The culture of Rohan revolved around its horses. The lifestyle of the people of Rohan were basically farming the land and hunting for their food. Rohan was a hard place to live in and there were no large cities, industries or commerce. Being a horse culture, the people of Rohan would have been on a horse at a very young age, so by the time they were ready to do battle and go to war they were already phenomenal riders. The bond between rider and horse was so powerful that they moved and thought as one. Not surprisingly, the main army for Rohan was its cavalry (the Rohirrim - mounted warriors of Rohan). It was not a permanent force but was made up of ordinary civilians who were mustered together in times of war. Despite that, the Rohirrim were still the greatest mounted warriors in Middle Earth.
Toybiz produced the following men of Rohan: King Théoden, Éomer, The royal guard, Gamling, Háma & Théodred. I got my hands on King Théoden, Éomer, The royal guard & Gamling. I decided not to get Théodred because his character only appeared in the extended DVD and I sold off my Háma because he was similar to Gamling only with a different head sculpt (both decisions I regretted making).
King Théoden was the seventeenth king of Rohan. He "led" (more of Aragorn) his people to victory in Helm's Deep and then mustered 6,000 Rohirrim to the aid of Gondor by leading a massive cavalry charge into the orc army. He was killed by the Witch-King in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In the movie, Théoden was pretty pessimistic and made a number of comments which I thought would have plummeted the morale of his troops!
Éomer was the Chief Marshal of the Mark and nephew of Théoden. He came to the aid of King Théoden in the Battle of Helm's Deep and during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields he led one of the companies of Rohirrim against the orcs of Mordor. He became the eighteenth king of Rohan when Théoden was slain by the Witch-King .
Gamling was a trusted advisor to King Théoden. He stayed by the King's side during the battle of Helm's Deep. He met his end during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
The Royal Guards were the elite warriors in Rohan, handpicked for their skills and loyalty. They were equipped with the best armor and weapons.
The head sculpts for these figures are pretty good and you can see the resemblance of the actors. To me, Théoden's sculpt is the best as compared to Éomer & Gamling. The royal guard's sculpt is just a generic male sculpt but it's still pretty decent. As usual, the armor is the item that stands out. Full of details and I think it's pretty close to the movie.
The paint ops is clean and I really like how Toybiz has made the cloaks of Gamling & the royal guard dirty as if they had been dragged through the fields of Rohan.
King Théoden is the only one with an action feature (thank goodness) hence he has a stupid red button sticking out of his back.
All the figures except Gamling come with their removable helmets. Don't ask me why but I just love my figures with removable helmets!! King Théoden comes with his sword and helmet. Éomer also comes with his sword and helmet. Gamling comes with his sword and shield. The royal guard has his very loooooong spear, shield and helmet. The details on the swords are good & pretty accurate.
I really love these figures mainly because of the insane details in the armor and weapons. It's like Toybiz paying respect to the people in Weta for taking the extra trouble, time and effort to make such beautiful and intricate armor and weapons for the LOTR movie.
King Théoden
