Ram Smash Volstagg

(Thor: The Mighty Avenger)

Height: 10.5cm to top of head.

Articulation: 24 points total- ball-jointed neck; 5 points each arm: universal joint shoulder, universal-joint elbow, swivel wrist; mid-torso ball joint; 6 points each leg: universal-joint hip, double-joint knee, universal joint ankle.

Colors: Molded dark and light brown and silver; painted bronze, silver, gunmetal, copper and fleshtone.

Accessories: Axe, Axe-Ram.

Release Data: Released April 2011 at an MSRP of $7.99.

Author: RAC

(more...)


Volstagg the Valiant is famous across Asgard for his boundless bravery, mighty axe, and endless appetite. It is rare, even in battle, to find him without food in his hand, or at least a pouch full of snacks. His hunger never distracts him from a battle, however, and his brother warriors are always glad to have his axe at their sides.

Volstagg has changed a bit over the years. He began as "A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight," primarily because he was based on Sir John Falstaff, a recurring Shakespearean character. (So next time someone says comics "aren't Shakespeare," you can gently remind them that yes, they sometimes are.) These days, Volstagg the Valiant isn't so ironic a title and he's apparently a bit less of a comic relief character. Still pretty huge, though.

In the movie, on the other hand, Volstagg is significantly slimmer- but still perpetually ravenous (because you know them fat dudes gotta eat all the time, he said bitterly). And... okay, he's Gimli. OAFE called it, and I can't dispute. Or unsee.


The Figure

He's noticeably thicker than the entire rest of the line- again, not a huge bipedal beachball of a man like the original, but hefty. (Also no silly hat, which may be for the best.) With so much of the face covered by hair it's difficult to make a pronouncement as to likeness, but it seems off. It doesn't look a lot like Ray Stevenson to me. (...who you'd never guess was the most recent Punisher from seeing him in this movie!) Volstagg's armor is very elaborately and cleanly painted, with swirling stripes of silver on bronzelike plates. Add to this a darker, almost gunmetal skirt armor and copper on the arms, and you're left with a very metallurgical outfit, reinforcing his inherent Gimliness. It's one of the best-looking figures I've gotten yet from the Thor line, this despite not looking quite like the person it's supposed to be.

The head is a simple ball-joint that functions more as a swivel than anything else. It does tilt enough to get the beard up off the chest, if nothing else. Due to their construction and how they're set into the torso a bit, the arms don't quite swing straight up to shoulder level. Swivel's fine as usual, though. The elbows swivel fine as well, and bend to almost a 90-degree angle. Wrists swivel no problem- in fact, they're a trifle weak for his leverage-friendly axes. The torso joint is of the kind that is designed to pretty much have to be pulled all the way back as the default position, which does make the stomach look properly filled out. (In these cases I define "default position" as the position where all the seams and patterns of the costume are properly aligned.) It bends forward somewhat well, but moves to the sides much more effectively. The armor skirt has a small flap sticking up in back to "connect" it to the upper armor, and I'm happy to say it doesn't impair flexibility in the least. 

The skirt armor is soft plastic, and does impede the hips ever so slightly, but not as badly as Thor's torso design or Fandral's scabbard. The hips are the standard Marvel Movie type of universal joint- they have to be swiveled and raised separately and take some fiddling to get right. He's got the best knees of any Thor figure I've yet seen, as they can actually double over to a tight V. The ankles lean back better than forward, and the odd shape of the boots don't impede the swivel, but there's a small flap I'd watch for warping if you inexplicably point his toes inward.


Accessories

-Axe

In almost every comic scan I've seen, Volstagg is using a plain old European longsword. (Or occasionally a roast leg of meat.) Yet here, for reasons I am not privy to, he has a two-handed battle axe.

How positively Gimlic.

It fits substantially better in his left hand than his right- now I have to go back and see if he's left-handed in the film. It's obviously designed to be a two-handed weapon, but it's tricky to get many good two-handed poses with this axe; Marvel figures often have problems moving their arms across their chests, and with a broader chest with deep-set shoulder joints, the problem is yet more pronounced.


-Axe Ram Thing

The idea, as far as I can tell, is that the thing is usually an axeish thing by default, with arrowhead-shaped blades sticking in opposite directions. Push the handle in, and it becomes a battering ram. This was theoretical for my copy of this figure because the blades were drastically misaligned at assembly. They remained so right up until I realized that I didn't give a crap about this accessory and brute-forced the blades into the right directions. Volstagg can hold it well enough, but unless you need a couple of photos for your toy-reviewing website I'm not sure why you would. Especially since the Deluxe Mechtech Curse strikes again, and there's no way of locking the weapon into its Ram Mode. So since the main draw of the weapon only works when a person is holding it, it's kind of more a party favor than a weapon for the toy.


Closing Remarks

It's a really nice figure and has no major problems with any part that matters- doubly impressive for a figure with a somewhat nonstandard physique. Definitely worth it, especially if you intend to get any of the Warriors Three. One day I'd like to see Hasbro do a comic-style Marvel Universe Volstagg (I figure odds are good for a Comic-Con exclusive if they ever do an MU Blob). The extra accessory is a waste of plastic, but how unusual is that? As a toy and as a representation of the movie character, it's Good.

-RAC