
12"
Lord of the Rings Series 2
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With the second film in the Lord of the
Rings trilogy right around the corner - The Two Towers - the action figures
are popping up all over the place. Most recently, the 12" figures
have been hitting Targets and TRUs. We have a new guest review of the
three new figures from Misfit Toy - take it away!
Hello! Misfit Toy here, with the new LOTR:
TTT series of 12" figures. Sixth scale is my favorite arena of
collecting, and I've got plenty of figures to prove it. I also customize
them ALL, so I'll be careful not to grade these figures from a
customizer's point of view.
Packaging - ***
I do care about packaging very much. I like to consider myself an artist,
and I like seeing art in everything. Therefore, packaging to me is another
thing to look at and appreciate. What we've got here is the familiar thin,
heavy cardboard box. Nothing fancy, but I do love the generous picture of
the actors in costume and the Ring framing the figures' cute little faces. I
also really dig the warm red tones, much better than the green, and I'm glad
the basic design is identical to the FOTR to keep the line consistent.
Twisty ties are awfully prevalent, however, and Legolas' weapons
were warped due to the tight rubber bands. Eowyn's hair was also held
by an terrible plastic device that took forever to get off.
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Sculpting - Bilbo ****,
Eowyn ***1/2, Legolas **1/2
I believe we've got Real Scan here, and I think this series displays both
ends of the spectrum when refering to the scan results. Bilbo's wonderful.
Thank goodness for sculpted hair! His wry smile is very Hobbit-like, and the
resemblance to Ian Holm is even better than the 6" scale fig. This is
the only version of Eowyn we've got so far, and the likeness is superb. MUCH
better that Arwen or Galadriel, she looks very much like the actress. I
feel this is the best LOTR female likeness we've got. Legolas...he looks
like a caricature of the actor. His head is HUGE. HUUUGE. The face is
much longer than Mr. Bloom's, and I think that in a tight hairstyle like his
rooted hair would have been the best way to go. It's just funny having his
hair blowing in the "wind" while his clothes lay flat...
Paint - Bilbo, Eowyn ***, Legolas **1/2
Painting is my favorite hobby, so I tried not to give harsh scores. I'm
trying to score these as if I were stuck with these paint jobs. They're
not bad, but with companies like Sideshow and BBI with their amazingly
crisp and detailed paint jobs to compare to, I can see the bar's set
pretty high to measure up to. I know that assembly line paint jobs are
very hard to get detailed, and for a mass-produced line like LOTR these
are well done. Bilbo's got some sort of goopy wash on his face, and while
Eowyn's face is very simplistic, what's here is very crisp and clean.
Legolas has a bad case of glossy lips and eyeliner that makes him look
even more feminine with his long, flowy hair. These figures have a very
distracting gloss shine to them that looks very unrealistic. Also
Legolas' hair is painted really plain. Look at TTT 6" Legolas and
they've got the blonde hair color down, but here his hair is flat yellow
with a muddy brown wash
Articulation - **1/2
All three bodies we've seen before in every LOTR 12" series. A Man,
woman, and midget. If you've got Aragorn or the 12" Spider-man
you've seen Legolas's articulation, and Eowyn's body is identical to Arwen's.
Bilbo's got a Famous Covers body with hairy feet. Let me just say that
I'm extremely partial to Sideshow's figure body, and everyone has their
favorites. Legolas' hands are waaay to soft and baby-like to hold his
weapons, and both his and Eowyn's hands are the standard "holding
a cup" pose. Bilbo on the other hand has all the articulation I'd like,
His head looks proportionate to the body, and the hairy feet are
wonderful. He's the only one that can stand on his own, as most of the
others' joints were pretty loose (especially in the legs).
Outfit - Bilbo **1/2, Eowyn ***, Legolas **
Here's where the figures take the biggest hit. Bilbo's outfit is for sure
MUCH better than Frodo's, and the materials chosen for his outfit are
wonderful. I love the vest and all the shiny buttons on his coat! Eowyn'
outfit is very similar to the one pictures, though the neckline is different
and it obviously won't hang on a 6th scale figure like it would on a real
person, so the dress looks rather poofy. Still, it's made out of a very
nice, very accurate creamy-white material, and the bodysuit she wears
helps the dress stay in place somewhat. Legolas: here we go again. In the
movie, he's very streamlined and his clothes fit tightly. It's just made out
of so many pieces that the figure can't help but look tremendously bulky. I
like the choice of fabrics, but I hate the cloth boots that he and Eowyn
both possess. Legolas can't stand because of it, though the bottom
of the feet have a flat plastic surface. I like to embroidery on the boots
but a sculpted pair would have made him look so much better. Also,
my sworn enemy, Velcro, is used EVERYWHERE. The outfits look very bulky
because of it.
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Accessories - Bilbo ***1/2,
Eowyn Zero, Legolas ***
Eowyn, like the other females, lacks any accessories at all for whatever
reason. It makes me wish she was in the outfit that she wears in the
trailer while using a sword, so that could be included. Bilbo's got some
pretty good accessories. He's got a book that looks good, but doesn't open
like the 6" version. He's also got Sting and a sheath that he can
hold, and it looks fine, if only there was a place to put the sheath.
He's also got a cloth bedroll and a heavy rubber backpack. The strap on my
backpack snapped when I put it on the second time. Poor Legolas' weapons are
completely warped. His bow is fine, as is his quiver, but the arrows and
daggers are like spaghetti. I'm sure they could be fixed but it sucks that
we have to. His sword is also floppy, but it's firmer than Gandalf's and
comes with a nice sheath.
Value - ***
$20 or so isn't bad for a 12" figure from a popular, licensed
movie like LOTR. They really are made with care, and the efforts are seen
even in the figures' flaws. If these were around about 2-3 years ago we'd be
singing their praises.
Overall - Bilbo ***1/2, Eowyn ***, Legolas **1/2
I consider two stars to be average, therefore I like these more
than the scores may seem. Bilbo is my favorite, followed by Eowyn, and then
Legolas is going straight to the customizing table when I'm through with
this review! They really are well made, and the care put into them is
evidence that Toy Biz IS listening and improving their 12" offerings. I
can't wait for more from Toy Biz, the series really does keep getting
better.
About the Reviewer:
I'm a collector who loves to paint and customize figures, has a deep love
for making costumes, painting on canvas, LOTR, Universal Monsters, Tim
Burton films, Muppets, and most every other pop culture subject under the
sun. You may see me on various buzz boards and forums, and another love of
mine is surfing the net. I'm hoping to become a professional painter and
am blessed with a girlfriend who not only understands my interests, but
partakes in them as well!
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 Figure from the collection of
Misfit Toy. |