Ummm ... so when you say "not much longer now .... " you mean?

I'm out. Crazy pricing for a "mod" that is not interactive or even mechanical in any way. They're just plastic "walls", right? Not highly detailed custom busts/figures of WOZ characters, right??

I guess some people just have money burning a serious hole in their pockets. I can think of dozens of other areas of the game that could be improved before adding a couple more walls at this price. How about a more detailed witch plastic that actually looks more like the wicked witch!! Maybe even eyes that light up? Now that's a mod.

On a different note ... I'm a little nervous what Smaug is going to look like for Hobbit. The only characters/figures I've seen Matt do himself are the trees in WOZ (mediocre IMO) and now Toto (which seems to have also gotten a fair amount of criticism.) Did Matt do the witch plastic in WOZ too? That's a pretty underwhelming piece as well. Does anyone know of a detailed figure/character that Matt has done himself that is a better example of his talent??

Yes, but is it better to sell 60-70 sets of walls at $225 or 500 sets at $100 - $125?? I would think the latter would be much more rewarding and profitable for Matt. I would think the real effort was in the initial design/creation. Mass manufacturing would be less effort ... so you have to price them right to maximize your profit/reward. The general consensus seems to be a "big miss".

But Matt was the one to create the look (individual model/pieces) of Smaug, correct?

Also, I was told it was intereactive in TWO ways ... so he must do something else? His tail perhaps?

I'm sure they look nice. But at the end of the day ... they're frickin' plastic WALLS. $225 for a few static plastic walls? If a few nice walls will make the game that much more enjoyable for you then go for it (especially if that's not much money to you.) I just bought Sony's latest W-series 20MP digital camera for $248. Spend your money how you want.

As for Hobbit ... that's great .. but I still see nothing on his website where he created a custom figure/bust of some character with incredible detail that blew me away (or even close). The coolest custom piece I see is the "coming soon" T-Rex for Jusassic Park (that has been "coming soon" for more than a year) and I don't think Matt is the artist who created it? I know Matt is a great guy ... but I would just like to see more than the few modest decorative pieces I see on his site. Please show me the best example you can think of, of a custom bust/model of a character he created previously.

I thought the Predator skeleton was molded from an actual skeleton? Not hand carved from scratch? Regardless, I can sincerely appreciate your passion for your work and for pinball in general and i know you're a great guy (we've met but I don't think you would remember). I'm just thinking there must be some other materials or manufacturing process that are equally durable but could be mass produced more efficiently to bring your work to the masses that are interested.

Did you hand carve/sculpt the pieces that will be used for Smaug? Can you give any general description (hints) of just how detailed and life-like Smaug will be?

Curiously though, both wall styles went with "brick" style castle walls ... but the castle in the movie was smooth stone/concrete with smokey dark shading. Not cinderblock like a medieval castle or something.

Castle1.jpg
castle2.jpg
castle4.jpg
castle3.jpg

Not sure what you are talking about. Look at the pics I posted just a page earlier in this thread of the castle from the movie. Where in the movie do you see the castle made of cinderblock like a medieval castle?? Neither are authentic to the movie. Of course, the trees look little like the trees in the movie, and the witch bares little resemblance to the wicked witch in the movie too. So it's all good.