Hey, it's that non-descript black Tupperware again! You know what that means....
Yup - more seamless ladies.. and dust. Specifically, one I've been looking for since I found out about this line.
So, I of course know nothing of Skarah The Valkyrie, another one of the ARH Comix stable of leading ladies. Something about being super powerful, only next to Odin. But what I am familiar with is the visual idea of the character.
Valkyries are figures in Norse Mythology, empowered Mortal Women tasked with basically screening dead warriors to see which ones are worthy of joining Odin in Valhalla and joining his army to fight in the mother of all battles, Ragnarok. These warrior women have appeared in many forms of media, including comics (duh), movies, animation, and of course Video Games. While I don't believe they had a favoured weapon, most images I'm familiar with have them armed with a spear, occasionally brandishing a sword and or a shield.
All of which, are checked off in the design of Skarah, whose contents include:
- 1 X Main Figure
- 1 X Armour Set
- 4 X Additional Gripping/Posing Hands
- 1 X Sword
- 1 x Shield
- 1 x Spear with Detachable Tip
- 1 x Display Podium
There are two types of gripping hands - straight up or at an angle.
The base is, in this case just a base. Sure it's pretty and has engravings, but it's basically just a pedestal with no support arm.
Here she is, decked out in full gear while wielding a spear. I love the TBLeague ladies that are equipped with armour bits because they typically have some truly exquisite detailing on the various pieces. In the case of Skarah, her armoured parts are complimented by fur covered parts. Completing the ensemble is of course that winged helmet that pretty much every Valkyrie I've ever seen wears. Colour wise, her gear is predominately silver and gold, and overall there is a very ethereal aura given off by the figure.
Arihan looks really plain by comparison and as far as I can tell, Skarah is probably one of the best designs of the line thus far. There's also a second 1/6 version named Tariah The Silver Valkyrie, which I guessing is a rival of some sort.
The actual losses between the 1/6 and 1/12 headsculpt aren't as pronounced as with the other ladies I've seen, mostly because the 1/6 was kind of soft on its details anyway. The other part of it is that I feel they actually TRIED harder this time. Overall, the biggest change you'll notice is that the paint applications on the eyes and the lips are more vivid, as opposed to the more... "Porcelain Doll" applications on the 1/6.
The helmet (or more accurately, headdress) can be removed for a alternate display mode. There are of course some losses here, most notable being how relatively crude the braids are, with relative being the key word.
While the TBLeagues seamless body brings with it ungodly amounts of dust that needs to be constantly removed with tape, it also brings with it that extremely high degree of articulation and Silicone that photographs quite nicely under flash.
Just a recap if you're new here, it isn't the actual number of joints that make these so fabulous at posing. It's the general ability for the Silicone material to deform , giving the body a very large range of motion. Pretty much with the exception of extreme wrist, ankle, and head tilt, you should be in good shape with regards to posing.
One addition "trick" that Skarah has is that she's one of those figures where the foot and the shin piece of her leggings are separate, which allows for a bit more balance (and a more natural look) when posing her with split legs. You're not going to get Revoltech levels of split leg goodness, but it's a decent consolation prize given the overall package you're working with.
The Paint Work is extremely capable, and really serves to highlight the fantastic textures in the armour and weapons. Apps were found to be quite sharp, and overall smooth, with the strange exception of under her feet where a few blemishes could be found. Masking work is superb. Colour matching between the body and the head is bang on, as are the paint apps on the head itself.
Finally, there's Build Quality. Slightly better than Arhian overall, there really wasn't much wrong with her other than her freaking boots falling of all the time, either due to QC issues ore tolerance issues with the knee cuffs and all that. Not an issue with Skarah. Hands pop on and off without much hassle, and once you get a hang of it, putting on the headdress is pretty straight forward (hooks onto the ears).
One thing I've noticed with Skarah and Arhian (and possibly all figures that have this type of chest gear) is that after some posing you can get some nip slips, something to keep in mind if you're doing bouts of dynamic posing for photographs.
Definitely a well put together set, with a great combination of naughty and just enough nice to make you not cringe at owning it. Armour looks fantastic, even shrunken down, and while modest, doesn't get in the way of the full potential of articulation. Face sculpt is decent. Plus, who can say no to a lady with a 10 ft. spear? Nobody... that's who.
I know TBLeague has worked on a few 1/6 figures which are fully armoured, and I'm curious as to how that impacts the articulation of the base body. Something I'll be keeping my eye open for should they come to 1/12 scale.
For Full Gallery, please visit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22877494@N02/albums/72157719371311739
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