There were several problems with the initial design which Herg also pointed out in his feedback and review (he was one of the initial testers). The first major issue was separation of the ball due to the type of two-part resin that was used in the bonding. The second was it being too dim as I tried to address the loss of color from the first prototype. The third was that for the stance of some players the eye was pointing too low. All of these issues were addressed after the first few that went out.

AkumaZeto, I believe you were sent a replacement, although I'm not positive because you appear to be using a different name to post this review than the name you used to purchase it. If you were not sent a replacement let me know and I can either send you the new design or refund your money. I'm offering a full "no questions asked" refund to anyone who isn't completely satisfied with this mod and it sounds like you are not.

I'm confident the separation issue has been fully resolved but if any of the other 20 that have gone out so far experience this in the current design I would very much like to find out about it. In my own stress tests I literally couldn't break it free (I don't recommend doing this test of course!)

The size of the ball was selected to make the Palantir more prominent than the original version - which I felt was too small. Trying to project any kind of image (or a video) through a ball of the original size would not be worthwhile in my opinion.

The brightness has been improved as much as possible while balancing the "blown out" colors of the eye. Feedback so far from others who received the current version is that this brightness balance was right for their tastes.

-Jay

Ah, that explains it then. Roger's was one of the first ones made.

As I said, I believe the current design addresses these issues. The size doesn't change of course but I realize not everyone likes every mod. I do think the size is shown in the original pictures and video fairly well so I trust the people who ordered it know what to expect. I'm sorry you don't like it.

I'll follow-up with Roger to see how he wants to proceed.

-Jay

Thanks for the support everyone. I must admit the prospect of devoting yet another one of my weekends to making the next batch of Palantirs is diminished a bit by the thought of people not liking them anyway... I started down this path because I love LOTR and I thought the original Palantir could be much better than it was.

AkumaZeto, I don't know you yet but Roger tells me you are a good guy. I hope you were just having a bad day when you ran into this. I'm definitely working with him to resolve the issue and he should have a replacement in his hands by midweek.

Thanks brucipher, I bought a lot of balls when I was first developing this mod and put them all on my own playfield to see how they looked. The ones that were close to the original size just didn't have the impact I wanted. I also tried some that were even bigger and they started to overshadow the other items on the playfield. When I got really big they eventually impeded the Balrog movement (for reference though, the eye looked awesome!) The final size I selected was what I felt was the right balance.

I'm finding that this mod is really interesting because it is all about finding that right balance. How bright should the eye be vs. the color of it? How high should the eye point to accommodate the average player's stance? How big should it be to look interesting but not overpowering on the playfield? Some mods are based on a toy that is what it is, you either use it or you don't. This one has many variables and it is only with the community's feedback that it has been tuned to improve.

This mod obviously won't be everything to everyone but I'm personally excited about the way it turned out. I really appreciate all the input so far on this and how understanding everyone has been with some of the bumps along the way.

-Jay