Well we made it - the 2021 - 22 School Year is done and officially we're in summer vacation mode... which of course means I'll be busier than ever as now all kids activities are more than a 15 minute walk away. I think I need a vacation. With a bit of a lull in figures lately, I took to the local Facebook Marketplace to see what was available. I came across a loose Edelgard von Hresvelg from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. This is clearly not my first Figma, so expectations of a pretty solid figure were there. What's interesting about this particular figure is how in demand it is at this time. Market prices of $200 USD are not uncommon for this release, and my suspicion is that it's due to the people getting overly excited about that new Fire Emblem Warriors game.
By contrast, I came across this loose, complete figure for $50 CAD.
Content wise, I wasn't exactly surprised by the lack of stuff - this seems to be the tradition with all the Fire Emblem releases:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 2 x Expressions (Neutral, Attacking)
- 7 x Posing/Gripping Hands
- 1 x Base Weapon (Killer Axe)
- 1 x Unique Weapon (Aymr)
- 1 x Figma Base/Stand
As always, the sculptors have taken some creative liberties in the appearance department when converting the character into a Figma form, but at least they left her overall silhouette intact. Much like with Fate characters, your typical Fire Emblem protagonist also has very distinct features and more often than not, will feature a cape, which looks great but will in one way or another affect the articulation of the actual figure.
Sculpting work on Aymr is exceptionally nice.
The overall articulation on this figure isn't too bad. Your run of the mill Figma articulation points are present, which include bonus points for the cape and hair, and the waist piece can shift upward slightly, which allows for more range of leg motion going forward (backwards is limited by the cut of waist piece). Because her cape drapes over one shoulder, the range of motion on the left shoulder is restricted, so sadly Edelgard can only dab in one direction.
Aymr features two points of articulation that allows for the weapon head to take on some slightly different forms.
Paint wise, this figure was released prior to COVID becoming a real nuisance, so you could still blindly pick this one up and expect the usual Figma level of excellence, including on the finer details. Paint itself is nice and evenly applied and I like how her boots are of a glossier finish. For whatever reason, I feel these are some of the better face plates I've seen on a Figma. Perhaps it's the contrast of colours, but the way the decals worked out along with the slight application of blush on the cheeks really help to given both her faces a nice glow.
Build quality was a bit of weird one for me. Overall, it's what you'd expect - nicely made parts that fit together well. The strange thing for me is that this particular figure features a loose torso joint, and the right gripping hand didn't exactly hold her Killer Axe... at all. I'm not sure if this is all due to play wear or general rough handling, or maybe there was some sort of product wide QC issue.
I like Edelgard - I mean, I generally like all the Figma I get. There's a few design quirks and in my case some QC issues, but the overall combination of design aesthetics and the final product worked out well. My bias could also be due to the fact I got her at a fraction of the market price, and that it's a nice palette cleanser to look at a figure that isn't a bunch of recycled parts *cough* Every Goku Figure *cough*. But ultimately, to me its those solid face plates that make her stand out from the rest of Figma crowd.
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