Arthas

Finally, an Arthas Menethil figure! And it only took a little over a decade. For whatever reason, Blizzard has been awfully stingy with making toys of it’s most beloved characters. Sure there are some statues here and there, but no actual toys. Well, the Hero’s of the Storm line promises to change that.

Ah, but Neca. You mixed bag, you. What can we expect? I’m happy to report that Arthas is almost perfect in every way that counts.

Arthas comes packed in the standard Neca plastic clam shell.

The level of detail in his sculpt, and paint applications are amazing. The figure is painted in dull gold and silver, with a grey wash over all of the armor parts to give them a cast iron effect. There are a few teeny tiny paint errors here and there but nothing you are going to casually notice. Even the face is perfectly painted which is sometimes an issue with Neca. They got Arthas’s pale blueish skin tone perfectly, and even did an excellent job of painting his lips and eyes.

I really cant stress just how good the detailing in Arthas’s armor is.

Arthas’s cape and loin cloth are fabric which I am personally a fan of. I’ve never liked plastic capes, but your mileage may vary.

Arthas is very solid. Nothing is loose, nothing rattles, nothing falls off. All of his joints are very stiff, but nothing came stuck.

Arthas stands 6.5 inches tall which makes him a pretty good match for other 6 inch scale figures.

The plastic quality is top notch, Arthas has an excellent weight to him, and nice balance. All of the plastic used in his limbs is nice and stiff, while his armor is a softer plastic which lets it move out of the way for articulation.

The articulation is fairly good, which is surprising considering that Neca did an outstanding job of hiding all the joints. At first glance, you might think that Arthas is a statue. The elbows only bend roughly 45 degrees, and the wrists swivel, but don’t tilt. That said, Arthas has excellent range of motion in his shoulders, hips, and ankles which allow him some nice wide stances, and dynamic poses. While the elbows and wrists are limited, I don’t feel like this cripples his ability to be posed.

I only have two minor complaints, both having to do with the sword. First, it’s VERY had to get it into Arthas’s hand. The blade splits apart at the top of the hilt which is then inserted into the fist before being reconnected to the blade. I had to really work the hilt to get it into his fist, and I’m not sure I could get it out now without breaking it. Next, Arthas’s blade, Frostmorne is iconic in Warcraft lore and very recognizable. It is supposed to be silver with glowy blue runes in-lade into the center of the blade (hello, RUNEblade). However the toys blade just has a gold inlay with no runes. With as much attention to detail as Neca payed everywhere else, it’s weird that they over looked the sword.

Issues with the sword aside, I feel like Arthas is a STEAL at $22. He looks absolutely menacing, and is a lot of fun to pose. If you’re a fan of Warcraft, this is a must have for sure.