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Review of Daenerys Targaryen - Game of Thrones action figure

Funko
Date Published:
Written By:
Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Introduction

Let's face it - we all love us some Game of Thrones, and with the blu-ray release of season 3 in my hot little hands, I can barely wait for the new season to begin.

Funko has done something rather unusual. They are best known for their cool Pop! vinyl figures, which they have produced for just about every license known to civilized man, including the Game of Thrones. But with their acquisition of Super7 last year, the company that released the retro-action Aliens figures, they switched gears more than just a bit. They are now moving into producing true action figures, and highly articulated, detailed ones at that.

Their first series of Game of Thrones action figures includes Daenerys (reviewed tonight), Jon Snow, Tyrion, a White Walker, Ned Stark, and the Hound. These figures are being done in a 6 inch scale, and should be out at major retailers in the next month. But that wasn't good enough for Funko, as they wanted them out to coincide with the DVD release, and so they worked out an exclusive arrangement with Barnes and Noble. The booksellers will have these for the first 30 days, then other stores will start selling them.

And that's where I found Daeny, all by her little lonesome. I'll be looking for the others of course, but until then, I'll have to be satisfied checking out the mother of dragons.

She was $20 at B&N, but I'm betting that is at least $3 or so over what normal retail will be.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Packaging - ***
These come in boxes, with a plastic hanger on the top. That's a good design, because it also means they are collector friendly - you can remove the figure and accessories without any real damage, and return them to their plastic prison easy peasy, if you feel the urge.

Unfortunately, it also means there's some pretty serious wasted space, particularly with this smaller figure. Her and her one dragon don't take up a ton of room, unlike some of the other figures in the line, so it makes it appear as though the packaging is more wasteful than it probably is.

I do really like the personalization, especially the family crest on the bottom left. It will be interesting to see what they put there when there is a situation with no associated crest - like the White Walker - but I'm betting it will all make sense.

And yes, the boxes do remind me very much of the Star Wars Black figures from Hasbro.

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Sculpting - ***1/2
Daenerys is a beautiful character, played by the lovely Emilia Clark. It's difficult to capture the beautiful people in plastic form, especially at this scale, but Funko has done a very nice job.

It's not perfect, but by using a detailed and easily recognized hair sculpt, as well as the costume that she's probably best known for, they've increased the odds that you'll instantly recognize her.

The detailing on the finely stranded and braided hair, as well as the texture of the costume, is quite impressive.

As I mentioned, these figures are in that 5 - 6" scale, with Daenerys coming in at about 5 1/4" tall. I posed her with a 6" scale Batman, and she seems too small, so it will be interesting to see how she looks standing next to Jon Snow in this series. I'll reserve judgment on whether they've got the scale right until I get a few more of the figures.

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Paint - ***
In general, the paint quality is good. There's no real slop, and key areas - like the eyes and lips - are sharp, straight and even. The eyebrows are a smidge wonky, but at least they have the thicker, darker appearance.

The details look better in person than in macro of course, due to the smaller scale. The wash used to bring out the detailed hair sculpt looks heavy handed in photos, but in person works quite well.

There's a bit of a lack of detail overall, and even the dragon seems a bit plain. He does have the reddish wings though, which is a nice touch.

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Articulation - ***1/2
There's lots of articulation here, and I had no trouble working with it.

The ball jointed neck is a little restricted by the very long hair, but the doo a softer rubber which allows from some tilt and lean.

There's ball jointed shoulders, hips, elbows, and ankles as well, along with cut wrists, and cut thighs. A few joints were sticky - especially the cut thighs - but with a little consistent pressure, they broke free.

I don't love the look of the elbows, because they are the one area where things get a bit ugly. I'm okay with that though, since I'm more of a joint junkie.

You can get some very deep poses, and the joints are designed for maximum usefulness. They aren't restricted by the outfit as much as you'd assume, even with the longer skirt.

The big problem I had was with the waist. There's a ball joint up in the midsection, but the post is way too short. Her upper body pops free from her lower body with only slight pressure, and it can get pretty annoying.

I have heard rumors of breakage on this figure, as well as some of the others in this first shipment.  I didn't have any issues, but you might want to take some care.

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Accessories - ***
Daeny is a bit light in this category, coming with only one extra. It's a pretty important one though - a dragon.

Of course, she has three on the show, but one will suffice here. Who didn't get chills when she said "Dracarys"? Other than that one dude, obviously.

The dragon is small, similar in size to the way they looked at the very end of season 1 and very beginning of Season 2, when they were freshly hatched.

I found that it looked best with the dragon resting in her gripping hand. There is a peg on the bottom of one foot, and there is a hole arrangement on her shoulder, so you can attach the dragon there. It doesn't look particularly great though, since it's more on the side of her arm, and the short legs cause the beast to stick out sideways.

The sculpt and paint are reasonable for this scale, and it's an important addition. But I'm not sure why, at this price point, we couldn't get all three dragons, using the same sculpt and a slightly different paint scheme.

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Fun Factor - ***
If not for the problem with the waist, this would be an even better toy. The rest of the articulation worked great, and fans of the show will have a great time posing her for display with the rest of Westeros.

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Value - **
I paid $20 here, hence the lower than average score. Barnes and Noble tends to be priced higher than normal retailers though, so I'm betting these will be closer to $15 - $17 at other retailers. In that case, you're getting a much more average value, and can add another half star here.

Things to Watch Out For -
I've heard of some breakage issues with the early figures, but I didn't have any problems. The thighs were stuck, and I took a lot of care breaking them free - you do the same.

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Overall - ***
I'm not quite sure how Funko pulled this one off. Dark Horse is already doing a line of 7" action figures, so it seems strange that another company was able to get the license to do almost the exact same thing. The scale is slightly smaller, but it's not quite the distinct difference as say, the sixth scale license.

It looks like they are also doing a better job with the sculpts and paint, and certainly with the articulation. Hopefully the price point will be a bit lower at the other mass market retailers, since $120 for one wave is damn expensive, even for the more devout fans of the show.

There were a few minor issues that kept this figure from gaining another half star overall. One was the aforementioned price, but the annoying waist joint and lack of accessories didn't help. I suspect some of the other figures in the line - particularly Jon Snow and Tyrion - will be able to pull off a slightly better rank, as long as they can keep the level of sculpt and paint up there.

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

Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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Where to Buy 
Right now you can snag these at your local Barnes and Noble, or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I haven't covered a ton of GoT collectibles, but it's worth checking out the Daeny bust from Dark Horse, the Hand of the King pin, and the Catspaw Blade from Valyrian Steel.

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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Game of Thrones Daenarys action figure by Funko

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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