Silent Reunion (part photo story, part review) - Thu Mar 24, 2022 3:09 pm
I will let the figures speak for themselves first...
Yes, I caved in and got a bunch of the parted-out parts from the ADD Toys King of Khalasar set, inspired by Jason Momoa's portrayal of Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. As you can see, the product looks like the prototype and does a very good job of capturing the subject. But there are various practical issues with it. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of the whole Dothraki concept and ark, especially as realized on the show (I cannot speak for the original author's creation, which I have not read) -- the Mongols who inspired them were quite different in appearance, behavior, dress, and statecraft; like the other margins of the Game of Thrones world, these never seemed particularly compelling or interesting to me. But ADD Toys did make a good representation of the character and type based on the show. The likeness of the head sculpt is quite good, I think more faithful to its subject than ADD Toys' War Wolves were to Hugh Jackman as Logan. The transition from molded hair to "real hair" braid is well done. The head might be sitting just a little bit too high on the neck. The ADD Toys seamless body is very nicely and realistically sculpted, a great visual alternative to what TBLeague, Jiaou Doll, and now LDDoll have made. As a bonus, it is also more detailed in its paint application, with both war paint stripes and painted-on hair -- though only for the parts that you see exposed, which is practical but feels like cheating to me. I knew of this limitation, and I was already very disappointed by the practical limitations (when it comes to articulation and poseability) of these bodies. I was hoping against hope that they would improve and stupidly gave them another try. I knew I should have resisted and just customized a proper TBLeague seamless body instead -- the ADD Toys body, for all of its more detailed (in part!) appearance, is still a wobbly, rickety mess to deal with (there is no complete underlying metal skeleton to ensure smooth and precise articulation). It might also be a little on the slender side for the character's appearance. I do not enjoy criticizing a product too harshly, but this is their second time, and there is no improvement. I hope I have learned my lesson this time.
Why is this not a proper review? Because I did not purchase the complete set (given how many parts I did purchase, I might as well have done so). What you see is reconstituted with the actual parted-out parts (but the hands are just random bendy hands of the right color). The outfit is pretty nicely done, but the one-piece boots are unhelpful for balance and articulation, and again the whole body's ability to balance and pose is severely restricted (it cannot even sit properly). Most collectors who do not keep their figures in their original packaging or other containers are likely to display them in some sort of museum pose. This might be ok for this purpose (just don't expect it to keep its balance forever), but I expect better from an action figure. The irony is that more people went for the parted-out body than for the parted-out head; and yet the head is infinitely better than the body.
As always, what do you think.
#gameofthrones #hbo #khaldrogo #jasonmomoa #male #fantasy #tv
Yes, I caved in and got a bunch of the parted-out parts from the ADD Toys King of Khalasar set, inspired by Jason Momoa's portrayal of Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. As you can see, the product looks like the prototype and does a very good job of capturing the subject. But there are various practical issues with it. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of the whole Dothraki concept and ark, especially as realized on the show (I cannot speak for the original author's creation, which I have not read) -- the Mongols who inspired them were quite different in appearance, behavior, dress, and statecraft; like the other margins of the Game of Thrones world, these never seemed particularly compelling or interesting to me. But ADD Toys did make a good representation of the character and type based on the show. The likeness of the head sculpt is quite good, I think more faithful to its subject than ADD Toys' War Wolves were to Hugh Jackman as Logan. The transition from molded hair to "real hair" braid is well done. The head might be sitting just a little bit too high on the neck. The ADD Toys seamless body is very nicely and realistically sculpted, a great visual alternative to what TBLeague, Jiaou Doll, and now LDDoll have made. As a bonus, it is also more detailed in its paint application, with both war paint stripes and painted-on hair -- though only for the parts that you see exposed, which is practical but feels like cheating to me. I knew of this limitation, and I was already very disappointed by the practical limitations (when it comes to articulation and poseability) of these bodies. I was hoping against hope that they would improve and stupidly gave them another try. I knew I should have resisted and just customized a proper TBLeague seamless body instead -- the ADD Toys body, for all of its more detailed (in part!) appearance, is still a wobbly, rickety mess to deal with (there is no complete underlying metal skeleton to ensure smooth and precise articulation). It might also be a little on the slender side for the character's appearance. I do not enjoy criticizing a product too harshly, but this is their second time, and there is no improvement. I hope I have learned my lesson this time.
Why is this not a proper review? Because I did not purchase the complete set (given how many parts I did purchase, I might as well have done so). What you see is reconstituted with the actual parted-out parts (but the hands are just random bendy hands of the right color). The outfit is pretty nicely done, but the one-piece boots are unhelpful for balance and articulation, and again the whole body's ability to balance and pose is severely restricted (it cannot even sit properly). Most collectors who do not keep their figures in their original packaging or other containers are likely to display them in some sort of museum pose. This might be ok for this purpose (just don't expect it to keep its balance forever), but I expect better from an action figure. The irony is that more people went for the parted-out body than for the parted-out head; and yet the head is infinitely better than the body.
As always, what do you think.
#gameofthrones #hbo #khaldrogo #jasonmomoa #male #fantasy #tv
