Oh! It is Hobbit week! Yes! I have to admit that I got to go to an early screener of The Desolation of Smaug on Tuesday night, and I had an absolute blast. This movie just does not quit and it is relentless in packing so much into that near-three hour runtime. It will not be everyone’s bag, especially the strict Tolkien purists (this is Jackson’s biggest overall deviation from source material yet), but aside from a little romantic note I did not care for, I had a lot of fun. Smaug. Oh lord, SMAUG! King Under The Mountain indeed! Okay, okay, I will stop, but really, go and see this, I think The Desolation of Smaug will be held in much higher regard overall than its predecessor, so hopefully that will have a positive impact on the marketing and merchandising side of things, which brings me to my point: I want more toys. While this might be an exercise in futility, I NEED more action figures from The Hobbit.
While The Bridge Direct has offered a very scant product line in support of this movie so far, I hope that early positive buzz around the film will carry over and people will start wanting more and more toys. The Bridge has acknowledged that their 1:12 (6-inch) line has sold better than what they expected, so maybe they will strongly pursue this in the future, perhaps at the collector level. I am not holding my breath, but stranger things have happened, so here are my Top 10 picks for the most-needed characters in the 6-inch scale.
10. Bofur
Look, I want ALL of the dwarves in this scale. The reality of having to come to grips with the fact that this will probably not happen breaks my heart, but I am going to make a go of it. While I would not be able to get all of the missing Company on this list (Thorin is the only 6-inch scale dwarf we have gotten so far), they are going to dominate it, so those that do make it really represent the whole. Bofur is not my favorite dwarf of the Company. Far from it, in fact, but since James Nesbitt was cast in the role, it has been greatly expanded. He is endearing and has collected many of the series’ cheeky one-liners, so he certainly has a lot of visibility. Plus, he has an interesting look.
9. Bombur
Bombur has been a fan-favorite dwarf since The Hobbit was first published back in 1937. So far in the movie he has had even fewer lines than he got in the book (see: none, but I am hoping Jackson is saving him up for a conversation with Bilbo in the third movie; book readers know what I am talking about), but sight gags abound with him and you cannot miss his girth. ToyBiz Made a Sam Gamgee armed with a frying pan, so TBD can make dwarf with a battle ladle!
8. Beorn
Without spoiling anything from the movie, Beorn’s screen time felt tragically short in this installment, but what we did get was really fantastic. I cannot wait to see more! While his look is not at all how I ever envisioned him, I think they did a good job making him unique and feral, and he would certainly be the biggest figure in the line so far. It would be extra cool if they included some snap-on parts so that you can display him in his distinct looks (no spoilers), but I would settle for his standard form. Man, I cannot wait for There and Back Again.
7. Fili
The heir to Thorin Oakenshield, Fili has been one of the few dwarves to benefit from some expanded characterization in the films. One of the youngest of the Company, Fili is like a bipedal hedgehog, armed to the teeth with all kinds of sharp weapons. So, since he is also a very skilled and agile fighter, he would need lots of articulation to go along with his mass amounts of accessories. His importance in the movies is only going to grow as they move along, so he needs the plastic treatment for sure.
6. Gloin
Yeah, I will admit that Gloin is my favorite dwarf in the Company, so including him might be a little self-serving, but in the grand scheme of things, he is one of the most important members by far. The father of Gimli of the Fellowship, it is not hard to see where sonny boy gets his looks, personality and axe. I REALLY wish that Gloin would get more development in the movies since he is one of Thorin’s closest advisers, but I am willing to bet that he lost some of his time to Bofur once Nesbitt was cast. That is just speculation on my part, though. Anyhow, he is the most traditional looking of the Company so he could have a lot of universal crossover appeal, too.
5. Thranduil
Wow! Legolas’ father has completely blown his son off the screen in every scene they have shared. Jackson and company have taken an interesting direction with the King of the Wood Elves, but I have to say that I like it. Lee Pace is really amazing in his role and while we have only gotten a tease from him so far, I cannot wait to see this very grumpy and cold elf in action in the future. He has a really cool look and his crown would be awesome in plastic form. Poor Legolas now has the distinction of being one of those guys that is not as cool as his dad, so I want the father in plastic, stat!
4. Dwalin
While he was never portrayed as such in any bit of Tolkien’s work, I really like that the movies have made Dwalin Thorin’s attack dog badass. Graham McTavish has been pitch-perfect in the role, and I want the kickass biker dwarf in plastic something fierce. He would have to include his giant hammer, twin axes Grasper and Keeper, and, of course, his patented knuckle dusters. I just know a lot of foes have yet to fall at the feet of Dwalin, so getting more of him in the final film is something I am salivating over.
3. Kili
The young and reckless dwarf of the Company, Kili is totally the Legolas of the Hobbit series. Yeah, he doesn’t look particularly dwarvish, but I have ended up liking his look and characterization more than I thought I would. He gets a significant (and um, nontraditional?) character boost in The Desolation of Smaug, so that should only steel his need in the six-inch line even more than before. Since he is the archer of the group, he could definitely supply the dwarf bow, and since we already have a Tauriel figure in this scale, he can just follow her around…
2. Bard
Okay, at the risk of being slightly telling, Bard gets the most significant expansion of character in the movie over the books, and it is by far the most satisfying of any of these attempts thus far. Let’s face it, Bard is an important dude, so getting some background and expansion of his character is a great thing, especially in a visual media like film. His character design is really toyetic as well, so he just kind of automatically lends himself to plastic. Armed with Black Arrow, he is going to make quite a stand, and I want to be able to do that on my toy shelf.
1. Balin
Ah, Balin. Jackson and company have really pulled off this character to match my expectations of him for the film. He is the elder statesman and only real confidant for Bilbo in the Company, and I love how resolute, yet endearing he is. Ken Stott is probably my favorite overall new addition to Middle-Earth from these movies, and it makes the gravitas of Moria in Lord of the Rings even greater since he is so perfect. Since he is the best developed of all of the dwarves not named Thorin, he is the most deserving of a figure, even if he brother is more of a bruiser. So if we can only get one more 1:12 scale dwarf, make it Balin, son of Fundin!
Honorable Mention: SMAUG!
Yeah. Never gonna happen, but holy moly would he be AMAZING. Smaug is pitch-perfect in the movie, so I really want a plastic rendition of him, but I don’t see any way in hell any company would be able to do it. Unless NECA could take a stab … He could make their Balrog look tiny!
So yeah, that is what I REALLY want in the 6-inch scale, make it happen TBD! I know it is a pipe dream, but I would bet this line could be a real success if it is made to be more directed at collectors rather than the Toys R Us sect. Don’t worry, I have not forgotten about the 1:18 line; I will get to that tomorrow.
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