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

Introduction

Asmus surprised the sixth scale world earlier this year when they announced a new series of figures called "the Crown Series". This line will include their highest quality, most detailed figures, and they are starting it out with a bang - Gandalf! The fully rooted beard and extreme detail are pretty impressive, but so is the price point. Asmus is taking a gamble, but it's one I hope pays off.

Until then though, we still have their regular series of Lord of the Rings/Hobbit figures to make fans happy. The latest release is Arwen, based on her LOTR look. She has just started shipping, and will run you around $180 - $190, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***
The thin box looks great, and it's all collector friendly of course. It's fairly basic stuff, with a nice photo of the character on the cover and a single plastic tray holding the figure and accessories inside.

Asmus says these are limited - they said 1500 for her, which is their common edition size - but there's no mention of it on the box.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is one of Asmus' nicest female sculpts to day. No, strike that - this is the nicest to date. It's also one of those rare times when I prefer the production release to the early prototype.

They've captured the actress and character features extremely well, and in hand there was no doubt whom this was intended to be. The eyes, nose, lips, and facial shape all mirror Arwen (and Liv Tyler) nicely. I think they improved the shape of the jawline and face between prototype and production, and the final result is definitely an improvement.

The expression is a little bland, but not quite mannequin. They've also used a technique for the hair that they've been playing with on a few releases now - they've mixed sculpted plastic with rooted hair, to a decent end result. From a sculpting perspective, it works great. Thanks to some very finely detailed sculpted strands, the 'cap' of hair on the top of hair hair flows into the rooted, long hair streaming down her back. Two small rooted sections also lay in front of her ears. The three braided sections in back are actually sculpted soft rubber. Yes, there is a noticeable line across the back of her head where the two different medias meet, but that line would be there with this hairstyle anyway - check out her photo on the front of the box. The only real issue with using the two different materials is one of Paint, not Sculpt, and I'll discuss that in the next section.

They tried this combo thing in the past, most notably with Tauriel, but this time the fine detail work on the hair on top of her head made a huge difference. I think Legolas would have looked much better had they gone this route.

She stands about 11 1/4" tall, and unlike most male sixth scale figures, does not have wildly oversized hands.

Paint - ***
The quality of the paint work is very high, and I almost went with another half star if not for one issue.

The eyes look terrific, and the lashes and eyebrows have nice detailing. The full lips (she is definitely Stephen's daughter) are clean, and while they have the annoying 'black lip line', it's hidden well enough to be a non-issue, and it does give the mouth some depth.

The skin tone is even, but there's a few subtle freckles to add some realism.  The hair line looks good, and the hair itself is an appropriate color. But it's the hair where I have my main issue.

The sculpted hair and rooted hair do flow nicely, thanks to the fine sculpt. But the two materials have very different finishes, with a glossy shine to the rooted hair and a very matte color on the sculpted hair. The brighter the light, the more obvious the difference becomes. It's not a deal breaker, and it is something you can probably adjust yourself with a little skill, but it's the one area I was slightly disappointed.

Articulation - ***1/2
No issues here. The clothing is not particularly restrictive, and the underlying body works extremely well.

The head and neck are separate, which means there's a ball joint under the jawline and a second one at the torso. The head can lean and tilt at both locations, giving her plenty of personality.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists can take normal, natural arm poses, and the joints are tight enough to hold the metal sword aloft without wilting. The wrists are particularly good, with long pegs for the hands that makes working with them quite easy.

The form fitting pants do restrict the hips slightly, but it's not as much as I expected. The knees and ankles work great, especially the ankles. The boot design allows for good rocker movement, which allows you to put the feet flat on the ground in most stances.

The torso can turn and tilt as well, but as with the pants, it's slightly restricted. None of these clothing restrictions are extreme though, and you should be able to get - and maintain - natural poses.

Accessories - **1/2
Unfortunately, she's a little light in this category.

There are three extra sets of hands to go with the pair of open hands she comes wearing. There's a set of gripping hands, perfect for the sword, as well as two sets of gesturing or posed hands. They swap easily, and are useful in a variety of stances.

And yes, there's the Hadhafang sword. Made of real metal, it's a beauty. It fits neatly in the scabbard as well.

Finally, there's a fairly basic display stand with support rod. Nothing too unique here, and while the quality of the included extras is great, there's not a whole lot of them.

Outfit - ***1/2
Asmus has always done a great job with their costumes, but the last few have really been nice.

Arwen has her tight fitting but stretchy pants, her terrific boots designed for good ankle articulation and excellent appearance, and the inner and outer tunic. She has sculpted gauntlets as well, and they fit tightly on her forearms.

The outer robe is made from a very thin, very soft material. It's much like the robe we just saw on the new Obi-Wan from Hot Toys. The stitching and tailoring are top notch as well, and there's very little to whine about.

My one nit - and you knew I had one - is the waist of the tunic could be a little tighter. It's a minor complaint though, and I suspect if it was tighter the posability would suffer.

Fun Factor - ***
Arwen is part of the recent trend of improved quality across the Asmus sixth scale line up. She can go toe to toe with other figures out there and hold her own, and adds quite a bit to your LOTR and Hobbit display. A few more accessories would have improved the score here, but there's still plenty of posing potential. A big plus is the hair - with the sculpted top, it's much, much easier to work with.

Value - **1/2
You'll find her for around $180 - $190, well below the average market price these days. It's not quite as good as some of the ThreeZero bargains, but the quality is here, making the price point just about perfect.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***
I *almost* went another half star Overall. She's a high quality figure, and while the different finishes on the hair looks a little wonky in bright light, I applaud them for trying out inventive ideas. This portrait is a huge step up for their female characters (remember Tauriel?) and a good sign of improving quality overall.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
The last Asmus LOTR figure was Eomer. Previous releases include Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo Baggins, Gimli, Boromir, Legolas, Thranduil, Sam and Frodo, Grishn'akh, Gandalf the Gray, the Mouth of Sauron, Merry and Pippin, and the excellent Saruman the White. Asmus has also released Tauriel, Aragorn, Bard the Bowman, Eowyn, the Nazgul Steed, the Morgul Lord, Gandalf the White, Gothmog and Guritz.

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

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