Okay, maybe the figure line itself wasn't unexpected given that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is expected to be a Summer blockbuster and the previous Tolkien films, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, had a pretty large toy line. The unexpected element pertains to the fact that a newer company, The Bridge Direct, is handling the property.

Even if you haven't heard of the company (which I hadn't), you've likely seen some of their stuff around. And although the company may be relatively new, the guys running it seem to have been in the industry for quite a while. That said, I'm still surprised that the license didn't end up in bigger, better-known hands.

As reported by Fwoosh, the figure line will be in the 3.75-inch scale. I personally find it to be a perfect decision since epic content works better in scales that make the surrounding environments larger: Rocks become boulders, streams turn to raging rivers, and it just seems like you have more possibilities for figure photography. However, for those who prefer larger figures, there will be 6-inch scaled ones as well. The odd thing is that both scales are billed as having up to 12 points of articulation (you know, since the natural assumption is that larger scaled figures will have greater articulation). 

So far the only figures to be revealed are the hero (and titular Hobbit) Bilbo Baggins, wizard Gandalf, and dwarf Thorin Oakshield. Curiously, it's not specified whether these are the 3.75-inch or 6-inch photos (hopefully both don't look the same!) although I would assume that they're the smaller ones. Either way, the headsculpts seem surprisingly detailed while the bodies don't quite seem to have the same level of quality (Thorin still looks great, though). Given that the 3.75-inch line is billed as consisting of single-carded figures, two-packs, beast packs, and battle packs, I imagine that there will be a pretty good selection. I'm personally looking forward to that.

While I'm not sure when most of these figures hit retail, there's one you won't have to wait long for: a SDCC exclusive Bilbo Baggins in his "invisible state" while wearing the ring.

So, is anybody excited for this line given what we've seen so far?