Game of Thrones. Tyrion Lannister. Hand of the King. Walgreens exclusive. Wait, what? Walgreens? Yeah, like we needed another store to add to our hunting grounds. But if it adds to our shelves, then we can’t complain too much, right? Plus, Walgreens has Pepperoni Pretzel Combos for cheaper than other places. So there is that.
Hand of the King Tyrion (sounds like either a DJ or porn-star name, take your pick) comes in the same packaging as the Series 1 Tyrion except for an “exclusive” sticker on the front and a new logo on the side of the package. The first run of figures had the chrome “Funko” logo on the side, while this and what looks to be the second run of Series 1 sports the chrome “Legacy Collection.” I saw a Hound and Snow at Hastings the same day I picked up Tyrion, and Hound had the Legacy logo while Snow had the Funko one. So that’s the theory I am subscribing to.
Word of warning, though: these ship four to a case and, seriously, make sure you look at all four or however many there are on the shelf when you find him and pick the best one. Out of the four I found two had splotches on the face and the third had the hair glued too far back.
Taking him out of the package, after accepting the fact that he doesn’t take up a lot of inner tray space, Tyrion is a great-looking figure. He’s different enough from the first Tyrion to earn a spot in your display. Hell, some would say he’s an even better choice than the first version.
You’re not going to get him in a lot of kung-fu fighting poses, but he does have a good articulation scheme, even though the knees and elbows suffer a bit. I go into detail about that, their range of movement, and some other things on the Fwoosh YouTube channel.
Paint is pretty good, but like I said above, make sure you look him over in the store. I grabbed the one with the best face but failed to notice the black, shiny splotch on the his shoulders. It almost looks the same color as the hair wash. For some reason this doesn’t bother me, though. It adds a grittiness, I guess?
Comparing the two Tyrions, I do have to say I like HotK much better. It’s a costume that comes to mind above the armor look on my list of Tyrion apparel. While the heads seems to be the same, for some reason the new one is slightly more narrow, streamlined, and strikes a better resemblance to Dinklage. Maybe better paint too?
The sculpt really is fantastic; Gentle Giant knocked this one out of the park. The raised design on the tunic, the skirt and belt pieces (which are very soft to allow for leg movement), and even the wrinkles on the arms and legs — just great all around.
My advice, if you’re collecting the Game of Thrones Legacy line, do yourself a favor and stalk your local Walgreens. They have cheap candy bars at the register too, so if nothing else, get your Snickers fix while you’re there.
