"Ralph Bakshi LOTR Vintage Figures" Topic

I have some vintage LOTR figures that came out with the animated LOTR movie by Ralph Bakshi. The problem is that I don't remember the manufacturer. Does anyone know/remember the company that made the range. There were orcs, men, hobbits, dwarves, etc. I'd love to know/be reminded. Thanks

Heritage Models in the US. I don't recall who, if anyone, produced them in the UK.

Allen

They were manufactured solely by Heritage Models here in the US. The license was held by Elan Merchandising, thus the stamp "ELAN MERCH" on the bottom of the minis.

Along with the current GW range, these are my all-time favorite LOTR minis.

Here's a link to a Heritage LOTR yahoo group that has some wonderful members including an individual who purchased the line (i.e., master molds, etc.) from the most recent owner, Reaper Miniatures.

link

If you have any other questions, let me know or join the group; like I said, they're a good group of people.

Heritage. I have loads of them. As much as I loved Peter Jackson's masterpiece, I missed the hellishly glowing red eyes of the Bakshii orcs. The odd time we play D&D now, the orcs are the Heritage ones when we have large battles.

Tim:

If you ever want to unload those minis, let me know.

The same goes for you, Firefly VC.

My first minis… ever … were hobbits from this line. I actually dug them out a few months ago. In the process of stripping them of the old paint. Love most of these figures.

I've got a nearly complete collection of the Heritage orcs – they still look great. Thanks for the link to the group!

-Alex

Are you going to be doing any of the earlier Der Kriegspielers as well, or is this strictly the later Bakshi line?

I would buy a re-cast of the Der K Mumakil, the Harads, and the Mordor Uruks.

They were some of my first miniatures as well. I don't remember them all that fondly…

Michael Thomas is the new owner of the heritage line and here is his yahoo group.
link

I just got a box from a friend of mine. There are a bunch of Heritage LotR figures. What's interesting is that there's the blister with Gandalf vs. Saruman with the Bakshi artwork, and then there's the Heritage red card with "The Hobbs, stout folk of the Shires" and a few other things that allude to LotR without using the IP.

See my post today on "Buried Treasure".

Wyatt

IIRC, the first line of Heritage minis with the red cards were not officially licensed and so used the same kind of implied wording that we see with some other manufacturers today.

When the "Bakshi Line" came out, they made a very big deal of the minis being the first officially licensed miniatures for LOTR. The designers had worked with both Bakshi and Tolkien to ensure they had the right spirit going.

Is it possible those figs would live anew!?! O wonderful day. I'll have to visit the link:)

It would be so cool to get more of those Mordor orcs with warhammers!!!!

Thanks for all the information! These were among my first miniatures as well. I used to have a lot of Orcs, but these have disappeared over the years. Now, I only have my dwarves left. I don't play much Fantasy anymore (Ancients & WWII take what limted gaming time I have). But I pulle them out the other day and was wandering through my nostalgic past.

"The designers had worked with both Bakshi and Tolkien to ensure they had the right spirit going."

Tolkien died several years before the film.

Sure, now I'm going to have to dig up the link somewhere…'cause I *know* I read that somewhere. Stay tuned for explanation or unmitigated apology for the bad info (although I did start off with "IIRC", which maybe I didn't) :)

Hello!
I am Michael Thomas and just joined TMP after receiving a flurry of new memberships to my main Heritage Yahoo Group and researching why. Despite loving minis for YEARS and now making them I have almost never visited this site and had no clue of what ws going on here till yesterday. I just joined and hope to become more involved, school schedule permitting. I did purchase several old Heritage lines and along with a couple old Ral Partha lines and an RAFM line I am slowly trying to start a little hobby-side business making long OOP minis available again to collectors.
Currently LOTR is in the process of having new production molds made from original masters, the casting by me and the moldmaking by the last master moldmaker from Hertage, Mr. Willard Dennis. I now have the first new production molds and they work beautifully, the figures are indistinguisable from the originals, except I cast in metal obtained directly from Reaper's supplier. Currently I am in school or at hospital clinicals 7 days a week, so real production and more figure availability will start in December. The Guard orcs another member mentioned are in production as are a few unreleased figures, a couple of which are available now. Likewise I am planning on bringing back as many of the Heritage Fantasy and DK Fantastiques figures as I can and am in the market for more vintage lines.
Michael

"Sure, now I'm going to have to dig up the link somewhere…'cause I *know* I read that somewhere. Stay tuned for explanation or unmitigated apology for the bad info (although I did start off with "IIRC", which maybe I didn't) :)"

Well, I know his Daughter had some involvement; perhaps that's what you read?

Are there any pictures online??

Michael Thomas:

Will you be doing the dwarves from the LOTR line. I'd be interested in increasing my population. As well, I have some dwarves I believe were Hincliffe. Any hopes of these being revived?

Firefly VC-
The masters for the LOTR Dwarves are with Willard now for the manufacture of a fresh production mold. I have a couple of the Heritage Fantasy Dwarves in my masters as well as some Hinchliffe masters with figures that may be the dwarves you see. I have no pics handy, can you send me some to help with ID?
Thanks,
Michael

I have a simple website at classicminiatures.net. Work is still in progress there, but there are a few pics. I also have two Yahoo Groups, one for Heritage in general and one specifically for LOTR. There are plenty of pics there.
Michael

Michael:

I do not have a digital camera, but will try to borrow one to send you pictures of some vintage figures I own. I checked out your website. looks like a good start!

Sean Malcolmson

Thanks Sean!

Any pics are appreciated and are often added to my ever growing archive of pics. In this case it may settle the question about what I beleive are Hinchliffe masters I have and the Heritage Fantasy dwarves.
Michael

To set the record straight, I own most of the original molds for the Lord of the Rings line (including the 72 mm collector's range and vignettes) and the Dungeon Dweller line.
Have simply been to busy to do much about it so far….
Those interested email me at branredeye@hotmail.com

Hello Nukuhiva/Wolfgang.
You have a lot of nerve.
Let me "set the record straight."
You may own the old and decaying 70s production molds, but you DO NOT own the legal rights to either line. Owning molds and owning the legal rights to what is in the molds are two different things. Tom Dye of GFI owns and is selling the Dungeon Dwellers from his website and I own and will be selling the LOTR line under a different name. I purchased the legal rights to the old LOTR line from Reaper Miniatures, the former LEGAL owner of the line as identified by this site. Unauthorized casting and selling of figures from lines owned by others is illegal. I did not acquire the molds you bought because "The man in TX" from whom you bought the molds did NOT own the legal rights to the figures. When he attemped to sell figures himself he was served a cease and desist order. Tom Dye threatened a lawsuit and production stopped. If "The man in TX" did not share this information with you or otherwise misled you I am sorry. Please contact Ed Pugh at Reaper miniaures for the actual line of ownership. I carefully did my legal research and chose to do things the honest way instead of violating the rights of others or risking legal action.

To those considering purchases of miniatures from the former LOTR line please consider the following. The figures I cast will be from fresh production molds made by the former Heritage master moldmaker from original master figures. Casting will be done in metal directly from Reaper's supply. I will also have a small number of unreleased or alternate figures available and there is a chance that original sculptor Max Carr will sculpt some additional new figures for the line available through me. Purchases from me will support these efforts and the continuing effort to save other vintage lines from decay and destruction. Purchases from those who do not own the legal rights to what they sell will hinder these efforts.

Michael

Nukuhiva/Wolfgang

Michael is correct. While you have possession of molds, this does not convey the legal right to commercially produce the pieces on the molds. Please take time to review the current laws governing copyrights and intelletual properties in general.

Bert Duncan, the man you obtained them from, simply purchased molds from a couple that had found them filling the garage of their new house.

Michael and Tom each have supporting paper work to substantiate their commercial IP ownership claims.

If you have any questions please contact me.
Best wishes,
Ed Pugh
CEO Reaper Miniatures
ed@reapermini.com

Thanks, Ed, for posting this. I was out of the country when it came up. Thanks Michael, for infoing me as well.

Tom Dye
GFI

Tom,
At your service Sir!
Anytime!

I still look forward to visiting your shop when I am done with school!

Michael

I know it's a little late to ask this and I am afraid this might fall upon deaf ears but did anything ever come about remaking the Heritage (Elan Merch) figures for LOTR?
I tried going to classicminiatures.net and got a access denied page.
Any information would be appreciated.

Site still works for me: classicminiatures.net

I e-mailed Michael a few years ago inquiring about some figures. At the time, he had a lot of the the Heritage "Rings of the Lord" figures available.

I've had nothing but success with dealing with Michael and I can recommend him for people living in the UK. Very reasonable rates and shipping.

Yes. Through him I was able to get some "unreleased" Dungeon Dwellers plus a few others which had eluded me for a long time. He does a great job.

And a dead site link now. Anybody still making/buying these figures?

Okay, so weird question. Heritage did a series of plastic miniatures and minigames. What became of the moulds? I had the set with the Wizard and have always regretted not getting and keeping more of the sets.

I am still casting, but busy with work & family. My website is down and I haven't had time to get a new one up and running. Had constant problems with old host & let it die. Word of mouth orders have kept me busy enough without a website with my limited casting days. Contact via hayha@q.com for minis orders & questions.

I have the original master molds for the former Heritage Denizen of the Dungeon series of games with plastic minis and am in the slow process of casting good masters and having them sent to Reaper (from whom I purchased my Heritage IP & most molding) to have new molds made. I will be casting them in pewter. Should be receiving a batch of molds in April and the Denizens should be available later this year (I hope). They will be available, it's just a matter of time.