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Description; the leader of the elves at the Battle of Helm's Deep comes to life!

Haldir is approximately 6" tall and wears the battle armor from the famous battle from 'The Two Towers.'  The armor is painted in many shades of gold, bronze, and other autumn colors and has solid articulation.

The figure is armed with a helmet, bow, arrows, and his sword.  In addition, Haldir features arrow-firing action. 
Haldir - LOTR; TTT, Helm's Deep Battle Set, ToyBiz
Meat and Potatoes; 4.8
Perks; 5.0
Homer Factor; 5.0
Ok, deeeeeeeeep breath.  At this point, you're one of those who 1) seen 'Return of the King' and loved it, 2) you refuse to give in to the masses and pass on it, 3)  you work for Lucas Films and you're thinking 'Oh maaaaaaan... we have a problem.'  Sure, 'Star Wars' has created lots... and lots... and LOTS very good figures, but 'LOTR' has taken a different approach; release a lot of good, collector's level stuff that's affordable and isn't a pain to get.  And you get cool packages like this Helm's Deep battle set!  Yes, it's a repackaging of figures that have already been released, but the only one I have is Aragorn, so it's not a huge loss for me.  Besides, the main reason is get this set is Haldir, the leader of the elves at the Battle of Helm's Deep!

And what a battle!  You thought the opening sequence to 'Saving Private Ryan' was impressive?  Imagine over 10,000 Orcs crashing into a 30 foot wall, a hail-storm of arrows pelting the Orcs, a giant explosion obliterating the wall, and to end it all, 2,000 cavalrymen come crashing down on the evil Orcs to save the day!  To go with this epic sequence you need a figure that is equal to the task.  Well, Haldir isn't perfect, but it's reeeeeeeeeeeal good.

Meat and potatoes are very solid on this figure, but not great due to the action feature the piece comes with.  On the plus side, the sculpt and paint on this figure are outstanding.  The details on the armor are captured so well; the chain mail on the legs, the flow of Haldir's hair, it goes on and on.  The painting on this piece is also a gorgeous reproduction of the elf's armor during the twilight years of their existence on Middle Earth.  Looking at this piece is like looking at autumn leaves in Central New York; vibrant oranges, gold, bronze, and red . 

On the minus side, the articulation is rather limited in the arms.  The figure is designed with a neat arrow-launching action, similar to the
Aragorn figure.  It actually works pretty well, but the mechanics of the feature limit the range of motion in both the left and right arms.  The arms bend at the elbows and rotate at the shoulders in a limited fashion, but considering the level of articulation 'LOTR' figures normally have, it's a bit disappointing.

The perks, on the other hand, compensate for the short-comings.  Haldir is loaded with weapons; the huge sword, a quiver full of arrows, a helmet... wait, he didn't have a helmet!  Oops.  The key piece, though, is the bow.  It's almost as tall as the figure, and it's painted with beautiful gold high-lights like vines on a branch.  This gives the weapon the appearance of a piece of art, not just a tool of war.  And on top of that, the arrow-firing action actually works. 

Homer factor?  Great character + great figure =  oh yeah!!!!!!!!!

In the end, Haldir is an awesome piece of work.  Sure, the articulation could be better, but the other features of this piece make up for it.  Oh, wait, there is one MAJOR problem... NO MORE 'LORD OF THE RINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!'  Oh, the agony!