The battle-weary ranger of the north, Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, submits to Frodo Baggins of the Shire and vows to help him along the way to Mordor in an effort to finally destroy the One Ring that has plagued Middle-earth for an entire Age! Aragorn swiftly and adeptly defends the Hobbits amidst overwhelming odds at Moria, fends off multitudes of Orcs on their way to Lothlorien, and finally dazzles in his defeat of Lurtz in protecting the Fellowship! He puts himself in harms way, but creates an everlasting bond with Frodo as he finally understands that he must let Frodo go on his own way to Mordor...for the safety and security of all! This massive, awesomely detailed replica of Aragorn as he fights the Uruk-hai of Isengard at Amon Hen...is truly an amazing piece with loads of fine details...on with the review:
“Last descendant of the ancient kings, Aragorn is fated to one-day claim the long empty throne of Gondor. It is a responsibility he never truly desired, but Aragorn is fated to lead the people of Gondor to freedom from the dark forces of Sauron and into a time of peace. Aragorn has lived long in self-imposed exile, with the rangers, the Dunedain, but when summoned by Gandalf to face the threat posed by the One Ring, Aragorn journeys to meet and guard the Ringbearer on his perilous journey.
Watching over the young hobbit Frodo Baggins, bearer of the One Ring and keeper of Middle-earth's fate, Aragorn fights valiantly to protect Frodo and lead him safely on his quest. Aragorn guides Frodo safely to the haven of Rivendell, where they are joined by more companions and form the Fellowship of the Ring, fated with the burden of destroying the Ring. Aragorn and the Fellowship faithfully protect Frodo from many foes and perils, but Aragorn is ultimately unable to guard Frodo against the most dangerous enemy - the Ring itself. Although Aragorn's heart is pure and his will strong enough to refuse the offer of the One Ring's power, he cannot promise to protect Frodo from other allies and friends who might be overcome by the temptation of the Ring. It is with a heavy heart that Aragorn allows Frodo to continue the journey without his protection. Aragorn's quest continues with the defense of the other members of the Fellowship, and the task of rallying the Men of Middle-Earth to defend against the gathering darkness.”
The Aragorn Premium Format figure is the 4th in the series of Lord of the Rings Premium Format figures (Lurtz, Frodo, Gandalf the White). The Aragorn Premium Format figure is a stunning 1:4 scale museum
quality piece. Sword in hand, Aragorn stands 20 inches tall atop the
display base, captured in the heat of the battle at Amon Hen. The body
of each figure is cast in high-quality polystone, then hand-finished
and hand-painted, and then dressed in an amazing miniature replica of
the costume, constructed of real fabrics and leathers. The base is
individually hand-numbered for authenticity. This stunning figure is
the ultimate representation of Aragorn, and an outstanding addition to
any Lord of the Rings collection!
Packaging..........
Packaging Internal/External: First off, this is fairly large statue standing just under 21 inches in height. The box is large and about the same size as the Lurtz and Gandalf the White premium format figures. The packaging art is the new standard for the Premium Format figures and reveals the statue from multiple angles on the box sides. A nice write-up on the packaging reverse reveals a bit of the backstory behind the character and the scenes depicted with the Premium Format figure. The figure is HEAVY and well packaged. While the styrofoam is a bit more brittle than the styrofoam used in the past few years, it appears to be durable enough to hold the statue in place for shipping. Wether it will handle multiple shipments and removing/replacing on multiple occasions remains to be seen!
Sculpt, Likeness, and Display..........
The Overall Sculpt:The scupt work on Aragorn is outstanding. The details in the hair and face are top notch and reveal the awesome sculpting ability of Andy Bergholtz and the team of creators at Sideshow Collectibles. The detail on the smallest of items like Aragorn's ring are very nicely done and compliment
the overall statue presenation well. The brooch for the elven cloak is a bit too large, but not completely out of scale to make it matter too terribly much. The detail on the Evenstar is also nicely done. Again, Sideshow Collectibles and the sculpting team have done a superb job in recreating the look of the BLADES from Lord of the Rings! Aragorn's sword and dagger (for the Exclusive Edition) are very nicely done, look ready to sever some Orc appendages, and have just enough BATTLE-wear to look very menacing! Overall...the sculpting is right up there with the Lurtz Premium Format figure!
The Likeness: The facial sculpt is close to Viggo Mortensen...probably one of the closest likenesses to 
Mortensen to date for a Lord of the Rings related product. His likeness has been probably the most difficult to get just right, and Andy Bergholtz and company sure did a bang-up job on this one. That intent stare from the Heir to the Throne of Gondor is down right kingly and dangerous! They really were able to capture the intent look of Aragorn in his efforts to protect the Fellowship and defend Frodo from the attacking Uruks. The wind blown hair is very nicely done, even capturing some minor separation from the face in parts...well done! About the only drawback, if one can be found, again is the slight offness of the likeness. While it looks very much like Viggo...there just a little something that looks off...not by much...but still a little off.
The Display Base:The leafy grassy sculpting on the display base is nice, but this could have been much better. Would have been excellent to have a partial wall of Amon Hen or some grass or rocks included in the base. The base is a bit too plain for my tastes and adding a few rocks or standing grass would have realy brought this Premium Format to life in a way that would have guaranteed a scroe of 5 out of 5!
The Accessories (EXCLUSIVE and NON-EXCLUSIVE):The EXCLUSIVE version of Aragorn comes with the Hand holding his trademark elven dagger. The position and angle of the hand and arm are spot on with the pose. The use of the magnets within the arm attachments is a great mechanism implemented by Sideshow for adding these features. Perhaps the best part of these Premium Format mixed material figures is the superb cloth and costume work. The cloth choices and leatherwork is phenomenal and the look created by using these cloths and leather really make the claim of 'museum quality' true to the letter! This figure MUST be seen and FELT in person to appreciate the detail in the sewing, weathering, and accessorizing!
Paint Application and Cloth Work......
The Paint Scheme and Cloth Work:The paint application applies primarily to the base, boots, face, hair, and accessories. The paint apps on the face are awesome. The beard work with the paints really 
creates the facial hair and bumpy grisly look of Aragorn battling on Amon Hen. The detail in the eyes and mouth enhance the likeness to Viggo and ALMOST make it pass with flying colors. The intent stare is excentuated with the great eye paint apps. The accessories and boots have nicely done paint apps with little slop and running of colors. The best work of the accessories is the blood splattering on the sword and the mud splattering on the clothing...absolutely LIFELIKE in every sense of the word!
Without exception is the drybrushing techniques used throughout the piece. Nicely done on the boots 
hands, beard, and base. The base looks like a weathered stone base with leaves and grass strewen across it. Again...a little more DIMENSION to the base would have been a major plus as mentioned above in the sculpting review.
The overall highlight of this figure again is the cloth and leather work. This realistic representation used for these mixed media figures is astonishing! They truly look like the REAL LIFE character in small scale. The cloth work has FINE detailed stitching, realistic leather straps and belts, and working buckles and ties that bring the amount of detail to an unparalleled level for mixed media! Truly a figure to behold in person!
OVERALL..........
The Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, Premium Format Figure is something to BEHOLD and if you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy...is a MUST HAVE!! Top nitch sculpt work on the likeness to Viggo Mortensen, excellent paint apps, and phenomenal cloth and leather work! Heck, with the amount of detail and excellent likeness for this figure, the $299 price tag is every bit worth it!
