to get your money back? I don't think someone can just charge whatever they like for shipping

I’d rather get the Weta Classic Series Balrog tbh

運費實在太貴了

Thanks for the video. Certainly not worth the very very long wait.

its a shame from asmus, their lurtz was a joke even for that price and the balrog is also very disapinting.they should stick to their 1/6 scale thing.

How very disappointing! It has the bones of a really good statue, but it has missed the mark significantly...I can recommend WETA's Classic Series Balrog, it scratched my demon of shadow and flame itch and is a very nice compact piece. Waiting to see what DarkSide do...

Awesome video as always. I'm sorry the figure is not what you expected and indeed to be honest is insufficient in general. Real disappointment!

Sculpt Is Amazing , but Gloss finish Paint Is terribile

thank you for your sacrifice i wont buy it

why would you order a 120 $ statue when they do far more realistic articulated figure?? i mean...this is clearly not one of their strong skill, they seems to do far better realistic action figure...

My God, final result and quality control are awful! What a letdown. It's ok for 100$ range, but definitely not for 200$+. Yeah, I could repaint, resculpt it and give it LEDs. But I'd better not buy at all.

Glad I didn't buy this. Looks bad