Thor the Mighty Avenger 3.75 inch Movie Line: Deluxe Asgard Defender Heimdall

The airport.  That's where you find some of the best toys.  I figure it's because the planes reach there first (genius at work, I am) and because though so many people pass through, they don't always think to stop and look for a toy store there. They're just passing through.

I know a guy who uses airports a lot (though he'll claim he travels by horseback or Pegasus) but he doesn't just pass through.  He surveys.  He stalks.  (He texts me.)  He swoops.

And Heimdall is his latest quarry The Rangerlord found for me at the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia.  He's such a great guy.  He also found me three other figures of a certain Asgardian ilk that I'll be reviewing soon, hopefully.

But in order to get into Asgard we have to pass the gatekeeper.  And the gatekeeper's name be Heimdall!  So Haimdall, may we pass?  Heimdall?



Like: Great overall sculpt.  I love the movie armors and the figure accurately captures that movie likeness.

Also, they've done a great job with the excellent Idris Elba likeness.   His great helm, the "cloth" folds of his sleeves and the "leather" folds of his boots are all also very well sculpted.  (Yes, he's actually wearing pants.)

Like: His greatsword!  It's a very detailed sculpt, with all the intricate etchings carved out of the hilt and a fuller (groove) running down the centre of the blade.

Like: His Bifrost unit and detachable rainbow stand!  I can't believed I just said that.  Rainbow stand.  But I did!  Look at all that colorful translucent goodness!  I love it! ;P

Dislike: The very poor/lack of paint apps.  He's entirely sculpted in brown, with his armor, helm, bracers, belt, and other metallic bits painted gold.  And the back of his shoulder plates and breast plate only have a thinly applied layer that shows through to his brown plastic.

Sexy back? Not quite...

The other thing about the gold paint is that it doesn't go well with his browns.  It's kinda one shade of unspectacular flatness.  It doesn't help that his brown bits also look plastic.  Also, the gold on the hilt of his sword, which is thankfully a brighter shade, shows paint wear, while the blade itself has a huge chunk that has flaked off near the hilt.

Like:  That there's a fleck of gold in his eyes!  I missed it at first, thinking his eyes were painted the standard black/brown.  But after taking closeup shots of him, they are there, just like in the movie.  Would you look at that? :)

Like: That his face is well painted.  even though the eyes are the wrong color, they're neat beneath the brim of his great helm.  His beard is also done sharply in black.

Like: His detachable skirt piece.  It pegs into itself in the front and can probably fit any figure you'd want it to.  But in order to make sure it fits Haimdall the best, they've actually sculpted a recess on his left pelvis so it doesn't fall off--he's less easily "pants-ed" that way.

Dislike:  That he's missing wrist, chest/waist and ankle articulation.  With almost all figures in this scale having these PoAs, it's become a no-no to not have them.  How is he ever going to wield that sword to Frost Giant-slaying effect?  This also means he can't hold his sword in both hands resting o the hilt in his famous "guardian" pose. (link?)  That saddens me.

The other PoA he loses is the one extra joint in the knees.  Heimdall's only got a single hinges instead of the usual the double hinges there, which is something of a rarity for Hasbro's 3.75-inch figures these days.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 6/10 - His shoddy paint really ruins a great sculpt.  Hopefully they re-release him with better (but no necessarily different) paint!

Poseability: 6/10 - He's missing several key PoAs.   And I forgot to mention, his head is a ball-joint but limited to a swivel because of the thickness of his neck.

Fun: 8/10 - I think it's mainly the movie that sold me on this guy.  He's so sombre but yet humorous, so by-the-book yet witty,  so menacing yet lovable.  He also comes with a mini-playset which turns out to be a vital location in the film.  True, they toy may be a glorified stand that can shoot plastic lightning bolts out of it, but at least they're relevant to the character.  AND he can also stand on it.  Menacingly too.  Garrrgh.

Value: 7/10 - I paid in the region of S$25 (US$19) for Heimdall, which is about standard retail in these parts.  Heimdall comes with the aforementioned greatsword, Bifrost unit, rainbow stand, and a couple of yellow lighting bolts.  Strangely enough, he also comes with an instruction sheet to show you how to insert the bolts and fire them by plunging his sword into the unit.  For the kids, I guess, so they don't shoot themselves in the eye trying to figure it out. Heh.

Overall: 6.75/10 - The only things wrong with Heimdall are his paint and articulation.  Even with just better paint apps I'd bump him up into the mid to low 7s.  But to have reduced articulation and poor paint?  It's a double whammy that Heimdall can't recover from.  But make no mistake: this guy is a figure that could've really been very, very good. To bad Hasbro didn't think him important enough to warrant more articulation and better paint.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to try and repaint him, won't I? ;)