“A ruined and terrible form of life. Now... perfected. My fighting Uruk-Hai.”
The Diamond Select Toys Lord of the Rings 7-inch series of Select Action figures has reached Series 5 and these were released in late Summer 2023 bringing us two more figures for our collection. Lurtz is released to complement the Uruk Hai army-building release from 2022 and to widen the armies of Sauron for your display. The packaging remains as it has been for all the releases to date with a rectangular window box with a hanging tab that uses a blue/green background colour inlaid with the familiar map of Middle-Earth. While these are very much themed around The Fellowship of the Ring, the packing uses the main Lord of the Rings logo in its usual gold textured ornate text. There is no specific character image on the front only a composite shot of Gandalf, Frodo and Sauron as seen on all releases to date. The only character-specific element on the box front is the character name.
The rear of the box repeats the Lord of the Rings logo at the top, with much of the rest of the space used to showcase the figures in the current series - Boromir and Lurtz. Neither of these characters gets any background text, and instead, there is a short synopsis towards the base of the packaging around the Lord of the Rings. On either side of this sits images of some of the other figures released to date. Diamond continues to use twin plastic inserts so the figures are not only behind the main window but then packed between a clamshell within the box. This provides added protection, but reduces visibility of the figure for inbox collectors or when shopping for a suitable paint job. Unpacking this is also quite an operation with both tape and rubber ties to unfasten. Lurtz’s smaller accessories, notably his arrows, are further secured with tape within this inner tray so are better protected than the way some other figure accessories are boxed and shouldn’t go missing while you work through the unpacking.
I had expected Lurtz to borrow some parts from the Uruk Hai release, but he is a full new sculpt with different armour, different skin texture and musculature and standing taller than the Uruk Hai soldiers he commands. As we have come to expect from Hasbro, the entire outfit for Lurtz is well executed from the riveted panels of the chest armour to the ragged skirt section and heavy boots with painted metal clasps. These are all cast in deep grey plastic with a mix of solid sections and more flexible elements around the skirt and the shoulders. The skin tone is a deep red plastic with a visible sculpted almost reptilian texture the red base coat is painted over with a darker wash to enhance the finish as well as providing a level of weathering dirt and grime.
Lurtz features two head options, neither are wildly different with one with a snarling mouth with teeth together, and the second with an opening mouth with the teeth now parted to reveal the mouth within. Like the arms and legs, the head comes in a deep red skin tone with both a darker wash, and also the white hand of Saruman painted over the forehead and down the cheeks. Eyes are a lovely putrid yellow with a red hue and the teeth are also suitably yellowed. Like the other Uruk Hai head sculpts, Lurtz also sports the extensively long hair with a tied top not and then shaped down over his shoulders. The hair is suitably detailed with a matted look painted in a few different brown colours to add texture shading. As with many Diamond Select releases the swapping of the head is quite traumatic as the plastic used on Lurtz feels hard and possibly brittle, I would urge you to add a bit of gentle heat when you do swap out the head portraits.
Lurtz features 16 points of articulation including double-jointed knees and single-jointed elbows that do thankfully bend well beyond 90 degrees as is needed for someone who will wield a bow and arrow. Most joints arrive stiff and need some gentle coaxing (and maybe more heat treatment) to get them moving. Many are ratcheted which gives better longevity although the Diamond Select hips remain a joint that will loosen very quickly.
Lurtz is not short of accessories, starting with a quiver for three arrows included in the set. This comes with a flexible belt - but the belt is too short to go over the head, or over the legs - and there is no fastening to unclip it and reposition it properly on the figure. We know from the Fellowship of the Rings that Lurtz wears his quiver on his right hip, and while the piece is nicely detailed and painted with a leather look and wear and tear on the edges and seams, it just doesn’t immediately work on the figure. Hot water is again your friend as warming it up and getting it more pliable does provide just enough play to get it over the legs and onto the waist where it sits perfectly and actually slots into a hook on the left-hand side which seems designed to hold the strap at waist level (it appears to have no other purpose). I have no idea why Diamond didn’t assemble the figure with this quiver already in place.
Leaving the arrows for a moment, we do get the Uruk Hai hook-end sword for Lurtz and the angular shield. Again, I was expecting these to be identical to the Uruak Hai warrior but both are new pieces with the sword slightly shorter and the shield slightly slimmer and with only one strap on the reverse for the arm to connect. Like the rest of the Uruk Hai equipment, these are cast in dark grey with a metallic finish and weathering to reflect beaten metal. Unlike the Uurk Hair, there is no ‘hand of Saruman’ painted across the shield front.
The sword and shield fit into the single pair of hands included with Lurtz. Like most Diamond releases the hands are not a soft plastic as we see with other lines and with more brittle plastic used on the accessories you do have to be careful and employ a bit more gentle heat when needed to coax the fingers open to grip the weapons.
Lurtz then comes with his more iconic bow as seen when he faces down Boromir. This is a wicked-looking piece cast and painted like the sword and shield with a beaten metal finish. It employs a real string tied off at either end but without much elasticity - this is probably preferable to either no string or a fixed plastic piece that would either look too thick or be so thin it broke when you looked at it. Lurtz fires left-handed in LOTR and the bow grip just about squeezes into his left hand with the two ‘blades’ on either side of the grip being problematic in a full grip. There is just enough articulation in the arms to have the bow raised to fire and with the other hand readying an arrow - but not enough movement in the elbows for a full drawn-back firing position. Nor is the right hand able to hold any of the included arrows securely (this could have been achieved by leaving a gap between the two pairs of fingers.
It does still feel like the Diamond Lord of the Rings figures and their subsequent accessories are developed independently as many of the decisions for Lurtz and the included accessories don't quite make sense with a quiver that doesn’t immediately fit around the body, and hands that doesn't quite fit the weapons included. The articulation is as we expect from Diamond at their current price point, so I was never expecting anything overly dramatic and it is good to see that the joints are on arrival very secure - almost too much. The beauty of these figures, especially the deeper we go into the line, is the aesthetics with a wonderful sculpt for Lurtz, extremely detailed and accurately weathered paintwork and an accuracy to the screen that we haven’t quite seen before on LOTR figures of this scale and price. Lurtz also looks wonderful leading off the Uruk Hai army-building figure while being suitably different from them in height and stature. Well done Diamond, a very impressive release in the main.
Keep Track of all the Lord of the Rings figures from Diamond Select at our comprehensive
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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...