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Gandalf (6 inch)

April 18, 2014 | By Errex More

To finish off this batch of 6-inch action figure reviews, today it is the turn of Gandalf the Gray to be put under the spotlight.

The Bridge Direct released this version of Gandalf right in time to promote the first The Hobbit movie, but given how the entire second wave of figures got pushed back way after the second movie premiered, I was left with no option but to grab the larger scale figures to appease my plastic cravings.

Even though I tend to favor the smaller 4-inch figures, the sculptures on both the 6-inch and 4-inch scales are so similar it is sometimes hard to justify the purchase, although the larger-scale ones tend to be more detailed and come with additional gear.

A few of the characters I already reviewed from the 6-inch line are strikingly similar to their smaller counterparts, but Gandalf here shows some very interesting differences that are not immediately evident.

Gandalf TH (14)

Starting with the very obvious, the 6-inch version of Gandalf comes with a large gray removable cloak made from flexible plastic. This piece reminds me a lot of the rigid rubber carapaces Hasbro used for capes back in the Power of the Force days.

Under the cloak, Gandalf is very similar to the smaller version, although the robe is much more textured and while the sculpted folds seem to be placed in similar places, they drape in a noticeably different fashion. Also, this time around the scarf around his neck is a different shape and not meant to be removed.

Gandalf’s hair and beard have thin strands flowing outwards that were not present in the 4-inch figure, even though both versions are pretty good portraits of Ian McKellen under all the hair and prosthetics.

Even though the larger scale affords much more opportunity to add articulation, the overall design for Gandalf was set as:

• Barbell mounted neck.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Swivel wrists.

• Swivel waist.

• Pegged hinge hips.

• Pegged hinge knees.

• Pegged hinge ankles.

From a practical point of view, this articulation scheme ends up working pretty much the same as it did for the 4-inch version of this character, meaning that from the waist down, joints are pretty much useless.

Furthermore, with the big gray cloak on, Gandalf becomes a statue with only ankles and wrists joints for articulation, and even then, the ankles are only partially useful to keep the figure standing.

The paintjob is good, but nothing too special. It consists on shading washes and highlights intended to showcase the sculpted textures on the clothes, with most of the accessories painted in solid blocks of color. The face paint is neatly applied and the hair does have a very natural appearance to it.

Other than the cloak, Gandalf comes with his wooden staff, his hat and the elven sword Glamdring. Glamdring is made from a fairly rigid plastic and fits nicely in the scabbard glued to Gandalf’s side

Summing up, this version of Gandalf wasn’t quite what I expected it to be, mostly because of the articulation issues. However, putting my expectations aside, I have to grudgingly concede that this is still a reasonably decent action figure.