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Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review

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GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
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ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking31

Introduction

After reviewing the Vikings Vanquisher Valhalla version two-figure set by Coomodel HERE, I ended up going for the Viking ship (longship, drakkar/drekar) prow diorama piece that was designed to go with them. Here is a brief review, with a baker's dozen of photos. Since there is little here that is comparable to actual action figures, I have foregone the process of assigning specific points to the different categories.

Packaging

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The diorama set comes packaged in two separate boxes, one containing the ship, the other containing the printed background. The ship comes in a large, deep, and surprisingly heavy box. Decorated with a graphic representation of the piece, this box is essentially what we call a "shipper"; there is no interior cardboard box here, and the ship comes nearly packed in a foam container directly inside the shipper box. Everything is safe and collector friendly. The printed background comes in a separate, larger but much shallower box, which has no graphics on it, besides the product's logo/label (still misspelled "Vikihgs").

Sculpting and Accessories

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking33

The ship prow appears to be mostly a single sculpted/molded piece, nicely finished to resemble the wooden construction of a Viking longship's prow with overlapping planks nailed together and a carved decoration along the stem. The surface is given enough imperfections and indentations to look like actual wood. The only area where I wish there had been more attention to detail is the upper surface of the "railing," which is quite smooth and bland, and not sculpted to look like a series of interconnected planks; admittedly, you are not likely to notice this unless you are viewing the piece from the "inside" out.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking35

The sculpted dragon's head is a separate piece, which is attached to the top of the main piece -- partly fitting into the opening, partly due to a magnet. The magnet helps hold it in place, but is not strong enough to keep it from falling out if you turned it over. The somewhat stylized dragon's head is very nicely sculpted, with some additional Nordic detail to resemble what would have been carved in wood. With the dragon's head in place, the prow is about 21.5 inches (55 cm) tall. The last photo in the review shows you the relative height of the ship compared to figures standing on the same surface.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking34

The only real accessories in the normal sense of the word are the two ropes, which are nicely scaled and just the sort of thing you would expect to find aboard a ship; you will see them in some of the photos below. (The "simpler" piece, made up of two connected rope hoops, is intended to go over the head of the prow and allow the figures to support themselves by holding onto it, but I forgot to put it there.) If the ship's prow is itself a diorama environment for your figures, it comes with diorama pieces of its own. First, there are the two pieces of sculpted breaking waves, which can be fitted along the sides of the hull. The sculpt is detailed and beautiful, the "water" is the right balance of translucent and opaque, but somehow it does not look quite realistic to me. I was worried that it would come permanently attached to the hull, but was very relieved to see that it was not. So you can easily display the piece with or without the sculpted waves.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking36

In addition to the optional sculpted waves, there is of course the printed background. It is printed on both sides of what appears to be thick stiff cardboard. The background folds into two: one section is wider (about 23.5 inches/60 cm), the other narrower (about 19.66 inches/50 cm); both are 27.5 inches (70 cm) tall. The wider section of the background shows the rest of the ship in a vague and foreshortened perspective, with the unfurled sail bellowing in the wind. The whole scene is depicted as a dark and stormy environment (why is the sail unfurled in all that, I don't know). While not particularly shiny, the printed surface does produce some glare from the light.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking37

The printing on both sides of the background allows you to set up the scene with the ship facing either right or left, and the sail always behind it.

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The print has not (yet) creased and torn in the corner fold, though I expect it might eventually, if handled and repositioned often enough; having a corner fold is a bit unfortunate, but I suppose there was little choice when it came to the design (though there may have been a way of attaching a single unfolded printout to the far ends of the background). I still think it works fairly well.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking40

Paint

There is relatively little to say about paint when it comes to this piece (not counting the printed background). The molded hull and dragon's head are colored an appropriate dark brown for a wooden ship, especially one that might have been covered with pitch to keep water out. There is some translucent color to the sculpted waves, which is subtle enough to be reasonably realistic for the most part; perhaps the foam on the crests could have been whiter.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking41

Fun Factor

By itself, the Viking Ship diorama environment is more a work of art than anything particularly fun. But as long as you have action figures you can pose on or in relation to it, you should have no problem adding fun to its beautiful, yet savage look.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking43

Value

This is rather difficult for me to estimate, since I am in the habit of collecting and reviewing action figures, not dioramas and backgrounds. I got mine from Big Bad Toy Store for about $170 (USD), with a very reasonable $4 economy shipping. Given the size, number of boxes (two), and weight of the product alone, I think this is a very decent deal. My suspicions are confirmed by the palpably and in some cases criminally higher prices the product commands on eBay (ranging from about $250 to $550 -- with shipping included). If you like what you see, you might want to get it while BBTS still has it in stock.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking38

Things to watch out for

Not too much, as the piece is pretty solid and in fact quite hefty. That said, I have not tried dropping it to see if it would shatter or crack (or, perhaps just as likely, cause damage to everything else in its path). Remember that the dragon's head is heavy enough, and if you flipped the ship over, the magnet will not be strong enough to keep it attached. I also noticed that, despite the felt on the bottom of the hull and the sculpted waves, sliding them around or removing them carelessly still scratched my work surface -- you might want to be careful if you are placing them on a something valuable or very visible.

Overall

If you like the piece, have the money to spend, and the space to put it (or store it), you will probably be happy with this product. It is large and bulky, but would probably not work as well if it were not. The sculpted pieces and ropes are near perfect. The background is perhaps overly specific (dark stormy night with counter-intuitively unfurled sails), can produce some glare, and has the potentially unsightly corner fold. Nevertheless, it still works fairly well, and we have rarely seen a company go through this much trouble to equip its action figures with such diorama elements. Of course, if this came standard with the figures at no great additional price, it would have been even more impressive, but that does not seem very likely to happen. I am about to move, and this new acquisition is definitely adding up to my anxiety about that process... otherwise, I am very happy with it.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Viking42

What do you think? Favorite parts? Favorite photos? Smile

Where to Buy?

Big Bad Toy Store $170

Timewalker Toys $170 (wait list)


#vikings #coomodel #productreview #historical #fantasy #ship #longship #diorama


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BAD WOLF-787

BAD WOLF-787
Very nice looking Viking ship diorama and figures, Thanks.


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shazzdan

shazzdan
I like the diorama more than the figures. I don't mind fantasy figures when they are marketed as fantasy. It offends me when they are falsely marketed as historical. The above ship diorama is nicely done.


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Ephiane

Ephiane
Ahhhh ! The Vikings !!!!
ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review Asteri10

Great Scene. I´m fascinated how this works togehter. A half Boat and a Picture with the sail in the background. And it looks like a complete Boat on the sea.
The titanic scene was so great Very Happy
Thanks for showing


I remember this drawing from a book i read in my Childhood. I loved the books about Celts and Vikings.

ship - Vikings Vanquisher Viking Ship Diorama Coomodel Review 01viki10

Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
Nice review. Thanks for that. The pic with the ScarJo Viking is hilarious (that woman would have to have some serious back, abdomen, and leg muscles to pull that off); thanks for the chuckle. What might also work for that pose — if she were tied to the prow like another masthead, but she was snarling, as if it were her idea (just excited to get to the killing and pillaging — maybe the raping, too, who knows).


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GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
BAD WOLF-787 wrote:Very nice looking Viking ship diorama and figures, Thanks.

Thank you, glad you liked it, and welcome.

shazzdan wrote:I like the diorama more than the figures. I don't mind fantasy figures when they are marketed as fantasy. It offends me when they are falsely marketed as historical. The above ship diorama is nicely done.

I agree. The ship's prow definitely looks like it belongs, whether in history or fantasy. The Coomodel figures were very much fantasy. I have wondered if calling them Valhalla version was intended to cover that (as lionized, deified heroes), but now I think that is just what they added to set the two-figure set apart.

Ephiane wrote:Great Scene. I´m fascinated how this works together. A half Boat and a Picture with the sail in the background. And it looks like a complete Boat on the sea. The titanic scene was so great Very Happy Thanks for showing

Thank you very much, glad you liked it. The background does work fairly well, especially considering the desirability of being able to fit it in a corner atop a bookshelf or something of that kind (at least I think it is designed with that in mind). And that's a great painting you showed, of the more peaceful side of the Norse.

Stryker2011 wrote:Nice review. Thanks for that. The pic with the ScarJo Viking is hilarious (that woman would have to have some serious back, abdomen, and leg muscles to pull that off); thanks for the chuckle. What might also work for that pose — if she were tied to the prow like another masthead, but she was snarling, as if it were her idea (just excited to get to the killing and pillaging — maybe the raping, too, who knows).

Thank you very much, glad you liked it. ScarJo got some help from Thor to stay in that position. Or I could have used that special support rope I forgot to put on the neck of the dragon's head prowl end. But Ephiane was right, it was a reference to the scene from Titanic. Tying her might have sent mixed signals -- even if she was snarling -- or so it seemed to me (I did consider it, because she kept trying to fall off -- or at least lean downwards... gravity...).


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dadrab

dadrab
Killer review and thank you.

I don't recall this being offered, but it's pretty damn cool.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
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dadrab wrote:Killer review and thank you.

I don't recall this being offered, but it's pretty damn cool.

Thank you, and welcome. Yep, this was actually one of their selling points. At first I didn't see myself getting any of these releases, but one by one they grew on me. Smile


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DrDoubleDaddyDawg


Hi Gubernator,
I’m not sure if you remember me, but I liked your previous Viking post. I wonder if you can expand on Floki as a master boat crafter. Is the historical Floki similar to the way he is portrayed in Vikings? I’ll hang up and listen.

BTW, I like this ship and the scenes you’ve created.

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
DrDoubleDaddyDawg wrote:Hi Gubernator,
I’m not sure if you remember me, but I liked your previous Viking post. I wonder if you can expand on Floki as a master boat crafter. Is the historical Floki similar to the way he is portrayed in Vikings? I’ll hang up and listen. BTW, I like this ship and the scenes you’ve created.

Of course I remember you, Dr Dawg. Thank you, glad you liked the ship and the goofy scenes I put together with it.

I didn't know (or had forgotten) that there was a historical Floki, until I thought about your question and looked it up. A man with (partly) that name was a Norse explorer who settled on Iceland. Chronologically, he was a contemporary of the real Ragnar (who comes to us more legendary than real anyway), but the show you are referencing departs from reality more often than it keeps to it; at any rate, we don't know if they knew each other. HERE's a little article on the "real Floki."

The show's Floki certainly has the unstable and flamboyant temperament we often associate with artists, and perhaps that makes sense for someone who might carve the elaborate carvings and decorations of a great longship; on the other hand, stability and responsibility might be expected of a craftsman, and much of the construction has little to do with what we think of as decorative art.

I will say this much: Coomodel's Viking Ship's prow conveys the overall look and impression of the few relatively well preserved Viking ships found by archaeologists (most notably the Gokstad and Oseberg ships), though it is not an exact copy (Gokstad is more elaborately decorated with carvings; Oseberg more plain, except perhaps for the animal head) and utilizes a dragon's head at the top to fit better with popular imagination (some but not all Viking ships had that type of decoration).


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Allotropos

Allotropos
Thanks for sharing !
A purchase I had to regretfully skip as I do not have a place to display it Sad


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Pontiacivan

Pontiacivan
Wow! That is a Damn fine prop! So much potential. I can see someone DIY crafting the remainder of the the ship. It would be sweet!

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
Allotropos wrote:Thanks for sharing ! A purchase I had to regretfully skip as I do not have a place to display it Sad

You are very welcome. I didn't have place either and wasn't intending to get it, but in the end I couldn't resist.

Pontiacivan wrote:Wow! That is a Damn fine prop! So much potential. I can see someone DIY crafting the remainder of the the ship. It would be sweet!

Glad you agree. And I was thinking along the same lines. Of course, the complete ship would be huge and unwieldy and unpractical in so many ways. But it would be super cool.


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Rogerbee

Rogerbee
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It isn't bad, most mass produced diorama pieces lack realism compared to figures. With a bit of a repaint this could look really good.

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GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
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Rogerbee wrote:It isn't bad, most mass produced diorama pieces lack realism compared to figures. With a bit of a repaint this could look really good.

Good point. In this instance the diorama (the 3D ship anyway) actually might have more realism than the figures. You are probably right about  some repaint (weathering?) making it even better, but I haven't had the time to consider and research that. The duller treatment of the inside in particular could benefit from that.


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ReverendSpooky

ReverendSpooky
Great review, and really cool piece. I actually really like the shot from inside the ship, and while not perfect, think it actually photographs quite well, while the outer just looks inarguably fantastic.

Also kinda love how well the screaming berserker head does double duty guzzling meed! Perfect.


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Rogerbee

Rogerbee
Founding Father
GubernatorFan wrote:
Good point. In this instance the diorama (the 3D ship anyway) actually might have more realism than the figures. You are probably right about  some repaint (weathering?) making it even better, but I haven't had the time to consider and research that. The duller treatment of the inside in particular could benefit from that.

Lifecolor and Vallejo do really nice weathering materials. Lifecolor even do ones for different types of wood.

CHEERS!

GubernatorFan

GubernatorFan
Founding Father
ReverendSpooky wrote:Great review, and really cool piece.  I actually really like the shot from inside the ship, and while not perfect, think it actually photographs quite well, while the outer just looks inarguably fantastic.  

Also kinda love how well the screaming berserker head does double duty guzzling meed!  Perfect.

Thanks, Adam! I also think it's a great piece. And a screaming head can indeed be used for multiple purposes. Someone suggested putting it on one of the new "fat" World Box bodies and having it guzzling while barechested, but so far I don't seem to be able to fit any appropriate (period-wise) clothes on it to make it work.

If you like these reviews, check out the Hot Toys Star Wars Royal Guard one.

Rogerbee wrote:Lifecolor and Vallejo do really nice weathering materials. Lifecolor even do ones for different types of wood.

Oh I agree, but it would take some research in terms of the look I would be going for. I don't know enough about ships and boats to have it in my mind, and I'd be looking for a pitch-treated wood surface that is in better shape than what we have from archaeological excavations. So at present I am leaving it alone, but might come back to it later.


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Rogerbee

Rogerbee
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There are restored Viking ships in Norway, which I have seen first hand, though many years ago now.



Don't think this was the one I went to, but, it should give you some ideas.

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Stryker2011

Stryker2011
Founding Father
Interesting video, Roger. Thanks for posting. That burial ship is so shallow, it’d be interesting to see how much of it was above the water before they sank it.


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