I have gone slightly out of line with my Diamond Select Lord of the Rings reviews as Aragorn is part of Series 3 alongside the Moria Orc in late 2021. Like the preceding two waves, Aragorn and the Moria Orc both carry parts of the Sauron BAF and you will require all 9 figures from the first three waves to complete your Dark Lord Sauron.
The packaging for Series 3 remains unchanged with Diamond now favouring window boxes over the larger blister cards used for many years. The LOTR box uses a deep blue hue that carries a faint map of Middle Earth in the backdrop. Over this the Lord of the Rings golden logo is quite stark as is the character art that features Gandalf - this is the same on all the sets, there is no character-specific boxes other than the name that sits to the bottom right of the box as you look at it.
The rear of the box has the symbol of the ring in gold with the two Series 3 figures illustrated within. Beneath these are smaller images firstly of the Sauron BAF and secondly of the other figures released to date. In the middle of these is some text which I hoped might have been some context or character information for Aragorn - instead, it is promoting the features of the figure.
"This deluxe action figure of Aragorn is based on his appearance in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It features approximately 16 points of articulation and character-specific accessories. It also includes a part to build Sauron - collect the first six figures to assemble the 13-inch figure"
The accuracy of this text is called into question when they can only approximate points of articulation (its 18 points on Aragorn) and they indicate via the final line that you need Aragorn and four other figures to complete Sauron, when it would be a further 5 figures.
Once opened the figure is found sandwiched between not one but two inner trays - this is why the boxed figure is so difficult to see. The trays are sat in a cardboard insert that includes the same design as the box with the map of Middle Earth now highlighted in a lighter blue.
The box talks about this Aragorn being based on his appearance in The Fellowship of the Ring, and that is true in so much it is the clothes we find him in at the end of the movie as they set off after Merry & Pippin and therefore the outfit he wears predominantly in The Two Towers. The original figure concepts had the Fellowship figures with their Elven Cloaks from The Fellowship but these have since been dropped in development.
Diamond are not yet in the world of photo-real deco, so while the generic head sculpt looks to be a fair likeness to Viggo Mortensen, the paintwork over the top lessens the effect. The eyes are very old school in terms of white with a black dot and are spaced a bit too far apart. The facial hair is pretty good, considering an application by hand, as is the bedraggled hairpiece in matt black plastic. But overall, Aragorn is missing the shading and weathering on his weather-beaten face.
While the head isn't ideal, the body and costume details are stunning! Aragorn's various outfit components are well recreated in plastic. The basic brown and grey tunic and trousers are enhanced by way of a tied belt holding his knife and sword scabbard. There are his leather bracers with their silver buckles and Tree of Gondor symbol on either forearm. And round his neck is the Evenstar pendant.
Paintwork across the figure is gritty and real with a worn look to all of Aragorn's costume including muddied weathering on his coattails and boots, to the worn patches on his tunic. Even his hands are painted to be muddied and weathered. My only paintwork issue is something that has been an issue with Diamond for some time in that the paint is less resilient than other brands and can flake at the joints or on flexible areas like the hands. Within one movement to put an accessory in Aragorn's hands I lost a large flake of skin-toned paint off the right hand.
While Diamond initially looked to have skimped on accessories for the LOTR figures - Legolas being a case in point with his sword sheaths but no swords - Aragorn has faired pretty well. It starts with the curved blade tucked in the belt sheath which withdraws and fits into the right hand. It is painted well with a wooden handle, bronze pommel, and silver blade - complete with sculpted Elven script.
The larger sheath on his belt carries the Sword he uses through the first two movies - a simple design with a silver and black handle and a plain silver blade. This again fits into the right hand and slips in and out of the scabbard neatly without any risk of paint rub.
Diamond could have stopped there, but they have also given us a flaming torch - as used in the mines of Moria. This is one of the better flame effects I have seen at this scale with a translucent orange flaming section sitting on top of a wooden shaft that includes the sculpted grain of the wood.
The final accessory is a nod to the Return of the King with a full sheathed version of Andúril, the Flame of the West. This is more intricate than Aragorn's original sword and features a silver-shaped hilt with a golden inset on the pommel. The blade contains the same Elven script as the dagger. It also fits into the right hand - but is trickier to engage due to the larger pommel.
The additional sheath is similarly executed with a black main body. The point end is wrapped in silver with gold trim, and the same principles are used at the hilt end. Down the centre of the sheath is a silver central panel - also inscribed with Elvish. The only pity is that this scabbard cannot be interchanged with the standard one. There should really be a plug and socket design to allow them to swap - but in actual fact, Diamond have glued the original in two places. The good-ish news is that the two swords are interchangeable in the sheath - so while Aragorn can't use the Andúril sheath, he can sheath the blade in his existing scabbard.
Aragorn, as mentioned earlier, has 18-points of articulation and while these remain engineered with visible pins it is good to see both double joint knees and elbows added to the figure to widen the range of movement in both arms & legs. The lower articulation is held in check by the coat tails, so while the joints have the ability to do more you will be left with wider or partially crouched stances from the legs. There is also the usual Diamond issue of floppy ankles at play - an issue that has plagued them for many years. While there are now ratchets in the ankles, they are too far apart and the space in the middle is where the looseness kicks in and where the figure finds itself toppling forward or backward.
The arm joints will work for many sword or dagger poses except a two-handed grip which would require a lot more movement in the shoulder and the addition of butterfly joints as a minimum. I do like the way he can be posed drawing his sword - or with his left hand on the sword hilt while he holds the torch aloft. The upper joint issues are minimal other than the bicep which is a simple cut across the sculpt and then falls out of line when the joint is turned.
The Diamond Lord of the Rings figures are certainly filling in a gap in the market and seem to be selling well. They are brilliant in terms of sculptural costume detail but are mixed with the head sculpts - Aragorn being a kind of half and half that is only really an issue close up. They do seem to be improving on the accessory front and while I am pleased that Diamond included Anduril and Sheath - I would have liked a way for Aragorn to wear them.
With the release of the Series 3 Aragorn and the upcoming Series 4 Gandalf, we are now 5 figures in to the original Fellowship and I do hope that Diamond doesn't abandon the line until we can at least add Boromir, Sam, Merry, and Pippin.
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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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