SDCC 2007: Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant had some beautiful offerings this year in the area of Lord of the Rings collectibles. I even spotted Richard Taylor admiring them. Okay, I can't exactly make that claim, I have no idea what he thinks of it all, but I did see him. In the pic to the left, you can see the backs of the new busts, Sauron and Orc. I think the orc is Snaga, though I have been told otherwise. I have better pictures (of the fronts, imagine that!), but there are obvious "No Photography Please" signs on them and I'd rather not get into too much trouble. :P These are both beautifully done. However, there are several Sideshow Weta incarnations of The Lord of the Rings, and while you can certainly make a case for this one being different enough from the others, I am not buying it. The Orc, however, is a "new" character in polystone form. I don't feel that it fits in with my existing orc busts, which are more facial studies with classically styled bases. These busts are like half-statues, really. They could turn out several different orcs, I'm sure, but I doubt they would be nearly as popular as the Star Wars clones. Still, these might be a nice collection, especially for those who didn't hop on the Weta wagon soon enough.

Strangely, I don't have many pictures of their products, probably because we were always being shooed away from the area. The line for exclusives was ridiculous, often snaking in and out of the displays. Sometimes people would be waiting in line hoping to join the purchasing line. Bizarre. I was fortunate enough to find my friends at the right time, themselves being in the right place at the right time. The fastest seller was probably the Glorfindel bust, no doubt due to the 500 piece edition size. I got one! More on that later.

Above are the "Classics" busts which debuted at Comic Con. I have to say, I am not very impressed. They are a bit larger than a chess piece, and seem similar in quality to a Bust-Up. I'm not sure what the difference is between a $6.99 Bust-Up and a $30 Classics bust, but seeing as how I balked at $7 for a Harry Potter Bust-Up, I'm sure as heck not buying these things. The Gimli is the best of the lot, but I am partial to Gimli. Legolas is average, the likeness is no better or worse than a Toybiz figure (Gentle Giant supplied the scans for Toybiz, I believe). The Eowyn, though, is awful. I think it actually looks worse in person than in pictures. Considering how beautiful their regular busts and maquettes are, I don't understand why they are bothering with these. I seriously think the only good use for these would be as chess pieces, but for the money, I'd rather have a Noble Collection one.