The Green Dragon: Where Folklore, Legend and Fantasy Become a World of Collectible Reality!

The hard working team at Sideshow/WETA continues to bring us fantastic Lord of the Rings products. 2004 has been no different as the sculptors, designers, and management have taken great steps to please the die-hard Lord of the Rings fans and collectors alike. The Balrog, Flame of Udun, is absolutely no exception. This magnificent piece, while an OPEN EDITION (meaning it is NON-Numbered), quickly sold out at the Sideshow/WETA online store and everywhere else it was made available. While the statue is a drastically different pose than its predecessor, it truly captures the amazing detail expected in the mighty Balrog of Moria. Below, we have provided the most comprehensive review of this statue that you could ever endeavor to find on the net. Read the details, check out the excruciating detail in the loads of pictures, but more than anything…enjoy the review and be sure to check out the Sideshow/WETA site for other cool Lord of the Rings Collectibles. Without further ado…on with the review:

External: The shipping box is a typical Sideshow/WETA box that encases the true packaging very well. While there are no bubble wraps or protective sleeves within the shipping case, the statue is still well protected. Within is a fantastic packaging specimen for the Balrog, Flame of Udun. The box Front, Sides, and Back have awesome artwork that capture some very cool poses and details of the statue.

Internal: Opening the box reveals what has become the standard Sideshow/WETA clamshell Styrofoam packaging used to protect all of their LOTR products. Within, the Balrog and the Display stand are nicely wrapped with tissue to protect both the paint job and the pieces themselves.

Unpacking: Here is the first drawback to THIS statue in particular. The head of the Balrog has horns…very small horns…and they are literally unprotected within the packaging. Because the statue is covered with a tissue upon first opening, one could easily reach in and grab the statue to pull it out of the Styrofoam encasing and break the horns. You must carefully remove the tissue to see what you are dealing with BEFORE you try to remove the statue from the Styrofoam!

The Overall Sculpt: The scupt, done by Ryk Fortuna, is nearly without flaw. He captures a fantastic pose for the Balrog of Moria as he is perched out on an outcropping within the walls of Khazad-Dum. The sculpt even captures fantastic details on the Flaming Mane of the Balrog as well as completing the detail of the Balrog that is in the dark recesses of the statue near the rear legs. The sculpt shows that the Balrog can completely hid himself in a dark recessed place of a cave or rock overhang so that he can wait unbeknownst to passers by. I liken this pose to one made famous by many comic book heroes…perched on the top of the city heights, overlooking their domain with utter intent. If you look closely, you can see the Balrog screaming his dominion over all of Moria!.

The Details: The details of the sculpt are quite amazing. Ryk Fortuna went to excruciating detail in creating the leathery look of the Balrog’s wings as they wrap completely around his torso. The fingers are quite cool to examine with what appears to be hardened armor over each of the knuckles of the fingers and hands. The tail has great detail to make it look like it is ready to lash out at any given moment. Lastly, however, the head, horns, mouth, and face of this monster are truly the most amazing part of the entire statue. The detail is so cool…the Balrog nearly comes to life right before your eyes. While, the head is a big too large for the body, the detail on the head more than makes up for it. The teeth are very detailed and the tongue looks perfect in the mouth. The throat even has a solid amount of depth. The wings have a very awesome leathery look to them and the attention to detail on the wing spikes and tail are right on. Looks like Ryk Fortuna and Sideshow/WETA hit the nail on the head with this statue.

Display Base: The display base is traditional Sideshow/WETA in that is has the map of Middle-earth emblazoned on the base. The cool thing is the attention to detail by the folks at Sideshow/WETA as they really tried to center the map on the base around MORIA. If you look closely, you can see that the base’s peg is nearly right on top of Moria. The peg is a VERY sturdy metal and holds the statue very nicely with only slight ‘give’ to the fitting.

The Paint Scheme: The application of the colors, washes, and details is superb. The use of the oranges, reds, and yellows to enhance the flaming mane of the Balrog is so cool that it really looks like flames. The detail on the ‘cracked’ skin look is very good as well. One other slight drawback, however, is that the cracked skin paint scheme is incomplete in some areas. As with any mass produced item with VERY FINE painting details, there is nearly always some unpainted areas or some areas with a bit too much paint. While this is hardly noticeable on this statue, it is present in some small areas. The overall appearance, however, far outweigh the small lack of details in a few areas on the statue.

The Balrog, Flame of Udun, is a fantastic statue to have in your Lord of the Rings Collection. The attention to detail we have come to love from Sideshow/WETA is once again brought forth with this statue. If you ordered one of these and have yet to receive it…consider yourself lucky to have one on order. If you have one of these sitting on a shelf at home, you understand the praises we have outlined here in this review. If you have any doubts about buying from Sideshow/WETA, let this review put them to rest. Get on over to the Sideshow/WETA site and check out their many offerings in the realm of Middle-earth and other lines as well!