Review of Jaime Lannister - Game of Thrones
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Fans of the Game of Thrones are anticipating its return to television next year, with theories flying on the fate of their favorite characters. Now that the majority of the various character plot lines in the show have passed their book counterparts, its pretty much anybodies guess where things might go.

One of my favorite characters is Jaime Lannister. He's the definition of 'tragic' - a good man, honor bound, who does the right thing to save others, and is forever condemned and ridiculed for it, told by everyone he's not the man he believes himself to be. And like many in that situation, he gives up and becomes the man they say he is. It's easier to accept the label than fight it, and Jaime learns that lesson well.  But there's still something there, still some remnant of the man he was...and I suspect we'll get to see it before the show is done.

Threezero continues their line of sixth scale figures based on the show with their release of Jaime. This is the fourth figure so far - they started with Tyrion, and followed up with Ned and Jon Snow. There is no exclusive version this time, and Jaime will run you around $180.

Packaging - ***1/2
The outer slip cover mirrors the earlier releases, particularly that of his brother, Tyrion. I love the embossed sigel, and the cover itself has a slightly rubbery feel that is slightly different than earlier covers. I'm digging it.

Inside is the usual box with a couple stacked plastic trays.  You'll have to cut a couple pieces of tape, and there's some plastic wrap securing some of the accessories, but it's relatively collector friendly. No instructions however, which would have been handy in swapping out the armor.

Sculpting - ***1/2
I found this face forward screen shot, along with this slightly side view, very helpful when considering the realism, accuracy, and emotive properties of the sculpt.

Let's start with realism, an area where every sixth scale sculpt on the market today is expected to shine.  Threezero is meeting my expectations, with an excellent skin texture, and amazing work around the eyes and lips. I'm also happy with the subtle transition between the hair and skin, although I do think the hair detailing is still a weak point.

Next up we have the life-like or emotive property of the portrait - does it look like a mannequin or a living person? They score very high marks here as well, thanks to a stern set to the lips (which are trademark Jaime), a slight squint to the eyes, and a visibly tight jaw. This is enough to avoid a blank, sagging expression, without going into a overtly dynamic or expressive sculpt.

Finally, we have accuracy.  Comparing to the stills, I have to say they've done one of their better jobs with Jaime. He's still no quite at the level of Tyrion, but he's an improvement on Jon Snow and on par with Ned.

The jawline and shape of the lips look excellent, and the eyes, while a little close together, are a decent match.  He has the necessary mole too, and it's not extreme or obtuse.  The big area of concern is the nose, which is pretty much text book Anglo-Saxon. But Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has a very unique nose, with a slight bump on the side of the bridge and more width around the nostrils.  This generic version is close, but they missed a chance to nail his most unique and identifying feature.

Obviously he's sixth scale, and stands just shy of 12 1/4" tall.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is certainly above average at this particular price point. Threezero is hitting top quality, realistic paint operations, and not just with the excellent skin tones and facial hair shadow.  The armor looks terrific, with a very realistic wear and aging.

Let's start with the all important face, however.  The transition at the hair line is subtle and well done, and the golden highlighting on the hair works pretty well in hand. Capturing the slightly blonde but largely brown color of his actual hair was tricky, and I think they did a decent job here.

The eyes look great, with very little bleed and very clean work around the edges.  The skin tone is excellent, and the shadow of facial hair and color of the the moles is outstanding. The one issue that's annoying is with that damn neck, a feature that I generally hate on every Threezero figure.  Once again it's clearly too skinny, but the collar tends to hide that problem. The difference in detailing and color are pretty obvious though, even with most of the neck covered.

The realistic paint work on the armor is a highlight of the figure overall, and the wear, aging, and damage looks terrific.  This is a battle weary fighter, and the armor has seen its share of war. The amount of time and effort that goes into a paint job like this is well above what you'd expect at this price point.

Articulation - ***1/2
The biggest issue for the underlying body is that skinny, smooth, unpainted neck.  Once you get past that, the body shines.

The neck might not look great, but the articulation is.  Plenty of movement in the head, including a decent amount of forward and back tilt, with or without the armor.  The shoulders and elbows are a little restricted by the thicker, leather long coat, but you can still get some great fighting poses.  The wrists work well, with the separate cuffs providing a great look and little encumbrance.

The only real restrictions on the torso and legs is the aforementioned long coat.  It's a thicker material, and looks amazing, but it does reduce the mobility of many of the middle body joints, like the waist and hips.

However, the only really restricted joint is the ankles, and then only when wearing the additional wrapped boots.  I like the look of these boots better than the armored greave/shoe set he comes wearing, but the single piece nature of the sculpt, along with the thick material, means there's no mobility in the ankle when he's wearing them.

Accessories - ***
He's a little light on extras, although it's pretty much in line with your expectations based on the earlier releases.

He has one additional set of weapon gripping hands to go with the relaxed pair he comes wearing. These are separate from the glove cuff, a design which works extremely well when posing and swapping.  The swap is quite easy, but there's a couple extra wrist pegs just in case, and like Sideshow, each set of hands also has their own wrist pegs to begin with.

He has a rubber belt with a great sculpt, and both the sword scabbard and knife sheath are permanently attached. The sword and knife are plastic, and very light weight. The sculpt and paint work are excellent, and they both fit neatly in their appropriate holder. A removable pommel on the sword would have been nice - it's a tight fit placing it in his hand - but it's a minor nit.

As I mentioned earlier, there's an extra set of boots, designed to be worn when he's not in full armor. They are wrapped with strapping, and fit tightly over the legs and pants. I prefer them to the tiny foot we get with the armor set.

Threezero saves money on these by skipping any display stand. You'll need to supply something yourself, although he stands well enough on his own in even dynamic poses that it isn't really necessary.

Outfit - ****
If you've seen Tyrion and Ned, you might assume that Threezero always hits it out of the park in this category. That's generally true, but not absolute. Just check out those boots on Jon Snow to see what I mean.

But this outfit is excellent overall, with just a minor nit here or there. It starts with a very thin shirt, and properly tailored pants. Over this is a leather long coat, with straps, buckles and ties to keep it looking perfect. You can go with just this look, using the wrapped boots on his feet, or you can go with the final armored appearance. There is a one piece front/back set of torso armor, often called a cuirass, with faulds attached. There's a spaulder for each shoulder, held in place by an elastic band and velcro-ed to the top of cuirass at the shoulder. Finally, there are vambraces to cover the forearms.

This armor is easy enough to remove, although instructions would have been helpful. Obviously, the arm and leg armor is removed by popping off the hands and feet and sliding it off. To remove the spaulders, first unhook the velcro at the shoulder, then slide down the arm.  Finally, to remove the cuirass and faulds, simply untie the string at the back holding it all in place, and lift off the body.

Putting it all back is straight forward, but be patient and make sure the armor is properly aligned.

One of the best features of this costume is the cape.  Like the armor, it's weathered, with subtle staining and dirt. It attaches to the figure in the exact same way it does on the actual person - check this photo for what I'm describing. There are two metal hooks on the edges of the cape that slip into actual metal rings on the armor. It's a great design, and the fact that it is screen accurate is all the better.

By the way, you can fold back the color when the armor is off, if you'd like. It is lined with the darker material, as is the whole coat. However, I felt that the collar did a better job hiding the neck, and preferred leaving it up.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
With two different potential looks, there's plenty of posing and re-posing you can do with this character. Add in Tyrion or Ned, and you have endless variety for the display. Now we just need Cersei and Tywin...

Value - ***1/2
You're getting a high quality paint job on a solid sculpt, an excellent screen accurate costume with more than one look, all for a much lower price point than average in the market right now. You can snag this guy for as little as $170 from one of my sponsors, and considering the amount of work on the armor and costume, it's an excellent price.

Things to Watch Out For -
Make sure you unhook the velcro on the shoulders before you try to remove the armor. Otherwise, you should be good to go!

Overall - ***1/2
From the neck down, this is a four star figure.  Threezero did an amazing job on the costume, and I'm quite impressed with the wear on both the plastic and cloth pieces. They are the sort of company that goes out of their way to hit on small details, even at this lower price point. For example, the pants are hidden under armor and the long coat.  They could have simply closed them up with a strip of velcro, no one would have complained. And yet, they went for accuracy, using a string tie for the fly, a minor touch that shows how much they care about every detail. There are several areas where real metal is used for hooks, hangers, and clasps, and it all adds up to tremendous quality.

I do wish the portrait were slightly more accurate. The paint work is great, but their hair work still needs improvement, and they missed an opportunity to capture the perfect look for the nose. 

At this price point, the final result is well worth it. I think I may end up skipping the armor in my display, because I really like the look of the long coat and boots, but your mileage may vary.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $190.

- Sideshow also has him at $190.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
As I mentioned earlier, Threezero has already done Tyrion, Ned, and Jon Snow. If you're looking for other Game of Thrones figures that might be a little cheaper, there's the now defunct Funko original series, as well as their new series. And don't forget that Dark Horse has their own series of 8" statue-like figures.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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