"If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been."
Diamond’s Lord of the Rings series of Select 7-inch scale figures has reached Series 6 and with it the addition of two new characters to the line in Saruman the White and Samwise Gamgee. Both come in an unchanged window box packaging with its blue/green colour scheme with Middle Earth map design and a front image featuring Gandalf, Frodo, and Sauron. The only character-specific element is the name which sits bottom right adjacent to the larger Lord of the Rings logo. The rear of the box features illustrations of both Series 6 releases as well as some smaller images of previous releases such as Boromir and Lurtz.
The 2024 release of Sam brings our Fellowship up to 7 in total with Merry and Pippin on the way in Series 7 to complete the party. Sam is a full new figure and is depicted in his traveling clothes worn though much of the journey from The Shire to Mordor. Each part of the figure is cast in the base colour with an off-white for the shirt and arms and a darker brown for the trousers. These are then painted in with details such as the shirt buttons & braces, and the belt of the trousers. We then get a good level of weathering with Sam very much worn and dirty from his adventures - something Diamond has been very good at giving us across this line to date.
The head sculpt remains hand sculpted and hand painted, with no facial printing tech used by Diamond. The likeness is good but the features are slightly rudimentary compared to other lines particularly the eye detail and the black lines for the eyebrows. Sam’s messy hair is well executed with loads of detail as it flows around his ears. The Hobbit feet are another feature where the paintwork doesn’t quite do enough. The hairy feet are sculpted, but the paint applied is quite severe, and what should look like light hairy feet end up looking a bit mud-splattered instead, particularly on our figure where the paint has been splashed onto the areas around the hair.
There is a scaling issue with Sam who proportionally is a good match to actor Sean Astin on screen. But Diamond does have a track record of designing and producing figures in a silo and not comparing them to other releases in the same line. Because of this Sam is much bigger than Frodo when on screen Frodo is a smidge taller than Sam. It is a shame, but you can split them up on display so it is less noticeable. It will be interesting to see where Merry and Pippin sit in this height debate. In terms of scaling with the human figures - this works fine for Sam with him reaching the chest of the human characters like Saruman.
When Frodo was released he came with limited accessories in lieu of including a build-a-figure part for Sauron. Since then the prices of these figures have increased considerably and the details on the contents of the Sam release were not overly clear. Thankfully we are not disappointed with a raft of pieces included to give Sam different looks and different equipment depending on your preference. Diamond doesn’t particularly align their LOTR figures to a particular movie and there are parts here to staddle the entire Trilogy. In terms of putting a label on it for our cover art, I aligned this most to events of The Two Towers,
Up first is a pair of weapons. We have Sam’s own blade from the series complete with a scabbard. Both are made of the harder plastic Diamond use which means crisp details, but a degree of fragility in both pieces. The scabbard features sculpted threadwork while the sword has a painted, wrapped leather hilt and bright silver blade and pommel. Like a lot of sword wielders before him, the sheath has no place on the costume and therefore has limited use for display. Sam also comes with a version of Sting, as used during his scenes fighting Shelob. Interestingly - and perhaps wastefully - this is a new version and not the same one included with Frodo. The crossguard is smaller and the blade lacks as much detail. It is painted with a blue hue to reflect the glow when orcs are near.
These weapons can be held with the inclusion of gripping hands for Sam. These are hard to get in and out and care is needed with the brittle plastic. Care is also needed to get the weapons into the grip of the hands, but once in place, Sam holds either sword securely. Another hand, a left hand, is included holding the Phial of Galadriel. This is another nod to the events of Shelob’s lair. The Phial also appears marginally different from the one included with Frodo - and in Sam’s case it is glued into the hand and not left as an accessory piece. It is painted duller than the original with a chalky grey finish rather than silver.
The final handheld accessory is Sam’s Saltbox. This is an interesting choice but features sufficient detail to make out the box construction, the clasp, and the green inlay to the lid. It is difficult for Sam to hold being wider than the gripping hands and the neutral hands. I can see the niche appeal of it, but might have preferred something more suited to display like Sam’s frying pan.
The included parts don’t stop there though, with Sam also featuring his green elven cloak. This was a part that was originally meant to come with all the Fellowship but was dropped from the likes of Frodo, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli due to cost. Including it with Sam is great, but does leave the rest of the party underdressed with only Sam and Boromir using the same garment. It is of course removable, slotting over Sam's head and being shaped to sit around his shoulders in a soft plastic finish. It is cast in green with the same weathering as the body including a dark wash inside and out. The clasp is painted in a metallic green.
We also get Sam’s overshoulder bag that he wears during his travels. This is a softer plastic cast in brown and shaped to go over the head and one shoulder and sit shaped to the side of his left hip. It does not open or have any other features other than for display but is well painted with darker washes to the sculpted bag and a darker painted waterskin piece sitting at the front.
And finally, we come to arguably the best accessory, Sam’s traveling pack. This went all the way from The Shire to Mordor with him and is replicated in figure form as a sculpted pack with green tones across the rolled sleeping blanket and down into the pack itself. The outside is then adorned with pots and pans as well as rope, pouches, and straps. The pack is then fitted with two green shoulder straps that unplug from the main pack to allow it to fit over Sam’s head and shoulders and be refitted in place. The pack won’t work with the cloak but will sit perfectly fine alongside the satchel. It can ride a little high on the shoulders in some poses but otherwise is a perfect fit to the figure.
And all of these various accessories are supported by 14 points of articulation. The joints are well integrated into the body, although the ankles remain pinned with the pin visible. Sam won’t be doing anything dramatic such as two-handed sword stances, but there is enough mobility to provide a few different display options other than the neutral stance. Those ankles remain an issue though with zero ratcheting and a loose fit to the legs. With Sam’s additional weight once the pack is installed you will need to be careful on him tipping forward - and off the shelf - especially as he gets warmer.
Samwise Gamgee is another great Lord of the Rings release in a series that is providing a sensible level of releases to an improving standard with each wave. There are some issues with Sam, namely the height and scaling with Frodo and the weak ankle joints. But everything else works brilliantly. Diamond has proved how good they are at clothing and weathering across the LOTD series and while the heads are not as realistic as the Hasbro offerings, the likeness is fine. We are also one step closer to the completion of the Fellowship and that commitment to team building is appreciated at a time when lines are often cut short before they reach that point. Long may our stay in Middle Earth continue.
Keep Track of all the Lord of the Rings figures from Diamond at our comprehensive
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports
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...