The Toy Room - REDUX : Toy Reviews | LOTR : Black Gate of Mordor Box Set

It's rare that I myself will buy a box set of figures, but in this case, I made an exception. Why? It's Lord of the Rings, of course! Well, that, and the fact I really liked the look of the unique figure included. Who you may ask? Well, read on in the review to find out.

!WARNING! Reading on may spoil this box set's surprise, and give away one new character for the LOTR: Return of the King Special Edition DVD. If you do not want to be spoiled - DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

You have decided to go on - great! In this set come five figures - 4 of which appear to be reissues of earlier figures, and one whole new figure. In this set are Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and Gandalf the White, and one other…but we will get to (him/her/it?!?) last.

First, if we look at Legolas and Gimli, the dynamic duo of the LOTR trilogy, they appear to be re-issues of the Fellowship versions of these figures. Lacking the poseability of later versions of this figure, Legolas has the quick-draw arrow action he used to have. While it is a cool feature, and possibly cost effective for Toy Biz, a simply poseable Legolas would have been appreciated. Gimli retains what his first figure had, that being an axe-throwing feature that sometimes works…sometimes doesn't. At least the armor, sculpt, and paint apps on both of these figures are as sharp as they can be. And considering I didn't have a Gimli before this, or this version of Legolas, I am not complaining too much.

Next are Aragorn and Gandalf the White. Again, both of these figures are reissues, but at least one is improved over its previous counterpart. Aragorn is a re-release of a more recent figure, the super-poseable version that came on the now smaller single figure cards. While it's nice to have another Aragorn, I could have used something different. At least the paint apps on this boxed set one were much better than my single carded one. As for Gandalf the White, he appears to be the same Gandalf figure that was packaged with Shadowfax the Horse King, as well as individually on the smaller cards. He does retain a small 'staff lifting' action button that raises his right hand and his staff, but it is well done and not a hindrance to articulation at all. Add to that a cloth instead of plastic cape, unlike Aragorn, and Gandalf comes out at as the coolest figure of the good guys in this set.

Now on to the bad guy….the really bad bad guy. The Mouth of Sauron, the reason to buy this set. He comes mounted on his black steed, and has a slender body sculpt, with a mix of cloth and plastic robes, a sword, and a helmet that exposes only his mouth. And what an ugly mouth - yikes! This evil rider of the Dark Lord was not seen in the theatrical release of Return of the King, but he will be in the DVD Special Edition release with extra footage. (personal note, I can't wait for this movie to hit DVD….) From head to toe he has Toy Biz's now famous super-poseable joint system, which is only hindered a little in the legs and upper shoulders by his detailed costume. The Dark Rider's steed has a galloping action that was on many of the first horses that came out, and a neck that is poseable to the left and right. While the plasctic capes do limit some poseability, this Mouth of Sauron figure can easily stand on its own and ride his horse with ease. While not a perfect figure - is there such a thing - he is pretty darned close.

Overall, this set is easily worth the 39.99 I paid for it. Considering that the reissued figures were about $6 to 7$ each, and a rider and horse are usually out at $20, this adds up to be a great deal. Of course, getting an exclusive figure in the process doesn't hurt either ;) I found mine at Toys R Us, but have seen at it at Wal-Marts and elsewhere too. Online, I recommend going to Qwikdsand Collectibles, he has a great price (better than I paid) and great selection of LOTR toys.

Bottom Line

Bottom line - get this set if you are a Lord of the Rings fan, get this set if you like highly detailed and poseable figures, get this set if you want the most evil looking figure next to Darth Vader on your shelves.