The Lord of the Rings Select line continues by Diamond Select Toys and includes Frodo and Nazgûl, and these are inspired from 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring. Each figure comes with build-a-figure pieces to build a 13″ tall Sauron figure and accessories. The film had originally aired in 2001 and we at the 20th anniversary of the film, so it makes sense for DST to bring back these characters with some of the best actor likenesses we’ve ever gotten, including from that old Toy Biz line. Toy Biz had a number of original lines, but LOTR is one of the few really good movies that they did such a nice job on, and as good as those vintage figures were, this line is a step up from that and offered in today’s high quality details.
Thank you to Diamond Select Toys for providing their Lord of the Rings Select Series 2 Figures for review.
Availability: November 2021
Each figure is packaged on a window box with nicely done artwork, along with windows on the sides, and images and a description on the back.
Series 2 kicks off where series 1 Legolas and Gimli left off, with really good sculpts and actor likeness, and Frodo is a great example of that. He features the likeness of actor Elijah Wood and comes in several shades of brown clothing, along with a sheath for his sword sculpted to his right hip.
In terms of likeness, Frodo wins over Nazgûl and the paint apps on the face are exceptionally well done. He’s even better done than Legolas as that figure had some issues, and DST even got the height of how Frodo looks compared to the other figures, as hobbits are short, but still taller or the roughly the same size as Dwarfs. His articulation is basically the same as most other Select figures from various lines, and he includes his sword “Sting” and the Phial of Galadriel, which holds the Light of Earendil. That piece is tiny, and is easier lost if you drop it, so beware.
He also comes with parts for Sauron, including the upper torso, and the cloak that I had already used to build Sauron, as shown in the images.
Nazgûl is the first army builder offered in the line, and you could potentially buy 9 of him as he comes with an assortment of weapons. But that would mean you’d have 8 extra lower torso’s for Sauron, so there is that. The figure itself with the modern Select articulation in the line. He is basically all cast in black plastic for the clothing, with his hands and legs given a dark grey/silver deco to look like metal armor. Most of the robes are made of a soft plastic and the sculpted details on the robe and textures, along with the details on the gloves look great. The figure comes without a face, and inside is just an empty shell and the hood is wrapped around nothing. So you get that creepy vibe from the character as you had in the films, which is a plus.
The figure comes with two different sword, one of which comes with a sheath, and the Mogul blade dagger that also comes with a sheath. You could also place the sheath and sword under his robes as storage, but it’s not meant to connect to anything and just stays flush against the robe and his body. The right hand works best to hold the weapons, but the sleeve extends past the wrist and makes the pose look awkward. The sleeve even limits how far the handle can be placed inside the hand, so you’ll have a long handle stinking out with a much longer blade. I really like how you get the “Witch King” sword, and an extra sword and the Mogul blade dagger as you could display multiples of this figure.
Sauron is coming along nicely and this character is nearly complete. All that’s missing is the left arm, leg and mace accessory, so once I get series 3 in hand that will complete this figure. He’s big, massive and menacing looking and just towers over the other characters.
Overall, series 2 looks great and DST is offering such a great LOTR line that fans are hopefully buying. Aside from the great likenesses and details, that Sauron figure is truly a must-have so make sure you buy series 1-3 to complete him, all of which are available now.
Purchase:
