The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey : Staff of Radagast the Brown

Vandalist
20/02/13
Gold Collector

A Detailed Review

I received this in the mail today and I thought I’d give... Read more.

I received this in the mail today and I thought I’d give a detailed review. Firstly, I am generally a collector of United Cutlery Lord of the Rings replicas as such I judge certain things against that.

The staff itself is beautiful. It’s incredibly realistic, replicating perfectly the look of wood which had been treated and weathered and in many cases the detail of the paint is astounding. There is the added fact that each piece is hand painted, so you have some respect that they are handled and not mass produced per se. There is some weight to the product. Not close to a realistic weight, as a solid piece of wood would yield a heftier weight. It isn't all that light, though. Their packaging needs to be adjusted though as there is a small crack in one of the thin branch roots up the top. A disappointing factor as this is limited edition. Upon close inspection there are thin mold lines and they are covered fairly well. The painting and realism developed by the dry brushing and detailing is superb. I cannot fault it one bit. From their pre-production pictures to the real thing, the colour is definitely lighter, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. Under the light, you can really see where the shading has had careful application. As the other reviewers say, the staff is amazing and intricately displayed. Rated 5/5

The gemstone/crystal: The picture’s stone looks like it has depth. It seems to have a two-tone colour, with a dark core and a lighter outer edge. The crystal is incredibly reliant on the lighting. At first I thought of it too light and off colour. I later found this was due to the room I was in when opening. It is see through, distorting, and translucent. There are chips and groves, which from a distance give a faceted look, much like a natural piece of crystal would. At first it didn't seem the right colour, but under varying light sources, dark rooms, carpeted rooms, shaded areas, the crystal affixes to the light, becoming darker and lighter. I had a pretty dire first impression of the crystal and it created some bias. After careful reconsideration and pondering over the look I can definitely say that it does suit the staff perfectly and I shouldn't come to hasty conclusions. It fits perfectly, will only be dislodged by hand (or maybe if attacked by orcs). rated 4.5/5

The Black metal bracket. It’s metal, it’s black. It’s not a bracket for this, though. It doesn’t fit the staff. The small arms are slightly bendable but there is no way I will risk forcing the staff onto it. It has a rubberized finish to it which…is nice for protecting the staff, if it could ACTUALLY fit on it. As I stated earlier, the United Cutlery pieces have superb mounting displays. Their silkscreens and their staffs all have subtle but appropriate designs. This does not. It has no design. It is black and metal. Plain and absolutely disappointing for a design studio. The UC Gandalf staff has a very nice bone mount with an indented design. I know the staff goes on it and may hide these details, but there arms of the bracket are sorely plain and would detract from the striking detail of the staff. Rated: 0/5. It doesn’t fit the damn staff, how can I rate it more? (Unless I’m doing something entirely wrong, than please correct me.)

I pre ordered mine several months ago, maybe three.
I have number 403 so the pre-ordering seems to have no indication to a lower edition number as I’ve heard people who purchased after release getting lower numbers. This maybe disappointing to some. I also have the Gandalf staff pre ordered, so it’ll factor into that as well.
I am not a perfectionist. In many cases I probably paid a vast majority more for this than most people. Shipping for this was $160 USD for me to Australia. $160 + $179 makes a hefty purchase. I’m not taking that into account, so don’t think I’m putting bias with the idea of a $339 product compared to a $179 one.

The flaw of the bracket is what makes the hard work dedicated by the design team to produce an absolute stunning staff become detracted. It's only a small piece, irrelevant to the staff itself, yet important. I’m rating it 4/5. Call me a cynic or a perfectionist, but sometimes you've got to be critical to not allow the company to make the same mistakes twice. Hide.

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