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Series: Warcraft III
Craftmanship: 9.4 out of 10 - Heavy, heavy figure - Weapons stay secure in his hands - Stands easily - Moderate poseability - Excellent paint application
Playability: 8.9 out of 10 - Big weapons and skull pack hard to lose - Helmet easy to lose - Big fights with Medieval Spawn and Small Soldiers figures - Solid and sturdy
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Muradin Bronzebeard (Warcraft III) by Blizzard Entertainment
Most people don’t think about action figures when someone says “Blizzard.” You might think “computer games” or you might think “the average September in Edmonton”, but not action figures. All Blizzard really has to worry about is making games, which is why it’s so heartening to see how much effort has gone into the Warcraft III figures. They could have churned out crap, but they went that extra four or five kilometers to make these figures not only appeal to fans of the Warcraft series, but also casual collectors and kids.
Muradin Bronzebeard is a very good example of this ethic.
He stands about 6 ½” with his helmet on and cuts a decidedly Orc-crushing stance. The amount of detail is commendable. Each scale of armor, each fold in his ear lobes, each chip and etch on his hammer and axe, the skull pack, the braided hair, the scratch marks on his left shoulder, his gauntlets… Muradin’s one of those figures you can stare at all day and still find more small touches. Highlighting all this sculpting goodness is an outstanding paintjob. His screaming mouth exposes a detailed color job – each tooth is defined. I looked hard for any oversplash but couldn’t find any.
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Standing Muradin is a simple matter of finding a flat surface. He’s very stable owed to the size of his feet and the general immobility of his legs, which results in a “one stance” situation. He has articulation at the hips, waist, and just below his knees. He has corresponding articulation in his upper body and these allow for quite a few different poses. Although his neck is articulated it might as well be immovable since his beard gets in the way. So while he’s no match for Super Poseable Spider-Man, he’s got enough mobility to give you more than one pose.
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This limited articulation boosts the Playability score quite a bit. There are no delicate points of articulation – he’s built like a rock and actually weighs about as much as one. The only real subtractions from playability are the skull pack and helmet. Both come off easily – the helmet more than the pack – and can be lost. If you lose the helmet you can’t get away from the fact he certainly looks like Mr. Clean’s extremely angry alter-ego. But if you’re concerned about losing either item, gluing them in place is an easy out. (They peg in otherwise.) The hammer and axe are way harder to lose – mostly because they fit his hands so well. Once they are installed they’re not easily removed, which comes in handy when smacking around Small Soldiers figures or facing off against Medieval Spawn figures. There are many play possibilities but if all else fails, set him up with the other Warcraft III figures – they make quite the trio.
If you’re a Warcraft fan, you should definitely have at least two of the three figures, and one of them should be Muradin – this is one dwarven explorer you don’t want to miss. For everyone else – I’m thinking of the occasional buyer – Muradin’s worth the money because you get a good-looking figure that holds up well to rough play.
- Omni (July 11, 2002) |
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