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(Note follow-ups.)
I've seen a couple mentions recently on various newsgroups that Playmates Toys
had a "construction toy" license for Lord of the Rings. Never saw any concrete
info, though Playmates has an "Intelli-Blox" logo on their website (not backed
up by anything, when I checked recently).
Today at an indie toy shop (Talbot's in San Mateo, CA, south of SF) I found two
of six planned sets. They are indeed part of an "Intelli-Blox Construction
System" from Playmates, and licensed from the movie. The packaging is a
straightforward flat box, with figures mounted in a little window, and uses the
same green-and-yellow style artwork as the Toy Biz movie action figures.
I picked up both medium-size sets ($30 ea.); shown are three smaller sets
(guess: $12-15 ea.) and one large set (guess: $60). They are an odd combination
of Lego and Block Men, with a Simpsons/Fisher-Price electronic sound feature
thrown in, if you know what that means (more below).
The figures are about three inches tall. They are NOT "Lego style" mini-
figures; they are small action figures. The Gandalf is actually pretty good;
nice sculpt and paint detail in the head. Saruman is similar, but the Orc
doesn't compare very well, not much detail at all. The figures have three to
four points of articulation, typically shoulders and waist. Each has one
accessory (sword, etc.). Each figure is mounted on a block the same size as a
Lego 2-by-4 stud brick; the brick has resistor plates in the bottom that
Playmates Simpsons fans will recognize on sight. The figures "plug in" to a
reader that recognizes the individual code, then pushing a button plays a sound
(line from the movie) unique to that character.
Oddly, the chip reader and sound features are ONLY built into the largest set--
at $30, a sound feature with these mid-size sets would have been nice. But only
the large set (Mines of Moria) has the sound feature. Figures from all the sets
are supposed to work with it.
Each set builds -- Lego-style, or more accurately MegaBloks style -- a scene
from the movie, as you might guess. The two sets I picked up build Isengard
Caverns (includes Gandalf, Saruman, and an Orc), and Encounter at Prancing Pony
Inn (Strider, Frodo, and Pippin). The canverns are mostly a pile of bricks,
though the orange-tan rock color is interesting and might appeal to Lego fans
for its oddball color. The inn is a little more successful, though it isn't
really a whole structure, more like a building section: a facade on one side,
an, entryway in the middle, and a few internal things like a fireplace and table
spread around the one side. It has a lot of brown bricks, which again Lego fans
might find useful if they don't mind sullying their creations with clones. ;)
Despite being a Lego fan, an action figure fan, and a LOTR fan, I'm afraid these
products don't blow me away. Taken as a whole, all the scene designs are
abstract, and rather spare, with no complete structures. They will not, as a
rule, appeal to adult Lego fans. The designs cop out with large, single-purpose
blocks at several points: e.g. one large roof piece for the inn. There are also
not many "goodies" like accessories for the figures to interact with, a Lego
hallmark that Playmates should have considered. Frankly, a 5 minute comparison
with the Harry Potter sets will make it clear there's no threat to Lego in these
sets.
As action figures, the figures are intriguing -- in fact the two wizards are
very passable -- but frankly being permanently mounted on bricks makes them seem
more like chess pieces, than figures. The sound feature being limited to one
large set is pretty unappealing to me. And really, the finely detailed action
figures and the crude blockish playsets just clash.
On the whole, they really feel like the Block Men military sets released over
the last couple years-- similar feel to the style and design, right down to the
packaging. It makes me wonder if there isn't a connection there somewhere.
Enjoy, or don't,
Kevin
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