Recommended music: Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre
It’s #TolkienThursday! Today, we’re revisiting a character from the middle of Return of the King. Take another look at this ToyBiz Lord of the Rings King of the Dead!
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the King of the Dead leads the Oathbreakers, a cursed army that haunts the White Mountains. After breaking their Second Age vow to fight Sauron, Isildur cursed them to wander as restless spirits until they fulfilled their oath. Thousands of years later, Aragorn, Isildur’s heir, travels the Paths of the Dead with the reforged sword Andúril to claim their allegiance.
In the book, the King of the Dead and his army follow Aragorn to Pelargir, where they ambush the Corsairs of Umbar. Their terrifying presence scares off Sauron’s allies, letting Aragorn take over the Black Ships and bring much-needed reinforcements to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Once Gondor is safe, Aragorn says their debt is paid, and the King breaks his spear, finally finding peace.
The 6″ King of the Dead figure first came out in 2004 as part of wave 2 in ToyBiz’s The Return of the King line, and was later included in the “Kings of Middle-Earth” gift set. While it doesn’t have the fine detail of high-end statues like Wētā Workshop’s miniature statues, the sculpt does a good job showing the king’s withered, skeletal face and detailed chainmail armor.
The figure is made from milky, glow-in-the-dark plastic, and ToyBiz added a dark paint wash to bring out the sculpt’s details. The glow is pretty faint, but using a UV light makes it brighter. The figure has over 20 points of articulation, but the rubber skirt and fabric cloak make it harder to pose the legs. It also comes with a removable crown helmet, scabbard, and sword.
The figure looks great on display, but its colors don’t match how he appears in the film. Imagine if ToyBiz had repainted it to look more like the movie version, while still keeping the glow-in-the-dark plastic. Check out this mockup; it just might inspire you to make your own custom if you have an extra King of the Dead figure in your collection.
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