Merry and Pippin shipping this summer? That’s a really fast turn around, things looking good for another wave in the fall/winter. Those sculpts look great as well. 

The scabbard thing (still unconfirmed at this point) doesn’t super bother me on the hobbits, since I wasn’t planning to pose them with them. It’s more curious if they don’t attach, I would prefer to not include them at all. Looks like the issue was resolved for Gandalf the White, him not having the scabbard attached would have bothered me way more. But not losing any sleep over the hobbits. 

Can’t wait for Merry and Pippin! They look so good! The website that debuted them said 24.99 each. Seems fair. Still gotta pick up Boromir…

Has anyone’s Amazon order for Sam and Saruman shipped yet? My release date keeps getting bumped all over the place. 

It will be great to have the entire fellowship in hand. 

I can’t wait to see what the next waves will be.

I pre ordered Merry and Pip immediately last night on BBTS.  I can't wait to complete the Fellowship.  I'm so excited to see what the future holds beyond the Merry and Pippin Wave.

I got Sam! Picked him up at a Gamestop here in Canada. I was kinda worried the backpack wouldn't be wearable with the cloak but was pleasantly surprised that the straps are detachable and the cloak even seems to have a slight indentation so that the backpack sits will on the back of it. 

The swords are great as always. Detached scabbard though. Seems like these figures either get an attached scabbard or an elven cloak, but never the twain shall meet.

I managed to pop Frodo's head off to see if the elven cloak fits on him and I'm sad to say it doesn't. His hobbit mullet is in the way, but I guess you could have the cloak on him if you're okay with him constantly looking down.

Just my initial thoughts, there are a ton of other things I'm loving about this release but I don't want to waffle on.

Overall very pleased with Sam. My pick for best in the line so far.

Amazon shipped my Saruman! Should be here Tuesday. Hopefully Samwise isn’t far behind!

Edit: I canceled my Samwise at Amazon because I found him, Saruman, and Lurtz at a local comic shop! I didn't cancel my Saruman because it shipped, and I didn't order Lurtz either way.

Samwise is nice. Comes with more accessories than I remember most figures coming with. Comes with an elven cloak, his backpack, a satchel, a sheath with his own sword, a glowing Sting sword, a little box (can't remember what that was for) two alternate open hands, and one alternate hand permanently holding the flask that lights their way against Shelob (can't remember its name either). You can easily pop his head off to get the cloak on, but it's not necessary to do that to get his satchel or backpack on. The backpack has straps that pop out at the bottom. Both swords fit in the sheath, but the sheath doesn't attach to him in any way. The open hands have a fair enough grip to hold it.

Comparing him to Mr. Frodo, he's quite tall, taller than Frodo by a half inch or so. I was surprised by that. To me, in the movie, they all looked the same height. And Toy Biz never depicted him as taller. I don't even think Sean Astin is taller than Elijah Wood in real life, but I'm probably wrong on that. I don't think Sam can wear both the backpack AND the cloak, I gave it to Frodo (not sure if that's accurate), but his head is tougher to pop on and off, probably because it's not meant to. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with Samwise. The likeness is excellent.

Looking forward to receiving Saruman. I only have Sauron as far as bad guys go, and Gollum if you count him. I didn't buy any Uruk-Hai or goblins or wraiths. I doubt I'll buy anymore beyond Saruman.

https://flic.kr/p/2puU7YN

My Saruman is on his way too.

Are Merry and Pippin going to be available on Amazon? I don't see them there yet.

I see Merry but no Pippin

Diamond Select Toys The Lord of The Rings: Merry Series 7 Deluxe Action Figure https://a.co/d/hqbva5c

Posted by: @arondir

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I see Merry but no Pippin

 

Diamond Select Toys The Lord of The Rings: Merry Series 7 Deluxe Action Figure https://a.co/d/hqbva5c

Pippin's up too now, looks like

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Select-Toys-Lord-Rings/dp/B0CSZ99QQB?ref_=ast_sto_dp

My Saruman was delivered today. Not a bad figure, but not very dynamic either. He's definitely a road cone thanks to those robes. He's fully articulated in the legs, but there's no using them. The arms are swappable, but it looks like the full upper arms are identical on both sets. They could have been swappable at just the elbows, which have a weird barbell joint, no hinge.

I've got him holding his staff with the grip hand (that's attached to one of the bent arms, i think the left one strangely), and palming Palantir (whose name I only know from this thread). I almost wish it WAS permanently attached to his hand, because one bump and that thing will roll off into oblivion.

The face sculpt is ok, doesn't resemble Christopher Lee enough, and he has a similarly dull expression as Gandalf, where the eyes are painted almost half asleep. I'm kinda not thrilled that I paid full price for this one, since I don't think I paid full price for anyone besides him and Samwise. But I guess that's how they getcha: get some figures cheap, fill out the rest of the collection full price. I still gotta get Boromir, who hasn't dropped in price on Amazon since I saved it in my cart months ago.

@normdapito 
When I saw the Saruman arms; I understood why they didn't do it for Gandalf... it's kind of entering into statue territory at that point.
I'm okay with it because  the only alternative is soft goods which pushes the price up. (Saruman is hardly a dynamic figure in the film anyway, even during the duel).

Very envious of you lot receiving them already! I normally have to wait another 4-6 weeks in the UK 🙄 

I've also never seen any of the figures at reduced price in the UK, they normally sell out before they even reach retail!
If you don't preorder here, you're likely not getting them (outside of inflated secondary market prices).
Only exception is Forbidden Planet which is the only Brick & Mortar store to carry them but there are only 9 of them in the UK! They did have the Orcs reduced once though...

I'll never envy non-American mainland collectors and their plight to get the figures they want. Prices are usually so much higher than ours. Accessibility seems so limited. When anyone outside the US gets stuff early, good for them to finally catch a break.

My Amazon order of Sam finally updated to March 29th (!) and Saruman is still in the "order received" status.  If Sam is really going to take that long, I may just cancel and order from somewhere else if it would guarantee receiving them more quickly.  

After seeing Merry and Pipping, I now wish Sam was in the matching FOTR coat look.  I didn't think it would matter much (and it still may not) but I want the Hobbits to all be cohesive on the shelf.  Saruman, I can deal with him being a traffic cone, as I'll find my preferred display look and most likely leave him like that forever.

Sam not matching is definitely a choice. I don't know if it's a Hasbro-esque choice (sell the less-desired look first to ensure another sale later), or just a weird design decision - maybe they liked the look of two dressed-in-mostly-white figures releasing together? - but I do think it was the wrong one and contributed to me not jumping in further on this line, which I do like and keep up with, thinking maybe one day...

That, and the lack of female characters. Bring them on!