Copyright 2003 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
by Gerardo Vasquez
The recent success of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy films directed by Peter Jackson has brought with it a new line of lead fantasy miniatures based on the films. This however, is not the first attempt to make a Rings Trilogy, or market fantasy figures based on the series. Back in 1978 Director Ralph Bakshi made the animated film entitled "The Lord Of The Rings". Along with being a great film, a great line of lead miniatures was also made based on the film. Made by Heritage Miniatures under license of "Elan Merch" (the licensing property holders for the JRR Tolkien estate), these figures covered the whole gambit of Middle Earth. In particular, a wide range of 25mm figures were released, based on characters from the film. Some of the major series of figures produced were Black Orcs Of Moria, Elves of Lothlorien, Rohan and the Rohirrim, Uruk-Hai Orcs, Saruman's Half-Orcs, Rangers of the North, and Dwarves of the Iron Hills. Several other sets were included in the series, along with specialty and character sets. These figures were generally sold in 'blister' packs and a few were even sold in 'Diorama' sets. Heritage Miniatures even released a 'The Lord of the Rings' Painting Guide, which included painting tips and background information on the different races. Figures were probably produced till around 1982 or so. The figures showed a lot of details, as you can see in the pictures. If you look closely at the Uruk Hai Command pic, you can see the Commander is carrying a severed head in his hand! Pouches, belts, even teeth were nicely crafted into these figures. In my opinion, theses figures were some of the best fantasy figures being produced at the time, and can still stand up to figures being produced today. Evidence of this can be seen by the prices these figures sell for on the internet…anywhere from 2-5 dollars a figure, not bad considering the 'blister packs' of 5 figures originally sold for around 2.95 a pack. Even though these figures are now a part of 'Middle Earth History', they are fondly remembered by a older generation of fantasy wargamers and collectors.
Half Orc |
Boromir, Gollum and Aragorn |
Iron Hills Dwarves |
Saruman's Guard Orcs |
Saruman's Half-Orcs |
Uruk Hai Orcs |
(Along with being a longtime wargamer and collector of toy soldiers, Gerardo runs The Dusty Loft, a toy soldier supply company.)