I was totally surprised to see the Game of Thrones figures in Toys R Us today (which would be Thursday). They had two Tyrions, two White Walkers, a Ned, a Daenerys, and the Hound. I almost bought Daenerys and the Hound just in case something falls through with the ones I sent back to Funko, but I decided to have faith in them.
I
feel like the second series should be hitting soon, but I have no
idea what the release schedule is. It’s probably for the best that
they haven’t
come out yet, considering that I still haven’t finished reviewing
the first series.
Seriously
– is it just me? Am I the only one that could not possibly care
less about Bran and the Westeros Goonies?
The
Walkers have had a presence on the show, but aside from the
occasional artistic arrangement of disembodied human limbs they’ve
just been this sort of vague menace. Maybe I don’t know enough
about them to be interested? Don’t get me wrong – they look
awesome
and the effects used to create them are phenomenal. I think it’s
just been too long since I watched the first season in its entirety
and other threats have become more prominent. Which I guess is kind
of the point.
But
all of that changed last Sunday night (I haven’t seen last night’s
yet because it’s Thursday right now, but if anything truly wacky
happens I might come back and edit this).
Right
at the tail end of the show we got a more intimate look at the
Walkers than we have ever seen.
***Spoiler
Alert***
One
of the dickhead knights that is currently making a living by raping
the inbred children of a dead man left a baby out in the middle of
the woods because Burn Gorman (who I somehow hadn’t even realized
was playing Tanner) yelled at him and is fucking crazy. We finally
see what’s been happening to all those babies that were getting
left in the woods.
A
White Walker takes it and rides out into the middle of fucking
nowhere where there’s a convocation of… something…
doing a cover of the uRu song from The
Dark Crystal.
The White Walker hands the baby off to one of these beings, who takes
it to the middle of a huge circle of crystals and then touches its
cheek. The baby’s eyes turn crystalline and its skin starts to
whiten. So I suppose this is how White Walkers are made, which is the
first suggestion we’ve had that they actually are related to
humans. Also, we get a look at the face of the being that turned the
baby. It doesn’t look quite like a White Walker. It kind of looks
like Darth Maul painted white.
Side
Note: I have only watched this episode once and could be wrong about
the uRu song. But I feel like I remember them going, “Oooohhhhhmmmmm”
or something. Also, the baby toucher might have just been a Walker
with spiky things on its head, but I felt like it looked different.
Anyway,
all of that reinvigorated my interest in the White Walkers, so I
thought it would be a good time to review this figure, which I think
is the one that Samwell killed with the dragonglass.
NO.
Not that
Samwell.
FIRST
GLANCE
This
figure is very tall and very detailed. It almost looks like something
from a Jim Henson production. It just has that fantastic and ancient
vibe to it. While it was still in the box I thought it was kind of
boring, but once I unpacked it I realized it was actually very
dynamic and exciting to look at.
PACKAGING
While
I think these fancy boxes are overdoing it, they are definitely my
favorite type of packaging; if only for the fact that you can open
them unassisted and put the figures right back in if you want to.
There’s
something about seeing the HBO logo on these boxes that seems
special. Maybe one day we’ll get figures from The
Sopranos
or Oz.
Or – dare I hope – Dream
On.
LOOKS
This
is one lanky, creepy, reanimated carcass.
Or
I guess it’s reanimated. I dunno. Whether or not it’s actually a
zombie, this is the best zombie figure I own.
The
head is distinctly “not quite human”, which is a theme that
carries throughout the figure. The upper portion of the face is sort
of your standard sunken, desiccated zombie face. The lower portion is
a broad, strong jaw – something you don’t typically attribute to
corpses. The sculpted detail of the flesh on this face is amazing. I
had to sit and look at it for a while just to appreciate all of the
wrinkles and folds. I love how the eyes are set far back into the
skull but are still clearly eyeballs. The hair is a little odd, as it
had to be long but also accommodate movement of the head while
hanging down the back. The actual sculpt of the hair is well done,
but the shape is a little funky. I can’t think of a better way
to accomplish the look needed for this guy, though.
The
torso reflects the shape of the face. It’s overly long and broad at
the bottom. I love how the abdominal joint is incorporated into the
bottom of the rib cage. In most cases this would be to conceal the
joint, but here I think it was done to accentuate that area and make
the rib cage more distinctive. The skin over this area is just as
detailed as what’s on the face and highlights the bone structure
beneath.
The
arms are long and spindly and contrast the broadness of the torso and
face nicely. I love the big, knobby joints and how uniform the
texture and color of the skin is across the figure. The joints are
all either blended in well or used to accentuate anatomical
differences. The Walker’s bracers look fantastic. They’re
slightly asymmetrical and the edges look worn and old – no clean
lines. The laces are well defined and don’t mush out onto the
bracers like these things sometimes do. The clawed hands are sculpted
as open fists that could hold various things. They look fine empty or
grasping the included spear.
The
Walker’s skirt is one piece that appears to be separate strips of
leather. It’s made of a soft plastic that does not interfere with
leg movement. The belt is sculpted on and – like the bracer laces –
looks separate and has definition. The little beads on it almost look
like they could swing around. I love the wear on and the different
lengths of the strips.
The
legs aren’t quite as knobby and spindly as the arms, but I think
that’s to accommodate the articulation. They still look quite good
and the leather greaves on the calves match the bracers on the arms.
The clawed feet are thick and sturdy and the figure has no trouble
balancing in many different poses.
Overall
this figure has a fantastic profile. But when you add in the amount
of sculpted detail put into the flesh and anatomy you’ve got what
is truly one of the most impressive looking 6” scale figures I’ve
seen. Funko did not cut any corners with this one.
ACCESSORIES
The
White Walker comes with a spear with a shard of ice at the end. I’m
not normally one to get too excited about spears, but this thing
looks fantastic.
It starts with the fact that the head is translucent plastic that has
been treated to look like ice. The fringe beneath that is actually
two separate pieces, which is why it looks good and hangs so well.
The rest of the weapon is covered with texture and paint that give it
so much more personality than you would expect from the most basic of
weapons.
The
figure can hold the spear with either or both hands. It can be a
little tough to slide the spear into place, but both it and the
figure are durable. They can handle just a bit of force.
FUN
This
figure feels very
brittle. Given my experiences with the Hound and Daenerys I was
positive it was going to break, but as I worked the joints and took
photos I moved it around a bit more forcefully and it is actually
quite sturdy. I’m not going to be throwing it against the wall or
anything, but it held up to casual posing quite well.
The
White Walker probably has the most meaningful articulation of any of
the Game of Thrones figures so far. That’s because he’s pretty
much naked and doesn’t have a bunch of robes, cloaks, or armor
getting in the way of movement.
Head
– ball joint
Shoulders
– ball joints
Elbows
– swivel/pivots
Wrists
– swivel/pivots
Abdomen
– ball joint
Hips
– ball joints
Thighs
- swivels
Knees
– double pivots
Ankles
– pivots with swivel pegs
All
of the joints work very well, but some of them did require some
careful loosening up. It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure I
had to put this guy in the freezer for one of those joints.
I
had a blast playing with this figure. It poses well, looks cool, and
has great balance.
OVERALL
This
is a figure that might
transcend the line a bit. It’s a great zombie and a very good
example of what Funko can do with an unadorned buck. Lots of
functional joints and an absolutely beautiful sculpt. It’s one that
I could see any toy collector picking up just for being a fine
example of a 6” scale action figure. Which is something I forgot to
mention – it is quite a bit taller than any other Game of Thrones
figures, maintaining the excellent attention to scale that the
company has displayed thus far. I’m thrilled to own this one and
definitely recommend it.
5
out of 5
This
is such a well done figure that it got me excited about the idea of
more White Walkers even before I watched last week’s episode. I
particularly want one on a horse, which I would imagine would make a
fantastic first box set for Funko to try out. I’ll buy it.
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