Aragorn was the son of Arathorn and the heir of Isildur, who had defeated Sauron and taken the One Ring from him. Aragorn first met Frodo and the other three hobbits in Bree and was known as the ranger named 'Strider'. From there he accompanied them to Rivendell until the Fellowship was broken at the end of the first book.
Prior to being able to have concept artwork prepared for the figure there was a great deal of research that was conducted (as with all the ME Toys) to ensure fanatical detail to the literary work. Some of the issues debated were the length of Aragorn's hair; the length of Narsil (the sword fragment of Isildur that he carried as Strider) and the length of Anduril after the sword was re-forged prior to the Fellowship leaving Rivendell. Material was used from not only LOTR but also of the various companion volumes of the History of Middle Earth and Unfinished Tales to ascertain these areas of minutiae in order to be extremely accurate.
The figure was designed to have a v-crotch for riding a horse and would be sculpted with armor permanently on his body. Any differences between Gondorian armor and Elven armor were to be shown through the paint scheme of the figure. Also the head was to be sculpted to allow for several paint applications to show the character at several times throughout his life, both as ranger and king.
Strider In Bree - Diamond Version
Old Head - long stemmed pipe curiously carved, silver-grey star binding a used Ranger cloak, Elven scabbard on belt with pouch, broken sword of Narsil, regular sword. Scabbard would be painted differently to reflect it being an older scabbard of non-Elvish origin.
Aragorn At Galadriel's - Toy Club
Kingly Head - Anduril, Elven cloak with brooch, Elven scabbard on belt with pouch, Elven mail.
Aragorn In Battle - Mass Market
Old Head - Helm, round shield, Elven scabbard on belt with pouch, Anduril, Gondorian mail.
King Aragorn - Regular Version
Kingly Head - Star of the North on circlet, sword Anduril, long white mantle (cloth) with elfstone clasp, mithril helm with silver wings and decked with jewels (ancient crown), black mail girt with silver. Cardboard throne which figure will sit on in the package.
Below are two drawings by Arnie Swekel that show accessories and some ideas for articulation. The drawing of the accessories is a thumbnail and links to a very large drawing with more detail.
