The natural light really makes the embroidery shine! Great pics! It really is weird, though, how photos make him seem angrier than he looks in hand.
Overall impressions: In hand this is a terrific figure. Really liking it!
The likeness is great (if a little angry, of course, but it's less pronounced in person). The sculpt detailing is nice and sharp and the paint work is excellent. One of Asmus' best paint jobs in my opinion. The "possessed" head looks great, too. Even though I don't think many people will be using it in their displays, you can tell a lot of work went into it. No corners cut there.
The costume work is really, really nice. No surprise there as that's something Asmus always nails. Great mix of textures and colors. And all the fabrics are scaled beautifully.
A nice mix of accessories, too. Some had said he didn't come with a One Ring, but he actually does. (It's on one of his extra hands.) The backpack is nicely detailed, the Red Book has printed pages and is flexible enough to open without damaging, there's a pipe, traveling coat, cooking pot, walking stick, nice selection of alternate hands (including one with the Ring), etc.
There's a sculpted base piece, too. (Though it should be noted that it's just a disk of sculpted grass and dirt. There's no post or crotch-grabber.) He also doesn't come with a standard black figure stand, but the ratchet joints are nice and tight and his big feet make him very stable free-standing.
Lastly, of course, there's the Gandalf hat. Great sculpt. Looks perfect on my Gandalf. (THANK YOU, ASMUS!)
So, all things considered, this is an excellent release by Asmus! Big thumbs up from me!
EDIT: And the box, of course! So classy! (And the "in memory of ..." note got me a little misty. Not gonna lie.)
