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Packaging - ***1/2
The box art and design are good, although the text could contain greater
detail. It's fairly collector friendly, unless you don't like
putting back twisty ties.
My only complaint with
the packaging is on Galadriel. She has that same damn hair 'holder'
that Arwen had. It causes some frizzing when you remove it, and it's
fairly annoying as well.
Sculpting - Gimli
****, Galadriel ***, Aragorn ***1/2
I don't know what I was smoking when I gave the first series three and a
half stars on sculpting. These are so much better, there's no
comparison.
Perhaps Cate Blanchett
just translates better into plastic, but her sculpt is much better than
Arwen's. And Aragorn's and Gimli's are ten times better than either
Frodo or Gandalf.
Aragorn isn't quite
perfect though. His nose is a tad large and sharp, but that's really
the only fault. The sculpted hair is such an improvement that it's
really quite surprising.
Gimli's sculpt is dead
on, and the sculpted hair, including the pony tail down the back, looks
excellent. If we had gotten a Gandalf this same way, he would have
flown off the shelf.
If there's one complaint
on the sculpting, it's related to scale. Using the smaller FC body
means that Gimli is shorter than I think is really right. He's the
same height as Frodo, although he appears heavier. Another inch or
so to his height would have made him look better with the other 12"
figures.
Paint - Galadriel
***, Aragorn ***1/2, Gimli ****
Here's a score that some may not agree with, particularly on Aragorn.
There's just the basic
paint ops on Galadriel, including a little too much blush. The eyes
are neatly done though, and she's very attractive.
Gimli and Aragorn have
excellent paint work on the faces and hair, including a wash that makes
them look dirty and haggard. Some may find it too much, but I think
it adds a touch of realism that really works, particularly for Gimli.
Aragorn's beard may be a
bit much for some as well, since it's quite dark and covers a fair amount
of his face. But while it's not quite perfect, it's fairly good
considering the first series.
Articulation - ***1/2
Here's where I stand by my original review. These three are on the
exact same bodies as the first three, although it's much harder to tell.
I'm actually guessing at
this for Gimli and Aragorn, since removing the clothes is quite a trick
for both. But it appears that Aragorn has the same body as Gandalf,
and Gimli has the FC body.
It doesn't look like an
FC though, due to the excellent design of the clothes and boots.
Galadriel is on the same body as Arwen, and it works well for her.
Outfits - Galadriel
**1/2, Aragorn ***, Gimli ****
Galadriel's outfit is the weakest of the bunch, although it's still fairly
nice. The detail work is quite good, and it's very true to the
movie. But the stupid slippers that Arwen was cursed with are back,
and you'll have to keep them rubber banded to her feet. The material
also seems a bit thin, and some of the material in the sleeves needed to
be stitched a little better. The plastic brooch looks plastic,
cheapening the beautiful dress.
Aragorn is nice, but had
one glaring flaw. The body suit fits well and looks like crushed
velvet. The vest fits tightly, and the coat looks good - until you
look at the lower back. The bottom edge had a lot of fraying and
loose threads already, and needed hemming to avoid this problem. His
belt is also fairly weak, and the boots are just plain silly. He
needs hard plastic boots, similar to Gimli.
Gimli's outfit is
perfect. From the great boot sculpt, to the heavy leather braided
straps, and the well designed overcoat and body suit that make him appear
stockier than his body really is, he's the perfect example of how good the
sixth scale figures could be if Toybiz tried hard enough. I
particularly like the faux mail on his arms, which looks great even though
you can only see a small bit at the mid arms. His helmet also
deserves special mention, with great sculpting, and a perfect fit.
Accessories -
Galadriel Bupkis, Aragorn **, Gimli ***
This is a category that these fall a bit short on. Galadriel has
nothing, and there are possibilities they could have given her.
Aragorn has a couple
that I didn't count as part of his outfit - a bedroll around his back
(although it doesn't look like he'd be too comfy on it), the sheath for
the sword, and of course the sword itself.
The sheath is nicely
detailed, but the sword is truly pathetic. The plastic is extremely
soft, and you should be very careful that you don't break it just trying
to straighten it out.
Gimli has one accessory,
his battle axe. Unlike Aragorn's sword, the axe is well made and
well sculpted. It fits in his hands, and looks great with him.
Value - Galadriel
**1/2, Aragorn ***, Gimli ***1/2
I'm going to assume that I got lucky when I picked these up for twelve
bucks each. At that price, they're all four star values. But
at the probably price of $18 or so, the value drops off, particularly for
Galadriel. With no accessories, and a less complicated outfit, she's
certainly not worth that much.
Overall - Gimli ****,
Galadriel **1/2, Aragorn ***
I feel bad giving Aragorn a worse score than the first series, as he
really is a better figure than any of those three. But compared with
Gimli, he just can't quite do as well. If the sword was just
slightly better, and he didn't have a hundred loose threads hanging off
the lower edge of his jacket, he would have gotten another half star.
Galadriel is hurt by her
complete lack of accessories, and those stupid slippers. Her
sculpting is decent, but she's just not up to the level of the other two.
What can I say about
Gimli - he's fantastic. If all six of these figures could have been
like him, this line would have sold like hot cakes. Assuming that
hot cakes sell well. That's what I've heard anyway.
Where to Buy -
I picked these up at Wal-mart, for the extremely good price of $11.83
each. I suspect that was just a mistake, and that they'll be running
around $18 normally. Online you have a couple options: -
Entertainment
Earth has the three figures available for $70 plus shipping, but it
says they are currently out of stock. (MROTW
Affiliate) - Amazon.com
also has them, but they aren't showing up as in stock yet. They
have tomorrow, July 20th, as the release date. They are $23 each
plus shipping. (MROTW Affiliate). If you check some of
the coupon sites you should be able to save some cash here as well.
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