[Weapon XIX]

Got my Dwarves, Bilbo, and Gollum. Probably wont be able to post pics for a couple days but here are some impressions:

I really wish the tunics on these guys were softer. They don't need to be cloth soft goods, which rarely look good at this scale, but the Last Airbender figures had a great rubbery plastic that was soft and did not impede the articulation at all. It especially hurts on the Dwarves - since their legs are so short the hard plastic tunics render the lower articulation on Kili and Balin basically useless (similar to that of Gandalf and Legolas).

The lack of ankle articulation also really hurts the shorter characters whose poses can be quite limited as is. Ankle joints across the board would be great and hopefully those get added down the road.

Sculpting is impeccable, especially on all the tiny dwarf rune designs on all their costumes. Paint is great too especially on Dwalin's tattoos.

Functional storage wins again! The weapon storage on everyone from Bilbo to Fili is amazing, with the sole exception being Balin who has no weapon storage. The functional scabbard for Sting is great! As is the knife and scabbard on Dwalin's belt! And Kili has a place to store his bow! I'm loving all of it and can't wait to see what they have in store down the line.

Gollum is wonderfully sculpted and painted - love the way they nailed his stringy hair. And he's crazy scrawny. I'd be surprised if they found a way to articulate those arms and legs. That being said, I really wish there was more articulation to get better poses out of him, but he can get into a couple good skulking poses so that'll do for now.

I think the hair sits a little high on the head, but other than that small gripe (and the one about the ankles) Bilbos is a fantastic figure and may be my favorite so far! He's got a great range of motion in all his joints, looks fantastic, and is scaled perfectly. A real winner!

That's all for now. I'll get pics up as soon as I can, but it may not be til Friday.