Post by Mr. Aqua Teen on Aug 4, 2004 18:41:28 GMT -5
well i was at walmart the other night looking at the lotr figs.i bought three, but here is a review of one:
The Twilight Ringwraith is an interesting figure idea, and I was interested in how Toy Biz would pull it off. While good in some aspects, I think that this figure doesn't quite live up to the high standards of other figures in the LOTR line. This figure is released as part of the Two Towers line, despite actually not being in that film, instead he was seen in Fellowship Of The Ring.
Sculpt: 9/10
Since I saw the prototype pictures I knew this would be a good figure. They've altered the final release slightly, mainly to accommodate the action feature, but over all, it still captures the creepy, wasted away look that the character needs to have. The gaunt, lifeless face is perfect, it really is a creepy looking figure. The flowing, tattered robes have been sculpted really well to capture the way the Ringwraiths looked in the twilight world. I'd say the sculpt is probably the best feature of this figure.
Also, you may be worried about the crown looking bent on most of the Ringwraiths you'll see. They're actually made out of very soft rubbery plastic, so they bend around a lot, they're not permanently stuck in any bent shapes, however they do tend to stay a bit warped. But this will suck if you're trying to find one to keep in the pack. In fact all of the cloaks are made of that bendy plastic.
There is a problem with the sculpt and the way he holds his sword, but I'll cover that a bit further down in the accessories category.
Paint: 7/10
I was hoping in a way that Toy Biz would do something cool and effective with the Twilight Ringwraith, like slight transparency or something. But instead they've gone with the simpler technique of just painting the whole figure in shades of white, blue and grey to give a ghostly colour scheme to the character. It's effective.
They changed a few things also from the prototype, most notably, the sheaths are now blue/white not silver, so they fit in with the overall look better.
Articulation: 5/10
This was pretty disappointing, considering how good Toy Biz have been getting with articulation. The right arm is pretty unposeable due to the action feature. The left arm is stuck poking out to the side, since it has no ball joint. The figure is pretty much limited to action sort of poses. The waist twists as part of the action feature, so it's very loose. And the ankles on mine aren't really good at keeping him upright.
Accessories: 8/10
The Ringwraith comes with a large sword and a smaller dagger, both of which have sheath's to put them in when he doesn't need to stab anyone. Both are good, but are made of bendy plastic, and like his crown, have a tendency to warp in the pack. It may be very hard to find a Twilight Ringwraith without a warped something. The other problem is that the sword handle is very long, and due to the sculpting of the hand and sleeve, he can't hold it straight, since the handle would hit the sleeve area. I blame the sculpting of the figure for this, since they should have planned for the weapon, especially since it is posed to be holding it.
Action Features: 2/10
I really don't like the action feature of this figure. It basically effects just about every bit of articulation on the figure. To activate it, you must squeeze his legs, which then makes his top half turn at the waist, and his arm raises and his elbow bends. Due to the hanging robes and the weight of his arm, the action doesn't even work properly after all that is sacrificed for it. The best I can get is a slight twist of the waist and jerking of the arm. And it's not even really appropriate, since the Twilight Ringwraiths were very stoic characters.
Packaging: 8/10
The odd thing with The Two Towers series 3, is that on the top of the card, they have put the silhouettes of the Fellowship on there again, instead of Sam Frodo and Gollum, like Series one and two. But then, most of the figures in this series are based on FOTR, not TTT.
It's good packaging, and would look nice MOC, but finding one without a warped crown to keep MOC and display, may be very hard.
Overall: 5/10
This figure was actually a bit of a let down. This figure is good, don't get me wrong. But when you're just the 'good' figure in a line of 'excellent' action figures... well, that makes you a let down in comparison. The sculpt is everything you'd want it to be, but overall it isn't very poseable, and the action feature does detract a lot from it, which when compared to most of the other LOTR figures isn't what you'd be expecting. It's a shame they couldn't have made it more poseable and given it no action feature, or at least one that doesn't effect the majority of articulation.
This is very much a niche figure, which will really only appeal to die-hard collectors, and even then, this figure doesn't exactly fit into a lot of scenes you may want to display. If you really like the look of this figure, then get it. But if you're expecting much more beyond a good sculpt and a single pose, you'll probably be a bit let down too.
THE PIX:
The Twilight Ringwraith is an interesting figure idea, and I was interested in how Toy Biz would pull it off. While good in some aspects, I think that this figure doesn't quite live up to the high standards of other figures in the LOTR line. This figure is released as part of the Two Towers line, despite actually not being in that film, instead he was seen in Fellowship Of The Ring.
Sculpt: 9/10
Since I saw the prototype pictures I knew this would be a good figure. They've altered the final release slightly, mainly to accommodate the action feature, but over all, it still captures the creepy, wasted away look that the character needs to have. The gaunt, lifeless face is perfect, it really is a creepy looking figure. The flowing, tattered robes have been sculpted really well to capture the way the Ringwraiths looked in the twilight world. I'd say the sculpt is probably the best feature of this figure.
Also, you may be worried about the crown looking bent on most of the Ringwraiths you'll see. They're actually made out of very soft rubbery plastic, so they bend around a lot, they're not permanently stuck in any bent shapes, however they do tend to stay a bit warped. But this will suck if you're trying to find one to keep in the pack. In fact all of the cloaks are made of that bendy plastic.
There is a problem with the sculpt and the way he holds his sword, but I'll cover that a bit further down in the accessories category.
Paint: 7/10
I was hoping in a way that Toy Biz would do something cool and effective with the Twilight Ringwraith, like slight transparency or something. But instead they've gone with the simpler technique of just painting the whole figure in shades of white, blue and grey to give a ghostly colour scheme to the character. It's effective.
They changed a few things also from the prototype, most notably, the sheaths are now blue/white not silver, so they fit in with the overall look better.
Articulation: 5/10
This was pretty disappointing, considering how good Toy Biz have been getting with articulation. The right arm is pretty unposeable due to the action feature. The left arm is stuck poking out to the side, since it has no ball joint. The figure is pretty much limited to action sort of poses. The waist twists as part of the action feature, so it's very loose. And the ankles on mine aren't really good at keeping him upright.
Accessories: 8/10
The Ringwraith comes with a large sword and a smaller dagger, both of which have sheath's to put them in when he doesn't need to stab anyone. Both are good, but are made of bendy plastic, and like his crown, have a tendency to warp in the pack. It may be very hard to find a Twilight Ringwraith without a warped something. The other problem is that the sword handle is very long, and due to the sculpting of the hand and sleeve, he can't hold it straight, since the handle would hit the sleeve area. I blame the sculpting of the figure for this, since they should have planned for the weapon, especially since it is posed to be holding it.
Action Features: 2/10
I really don't like the action feature of this figure. It basically effects just about every bit of articulation on the figure. To activate it, you must squeeze his legs, which then makes his top half turn at the waist, and his arm raises and his elbow bends. Due to the hanging robes and the weight of his arm, the action doesn't even work properly after all that is sacrificed for it. The best I can get is a slight twist of the waist and jerking of the arm. And it's not even really appropriate, since the Twilight Ringwraiths were very stoic characters.
Packaging: 8/10
The odd thing with The Two Towers series 3, is that on the top of the card, they have put the silhouettes of the Fellowship on there again, instead of Sam Frodo and Gollum, like Series one and two. But then, most of the figures in this series are based on FOTR, not TTT.
It's good packaging, and would look nice MOC, but finding one without a warped crown to keep MOC and display, may be very hard.
Overall: 5/10
This figure was actually a bit of a let down. This figure is good, don't get me wrong. But when you're just the 'good' figure in a line of 'excellent' action figures... well, that makes you a let down in comparison. The sculpt is everything you'd want it to be, but overall it isn't very poseable, and the action feature does detract a lot from it, which when compared to most of the other LOTR figures isn't what you'd be expecting. It's a shame they couldn't have made it more poseable and given it no action feature, or at least one that doesn't effect the majority of articulation.
This is very much a niche figure, which will really only appeal to die-hard collectors, and even then, this figure doesn't exactly fit into a lot of scenes you may want to display. If you really like the look of this figure, then get it. But if you're expecting much more beyond a good sculpt and a single pose, you'll probably be a bit let down too.
THE PIX:
