Valkyrie was released in Autumn 2019 as part of the 3rd wave of Avengers Endgame figures of that year. She was part of an MCU only wave that included figures from Endgame as well as Infinity War and Civil War. The wave included parts to build an Endgame Thor figure.
Packaging 4/5
The packaging for Valkyrie is the same design as that used on the previous Endgame releases with the logo for the movie now included in its entirety - on wave 1 and 2 the Endgame part was missing.
The side art is an image of Valkyrie in her white armour and this is also shown on the back of the box along with a brief piece of text.
"An honoured warrior, Valkyrie uses her strength and skill to defend Asgard"
Paint & Sculpt 4/5
This is a full new sculpt for Valkyrie, it does not even use the original Tessa Thompson head from the 2017. This new head sculpt is impressive and utilises the face print to express more realistic eyes and shading on the facial features. The hair is a separate piece - but has very little visible seam. It wraps the head and then snakes down the body in two plaited braids.
The sculpt detail on the armour is exquisite for such a scale with differing textures and panels throughout the body. The whole body is cast in a white plastic so only the gold parts are painted along with some slim blue lines around the torso. All the paint is neat with no obvious errors, although a couple of gold panes are not fully covered.
It is not all plain sailing though as we have another cape issue for an Asgardian character. The Valkyrie cape is a separate cast piece in a softer blue plastic with painted gold armoured shoulder panels. It connects to the body by means of a single plug on the back that is raised out by a plastic rectangle that has the sole aim of moving the cape away from the body so it looks like it is flying in a breeze.
The fit of the plug into the socket is not secure and is quite loose. That means the cape has a tendency to either sit too far in and then raises the shoulder panels so they are floating. Or it sits too far to one side which then slides the left hand shoulder panel down the arm while raising the right one.
We've had similar cloak issues with Hela and Loki and considering Valkyrie is not seen without her cloak I would have preferred a more fitted look like Heimdall that keeps it secure and in place and looking natural.
Accessories 1/5
I had hoped Valkyrie's weapon would be improved from the extremely floppy Ragnarok sword and sheath. Sadly if anything they are even worse. Both are cast in a rubbery plastic that bends far too easily and is impossible to straighten with the usual heat/cold techniques.
We have even lost some paint apps from the 2017 release, namely the gunmetal silver on the scabbard. And even have paint errors on the translucent blue blade where silver paint has been spilled.
Like the 2017 release there is nowhere (that I have found) for the scabbard to hang or be mounted. The sword does fit into the right hand, but is so ridiculously bent and misshapen I feel bad having it on display.
Articulation 3/5
We have 16 points of articulation on our Valkyrie figure, 2 less than a male figure with the elbows being left as single joints despite the armour giving what looks to be sufficient plastic to allow for a double joint and supporting bicep swivel.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : ball joint torso
Arms : ball joint shoulders, single joint rotating elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rocker
The joints are all tight and secure and posing options are numerous. The figure is however one of those where the feet and ankle rockers can't seem to be posed flat. When you factor in that cape that is pushed out and leaning backwards, Valkyrie is frustratingly difficult to stand - and I had to put her onto a figure stand for most of this review
Summary
Valkyrie looks awesome, it is such a good sculpt and paint job! It is let down however by a poorly designed cloak and some of the worst accessories I have seen on a Legends figure for some time. Couple that difficulty in standing her up and we have a figure that should have scored a perfect 5 out of 5 let down by some execution of the supporting parts.
Factoring in all the frustrations, Valkyrie still deserves an above average 3 out of 5. But if you pick her up, be prepared for frustration in tweaking and teasing all the parts into a pose you are happy with.
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