“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? I don’t know. Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.”
-Gandalf to Galadriel during the meeting of the White Council
Gentle Giant since their last release has announced several Mini-Busts for their range of collectibles for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. One of those busts was of course a very familiar face to fans of Middle-earth in the character of Gandalf the Grey. Well, the wait is over and Gandalf has arrived on our doorsteps ready to be placed in our collections. Gandalf becomes the third bust in this series to go from Pre-Order to item we have, and I will say I think the wait was worth it.
PACKAGING
The graphics used for Gandalf are the same as we saw with the Dwalin bust and if you’re collecting figures from The Bridge Direct them as well. So you have a box that is very colorful and very much has a feel of Middle-earth when you look at it. You have a great color mixing that almost feels like it’s the dawn of a new day with a great shot of a mountain range in the background. The sides of the box are similar to what we’ve seen from other companies with great looks of the Mini-Bust. The back of the box gives the summation of the story of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Inside the Styrofoam gives the protection required to make sure this makes it to your home. Also, attached to the Styrofoam you will find your collectible COA card with the box graphic and a picture of Gandalf on the front, while the back of the card has the name of the bust and the edition number.
SCULPTING
Gentle Giant has once again turned out a really solid sculpt and keeps the momentum going that they have going coming off of Thorin/Dwalin. You get a very solid likeness to Sir Ian McKellen in his role as Gandalf the Grey. His outfit is very well done with his outfit, cape, and hat having some really good detailing creating a cloth like texture. His hair and beard are also nicely done giving you a nice amount of detail creating the look Gandalf had on screen. This bust also gives you the two items you see Gandalf use during the movie with his staff and Glamdring. Both of these items look very good! Weapons wise Glamdring might be one of Gentle Giant’s best works on weapons, and the staff is also very well done helping to make it look like a real wood staff.
PAINT
Gentle Giant has done another solid job with the paint on Gandalf. He’s for sure among one of the best Mini-Busts I’ve owned from Gentle Giant. The skin tone on Gandalf is really outstanding and has a great natural skin tone to his look. They also did a fantastic job of making sure you get some great life from the eyes on this bust as it just helps make you feel like its Gandalf the Grey. Another solid job by Gentle Giant is the paint job done on the outfit, staff, and Glamdring. All of these have great detail, which is not lost with the paint but enhanced with the job done on the production level. The outfit has great shading for the fir that we see in many of the production stills and scenes we see during the course of the movie. The paint job on his hair also is nicely done with helping to mix with the sculpting details to create the look you want. One of the things I love about these busts is the base. It has been sculpted and painted to look like stone. It’s a really nice touch to these busts and help set them apart from other Mini-Busts from Gentle Giant.
Overall
Gandalf retails for $70 if you are not a member of Gentle Giant’s Premiere Guild, but if you happen to be then he will only cost you $63. Gandalf is a very nice piece and another solid entry from Gentle Giant. He is also a pretty heavy piece compared to the Dwarf busts you have so far. I would highly suggest getting this piece if you’re looking to add a Gandalf bust to your collection and at only 1050 pieces made it’s worth jumping on.
SPECIFICATIONS
The edition size of the Gandalf Mini-Bust is only 1050 pieces worldwide with a retail price of only $70.
PHOTOS
