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The Loyal Subjects- BST AXN- The Lord of the Rings: Gandalf the Gray.
Well this is cool: new toys! Well, I guess more specifically a new-to-me manufacturer of action figures, but the fact still remains. And they came to play (pun intended) with some cool stuff. Lord of the Rings, Cartoon TMNT, Avatar, Gremlins and a decent run of rock stars including the entire KISS lineup. I myself am only really interested in LOTR and Avatar, but it’s a nice assortment of popular franchises that will certainly put these figures on the map for collectors and fans alike. Now I’ve only opened one of these figures so far and it is far from perfect, see below, but I really like the idea of these figures for the following reasons. 1. They are inexpensive compared to the current 6” lot of toys. I picked Gandalf up from my LCS for $20 and while it's smaller, it still feels like a good value. 2. The articulation is robust for the size class. 3. They do not skimp on accessories and 4. They have a good assortment of licenses. I’m not sure how long they will last, nor am I sure that a decent assortment of LOTR/Avatar figures will follow, but I am happy for the time being with what we got.
Pros: Overall I really like this new offering from The Loyal Subjects. The sculpting is nice for a smaller sized figure and I really appreciate that both his staff and sword/sheath were included as well as a few spare hands for good measure. Lastly, a big plus for the cost given that it was priced decently for today's standards.
Cons: As a Canadian, availability for these guys really sucks. I suppose patience is a virtue as they have eventually all shown up at my local comic shop, but it’s irritating when they are normally carried at Wal-Mart stateside. Also I really want to love everything about him, but he suffers from the same hard plastic skirt issues that many other Hasbro figures do, making most articulation below the waist useless.
