I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

[Team Jetfire]

839-2
Toybiz- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Morannon Orc.



I clearly have a lot of admiration for the Toybiz Lord of the Rings toys line, but one thing I really hated was the tendency to release GIFT PACKS with exclusive figures only available in said pack. Sure, I suppose it would work out great if you don?t have the other figures that were released individually, but chances are that you would end up with some doubles down the line, which for a toy line is kind of insane. At least in this particular pack there were two unreleased figures, but the others were Legolas and Gimili who are among the most popular and likely already purchased. In any case, yay for collecting loose and years later given that I was able to buy three figures from this set for a lot less than the set itself with no duplication.

Pros: For all intensive purposes I think the Morannon Orc could have been an amazing army builder if one had the means and the space. Now I don?t recall seeing it on screen, but given the general generic look, I assume it is modeled after the basic infantry Orc, which works for me as I love these kinds of background figures. The sculpt is outstanding and the articulation is good enough for the pose I like for him.

Cons: Action features were a big part of these toys and remain to be my least favorite part. Not so much that it ruins the pose-ability of this particular figure, but more that a big pin coming out of his back ruins the overall look.

[Team Jetfire]

840-2
Toybiz- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Gondorian Swordsman




Looking at the aftermarket price for the Gondorian Swordsman a prospective buyer may think one of three things: 1. He?s a rare figure that likely was released at the end of the Toybiz LOTRs run. 2. He?s a generic soldier so army builder collectors may want a number of these to fill their ranks. 3. The figure is excellent. As for me, I think it?s a combo of all three given that he was one of the last releases, he is an army builder with accessories that allow for a few different looks, and he genuinely is one of the best Toybiz LOTR figures that I have in my collection. Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that mustache?

Pros: The Gondorian Swordsman has a beautifully detailed sculpt, a bunch of accessories including a sword and sheath, a shield embossed with the white tree of Gondor, a removable helmet, a longbow and 4 arrows with their own quiver for storage.

Cons: Overall while the articulation points are there, the actual ability to pose is very limited given all the plastic armor. For whatever reason mine also has some of the stiffest shoulder joints that I have ever seen on a Toybiz figure which makes me super nervous given many toys break in this location. Lastly, and I?m not sure if this is a loose figure thing, but there is no bow string on the long bow making it just look like a curved stick.

[DanM]

Originally Posted by Team Jetfire

...and I?m not sure if this is a loose figure thing, but there is no bow string on the long bow making it just look like a curved stick.

My example which I purchased on release has a strung bow (black thread).

[VincentVega]

I wish I had collected the LotR figures back in the day. They still hold up really well today. I wish soneone would get the license and go crazy with it. The Diamond stuff looks good for some figures but doesn't quite work for me.

[Team Jetfire]

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Toybiz- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Army of the Dead Soldier



So I guess I was wrong with my initial point off on the previous Morannon Orc review as this was the third exclusive figure, of five, included in the Pelennor Fields box set making it a pretty darn good deal, but I still hate exclusives. In any case this guy rocks and I?m surprised it is not as coveted as the Gondorian Swordsman given that it checks all those same boxes. Maybe because of the exclusive nature fans were not even aware of its existence, but it?s hard to say given that fandom is a fickle thing. I for one wish they produced a bunch more of these guys given how pivotal their role in the penultimate battle was however I do wonder why they chose to go with the muted stone look over the while/almost translucent construction of the released King of the Dead figure that has yet to be opened. If I was a betting man I would put money on the translucent King figure being super brittle given the different materials, but I suppose time will tell.

Pros: Another fantastic figure based on a background character that really makes this toyline worthwhile. An extremely nice sculpt with lots of detail, a sword with sheath and shield and usable articulation to boot!

Cons: Aside from being an exclusive figure, I got nothing. I love the overall look of this figure.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by DanM

My example which I purchased on release has a strung bow (black thread).

Oh interesting. Time to hit up the sewing kit!

Originally Posted by VincentVega

I wish I had collected the LotR figures back in the day. They still hold up really well today. I wish soneone would get the license and go crazy with it. The Diamond stuff looks good for some figures but doesn't quite work for me.

I can?t stress how much I love these figures and am glad I went back to fill out the collection. And yes, the Diamond Select versions are good, but at 30-40, they really should be better.

[Team Jetfire]

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Toybiz- Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Battle Cry Uruk Hai Warrior




Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and with this figure I lost. I suppose it happens when buying older loose figures, but still disappointing as I was really looking forward to this figure specifically. Why so bad? Well, the most glaring issue is the rubber on his head is literally falling apart. One of the features is that it has a sound/action feature that is triggered by a pin on his back that makes his mouth open and gives out a “battle cry”. Unfortunately time has not been kind to the rubber that makes up the head and has ripped at the jaw. This wasn’t a huge deal given that he has a helmet that covers most of the face that looks way cooler than the unmasked head. Then, while I was inspecting the issue with the jaw, I inadvertently ripped his ponytail off the back of his head, so while I could overlook the jaw, the hair needed some work… Gorilla Glue to the rescue. The next issue came while I was midway through the pictures of the review and it was a big one: call me Obi-Wan and him Darth Maul because I basically broke him in two right at the waist. The culprit was less evident and might need to be chalked up to weak brown plastic, or just bad luck, but Gorilla Glue to the rescue once again! Not wanting to further damage the figure I decided to cut my losses, find a decent pose (with a now glued torso) and call it a day for this guy.

Pros: Kudos to Toybiz for producing such an ambitious figure what with an action feature, sound and full range of motion, but maybe there is a limit given how all that stuff took its toll on this figure over time. Props to all the included accessories including a super cool helmet, a (maybe too long) spear and a torch to illuminate one's battle cry inducing face.

Cons: Brittle rubber and broken waste make this figure a bit of a dud. Buyer beware for those dropping $100+ on eBay: time has not been kind to these materials.

[Team Jetfire]

S-17
Hasbro- Transformers Studio Series: Brawn.



What can I say except that I am a weak fool who still gets excited over cool looking Transformers, and Brawn, from Bumblebee is a very cool looking Transformer. Good timing considering that I just recently watch Bumblebee again after explaining to my son, who had no seen it, that the first 20 minutes are probably the best ?live? action Transformers that we ever got? and then the teenage coming of age story started. Look, I?m kidding. I?m not going to poopoo a movie from 4 years ago that I actually kind of enjoyed, but could you imagine an entire full length Transformers movie without kids, without stupid humor and without everything bad about the Bay-verse movies? What a dream.

Pros: Brawn was a total impulse purchase, but I?m not mad about it as he?s actually a pretty great Transformer. He looks great in robot mode and looks like he stepped right out of the Bumblebee movie. I also have to give credit to him having a ton of solid articulation and ability to achieve some nice poses. Transformation is intuitive, but frustrating if you use the instructions and the vehicle works as a Cybertron mode. Quick shout out to that amazing headsculpt too.

Cons: I?m still not sure what to do with his head in vehicle mode. It would be too hard to explain it, but if you have him I think you might understand where I am coming from. Also, shame on Hasbro for planned changes. The vehicle mode picture on the back of the package shows that the drill accessory can be pegged into the front grill area, but the actual figure has no such ability. SHAME!!

[Team Jetfire]

[TehCollector]

Originally Posted by Team Jetfire

Rotate that grill section to reveal a peg hole for the drill.

Thank you for posting, I enjoy reading the thread