REVIEW: Sideshow Collectibles World of Warcraft ARTHAS Statue

[JessHorsley]

The Lich King Comes To Life In This Massive Impressive Statue...

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If you play or have ever played World of Warcraft, you immediately recognize the name Arthas Menethil. The son of King Terenas Menethil II and heir to the throne, Arthas received training as a paladin under the expert tutelage of the famous warrior Uther the Lightbringer and was inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand at age 19, where he quickly became a renowned warrior in the savage First War. However, Arthas's life took a tragic turn when he lead the warriors of light into a battle against the dreadlord Mal'Ganis and the Plague of Undeath.

The Scourge destroyed the innocent, transforming them into an army of undead and ruining the peace and harmony of the kingdom. Obsessed with obtaining the Runeblade Forstmourne and destroying the evil dreadlord who'd brought ruin to his kingdom, Arthas journey took him over the edge as he lost his army, honor and sanity in his quest for revenge. Upon obtaining the blade and defeating Mal'Ganis, Arthas becomes a death knight and leads the Scourge himself, killing his father and taking the mantle of the Lich King for himself.

Now Sideshow, in working with Blizzard Entertainment, brings to life The Lich King Arthas in all of his glorious evil. Crafted in high quality polystone, the dreaded Lich King Arthas Statue stands an impressive 19" high, 19" wide and 20" deep and features a light-up feature that'll impress all who see it.

PACKAGING:

The Arthas statue ships in a massive cardboard box which houses yet another massive cardboard box. Inside this interior box collectors will find the actual art box packaging (above) which holds the statue's pieces. The statue's various pieces - including body, shoulder armor, base, sword, helm and base - are made of both polystone and high density plastic and each piece is securely held in a form-fitting Styrofoam container inside the art box. This ensures each piece is undamaged and ready for construction and display upon arrival. Triple boxed and securely stored, this is one of the heaviest and best packaged statues I've ever come across; fans and collectors should find this enormous package truly impressive when it arrives to them.

SCULPT

Designed by Kingslayer Rhooria with sculpting by Brian Fay and Idol Workshop, Arthas the Lich King stands fully armored and frightening, the haunted blade Frostmourne drawn and prepared to face his fate. While photos of this statue help highlight the gorgeous detail, there's nothing like seeing it firsthand to truly impress.

Each and every armor plate compliments the whole suit and the design of the character, years older than this statue, has never before been captured this elegantly or with this much detail. From the armored gauntlets and gloves - covered in spikes and featuring fine leather-like texture and detailing, to the leg armor and fur-covered boots - featuring leather-like straps and skulls at the knees as well as rib bone-like sculpting atop the cuisse (thigh armor), Arthas looks screen accurate and impressive beyond measure. Of note, the massive, wind-blown cape flows behind the figure on the figure's right side, sweeping from the shoulder armor and around the base to balance the statue's ice pillars, which rear from the ice bases' left side.

The skull motif is immediately recognizable across the whole of the statue, beginning with the large skull across the right shoulder pauldron (above) and extending to the skulls on the shoulder plates, the belt buckle, the knees and around the ice base. The ice base (below), itself an impressive sculpture with fine detailing throughout - helps place the statue in a game-accurate environment. Arthas stands, displayed with massive ice pillars and spikes protruding from the icy ground, the base setting an awesome scene and placing the character within the Icecrown Citadel, an instantly recognizable level for gamers and fans of the character.

PAINT APPLICATION:

The impressive paint applications by Anthony Mestas and Bernardo Esquivel help breath life into the sculpt, which would be incomplete without such gorgeous colors and shading. The statue features a dark color palette across the jagged, layered armor which is balanced by the smooth cold colors featured on the ice base. The Lich King's dark and brooding design features gold trim and silver shading across the armored plates with the white, snow-speckle to provide depth.

The previously mentioned cape (above) provides an impressive look at the way Mestas and Esquivel handle the snowy paint details across the figure. The white, snow-covered look is heavily applied at the bottom of the cape, boots and loincloth and lightly dusts the rest of the figure's armor. The snow dusting across the full figure helps provide additional depth as well as ensures the figure looks at home in the environment.

LIGHT-UP FEATURE

A compliment to the overall look and feel of the Arthas statue is the light-up feature, providing a bright, blue light which shines from both Arthas' eyes (above) and the eyes of the Frostmourne runeblade (below). These lights ignite when a small button on the back of the base is pushed. Powered by a pair of AA batteries, housed in the bottom of the base, these lights add an ambiance to the statue and, when shown in a dark room or setting, provide an engaging, haunting look.

COST & OVERALL IMPRESSION

With a retail price of $349.99, die-hard World of Warcraft fans will see the Sideshow Collectibles' World of Warcraft ARTHAS Statue as an investment in their continually growing WoW collection, though casual fans might look at a smaller, less expensive Lich King figure or statue as an alternative. That said, those fans would be missing out on one of the most impressive World of Warcraft collectibles ever produced.

This Arthas statue is a massive, beautifully sculpted and gorgeously painted piece which rivals the finest Sideshow has ever produced. I might be angering video game and sci-fi fans in saying this, but I'd say this piece is just as impressive if not more impressive than the previously released StarCraft II Tychus Findlay Terran Marine Statue.

Overall, for those World of Warcraft fans who want nothing but the best, there's no rivaling the Sideshow Collectibles' World of Warcraft ARTHAS Statue.

Be sure to check out the ARTHAS PHOTO GALLERY with over 40 images!

- photos and reviews by Jess C. Horsey