The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, directed by Peter Jackson, is almost upon us, and The Bridge Direct’s first wave of figures have finally started showing up at Toys ‘R’ Us stores in my area! I collected the old Toy Biz The Lord of the Rings trilogy figures, and I could not help but pick up some of Bridge Direct’s 6-inch line to see if they complement my LOTR collection.
Showcased today are the elf, Tauriel, and the dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield. On to some pics!
TAURIEL
I’m lovin’ the sculpt on Tauriel. Her costume has some nice detailing and washes. Her figure includes a bow (not stringed), a quiver with removable arrows, and twin daggers, which oddly have no storage place. We’ll find out if this is movie accurate soon. I just chuck them in her quiver with the arrows.
Evangeline Lilly plays her character in the movie and I do see her likeness in the face sculpt. It’s been awhile since I read the Hobbit, but I don’t remember her character in the book. I wonder if Jackson and Co. made her up for the story or if she actually exists somewhere in the appendices or in the other Tolkien books.
Tauriel’s pretty articulated, but most of the joints are the swivel/hinge type joints that don’t have much range of motion. Her costume does impede some of her hip movement, but I do think the design and sculpt of the hips and knees don’t allow for deep crouches anyway. Her hair sculpt will also restrict some of her head turning especially with the quiver attached. Still, you can get some nice stances and standing poses out of her.
The articulation breakdown: ball joint head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and ankles, and swivel wrists and waist.
Tauriel seems to be a little on the short side, being about half a head taller than Thorin. She looks especially short with the Toy Biz elves and humans. I do think Toy Biz made Legolas a bit too tall, and Thorin is one of the taller dwarves, but I still think Tauriel could’ve used another half or quarter inch of height. Of course we don’t know how tall she’ll be in the movie, but for me, it just feels like she needs the added height.
I have compared the Bridge Direct 6-inch Gandalf and Legolas (still in their packages) with their ToyBiz counterparts and the Bridge Direct figures are shorter than their ToyBiz cousins. (I haven’t opened Gandalf, Bilbo and Legolas yet!) It doesn’t bother me too much, but I can see how it can turn some of the old Toy Biz LOTR collectors off.
I found the swivel waist to be helpful in getting some more varied poses out of her.
THORIN OAKENSHIELD
I absolutely love the detailing and texture on Thorin’s sculpt. There’s just a good variety of different textures and fabrics on his sculpt and it’s all really well done. His face sculpt does seem a little bit soft, but the rest of his sculpt is excellent. The paint work came out good as well.
He comes with his Dwarven sword which sheathes on his waist, his Oak shield, and what seems to be an Elven sword with sheath which attaches to his back. I love that the weapons in this line are made of stiffer plastic, most of the time swords in mass market toy lines are made from soft plastic for safety reasons. I’m assuming they had adult collectors in mind when they chose to go with the harder plastics.
His long fur vest is also a separate piece that can be taken off.
While taking these pics of Thorin, I unknowingly kept putting his oak shield the other way around. I realized later that the metal ends should be the rear of the shield.
Size-wise he fits really well with the Toy Biz figures. He’s slightly taller than Gimli, but I think it’s fitting that he be a taller Dwarf, being a legendary warrior and all.
He has the same articulation scheme as Tauriel, but he gets more of a pass, as Dwarves are stockier and not known for their flexibility. Like Tauriel, his hair makes it harder to turn his head.
It would be awesome if The Bridge Direct can make figures of the whole gang of Dwarves from the movie. They did such a great job with Thorin, I hope they keep going!
And here’s some pics with Toy Biz Gandalf and Frodo.
I’m crossing my fingers that The Bridge Direct has more waves coming for the 6-inch line. The smaller 3.75″ scale is already shaping up to be a more comprehensive line with more characters and beasts, and I am so tempted to pick some up, but I hope they still keep cranking out the six-inchers, as you just can’t get the same level of detailing on the small scale.
That’s it for now – thanks for looking!
Great Work. Thanks for sharing.