As we announced the other day Asmus Toys has announced they will be making 1:6th figures based on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Well, last night via their Facebook page they gave a preview of the character chosen to lead off their line of figures and that character is none other than the Morgul Lord himself. When will we see this figure? According to the preview on May 20th the Morgul Lord will show himself and fans can begin ordering. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Asmus Toys as they’ve announced via their website that their plan is for five years worth of figures with 20 figures already in production. These figures will be broken down into four different categories: Heroes of Middle-earth, Man of West, Army of Mordor, Armors in the battlefields.
Below are the full descriptions of each line from the Asmus Toys website:
Heroes of the Middle-earth will be the premier line of important characters. Presented by well know heroes such as Aragorn, Gandalf…etc, who will be built in top quality head sculpt, realistically accurate clothing, and mixed media accessories. Each hero will have its own custom base, and together they will be puzzled into a huge battle field diorama. Also, heroes don’t necessarily have to be the good guys.
Man of West and Army of Mordor will feature the soldiers from both side of the force. Some of the familiar faces we see in the movies but not as important as the heroes. Examples like Uruk-hai, Orcs and even Merry and Pippin.
Armors in the Battlefields is a series of products that will contain only the armors, weapons and clothing. Collectors can use whatever figure body you have at hand to custom a figure in a relatively cheaper price, in this way, collectors can put together an army in affordable budget. Examples such as Gondorian soilders, Orc armors..etc
“They were by far the most powerful of his servants, and the most suitable for such a mission, since they were entirely enslaved to their Nine Rings, which he now himself held.”
— Unfinished Tales, p. 338
As the saying goes there are always two sides to the same coin. The last statue that from Sideshow Collectibles The Lord of the Rings statue line was the Witch-king as we see him before Frodo puts on the ring. Now, we get the other side of that same coin with the exception of this is what we see from Frodo’s point of view after he puts on the ring. Both statues exclusive version come with him holding the Morgul Blade to give you the full effect of both points of view.
PACKAGING
The graphics on the outside of the box follow the same pattern set by the previous statues in this series. Following the trend as I mentioned about being the other side of the coin this box instead of being black is all white, with the exception of The Lord of the Rings being in gold and the character name in a silver. While the sides of the box you get an image of the statue from two different angles. The material of the box is continues the matte finish we saw with the last statue. The inside of the box saw the biggest change though from previous statues even the last Ringwraith statue. The flowing robes of the Witch-king caused Sideshow to create a big hole that made the Styrofoam adequate for the robes. There have been a few cases where despite the best efforts to make sure this statue arrived ok that it did show up broken.
SCULPTING
Gabriel Marquez was once again tasked with bringing a Ringwraith to life all while capturing the evil and power they posses. As was the case with the other statue the job done bringing this side of the character to life was superbly done. The complexity of this statue is actually much more difficult than his previous effort because of the massive flowing robes. The robes are very intricate and have been sculpted in a way that it has the feel of the Wraith world, but also has cloth look we’ve come to expect from the talent at Sideshow.
Unlike the previous statue there is a facial sculpt that must capture the likeness of the Witch-king as Frodo saw him after he put the ring on. When we see the Witch-king he looks he looks like a man long dead who is still lingering due to the power of Sauron, and this statue has captured that look as fantastically as can be done. You get great detail in the cheekbones and sunken eyes that the Witch-king has when you see him. His crown also looks like long worn metal that should have fallen apart years ago. The same can be said with his sword and if you get the exclusive the Morgul Blade that he stabs Frodo in the shoulder with.
PAINT
Normally, when you have a statue with a likeness you want a nice skin color that looks like someone who is still among the living. That is not the case though with the Witch-king since he is no a member of the Wraith world. His skin tone is the proper pale looking color we see on screen, while also matching the pictures of the costume outside of that scene. It very much gives you the feel this is someone who is no longer human and has long given himself to the will of Sauron. The robes have a great mix of grey, blue, and white to very much give that Wraith world feel you get from this particular moment. The previously mentioned metal parts would not have that worn feel they have within the sculpt if it wasn’t for the great job creating a worn metal paint look. So again the paint only helps add to the feel this piece has of someone who has been around for quite some time. The base is not to be left out of the discussion for how nicely this piece is painted giving that old run down look Wetathertop had when Strider and the Hobbits rested there.
Overall
The Witch-king costs $275 from Sideshow Collectibles for both the exclusive and regular versions of the statue. The exclusive has an edition size set at only 300 pieces while the regular has an edition size of 1000 pieces world wide. There is currently a wait list for the exclusive but the regular version is in stock. Do not let a collectible as well done as this one slip by so go to Sideshow’s site right now and purchase this statue!
SPECIFICATIONS
The Witch-king has an edition size of 300 pieces World Wide for the Exclusive and 1000 pieces World Wide for the Regular. The dimensions for the Witch-king are as followed: 18.5″ x 12″ x 12.5″ (H x W x D)
PHOTOS
Birmingham bookworms are getting into good hobbits – after choosing Bilbo Baggins to open the city’s new £188 million library.
Readers have chosen J R R Tolkien’s classic fantasy tale The Hobbit as the first book to grace the showpiece Centenary Square building.
Builders hand the library over the city council on Monday, and an army of workers is set to begin the mammoth task of putting more than 400,000 books on the shelves,ready for the doors opening to the public on September 3.
Library chiefs asked readers to choose which book should have the honour of being first, putting out an appeal on social networking site twitter.
And The Hobbit, scenes from which are said to have been inspired by Tolkien’s childhood in Birmingham, took the No 1 spot.
[Read more]
Last weekend, the Hall of Fire crew delved into the Two Towers chapter Treebeard. Belatedly, for those who couldn’t attend, here’s a log. It’s a bit choppy to start but bear with it — my fault for still being half asleep when we kicked off.
Also, TORn regular Puma linked this excellent Youtube video of JRR Tolkien reading from the chapter when the Ents come from Entmoot to march on Isengard. Continue reading “Hall of Fire log: Treebeard”
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
This weekend, Hall of Fire will be examining one of the most uplifting stories of Middle-earth, yet which also always seems to stand a little behind Tolkien’s “great tales”.
Yet Eärendil saw now no hope left in the lands of Middle-earth, and he turned again in despair and came not home, but sought back once more to Valinor with Elwing at his side. He stood now most often at the prow of Vingilot, and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow; and ever its light grew greater as they drew into the West. The Silmarillion, Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath. Continue reading “Hall of Fire tomorrow: Eärendil and Elwing”
This month on J.W. Braun’s Bookshelf, J.W. takes a look at The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles II: Creatures and Characters by Daniel Falconer and Weta Workshop. Meanwhile, he announces a new contest and answers your questions in the mailbag section below.
Continue reading “J.W. Reviews The Hobbit Chronicles II Book”
As we announced the other day Asmus Toys has announced they will be making 1:6th figures based on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Well, last night via their Facebook page they gave a preview of the character chosen to lead off their line of figures and that character is none other than the Morgul Lord himself. When will we see this figure? According to the preview on May 20th the Morgul Lord will show himself and fans can begin ordering. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Asmus Toys as they’ve announced via their website that their plan is for five years worth of figures with 20 figures already in production. These figures will be broken down into four different categories: Heroes of Middle-earth, Man of West, Army of Mordor, Armors in the battlefields.
