SSC LOTR Gandalf Vs Balrog Diorama 'The Duel of Light and Fire'

[DinoDB1975]

Alright, finally got around to taking pictures with the SLR.

Let's try this again...

Pic of the outer carton:

http://i44.tinypic.com/2ekroxs.jpg

Front of inner box:

http://i40.tinypic.com/bebwqe.jpg

Side of inner box:

http://i42.tinypic.com/2s7gs2r.jpg

Back of inner box:

http://i43.tinypic.com/4tqzxe.jpg

Contents:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2wf7k0p.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/15d4277.jpg

Base with edition number:

http://i41.tinypic.com/5otn34.jpg

Balrog body:

http://i44.tinypic.com/5xood4.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/2d2g2m0.jpg

Assembled piece:

http://i43.tinypic.com/5kk37r.jpg

[DinoDB1975]

The components of the piece include the base, the Balrog body, the left wing, the right wing, Gandalf, and the flame whip. Assembly was fairly easy, although the right wing (the Balrog's right, the wing farthest from Gandalf) took some effort to attach. I initially thought that the dimensions were wrong, but after a few careful attempts, I was able to get the pieces to attach.

Overall, I really like this piece. I know a lot of people didn't like it, citing the awkward pose and the cartoony Gandalf, but I really dig it. I'll post some more pics and a few more comments.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2ly2vyd.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/35k4qdi.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/242fjvb.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2useuef.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/5v5h7o.jpg

[DinoDB1975]

This final batch of pics were taken by my girlfriend, who actually knows how to use the SLR. The pics are a hell of a lot better than mine, and show close ups of Gandalf as well as the Balrog's face. I really like the detail of the Balrog's mouth, and did not know that the Balrog's lower jaw is almost like a mandible type appendage a la the Predator. A size comparison of the piece next to the Gandalf the Grey 12" figure is included as well.

http://i40.tinypic.com/25ji9gi.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/wag0lg.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2m3sbcy.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/waq4qo.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/347ww3l.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/w9vc6o.jpg

Again, I really like this piece. The Balrog sculpt is phenomenal, and I really like the dynamic action pose of actually falling down Khazadum. The Gandalf piece is going to the the dividing line; he does look cartoonish, but the argument could be made that it is difficult to maintain the accuracy of Sir Ian McKellen's likeness in that scale. The counter-argument could be made that the recently released pics of Frodo in the Shades of Mordor dio is spot-on, but we won't know how much larger (relatively) Frodo is until the dio is released.

My only two complaints: the point of attachment for Gandalf to the rest of the dio is the Balrog's left horn; to connect Gandalf, Sideshow designed Gandalf holding a part of the Balrog's horn, and you snap that part onto teh connecting end of the Balrog's horn. Unfortunately, the connection point is not seamless; you can really tell up close where the horn break is. I wonder if Sideshow could have designed it so that the entire left horn was solid with a small whole to attach Gandlaf via a peg in his hand.

The second complaint is the attachment of the flame whip. The whip itself is translucent, and attaches via a peg to Gandalf's leg/ankle. However, the three prong end of the Balrog's whip that is wrapped around Gandalf is orange polystone, so the contrast of regular polystone vs. the translucent material of the whip is a little jarring.

In conclusiion, I really enjoy this piece. It's my first LOTR dio, and The Duel of Light and Fire is one of my favorite scenes in the movies and books.

[Fremen]

Here is mine.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog001.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog003.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog005.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog006.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog007.jpg

[Fremen]

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog013.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog014.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p2/a_racy/message%20board/GandalfBalrog016.jpg

[SquiderM3]

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/5de3b28d.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/dd311f31.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/dba6c47f.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/e7f8eb2b.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/960b5e39.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/17c57740.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/79aa48fd.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/SquiderM3/Nikon%20D3/SS%20Dioramas/598763ef.jpg