Background
When you think of the greatest film trilogies, there are several that come to mind: the original Star Wars trilogy, Toy Story, the Godfather (the first two make up for number three), The Dark Knight, the Dollars Trilogy, and The Lord of the Rings. If part of your criteria is a solid number one through three, you could do a lot worse than Peter Jackson’s take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic.
The Lord of the Rings toy license is still going strong over a decade after the release of The Return of the King. There are few film-related toy licenses that continue to generate that type of interest. One of the newer toy companies to take a shot at The Lord of the Rings is Asmus Toys.
Asmus, which produces 1/6th scale figures based on the license, recently released the Gothmog collectible figure. According to lotr.wikia.com, Gothmog was the lieutenant of the Witch-king in the Third Age, from Minas Morgul, notably present at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
The Facts
Gothmog
Series: The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle Earth
Manufacturer: Asmus Toys
Material: Articulated figure
Dimensions: 1/6th Scale (12” tall)
Points of Articulation: Over 36 points
Outfit: Full body armor; Black vest; Torn red sleeves; Pair of red pants; Brown/grey textured fur; Pair of black boots; Black Orc belt
Accessories: Right hand fist in armor; Right hand weapon holding hand in armor; Left hand Orc hand; Gondorian solider corpse; Spike mace; Orc sword; Custom base; Asmus Toys’ figure stand
Pricing: $159.99
Packaging
The box that Gothmog comes packaged in is fairly simple. It features the Lord of the Rings logo on the front, with a brown and black color pattern throughout. Inside, there is a pair of plastic trays. The top tray features the figure and his weapons, while the bottom tray includes the bases and the chopped up body.
Our Opinion
The first thing you notice about Gothmog is that he’s one ugly dude. He has random hair patches on his head, hair coming out of his ears, and lumpy skin. That doesn’t even take into account his clear lack of oral hygiene. The guy is just creepy looking.
We know he’s ugly, but has Asmus Toys done a good job recreating the on-screen version of Gothmog in this 1/6th scale figure? Well, I knew exactly which Orc the figure was supposed to be upon seeing it. In the film, Gothmog doesn’t get that much face time (that’s probably a good thing). He is, however, one of the more recognizable baddies.
I noticed two things – one sculpting and one painting. The sculpting has to do with the size of Gothmog’s nose. The on-screen Gothmog has a smaller, triangular nose than the 1/6th scale version. The painting issue is around the eyes. There is a lot of black around Gothmog’s right eye as well as the deformed left eye. I think this is for shading, but I believe it might look more accurate without the paint shading. With that said, since it’s not an authorized likeness of an actor, neither really detracts significantly from the figure.
And while I did previously mention the painting, it’s actually quite good overall. It’s similar to other collectibles in the price range (and better than some that are priced higher). And they’ve added a lot of randomly attached hair to make Gothmog that much more grusome looking. There’s ranodm hairs around his eye, coming out of his ear, and on the back of his neck. This is pretty much what happens when you turn 35, folks.
As far as accessories, Gothmog includes a pair of weapons. There’s the Orc sword and the spike mace. The bottom part of each one’s handle is removable. This allows you to slide the handle into Gothmog’s hand, whose thumb is sculpted attached to his fingers, and reattach the bottom section. I actually like this, since you get a really solid grip with both weapons.
Then there’s the base, which might be more bloody than anything I remember from LOTR Return of the King. Asmus includes both a regular black LOTR branded base as well as a bloody lump of a headless Gondorian soldier splashed over a blood soaked rock. It’s one of the more interesting bases I’ve seen. And since it feels to be made of resin, it’s a very substantial piece.
Overall, I think folks who have been yearning for 1/6th scale Lord of the Rings collectibles, especially the less popular “bad guys”, will be pleased with Asmus Toys’ Gothmog. They’ve stepped into a pretty big arena (1/6th scale figures) with an even bigger license (Lord of the Rings) and more than held their own.
To purchase one, check out the following:
Vantage Collectibles: $159.99
