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Background

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring won 4 Oscars back in 2001.  Elijah Wood, best known as the kid from Radio Flyer, played the main character, Frodo.  The tale of hobbits, dwarves, wizards and elves was based on the epic fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Sideshow Collectibles launched their line of LOTR replicas and polystone pieces following the release of the films.  While it has taken a little longer to assemble most of the original fellowship in 1/6 scale form, Sideshow recently released the main character – Frodo Baggins.  The keeper of the One Ring, Frodo is dressed for his journey to Mordor.

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Packaging

Sideshow continues to rule the roost when it comes to figure packaging.  The double plastic trays, which keeps everything in place, is the way most toys should be packaged (no twist ties…well, two for the stand).  The dual door front opens to reveal the plastic windowpane as well as plenty of character background reading and photos of the figure.


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The Figure

The Frodo Baggins 1/6 scale figure stands approximately 9” tall and has over 25 points of articulation.  It uses the new Sideshow body that was created for characters like children and Hobbits.

The number of accessories included is pretty staggering.  So we’ll list them:  Sting (sword), Sting Scabbard, the One Ring with chain, Pipe, Backpack, Phial of Galadriel, 3 left hands (open, fist and gripping) and 1 right hand (gripping).

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The outfit Frodo is wearing includes: a white shirt, light brown vest, brown long coat, dark brown pants, belt, dark green cloak and Lothlorien cloak with elven broach.

Each figure includes a stand with the Lord of the Rings logo.  And if you’re able to pick up the Sideshow Exclusive Frodo, it includes the short sword and scabbard provided to him by Strider and Weathertop.  The Sideshow Exclusive is limited to a run of 1,500 pieces, while the regular version is a run of 2,000 pieces.

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Our Opinion

How fast would these have sold out if they were released during the heyday of Lord of the Rings merchandise?  This Frodo is based on the character from The Fellowship of the Ring, which was released way back in 2001.  But with all of the discussion about the upcoming films based on Tolkien’s The Hobbit, it’s reminded us of just how amazing these movies were.

Let’s get rid of what we didn’t like about the figure first.  It’s all pretty minor, but Sideshow is using the normal 12” tall figure stand for this smaller (9” tall) line.  That means you have to hold the figure by the neck.  The good thing is that these guys stand up on their own.  Secondly, there’s a tiny little gap at the bottom of Frodo’s legs (above the ankles).  If the feet weren’t a focal point of this piece, it wouldn’t be that noticeable…but those feet draw in your attention.

So what do we like about Frodo?  Pretty much everything.  The face sculpt looks just like Elijah Wood.  The hair is probably the best hair sculpting work I have seen from Sideshow.  It’s actually sculpted separate from the figure’s head.  The accessories are numerous and relevant to the film. 

It’s reassuring that Sideshow has listened to collectors and is advancing their body sculpts.  The hands pop on and off easier, the movement of the neck is improved, and there’s no more popping in and out of the shoulders.

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You can pick one up at the following:

Sideshow Collectibles: Sideshow Exclusive - $69.99

Frodo Baggins Grades:

Quality: 9/10
Paint: 9/10
Packaging: 9/10
Durability: 9/10
Hype: 8/10
Fun Factor: 9/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 9.4/10

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Have this figure?  What do you rate it?

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