s h o t g u n r e v i e w s

One Assortment to Rule Them All . . .
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Action Figures Assortments 1 & 2
Two-Pack Assortment 1
Horse and Rider Assortment
Review by : Troy Brownfield

Rating (Assortments 1 & 2):

Rating (Two-packs):
Rating (Horse and Riders):

I'll be up-front about this: I've been a "Lord of the Rings" fan for going on twenty years. I read the books when I was young, and I loved them all. Actually, my fascination with Tolkien actually goes back to seeing the animated "The Hobbit" when I was about five. So you could say that I'd waited on LOTR figures for most of my life.

While it's true that Toy Vault made a game attempt, I just found all of their efforts to be lacking. There was no resonance, and the figures just looked awkward. I never got any. Frankly, I almost didn't get the figures from "Fellowship of the Ring" . . . until I saw the film. About twenty minutes after it let out, the wife and I were in Super Target, hitting the two packs. Needless to say, I didn't waste any time when the new sets came out.

And how ARE the new sets? Well, if you took the time to observe the ratings above, you'll know that I mean to say that they're simply outstanding. Toy Biz took the ball and ran with it on FOTR, but they're raising their own bar with the new sets. What we have are two assortments of basic figures, a set of two-packs, an assortment of Horses and Riders, a 10" Sauron and a 14" Treebeard. I won't be covering Treebeard and Sauron, largely because I simply haven't found them yet. For now, we'll focus on the main sets and go over why it is that they work so well.

Assortment 1
The first assortment contains a new Legolas, a Gondorian Ranger, an Easterling soldier, Gandalf the White and Faramir. Each figure has spectacular detail, and as a whole, they're well-articulated. Several of the characters have action features, but this isn't something that I've ever really cared about since the Super Powers line. I'd rather focus on the look and detail.

Legolas is a quantum improvement over the version that Toy Biz made just one short year ago. Girded for battle, he comes with his bow, five arrows, a long sword, and two elven knives. With a grim countenance and intricate detailing, he's a figure to be reckoned with.

Likewise, Faramir comes with several accessories (bow, arrows, sword) and benefits from attention to detail. His cape is excellent and doesn't present a problem with posing (something that plagued earlier figures like Elrond).

The Gondorian Ranger and the Easterling are both great army builders. The detail on the Easterling is so precise that THAT is the detail that Toy Biz chose to emphasize on the package. Considering how many generic troops are mentioned in Tolkien's epic (Southrons, Wildmen, etc.), it's nice to see the faceless masses get some play.

As for Gandalf the White, he's even more impressive that the original Gandalf. The face is a dead-on likeness for Ian McKellan, so much so that's its almost frightening. The main variance between this take on the character and the figure that's included in the Horse and Rider pack is the cloak. Here, the cape is molded plastic, draped back over the shoulders. With the H&R figure, its a fabric cloak with a hood. I've often been torn on the issue of molded cape vs. fabric, but here I'd err on the side of the fabric cloak. Still, the individual Gandalf the White is great. It's worthy of note that Gandalf the White didn't show up in several early shipments of this assortment, something that is true of King Theoden in assortment two.

Assortment 2
Stretching the boundaries a bit, Assortment 2 includes six figures. Those six are Saruman the White, King Theoden, Eomer, Grima Wormtongue, Aragorn, and a Rohirrim (Rider of Rohan). Saruman is essentially the same figure that was released with the "Fellowship" last year; the major differences are the lack of a Palantir pedastal and a new paint job on the Palantir (it now looks like the Eye of Sauron, as opposed to the jet black original). The Aragorn figure IS the same as the one released this past spring in the third Fellowship assortment. While most of the sculpting is solid and the accessories are nice, the face is awful. It's quite simply the worst thing in the entire line. Fortunately, the Strider figure from FOTR and the one included in the Horse and Rider sets offset this potential downside.

Looking at the four new figures, however, there aren't enough good things to say. King Theoden has a great facial likeness and is very, very articulated. While I'll be eagerly awaited the reported release of the king in his battle armor next year, this one will more than do for now.

Eomer and the Rohirrim, for their parts, are swimming in detail. The armor on both is intricate and ornate, witht the Rohirrim being especially striking. The character's cape, helm and shield are all fantastic, but pale next to the might of its foot-long spear. That thing is just dangerous. I also like that Eomer and the Rohirrim are both sculpted as if they're shouting in battle; that's a keen awareness of the roles of the characters showing through right there.

Finally, we have Grima. He's just appropriately slimy, from his dirty paint op to his greasy face and dirty handkerchief. One look at this figure, and you know he's up to no good. He's not the kind of figure that little kids will go nuts over, but man, he looks solid on the shelf nestled behind Saruman.

Two-Packs
Toy Biz leads off with three two packs this year. Unfortunately, I'm ultimately disappointed with how these played out. Word last year was that Eowyn would be in one. Guess what? No Eowyn to be seen ANYWHERE. That bites hard. For the brief time that she's in the novel of "The Two Towers", she strikes a memorable impression. Also, her role has been beefed up for the film. Therefore, that means no figure. *sigh*

My other complaint here is the use of Merry and Pippin. Last year, both were packed in a "two-pack" with a Moria orc. This year, each is 1/2 of a different two pack, and the only real difference is their cloaks. While this doesn't disqualify them from being good figures, it is a negative for the two packs overall.

The only two-pack with completely original figures is Elven Archer vs. Beserker Uruk-hai. Now THIS one is a classic. The Beserker is a heavily articulated, heavily mean and ugly bastard. With his wicked looking sword, brutal helmet, and a great face sculpt, he's perfect. Likewise, the Elven Archer is just incredible. He too drips in detail and is heavily accessorized. Plus, in one of the best toy in-jokes since the Action Fleet TIE Bomber Pilot with George Lucas's face, the face of the Elven Archer is Toy Biz's own product manager, Jesse Falcon. NICE.

Merry's two-pack partner is Grishnakh the orc, while Pippin's is Ugluk. Grish is a particularly unsavory character whose warriors duke it out with Ugluk's Uruk-hai over custody of the captive hobbits. Both of these figures are just great. Ugluk's body is fairly indistinct from the other Uruk-hai, but it's still a solid face sculpt with interesting paint. Grishnakh's face is just disturbing, and the overall presence of the figure is fantastic.

Horse and Riders

There are currently three Horse and Rider sets in release for The Two Towers. The first, Ringwraith with horse, was released last year with the FOTR group. This essentially the same figure in an updated box. However, this figure remains one of the best in the line. An outstanding use of fabrics, sculpting,and detail, the figure and evil steed (with mud-spattered legs and red, light-up eyes) cut a frightening image. This is without a doubt a five-star (or banana) set.

As for the two new sets, they almost rival the Ringwraith. Gandalf and Shadowfax (pictured above) are just super. In my review of the stand-alone Gandalf the White, I noted the subtleties of the differences. I cannot, however, understate just how effective this guy is. It's as amazing a likeness as I've ever seen, and the whole package just screams cool.

The final new set is Aragorn with Brego. Thankfully, Aragorn's got a different face than the awful one on the individual figure. It's more filled out and has a better expression. Aragorn's cloak is fabric (with a Lothlorien clasp), and his major accessory is his sword. An additional quiver and pack is sculpted on. Brego looks great in his own right, and I should note that not once between the four horse and rider sets (including the Arwen box from FOTR) is the horse sculpt re-used. That shows respect to your customers.

Wrap-Up

It's pretty obvious at this point that my opinion of this line is very, very high. Aside from the poor Aragorn face, my only complaints are about what figures haven't made it out yet. For the ones that have been released, I really have nothing bad to say. Great, great job, Toy Biz!

Troy Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of ShotgunReviews.com. You'll never catch him bitching that Tom Bombadil was left out of the first film, but he would like to stump very hard for an Eowyn and a Warg and rider set. That would rock. Email Troy at psikotyk@aol.com

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Troy Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. He’d also like to see Channon and Yelena from “Transmet” get figures, but he knows that probably won’t happen.
Email him at psikotyk@aol.com.