Gollum (with Electronic Sound Base)

Recommended music: Howard Shore – My Precious

Tonight for #TolkienThursday, we’re moving on to The Two Towers. From the ToyBiz The Two Towers line, it’s Gollum!

During the opening scenes of The Two Towers, we finally get to see who has been lurking in the shadows, following the Fellowship since Moria. Tortured and wrought wretched by the lure of the One Ring, Gollum is a withered, piteous creature. Driven mad and twisted by his loss of the One Ring decades ago, he is compelled to haunt Middle-earth, searching everywhere for the only thing in the world he ever cared for, his “precious”.

This version of Gollum with Electronic Sound Base was the first Gollum figure released by ToyBiz. The figure came out in the fourth wave of figures from the film, as I believe they wanted to make sure the movie was already in wide release before revealing the full design for the character who was just seen in shadow for the past year in The Fellowship of the Ring. While the base was a neat inclusion, being able to play clear sound clips from the film (“My Precious,” etc.) as long as your batteries last.

The downside of this initial version of Gollum is the figure itself. While the sculpt and paint are top-notch like the rest of the line, the articulation is downright lousy. There are no proper joints, and the whole thing feels like a cheap, stiff Bend-Em. Thankfully, ToyBiz had further versions of the character in the works for further down the line.

#LOTR