“I Think You Got Her.”
To coincide with the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Hasbro created the Golden Archive series of 6-inch collector figures based on the D&D property with the entirety of the first releases themed around the live-action Honor Among Thieves movie. As well as single ‘human’ characters like Edgin, Simon, and Holga - the line also featured deluxe ‘Monsters’. Alongside the Displacer Beast from the movie, Hasbro also released Doric as an Owlbear as part of this larger format of figures.
The Owlbear arrives in closed packaging as was the case with all the Golden Archive figures from 2023 falling as they did during Hasbro’s Plastic-Free packaging run. The box is extended to incorporate the larger figure but features the same basic design including a cut-off corner that pays homage to the Dice used in D&D. With no window to display the figure, the contents are confirmed through illustrations and actual pictures of the figure. These are enclosed on the front by the ornate frame of the Golden Archive. Around the back, we have a more generic contents image which confirms the figure's size and additional parts. Background info is provided on the right-hand side spine and talks specifically about Doric and her situation when we find her in the movie - it makes no reference to the Owlbear itself.
Inside the box, the Owlbear is supplied in component parts that need assembling. There are two halves of the upper torso that slot on the front and back of the main body, tucked up under the rim of the neck section. This can get a little tight on the fitting of the second piece. There is a short guide included if needed.
The Owlbear stands an impressive 21.5cm tall or about 8.5 inches. She is weighty in hand with an obviously solid construction. The body is cast entirely in a slightly off-white with sculpted feather patterning throughout. Some of these feathers are then picked out in darker shades or brown through to some black to define key areas around the Owlbear’s chest, legs, arms, and shoulders. The arms feature a strip of longer feathers extending outward as a slightly softer plastic, with a similar principle used at the shoulders. The hands feature black claws and palms, as do the feet.
The head sits atop a larger neckpiece and is the same colouration as the main figure with similar - but less concentrated - brown and black markings on the forehead feathering. The eyes have a glassy finish and are black-rimmed with a blue sclera and black iris with a slight dot of white added as a reflection. The mouth is sculpted open with a black beak and an exposed inner mouth in a deep red. This look doesn’t quite work for me considering the ‘roar’ we see on screen where the mouth should be wider and angrier looking. An alternative head or beak option would have been preferred allowing you to choose from neutral and 'charging into battle'.
The Owlbear is designed with 17 points of articulation all of which are pinless. These allow the figure to be posed in an upright position in which case you can utilise the standard ‘hands’ with a gripping sculpt that could hold other figures or be posed in an attack configuration. When standing upright much of the available movement is in the upper arms which can extend up and out in various threatening poses. You do have to be careful not to overbalance the Owlbear who is top-heavy, particularly where the torso joint is bent forward or the long arms are extended outwards.
There is also the ability to display the Owlbear on all fours. To achieve this the lower part of the neck slides backwards moving the head from the upright position to one that is horizontal to the body. At this point, the arms become front legs and you can swap out the gripping hands for a pair of front feet that are included in the set. In the all-fours position the articulation is also a little restricted, particularly when all four feet are flat to the floor as this leaves little else that can be moved other than the head. While sometimes these types of engineered figures look off in one of their two positions, I am pleased to say that the Owlbear looks and feels natural in both upright and all-fours posing.
The Owlbear suffered in the same way that the rest of the Golden Archive figures did arriving at a time when the packaging was fully enclosed and for a franchise that didn’t have the same level of interest for action figures. Nearly all of the Honor Among Thieves releases ended up getting significant reductions at retail and that does mean the film Owlbear, and its ‘Legacy’ counterpart are still available at time of writing for less than a standard 6-inch collector figure. What you get for your money is a well-built, well engineered figure that has plenty of shelf presence and integrates with the other figures for a display.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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