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The LOTR Movie Site
September 7, 1999

Custom LOTR Action Figures
Phil Cline

I first read The Hobbit at the insistence of a co-worker. I used to play Dungeons and Dragons and always liked medieval times, so I was happy to do so. I liked the story, but the fact that it was written for children was relatively obvious. It lacked a certain intensity. Not long afterwards I picked up The Fellowship of the Ring. When the first Black Riders began to appear, I had found the intensity that The Hobbit had lacked. I loved the story, there were so many characters, so many situations. I loved how the characters had grey areas, Boromir particularly. And into the rest of the trilogy, many of the characters had interesting flawes. Denethor and Eowyn to name a few. I was taken with Tokien's use of extreme detail of setting and somewhat warped way of telling a story. Particularly the jumping around in The Two Towers, and skipping the last leg of Aragorn's journey with the King of the Dead, and saving its telling for last. I found it interesting that what I thought should be the climax in his stories (the slaying of Smaug and the Defense of Minas Tirith/Destruction of the Ring) were not the final conflicts. It took some getting used to, but I found it refreshing.

After finishing the trilogy the next thing I did (besides picking Fellowship right back up) was to sit down and immortalize these new-found friends. My hobby is customizing action figures, Star Wars primarily. Thus the avid SW collector might get a kick out of my LOTR figures as all the parts are from that line. The following is a brief description of the characters displayed to the left:

Aragorn: The first of my LOTR customs. I decided to make him with long hair as I had no reference either way, and it just sounded better. He is wearing his elven cloak, there is a slight shimmer in it, hopefully you can see it in the picture. Underneath he is wearing what I pictured as just a normal wandering outfit. There is a purple sash which hints at his royalty.

Eomer: By far my favorite character and custom figure. I felt he had to have his helmet with its white mane. He has a cape, fastened with copper buttons.  Eventually I plan to change the way the mane is attached to a more Romanesque style, and perhaps add a breastplate. For the time being I just pretend its under his tunic.

Faramir: This is how I pictured him upon meeting Frodo and Sam in the wild. He is wearing myriad greens and browns. The face underneath originally had a beard that I shaved off, but it didn't work out well, so I conveniently added the green hood/mask that he wore in that scene.

Imrahil: I always thought he was pretty neat. I gave him the most armor, being a knight. I'm working on a helmet too. He's supposed to have an exotic look, something I thought would give him a different look, being from the south and close to sea.

I just recently learned that LOTR was being made into a movie. I was both ecstatic and worried.  Excited of course because I would have a whole new way to experience the story, but worried about how well it could be done. I want only the best for these stories, and would rather see no movies than bad movies. I hope that the independent nature of these films will bring a more creative and free atmosphere, so that the director can do what he wishes and not be limited by corporations and whatnot. I am also glad that they appear to have gone with the idea that hobbits are slim and sort of spindly. I never took to the idea of pudgy ones. No offense to anyone.

Thank you very much for looking at my figures and reading my thoughts. I have several other customs that I'd be happy to show you. Just e-mail me.