The Diamond Select Toys Moria Orc was released in 2021 in the 3rd wave of the 7-inch Lord of the Rings series. Like the previous five figures, the Orc features a part for the Sauron build-a-figure - namely Sauraon's enormous mace weapon.
The Lord of the Rings figures are packed in blue-hued boxes with the iconic Middle Earth map included as a faded backdrop pattern within the overall colour. The front of the box is generic across all figures featuring the LOTD logo and an image that contains Gandalf, Frodo, and Sauron rather than having an individual character image for the figure in the box. The contents are only confirmed via a text entry under this montage image.
The back of the box does go into more details for the figure and the wave with full images of the Moria Orc and the other Series 3 release, Aragorn. There are also smaller images of the Sauron figure and the previous releases from Series 1 and 2. There is a lot of blank space on the box rear, but the opportunity has not been taken to include some character-specific information.
Inside the box, the figure is sandwiched between two inner trays that then sit behind the box window itself. While this is awesome protection for the figure, it is a lot of plastic and also creates an obscured effect when viewing the figure in the box - frustrating if you are trying to select paint apps or indeed if you are a mint-in-box collector.
Out of the box and our Moria Orc stands around 6-inches in tall, shorter than the human characters/elven characters but in scale with them as we see in the LOTR Trilogy and in particular the Mines of Moria scenes.
Diamond have done a fantastic job with the figure sculpt and the armour and clothing which is just incredible in terms of detailing and finish. Our Orc is wearing chest and leg armour with the harsh angular spiked design of Orcs and Goblins. This is painted in a black/bronze finish and is weathered and beaten using additional dry brush paint apps. Under the armour is a tattered red robe with some chainmail elements also visible - including a collar piece that is loose around the upper torso so can be reversed for two slightly different looks for your Orc - a good feature if you are army building.
The paintwork detailing continues into the chain mail, although there are a couple of unpainted segments on the very bottom of the robes if you look closely. The green skin tone is similarly weathered and dirtied up and this includes the exposed parts of the legs and arms, as well as the head.
The main head is grotesque and a very good likeness to the Orc costumes and prosthetics we see on screen and this is one of the best likenesses of the line to date even if it is a non-specific Moria Orc from the multitudes that attack the Fellowship. The eyes are fantastic in terms of how they shine and stare out at you from the darkness, and the mouth is equally as impressive with the sharp pointed teeth bared.
This is a figure that you can also adjust by way of a second Orc head wearing a brutal spiked helmet. The head underneath looks the same as the normal head, with the helmet fixed over the top which was obviously more cost-effective than engineering a working removable helmet. The same rusted dark brown/black paint app is added over the helmet and the gap between the upper piece and lower jaws is wide enough for those glossy almost metallic eyes to shine out from underneath.
As mentioned earlier the helmet can combine with the removable chainmail collar to give slightly varying looks to your Orcs - and if you take the collar off the finish remains underneath and the Orc does not look out of place at all.
There are options too in the weaponry with the pack including both a simple and wicked-looking Orc sword and a larger spear. These are decorated in a similar theme as the armour so look just as worn and weathered as the rest of our Orc warrior.
The weaponry fits in either hand, with a bit of coaxing needed at the fingers - an issue seen on other LOTR figures from Diamond. This can run the risk of paint flaking if done too much so be gentle and patient when teasing the weapons into place.
The articulation of the Moria Orc is impressive for its size and in terms of the usual Diamond offering. He features 18 points in total and has double-jointed knees and elbows, supported with a swivel cut at the thigh/bicep. The waist joint allows for the stooping position we see in the Orcs on screen and the neck movement is expressive with plenty of scope for tilted heads or to have the head looking forward while the body is still stooped.
The weapons can be wielded fully with the arm joints, including over the head options and double-handed attack positions with the spear.
Every joint feels OK out of the box, although that ongoing and long-running issue of weak angle joints seems to still be there and while my Orc is standing fine presently the joint doesn't feel robust enough for the future and already flops around once the foot is taken out of the neutral position.
The Diamond Select Moria Orc from Series 3 of the Lord of the Rings Series is very impressive despite its diminutive frame. Diamond has done an excellent job all around with this one, nailing both the sculpt, the design and the paint applications and even giving us a very good range of articulation - something we do often have to sacrifice on the Diamond figures vs the looks.
This line is going from strength to strength and if Diamond can keep putting out figures of this quality and translate that into the Human and Elven figures they will be on to a winner. The only issue for our Moria Orc is likely one of availability considering he is an army builder - and packing him 1 per case with Aragorn is potentially going to leave him in shorter supply. I would not be upset if he did get a re-release or an update without the BAF part and perhaps some more weapons, and I can also see this format working really well for other Middle Earth soldiers - like the Urak Hai coming in Series 4 as well as the likes of the Elves or the warriors of Rohan or Gondor.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...