SEARCH      FEATURES    NEWSLETTER    EMAIL     HOME
Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Faramir - Lord of the Rings
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Asmus Toys
Date Published: 2021-01-25
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

Please share with your friends!

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Introduction

It's always nice when you can unite families, especially when you're talking about sixth scale figures on your shelf. With the recent release of Faramir, his brother Boromir isn't quite as lonely in the Lord of the Rings sixth scale display.

Asmus produced two versions of Faramir, a regular and a deluxe. For some reason unknown to me, I didn't pre-order the deluxe, but bought the regular instead. It's possibly because the deluxe only included one more accessory, his bow, or it's possible that the Asmus site gave me too much trouble taking my order - that's been known to happen before. In any event, I'm checking out the regular tonight, which will run you around $210, depending on the retailer.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Packaging - ***
Nothing super exciting here, but the shoe box cover does have a nice shot of the actual character right up front, and everything inside is packed in a collector friendly manner. There's some basic instructions too, and Asmus is one of the few companies to produce to an edition size and number, included on a cigar band style cover inside. The size was 1500, the same as recent past releases.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Sculpting - ***
The actor that played Faramir - David Wenham - has a very distinct appearance. He has a wide face, and a unique nose...and they didn't capture it here.

They did do a good job on the realism though, capturing a subtle skin texture, stranding the hair (sculpted this time) with nice definition, and giving the facial hair a soft appearance.

The emotive aspect is reasonable as well, going with a stoic but not zombie expression. It works for a variety of poses, and avoids being too emotional or extreme.

But when it comes to accuracy, it's one of those good cosplayer likenesses. You'll know who it's supposed to be, but you won't mistake it for the real thing. The face is much too narrow at the temples, bringing the eyes too close together, and they went with 'average white guy' nose, rather than capturing his unique snoze. That being said, I think it's an improvement on the prototype, something you don't see every day.

The sculpting on the rest of the figure - hands, accessories, armor - is excellent, keeping the score at a reasonable level.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Paint - ***
Asmus has improved their paint work over the last few years, and while it's not spooky real, it does capture enough realism and life-like feeling to remain acceptable at this price point.

The soft facial hair blends nicely into the realistic skin tone, and the piercing eyes are glassy and wet, catching their own light. The lips are a subtle shade, and they included - both with sculpting and paint - a dropped hairline, below the sculpted 'hat' of hair, that keeps him from having the dreaded fivehead.

The work on the Gondorian armor and boots is particularly of note, really making this figure pop on the shelf. It's also worth noting that a big reason for the improvement over the prototype we saw in the early marketing photos is the paint work, especially on the hair.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Articulation - ***
The base body Asmus uses has all the articulation you expect, and you should have no trouble from the waist up.

The neck can tilt and lean, even with the sculpted hair, adding some personality to poses. The torso can do likewise, which breaks up some of the straight lines, but the armor does restrict it a bit. The multiple layers do less than I thought they would to the arm articulation, and you should be able to get some natural, flowing arm poses with the sword.

The hips and knees are fine as well, but they went with a one piece boot sculpt. While the sculpt and paint work on the boots is excellent, this one piece design means you'll get no ankle articulation.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Accessories - ***
The regular version doesn't have a ton of extras, but what's here is nice.

There are several hands to go along with the fists he comes wearing, including a couple different grips. These swap easily, but there's a couple extra wrist pegs just in case.

The sword is his nicest extra, made from real metal. The construction and materials are top notch, and it's one of the nicest swords I've seen in some time. It fits neatly in the provided sheath, and I had no trouble getting the belt in place.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

The regular includes his quiver, which has a cloth insert, and a set of arrows. However, it does not include the bow, and since I thought it was a little weird for him to have a loaded quiver on his back and no bow to go with it, so I'll be skipping the quiver on the shelf.

Finally, there's a simple display stand with the LOTR logo.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit consists of multiple layers, all made from high quality material. The construction and tailoring are excellent, and it fits tightly without being overly restrictive.

The Gondorian armor is particularly nice, but I really like the soft material they used for the cloak and inner robe. They hang very naturally, with little futzing necessary. The inner robe and cloak come separately in the box, so you can decide if you want to use them or not. I really like the inner robe, but I suspect a lot of folks will skip it to better show off the chest armor.

There's not much wear or dirt this time around, but the cleaner appearance works fine for this character.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Fun Factor - ***
Pair this guy up with a few others - like Eowyn or Boromir - and you can have a lot of fun posing and reposing, depending on your whim of the day. This series is one that looks better together than on their own.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Value - **1/2
At $200 or so, you're getting a solid value. The costume is quite complex and very well done, and the metal sword is gorgeous. They have some work to do on accuracy with some of the portraits, but the value is definitely there in the overall quality of the costuming and extras.

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - ***
This guy isn't going to be front and center on the shelf, but let's be honest - it's Faramir. They could have nailed every aspect, and he'd still be second row material at best. He can certainly hold his own with the rest of the series, and the slight nuances to the outfit, particularly with the Gondorian chest piece, are a nice differentiater.

He doesn't have the perfect portrait, but it's close enough - particularly for a B list character like Faramir - that he's a welcome addition to the set.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Dividing Bar

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has him at $210.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Asmus LOTR/Hobbit reviews include Elrond, the Twilight Witch King, the Mouth of Sauron, and King Theoden. They also did his brother Boromir, and the love of his life, Eowyn.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Please share with your friends!

Faramir Lord of the Rings sixth scale action figure by Asmus

Back to Main Page
This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

This page copyright 2000 - 2021, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved.