Review of Roadworn Thor
Ragnarok Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

The most recent addition to the MCU is Thor: Ragnarok. Like all MCU movies, I saw it opening weekend. This is despite the fact that the previous two Thor films are in my bottom five of all MCU movies. It's not that I dislike Thor, or the casting of Chris Hemsworth. But the previous two movies have come up short for me in story and pacing.

I'm happy to report that the third film breaks the streak. While it's not going to be in my top five by any means, it has elevated the overall Thor series, and was a very enjoyable comic book movie overall. They upped the humor this time around, and I have no problem with that. Not every release needs to be dour, and not every release should be slapstick. Finding that happy middle ground is a trick, and the MCU has managed to do it well so far.

Hot Toys is producing a wide range of characters for the movie, and because they are dipping into the secondary players heavily, it's a dream for me. Remember, I prefer the B listers to buying fifty versions of the A listers. I like a little diversity on my shelves, and with Hot Toys producing Valkyrie, Hela, and a new look Loki, I'll be buying quite a few characters from the film.

They are also doing a Gladiator Hulk and Thor, which are probably going to be the top picks for most folks. They wanted to get something out in conjunction with the movie, however, so they went with a 'roadworn' Thor, based on his look early in the film, and scavanged parts from previous releases to make sure it happened on time.

I'm checking out the road worn version tonight, which was exclusive to Sideshow here in the U.S. The original price was a whopping $243, no small potatoes.

Packaging - ***
The box is attractive enough, but I'm not quite sure I get the whole green and pink thing. I don't remember these colors having any significance in the movie, and it looks a bit like an Easter egg - literally - to me.

But it's all collector friendly, and the shoe box style package contains a sturdy plastic tray to keep the accessories safe and sound.

Sculpting - ***1/2
If you picked up the Age of Ultron Thor, then you already have this portrait. If you're like me and did not, the next most similar is the Dark World sculpt, but there's some differences with that one.

It is a great portrait, especially when it comes to a realistic look. The skin texture is amazing, and the amount of fine detail in the hair is really quite impressive. The facial hair and eyebrows look great, and their use of the separate thin strands of hair framing the face works beautifully.

It's also properly emotive, with a tense look in the eyes and mouth. The wrinkles in the forehead and around the bridge of the nose imply a serious beating is coming soon.

I do think this is one of those sculpts where the outstanding realism overwhelms the viewer, making them less likely to be critical of the actual accuracy of the portrait. It is Hemsworth, but I'm not sure it's one of their most accurate likenesses. There's something *slightly* generic around the nose and mouth, but it's subtle...and hard to see with the glare of beauty that is the realism of this work.

My only real nit is with the hair. It's sculpted up off the shoulders in most poses, and this ends up hurting the look in some stances. If the material were just a little softer, or sculpted to lay a little lower, they could have avoided this issue. You can always use some heat to re-position it.

The skin covering on the arm is re-used as well, although that pretty much makes sense, since Hemsworth hasn't altered his look all that much. The underlying body is appropriately sized, coming in at about 12 1/2 inches.  And the various hand sculpts work nicely with the assorted extras.

Paint - ****
This is a new paint job, and it shows. Their production paint work continues to improve, and when they want to do it right, they really, really do.

The skin tone is excellent, the eyes are so life-like it's scary, and the subtle tones of the lips, eyebrows, and facial hair look fantastic. This is one of those realistic sculpts backed up and supported by a truly realistic paint job.

They did go with the gold highlights in the hair. They recently did that with Old Man Luke, and I wasn't really feeling it, but it's much more subtle this time around. He doesn't look like someone bronzed his head, unlike poor Luke.

Articulation - ***
The large body works well, but the covered arms and armored torso are a bit restricted.

The neck works better than you might expect with the long hair, but that's due to the way it's sculpted up off the shoulders. It helps articulation - it hurts his overall look.

The shoulders aren't skin covered, so their mobility is quite good. Obviously the elbows aren't going to bend as much, but the rotating hinge wrists work great, and the hands swap easily.

The torso can't turn and lean very much, thanks to the armor, but the hips, knees, and ankles have good mobility, with the softer pants not creating much restriction. The two piece soft boots allow for good rocker movement in the ankles, so deep stances with flat feet are very possible.

But that brings us to my big complaint this time around - loose joints. Both the knees and ankles are very loose, while the hips aren't as tight as normal. I had a hard time keeping him upright, something that is very rare with a Hot Toys TrueType body. Hopefully it's just a one off manufacturing issue, and you'll avoid the problem.

Accessories - ****
There's two big differences with this guy that makes him worth buying even if you have the AoU version. One of those is some of his accessories.

He comes with four sets of hands - a relaxed grip he comes wearing, a set of fists, a set of tight grips for the hammer handle, and a set of wide, splayed fingers. These swap easily and stay on when posing, but there's a set of extra pegs just in case.

He also has two hammers. One Mjolnir is all metal, very heavy, but very, very well made. The sculpt is sharper, the finish brighter, and the arms are tight enough to hold it aloft.

The second Mjolnir is plastic and lights up. I'll get into the light up feature more in the next category. Both have leather wrist wraps, but these are a little too short to use in most poses.

There is also an electric bolt of lightning, which you can attach to the end of either hammer. The clear plastic looks good, and does create some interesting effects when the light is turned on in the hammer head.

The cape is removable, and they supplied two additional chest ornaments to replace the ones that are permanently affixed to the cape.  These can be tricky to pop in and out, so take your time.

That's a lot of stuff, but none of that is REALLY why you're buying this figure. You're buying this one to get the huge skull of Sutur, who is a main feature in the film. There's a large, real metal chain that can be used to wrap through the eye of the skull and around the figure, but they were smart enough to know it would never properly hold it on his back...so they included a cool magnetic feature! The skull attaches tightly to his back thanks to a magnet, and you can actually remove this magnetic piece from the inside of the skull. This way you can display it off his back, and not have a weird box on the inside.

To hold the metal chain together around his chest, they provided two small plastic links. There's two because they are very fragile. I think a metal option would have been much smarter, but I was able to get the plastic link to work without breaking it.

Of course, there's a basic display base with a crotch support, pretty much standard stuff for any Hot Toys release.

Light Feature - ****
As light features go, this one is a solid winner.

There are three small batteries included, which fit inside a compartment on the base of the plastic hammer. Turn the handle, and the head of Mjolnir lights up with bright blue electricity. The light is very bright, easy to use, and adds quite a bit to the look of the figure.

Outfit - ***1/2
The other major update is with the outfit, based on his look at the beginning of the new film.  The armor, belts, pants, boots - it's a new look for the God of Thunder. The sculpting on the armored plastic bits is great, with plenty of surface detail and texture. The two piece boot design works well, and the tailoring and quality of the cloth pieces (like the pants) is nice.

The stand out is the hooded cape, which hangs cleanly and neatly off his shoulders. The ratty, torn bottom edge is quite realistic, and the soft material lays perfectly. It's removable, but most folks will stick with using it in the display.  The magnet on the skull is strong enough to hold it in place through the cape, but I removed it for the photo below to change things up a bit.

Fun Factor - ***
The articulation is decent, but I was annoyed by the loose knees and ankles. This hurts the posing fun, since getting and maintaining some stances was frustrating. If you're more of a 'use the stand' sort of collector, you'll have an easier time.

Value - *1/2
At $243 bucks (a rather odd retail price), you're going to feel the sting on this one.  Yes, it has the cachet of being the first Ragnarok figure to ship. Yes, it also has the cachet of being an 'exclusive'. And yes, that skull is mighty cool. But all that cachet doesn't quite add up to almost $30 over average, and with the re-used portrait, you can't help but feel a bit hurt by the price point.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. The small plastic tabs that hold the cape in place can be tough to get in and out, particularly the smaller one on the left that goes through the belt. Take some care to avoid damaging the belt itself.

You'll also want to be careful when turning on the light inside the hammer. It doesn't take a lot of force to turn the handle and it only goes one way, so don't crank on it.

Overall - ***1/2
There's lots of positive things to say about this figure. The portrait is solid, and the paint work continues to improve, which seems impossible to fathom. The costume is well made, and the accessories provide some key additions, particularly Surtus' skull.

But with the re-used portrait and a high price point, it is still a very tough sell. This one is more for those that didn't buy the AoU version and don't yet have this head sculpt in their display, or really, really want the skull.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- this guy was originally an exclusive through Sideshow, where he was $243. You can still get on the wait list.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Hot Toys Thor figures include the man himself from Dark World, and the Dark World Loki. Also worth mentioning is the first Hot Toys Thor, as well as their first Loki. And don't forget his dad, Odin!

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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