Showcase on Customs!

One of the great things about a figure line based on a widely loved world like Middle Earth, is that the supporters will be large in numbers. With that comes a great selection of amazing or soon to be amazing custom figure makers. The talent these fans possess is ridiculous and they even put the production companies to shame sometimes. This will be my first post in a series of looks at some of my favorite customs from around the web, so sit back and enjoy the first showcase!

(Note: I will be doing my best to credit the talented people that make these figures and the great websites that host them. Make sure to check the websites out for yourself for more pictures and even info on how it was made!)



Mirkwood Elven Warrior by Ar-Pharazon (Link to forum thread on the old LotR Guide website)

The Goblin King Repaint by D2 (Link to FigureRealm Custom Page)

Numenorean of the Last Alliance by Spider-man (Link to the forum thread on the old LotR Guide website)

Last Alliance Numenorean Solider by Grinman (Link to the forum thread on the old LotR Guide website)

Boromir by Jessecuster (Link to FigureRealm Custom Page)

Isildur by Jessecuster (Link to FigureRealm Custom Page)

Narsil Sword in Imladris by LeoCustoms (Link to The Green Dragon Custom Page)

Figure Glance: Prince Isildur

Toy Biz's Price Isildur was made available as a single card and in the "Kings of Middle-Earth" gift pack, although both were the same figure. Isildur has good articulation in the lower body, excluding the ankles, but his upper body is very limited by the armor he wears. The paint work on the figure is amazingly detailed especially on the parts of his armor that are meant to be metal. 

Isildur comes with 2 accessories including his sword, which would seem to be the little brother of Narsil, the sword that cut the ring off Sauron's hand, as it is very similar in style. The other accessory is his metal helm, which is an open faced piece with wings at the sides, representing the exiled Numenoreans. His chest piece is very similar to the armor worn by the other Kings in his bloodline, with the symbol for the White Tree at the bottom. Surrounding the tree is 7 stars, representing the 7 ships with palantíri aboard that brought him and his kin to Middle Earth.

Isildur was born in Numenor during the second age as the son of Elendil. He was hailed as a hero for rescuing a seedling of the White Tree from Numenor before fleeing for Middle Earth. After helping to establish the Gondor capital of Osgiliath, he built a smaller fortress city to defend it called Minas Ithil. Sauron later attacked and captured Minas Ithil and renamed it Minas Morgul, but not before Isildur was able to escape with his family and another seedling of the White Tree. He later became the second High King of Gondor and Arnor after his father was killed in the War of the Last Alliance.

At the end of the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron came out of his tower, fought against and killed Isildur's father, Elendil. As Elendil fell, the king's sword Narsil was broken into many shards and a larger hilt-shard piece. Isildur was able to take the hilt-shard piece and cut the One Ring off the hand of Sauron, while taking it for himself. Once Isildur was in possession of the ring, Elrond tried to convince him to throw it into Mount Doom, the one place it could be destroyed.

The ring however, had already corrupted the mind of Isildur and he chose to keep it, to the dismay of Elrond. Years later, Isildur was going to the North with three of his sons and he was ambushed by Orcs that were drawn to the power of the ring. The Orcs numbers were too great and his three sons were slain, so Isildur attempted to escape by putting on the ring. As he was attempting to cross a nearby river, the One Ring abandoned Isildur's hand and he was spotted by Orcs that quickly killed him.

Back at it!

I had some family issues unexpectedly come up (as opposed to the expected type?), and I was unable to do anything with this blog. My time and money were better spent elsewhere, but I am glad that part of my life is past me and its time to get back to the hobby I love.

I know I missed a writing about info that was revealed in the past few months, such as Azog being the San Diego Comic Con exclusive for this year:

Still no word if there will be some form of Azog still available at stores, maybe with fewer accessories or if this will the only sighting of Azog we get this wave.

We also got a look at Thranduil in the 3 inch line at The Bridge Direct's booth at SDCC (Sadly no elk mount was shown!), along with a first look at the new packaging style for the next Hobbit movie coming out in December, "The Desolation of Smaug".

The new packaging was shown on a Legolas figure that will be releasing in this new wave, but it seems to be the same Legolas that was released in wave 1. 

Hopefully I can get some readers back here once I start posting a bit, so stay tuned for the fun!

P.S. I also put together a very quickly done video of my updated collection. It's not the best, but it will do until I can get some work done on the blog.

Figure Glance: Moria Orc

 

The Moria Orc became one of the most iconic figures in the Toy Biz line for The Lord of the Rings. The highly detailed armor with matching shield and sword have a perfect look for the depths of the mountain they hail from. The figure is only enhanced by it being forced into a hunched down stance, with its bent knees, to match the animal like feel the Orcs from Moria give. Along with the Moria Orc Archer, this figure was one of only two Orcs from Moria released and was a popular army builder figure.

The Moria Orc was seen as a single card figure in the fifth wave of the Two Towers Moon boxes, as well as one of the figures included in a Fellowship of the Ring multi pack with Merry and Pippin. The figure comes with a shield, sword and helmet, all of which is detailed to look like it is made of the same metal as his armor. There is a slight variant for the figure's helmet, one version does not fully enclose the face, while the other does.

 

In The Fellowship of the Ring film, the Moria Orc is shown during the Fellowship's battle inside The Chamber of Mazarbul next to Balin's tomb, deep in Moria. After the Fellowship defeats them and a cave troll that was brought in to help, a large group of Orcs appear from every crevice of the cave to surround Frodo and his companions. Just as another large battle seems to be in store, the Balrog makes its presence known and the Orcs disperse in a matter of seconds.

Figure Glance: Mordor Orc Lieutenant

This is the first of many look backs at the great line of Lord of the Rings figures produced by Toy Biz. Expect these Figure Glances every once in a while from here on out, in no particular order. The Mordor Orc Lieutenant is a good starting point, as it is not only one of my personal favorites, but also one of the rarer ones out there. The Lieutenant was released in the later stages of the line (Trilogy, Wave 2) and like most of the figures released as the line ended, it became harder to find.

Recognized for the skull on top of its head and the long sword it wields, it is easily one of the most articulated figures Toy Biz made.

The Mordor Orc Lieutenant is only briefly shown in The Return of the King as the right hand man of Gothmog, the orc second in command to the Witch-King. In the script he is given the name Guritz, but for an unknown reason, the name is not on his card. He suffers a death blow at the blade of Gimli's axe, in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.