Series 2 of the Diamond Select Lord of the Rings line saw the arrival of the Nazgul! The Ring Wraith arrives in the window box packaging with the figure double packed inside between two trays which do make viewing the figure in the box more difficult. The box art features a blue and green-hued design that is actually a map of Middle Earth and is more pronounced on the card back that sits behind the figure.
The Lord of the Rings logo sits prominently at the bottom left of the box front - and at the sides - and next to the front logo is a generic image of Gandalf, Sauron, and Frodo rather than a character-specific image to match the contents. The only specifics are given in the character name just under this illustration.
While there is loads of room on the rear of the box, we get no background info or film synopsis - just a picture of the two figures in this Series - Nazgul and Frodo - and smaller images of the Sauron build-a-figure that is spread across Series 1 through 3, and the Series 1 figures of Legolas and Gimli.
The Nazgul stands dead on 7-inches high out of the box and is a substantially heavy figure. Diamond has elected to use all sculpted robes for the Ring Wraith and there is no inclusion of soft goods in any capacity.
All the body parts and robes are cast in a base black colour. The hood is empty but shaped as though it is around a ghostly head. Each section of the robes includes a sack-cloth texture and folds and creases as you would expect to see. The issue is that the robes are all sculpted with the Nazgul in an upright neutral position, and any movement ruins the flow of said robes - particularly around the arms as the long sleeves just look odd if placed in any other position.
Diamond is doing a sterling job with the paint apps on these LOTR figures and while this is an all black-robed Ring Wraith, the black is overbrushed with some grey highlights that really enhance the definition. The armoured parts on display - the hands, and lower legs - have a metallic treatment to them and if you do lift up the Nazgul robes the legs are sculpted and painted all the way up.
The Nazgul has a selection of three bladed weapons, two of which come with a working scabbard. We have a slim full length sword with a notched blade, a larger broad sword with a scabbard, and the smaller Morgul blade also with a scabbard. Each sword is cast in a darker and hard plastic and therefore has a crisp finish, but on the flip side, it is more brittle and prone to damage. Over the top of the base plastic is applied sone simplistic washes to add a dull metallic finish to the blade. The hilts are given a neater treatment in shades of grey and some gunmetal silver pommels.
The swords and scabbards look brilliant and it's great to have a choice of three weapons, particularly if you want to get multiple Ring Wraiths. But there is a problem, and that comes with getting the Nazgul to hold the weapon. Firstly, only the right is given a gripping shape and it is overly stiff and tight so you have to apply a fair bit of force to open the grip enough for the sword - which as mentioned is itself very delicate. The second issue is one of engineering and again relates to those huge draping sleeves. Because the sword hilt has to go through the hand and out the other side there is a clash with the sleeve leaving the sword held in an odd grip - or you have to turn the hand so the sword itself is pointing across the body and again, it looks awkward.
With some play, as seen in the images, the smaller Morgul blade does look ok but you will be hard-pressed with the others. You would then imagine that the scabbards could therefore attach to the body to display the swords that way? Again there is no engineering or apparent plan on how to use the scabbards short of sliding them into the robes as best you can?
Articulation, on paper, consists of 18 points of articulation. In reality, the Nazgul is not much more than a static piece due to the robe design and while that static pose does look good I would have liked a few more options. The leg articulation is extensive, the legs are hemmed in behind the robes. They also have the loose ankle rocker issue we see every so often on Diamond figures and the Ring Wraith will fall forwards quite regularly,
I'd have liked the body joints to allow a more hunched & stalking pose for the figure, but the included torso joint doesn't move much at all. The arms joints do allow for quite a bit of movement, but anything outside of the 'arms at your side' position looks ridiculous due to the fixed sculpted sleeves and how they jut out when the arm is raised. This is where perhaps soft goods needed to come into play for some of the outfits, or the sleeves were cut back in a way that works with the figure for posing rather than being so specific to the actual screen look.
I am having a love & hate relationship to date with the Diamond Lord of the Rings figures and the Nazgul is another example of that. It looks absolutely brilliant, but anything beyond the stance that it arrives in the box with is mostly out of reach. The accessories also look fantastic, but accessories need to fit into the hands of the figure or attach to the body as intended, and in this case, they don't do either. Had there been a combination of sculpted and soft robes here and had that opened up the ability for more options in holding the swords, and that iconic skulking pose then Diamond would have had a winner, particularly when they've thrown in enough weapon options to have a group of three Nazgul.
In summary, this is a great looking piece in a single neutral pose with a dagger in its hand, if that works for you then go get it. If you are expecting more in terms of multiple posing options or were considering a group display of more than one Ring Wraith then this is perhaps not ideal for you and you may be disappointed.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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