Recommended music: Matchbox Twenty – If You’re Gone
We’re not going gonzo this #TolkienThursday, but we are taking a look at the ToyBiz The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers Gondorian Ranger!
Under their Captain Faramir, the Gondorian Rangers patrolled the narrow wilds between the lands of Gondor and Mordor. Faramir’s men were skilled in woodcraft and knew all the secret ways and places of their realm. None could pass through Ithilien without their knowledge, and many servants of the enemy (both Haradrim and Orcs) met their doom at the point of Gondorian arrows and spears without ever knowing they were being watched.
This Gondorian Ranger “Outfitted with Weapons” figure was released in the first wave of half-moon packaged figures for The Two Towers, ahead of the film’s release. I’m not sure why ToyBiz thought to include him in Series 1 with the Easterling army builder and three main characters from the film. He doesn’t work great as an army builder himself, as there is no great alternate way to display the figure. Including an alternate head or a soft goods hood or mask would have helped sell many more of this peg warmer.
The sculpt and paint are solid, but he’s just a generic Ranger, and the “Outfitted with Weapons” moniker is very misleading. The figure does not come with the pictured bow, only packed with a single sword (and a sheath to store it in). The open left hand and closed quiver make it very difficult for this character to be an archer. Again, the inclusion of a bow, arrows, and an open quiver would have really gone a long way for this figure. Fortunately, Toybiz did include these accessories with Faramir and the eventual release of the Gondorian Swordsman.
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