The LOTR Customs Thread

[Mudshark]

No, the Gollum with changeable head and fish is too big, it might be closer to 1/4 or its probably right in the middle at 1/5. For Toybiz, like some of their other 12" like Gimli and BIlbo, its a surprisingly good figure: great articulations and despite the joints, its still looks pretty good. The audio feature was cool and theres actually a place in the base to hold the spare head.

That's what I'd thought before ... closer to 1:4 scale. I couldn't remember if he had joints or not, though. Thanks for the confirmation! I agree completely, it's definitely one of the nicest LotR products ToyBiz made. It's still my favorite.

But now we're back to square one. I guess nobody wants a Gollum with all the exposed joints a hobbit body would have. Too bad, 'cause that would certainly solve the scale issue.

 

[icruise]

I could live with exposed joints, I guess, but that doesn't solve the problem of the head sculpt. And are we sure that the hobbit body will work well in the crouched over poses that Gollum uses?

 

[The Craw]

didnt somebody already post pics of a naked frodo in lots of gollum poses somewhere? looked pretty good except for the joints.

 

[dwing]

Yes they did, but don't remember where. Man, I have a winning bid on on of the talking Gollums-sucks it's to big. Maybe I'll pose him waaay in back of everyone else.

 

[The Craw]

here i found it.
https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36241

 

[Mudshark]

I could live with exposed joints, I guess, but that doesn't solve the problem of the head sculpt. And are we sure that the hobbit body will work well in the crouched over poses that Gollum uses?

It probably wouldn't be too hard to commission a head sculpt from someone here on the board. To keep costs down, though, we'd need to have enough people interested in going that route to make it worth while.

I must've missed the Frodo impersonating Gollum pictures, although I did do some testing of the hobbit body's flexibility when they first arrived. To get the extreme hunched over poses might require a little modification here and there. It think it would be worth a try. The loin cloth would help cover some of the joints, anyway. It's the mid-torso joints that concern me the most, but if he's hunched over they might not be so obvious.

Edit: Thanks for posting the link, Craw. A lot of useful discussion and comments in there. It looks like the hobbit body would cover the articulation requirements well enough. The elbow and knee joints are really distracting, though. Instead of rubber, what about making something like a one-piece Gollum body suit made of spandex or some other kind of thin stretch fabric? If the base color were close enough to Gollum's skin tone, it could be airbrushed with textile paint to match and blend with the head, hands and feet. Sounds like a fair amount of work, but it might be a solution for covering all those joints.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Nah, looks like a nude action figure.

Just because it poses well doesn't mean it looks good once posed.

And like Mikey said, the body needs to be unhealthy looking, emaciated, and muscular. Best to get some kind of statue or kit I think for now.

I know Shawn from Sovereign is experimenting with rubber arms and torsos... maybe he can try a full body "suit" of rubber. That might help, but it will probably still look like a manniquin. The basic figure body just isn't lean enough.

 

[Mudshark]

Nah, looks like a nude action figure.

Just because it poses well doesn't mean it looks good once posed.

And like Mikey said, the body needs to be unhealthy looking, emaciated, and muscular. Best to get some kind of statue or kit I think for now.

I know Shawn from Sovereign is experimenting with rubber arms and torsos... maybe he can try a full body "suit" of rubber. That might help, but it will probably still look like a manniquin. The basic figure body just isn't lean enough.

When I suggested modding the figure, I was also thinking of thinning it down to make it look more emaciated, and the muscles redefined to look more sinewy. It would probably work with the limbs, but I'm not sure about the torso... it could be thinned down, too, but might still be too broad to be Gollum.

 

[Wor-Gar]

When I suggested modding the figure, I was also thinking of thinning it down to make it look more emaciated, and the muscles redefined to look more sinewy. It would probably work with the limbs, but I'm not sure about the torso A fabric body suit over that might not look too bad though.

That would be a lot of work to get right.

First, the hollow body isn't going to "carve" well to whittle down to...nothing.

Second, a "fabric suit" will have weave, no matter how small. And it would be impossible to paint well, even with airbrush. The paint will seep and spread. At least as far as "painting" veins and such. An overall tone you could get. But it will still look like a manniquin.

No, there's got to be another way.

 

[Mudshark]

That would be a lot of work to get right.

First, the hollow body isn't going to "carve" well to whittle down to...nothing.

Second, a "fabric suit" will have weave, no matter how small. And it would be impossible to paint well, even with airbrush. The paint will seep and spread. At least as far as "painting" veins and such. An overall tone you could get. But it will still look like a manniquin.

No, there's got to be another way.

If Hot Toys would just make us a new body for Gollum, our problem would be solved! Since it doesn't look like that will ever happen, I think it's going to be hard to get a Gollum figure that everyone's happy with. I think I'm going to focus on figures that are much easier to do. Gollum's an important figure and will be missed, but until a viable solution presents itself, I'm putting him "on hold" for the time being.

 

[Wor-Gar]

If Hot Toys would just make us a new body for Gollum, our problem would be solved! Since it doesn't look like that will ever happen, I think it's going to be hard to get a Gollum figure that everyone's happy with. I think I'm going to focus on figures that are much easier to do. Gollum's an important figure and will be missed, but until a viable solution presents itself, I'm putting him "on hold" for the time being.

Yeah, unfortunately nothing ToyBiz has done can work. Maybe that DVD statue is looking better just as a background piece to have him represented on the shelf. With a repaint. But then, it's not really a figure.

I think you're right -- Gollum/Smeagol must wait.

But at least it looks like Gimli, Merry and Pippin are feasible.

Now what about our villains?

 

[Mudshark]

Yeah, unfortunately nothing ToyBiz has done can work. Maybe that DVD statue is looking better just as a background piece to have him represented on the shelf. With a repaint. But then, it's not really a figure.

I think you're right -- Gollum/Smeagol must wait.

But at least it looks like Gimli, Merry and Pippin are feasible.

Now what about our villains?

Just off hand, how about a Black Rider for starters? It would probably be one of the easiest to customize, compared to the others at least.

A tall body for the base, some suitable fabric for the robe, and either a faceless sculpt or a wire framework inside the robe to shape the hood? Gauntlets, sabatons, and swords might be scavenged from a ToyBiz 12" Ringwraith.

 

[icruise]

What is the 12" ringwraith like?

 

[Mudshark]

What is the 12" ringwraith like?

As I recall, the robes weren't that hot, but the armor parts could be of some use. Maybe the sword, too. It was made of soft plastic and I don't recall if it had a scabbard with it. Probably not.

 

[Entropy]

A fully articulated Gollum will never look 100%. A sculpted one with ball shoulders and cut wrists & swapable heads will prolly be the best bet. A hunched over, squating animalistic pose I think would be the best.

 

[dwing]

As I recall, the robes weren't that hot, but the armor parts could be of some use. Maybe the sword, too. It was made of soft plastic and I don't recall if it had a scabbard with it. Probably not.

I'll try to post pics but the sword is to short and to wide. The legs/arms could work.

 

[Mudshark]

I'll try to post pics but the sword is to short and to wide. The legs/arms could work.

Thanks! The weapons that come with the ToyBiz figures are too toy-like for me anyway. Looks like one more thing to either scratch build or source elsewhere... Some pics of the arms and legs would be much appreciated, though.

 

[galactiboy]

What is the 12" ringwraith like?

I just bougth one on eBay and should be here in a few days. I looked at a review of it on MWCtoys and as-is it looks really crappy, but I think with a body swap and changing out the rubber head it could be salvageable. Does look like the sword is oversized as well, but maybe something can be done to work with it.

Ringwraith Review

 

[Kuzeh]

I just bougth one on eBay and should be here in a few days. I looked at a review of it on MWCtoys and as-is it looks really crappy, but I think with a body swap and changing out the rubber head it could be salvageable. Does look like the sword is oversized as well, but maybe something can be done to work with it.

Ringwraith Review

It doesn't look that bad, at least it's somewhat easy to customize I think...

 

[galactiboy]

I'm thinking that if the armor is removable (it is according to the review) you could move everyting over to a better body to get it to look a bit nicer. Then with some repainting, clothes futzing and replacing the akward rubber cowl you could end up with something serviceable.