“Tell Lord Tywin, winter is coming for him.” – Robb Stark
Oof… I was not sure I was even going to be able to write this feature, and if you have been watching Game of Thrones for a while, I am sure you know why. Yeah, I knew the Red Wedding was coming, I did, but that did not do anything to soften the blow of the events that unfolded on that faithful night at The Twins. We are well over a year past when the “Rains of Castamere” episode aired, but for me, it still really stings. Robb Stark was always an important character in the books, but the show and actor Richard Madden made him something much more. In fact, as far as characters go, the Young Wolf was tied at the top of my favorites list. So, when he (and his wife, and his mother, and his unborn child) were so brutally dispatched, I know a big void would be left in the show and storyline for me, and it was made even worse since Tywin Lannister, the architect of the entire event, is my other favorite GoT character. I must really hate myself…
Anyway, almost a year and half later, Funko is finally providing me with a little relief. I don’t know what it is about it, but getting an action figure of a favorite character, especially one that is deceased in their story, is comforting. No matter what George RR Martin says or does, I now have my own Robb Stark for all time, and he and all of the Starks can live happily ever after. Yeah, that’s the ticket! I am not delusional at all! Seriously though, Robb was my most anticipated figure in this assortment and I am happy to report that the final product did not let me down.
In fact, and I am not just saying this because Robb is my favorite character in this assortment, I think this figure turned out to be the overall best of this series. Now, I don’t have Brienne yet (she will be here soon), and he is not perfect, but the quibbles don’t seem to be as impacting as the imperfections of the other figures. That being said, Robb certainly does hold in keeping series two a marked improvement since the last go around, and even the things I point out as being small shortcomings are almost not worth mentioning. As it stands, I think Robb might be the overall best figure in the line thus far, even edging out Jaime.
There are a lot of reasons I feel this is the case, but the biggest one is that he has the smallest flaw, so I will address that first. Really, the only thing that I think could be designed better on the figure is the cape. I looks fantastic, but I wish is was removable. I know that might be a preference thing, but I guess I just expected it would be. The main issue I have with the cape is that is it just really heavy, so Robb can have some trouble balancing in basic poses, and the fur overlay at the top does restrict his shoulder movement a bit. It is not much, but if you were inclined to raise his arms above his head, you might have a spot of trouble. Since Robb was certainly not known to surrender, you probably won’t need him to “put ’em up.”
Past that, I think this figure clicks at all levels. The sculpt is as equally impressive as we are accustomed to seeing from Gentle Giant in this line, and the likeness to Madden in the face is pretty spot-on. This particular figure has a little bit of “small iris/pupil syndrome” going on, but it is not bad at all, and I am betting when I go to hunt down another one these at the store, I will be able to find one with cleaner eyes. I am going to need another Robb Stark figure because, while it is not 100 percent accurate, I have an extra Ned Stark head ready for a head swap so I can have a Winterfell Ned. I kind of REALLY wish that version of Ned was the first version in this line, but I am confident that we will see one eventually. This switch should make a pretty good placeholder while we wait.
Speaking of the costume, it is perfectly rendered here and from what I can tell, nothing was lost in terms of detail from the prototype to production. Robb does wear some metal armor, but it is fairly limited, so this figure does a decent job of representing a Robb on the battlefield as well as a more casual look. All of the patterns, stitching, and details in the leather pieces of the costume look great, and unlike some of his series-mates, Robb did not lose any of the paint details in his belt or scabbard.
This line has seen some challenges with the paint washes and overspray, but I don’t find any instances of that with Robb. The armor looks especially nice and the paint does a great job of adding detail to otherwise smooth surfaces. The “leather” portions look a bit weathered and the coloration between the tunic and the straps is apparent and convincing. The Northmen’s costumes lend themselves to the strengths of the limitations of action figure paint jobs, so Robb was set up for success, but Funko did a great job pulling him through production and everything from the golden eyelets in the belt to the mud splatters on the cape look wonderful.
Robb is a little light on the accessories compared to some of his series-mates, but unless they were going to start packing Direwolves with the Starks, I am not sure what else to include. And if one of you smartasses says an interchangeable Greywind head, you are getting BANNED! It is too soon. Too soon. Anyhow, the sword is rendered faithfully, if not a little blunt at the tip, but it is certainly more durable than Jon Snow’s sword and it fits fine in both hand a sheath, so that is about all I need it to do.
Speaking of Direwolves, I want to take another opportunity to champion Funko to get us the Stark wolves in some form. They are such essential parts of the characters, especially Robb, Jon, and Bran that not getting them would be a missed opportunity. I am using some stand-ins that I found in a simple search on Amazon, but they are pretty undersized for perfect scale accuracy, especially for a war-ready Greywind. I am not asking for anything as grand as say, the MOTUC Battle Cat figure, but as the Game of Thrones collection starts to fill out, it will be really incomplete without the Direwolves.
Overall, I am thrilled that my tied-for-favorite GoT character got such a fantastic Legacy figure. As I said, I do think that Robb is the strongest overall figure in the wave (and thus the line), and that is among some stiff competition. When I get Brienne this weekend I will know for sure, but it will take a lot to dethrone this King in the North. Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow when we will have a look at another Stark, and if you were waiting around until the end of the review to see if I would make a “Red Wedding” Robb, you can just leave right now…
Seriously. Too soon…
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All right, you jerks! Here you go, I hope you are happy!
