Lord of the Rings: Return of the King assortments
by Toy Biz
Review
by : Troy
Brownfield
"The
Hour of Doom is at hand!"
 Though
they've built a solid reputation over the years, Toy Biz has
really stepped up since 2001. Their Marvel Legends line is
absolutely terrific, delivering definitive versions of Captain
America, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, and more. The Spider-Man
Classics crank out great-looking versions of the wall-crawler
and his rogues gallery. And we've got the impending arrival
of Hulk and X-centric lines in the same mold.
However,
among the best of their work in the past few years has been
their handling of the Lord of the Rings lines.
The initial Fellowship releases captured the likenesses while
delivering dynamic sculpts. Even better was the effort made
to really complete the characters. Too few film lines leave
certain characters by the wayside; the FOTR figures
squeezed in the whole Fellowship, several orcs, Sauruman,
and even Elrond and Bilbo in a pick-up assortment.
The
Two Towers
continued that high quality. While I was initially disappointed
at the lack of Eowyn, fans were rewarded with sterling versions
of new characters (Eomer, Theoden, Faramir, Gollum), a variety
of role players (Elven Archer, Rohirrim, Gondorian Ranger)
and that outstanding, giant-sized Treebeard. Another pick-up
assortment put out some more "army-builder" orcs
and Ringwraiths.
Now, the
figures have (appropriately) returned to presage the release
of the final Peter Jackson film in the trilogy. The same fine
craftsmanship applies, and thankfully, we have not just one,
but two versions of Eowyn. And there was much rejoicing.
The assortments
are (slight spoilers included):
Assortment
1: Uruk-Hai with Crossbow Firing Action, Frodo in Orc Armor,
Samwise Gamgee in Orc Armor, Helm's Deep Aragorn (obviously,
a pick-up), Eomer in Ceremonial Armor
Assortment
2: Gollum with Crawling Action, Superposeable Pellanor Fields
Aragorn with Anduril, Eowyn in Armor, Gandalf the White
Assortment
3: Smeagol with sound base, Gollum with sound base (the same
as the TTT version), Prologue Bilbo, Eowyn (as she appeared
in TTT), 8" Treebeard
Deluxe
Horse and Riders: Battle Armor Aragorn with Brego, Legolas
with Horse, Sharku with Warg
Deluxe
Armored Troll (essentially the FOTR 10" Electronic Troll
with armor)
Helm's
Deep Gift Pack: Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Theoden and exclusive
Haldir in Helm's Deep armor
There
and Back Again Gift Pack: Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin
While
there are obviously some re-packs slipped in with the new
figures, it illustrates Toy Biz's committment to getting the
important characters into the hands of collectors. The different
versions of some characters make sense, as, for example, the
Sam and Frodo in orc armor both represent a crucial scene
and open up dioramic/play possiblities.
My favorites
in the new lines are easily Eowyn in Armor, representing one
of the best scenes in the book, the superposeable Aragorn,
and Sharku with the Warg. What's great is that these particular
figures are evocative of important story elements. As opposed
to the head-scratchery of other lines (4 Batmans?), all of
the choices make sense on some level.
The Helm's
Deep gift pack is also especially well-done. When you consider
how well-executed the "armoring of Theoden" scene
was in The Two Towers and how central the armory scenes
were to the character arcs of Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli,
these are all smart choices. And I'm thrilled that Haldir
sees release, given his pivotal role in these scenes as well.
At this
point, my only suggestions for Toy Biz would be to pursue
the possibility of issuing figures based on the Mouth of Sauron
and the Wildmen that ransacked the countryside of Rohan. Perhaps
another "army-builder" assortment will be in order.
As it
is, Toy Biz continues their tradition of appropriate, high-quality
work. They do the name of a classic series of books and a
sure-to-be-classic series of films proud. Honestly, I just
can't wait to see what's next.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. He'd
also like to see figures made of some of the "off-screen"
characters, like Prince Imrahil. That would be swell. Email
him at psikotyk@aol.com.
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