Lord of the Rings ARWEN (Coronation Gown)!

Arwen in her Green Coronation Gown from Toy Biz 2004

This second figure of Arwen is not nearly as detailed as the Light Up Evenstar version reviewed earlier this week, but she certainly has her charms.  This figure was released three times in 2004.  Once as a single-packed figure, once in the Elves of Middle Earth Gift Pack and once in the Coronation Gift Pack - all from the Return of the King toy lines.  The pros to this figure are that she is in scale with the rest of the females in the line and also that she is another very good likeness to Liv Tyler.  The cons are (1) really weird slippers, (2) Slightly awkward pose, and (3) inability to stand on her own.  She actually shares an almost identical body to Galadriel (although Galadriel has a sculpted sash coming down the front of her skirts).   Galadriel is barefoot and has gigantic hands in comparison to Arwen, but somehow the body in general is much more natural on Galadriel.  All that aside, this is still a great figure that deserves a place in any LOTR collection.  On to the review!

Lord of the Rings ARWEN!

Middle-Earth's Half-Elven Noble Maiden from Toy Biz 2001

Arwen Undómiel is one of the many characters that were given more prominence in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy than they had in either the books or earlier adaptations.  In the book, she played the minor token "princess-type" role and was written out of the 1978 animated movie altogether.  But Peter Jackson saw the potential in the beautiful Liv Tyler's portrayal of Arwen and elevated her to a major character in the trilogy.  Toy Biz released this action figure right away via a 2001 deluxe box set with her horse, Asfaloth.  This same set was re-released 3 years later in 2004, with a single pack release in-between in 2003 (As a part of Fellowship of the Rings, Series 2)  I think this figure is one of the best of all the Toy Biz Middle-Earth ladies, however she is terribly out-of-scale with everyone else in the line.  The detail of the sculpt (especially her hair and the woven embellishments of her coat) are stunning.  I also don't disapprove of the integration of real cloth skirts... and I'm usually a major cloth-hater.

The Hobbit's New Leading Lady: TAURIEL!

Two Versions of the New Elven Warrior from Bridge Direct, Inc 2012

Oooh I love a good scandal.  It's even better when it's a nerdy scandal.  Some people view the works of Tolkien to be untouchable; subjecting them to the highest levels of scrutiny and smiling smugly as the books emerge unscathed every time.  There was a mild uproar earlier this year when news broke that Evangeline Lilly was cast a "new elven character" in the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film. Who needs new characters in a perfect story, right?  One of the many rumors floating around was that she was added to balance out the lack of female characters in the story.  Which I could definitely see a need for.  I was secretly thrilled at her casting.. especially since she looks like she could be a sister or cousin to Liv Tyler who now epitomizes the Middle-Earth elf look for most of geek culture.  At the same time, I completely understand how adding random characters to a classic story could seriously mess things up.