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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Thor Hammer & helmet Sideshow Archive set

Thor Archive Set Hammer & Helmet by Sideshow Collectibles

What is an archive set? That was my first question about 6-7 years ago when I first heard about these. Basically it's a pure display piece (in every sense of the word)  it captures everything to do with the character without the character. For me it is pretty awesome because you get to see the weapons up close. What makes the hero or villain you can literally hold in your hand.
The sideshow pieces are made to a 1/4 scale meaning perfect for you budget and small enough to save you a ton of space instead of dealing with super large life size prop replicas. First of the detail is fantastic the amount of time and effort to design and mass produce these is unheard of. I'll let the pictures explain, down to business. I'm Going to do a reverse order this time bring the suspense to the front instead of making you all wait. Let me know if you like this method better.


The Goods What you care about:
The Archive set (the piece): The paint job is stunning, the piece looks like it's straight out of Thor's Asgarian utility room. The wood display is not actually wood, the paint job makes it look so real. As well the base isn't stone, both the base and the wood display are made out of polystone and probably metal on the inside to make the frame. The stone base has rune like markings on each side with the classic Thor logo on the front (even the shading is done in the paint job). The hammer (Mjolnir) is heavy the entire piece is made out of solid metal (probably weighs about 1lb) with the handle wrapped in leather (just like the comics). His winged helmet is also made out of solid metal (probably about 1/2 pound) with an awesome silver sparkle flecked paint job and hand painted feathers. Each then mount on to the wood display part (the winged helmet mounts with a peg in the middle and the hammer just rest on the 2 horizontal dragon looking pegs.

 Sideshow Thor Archive Hammer and Winged Helmet Front view, Side view, Back View and the under side Numbered edition

The Winged Helmet and Hammer (Mjolnir): the up close look at both the winged helmet and hammer reveals an amazing amount of detail given to each individual piece. Quality control must have been really strict. I'm more amazed at the helmet than the hammer due to the fact that the detail required to pull off the helmet was actually thoughtfully designed and then exceptionally executed. Sideshow didn't just have the feathers painted, they had them machine stamped into metal and then hand painted. They did that on the outward and inward facing parts of the helmet. The Hammer WOW a solid piece of metal with a textured paint pattern and to top it off, the embossed inscription of what it takes to wield Thor's hammer (Mjolnir). The leather wrapped handle looks great as well the little detail at the bottom of the handle. Sideshow there's really no one out there that comes close to your attention to detail and price point.
Thor's Hammer and Helmet up close. You can see the detail and the quality of workmanship


The 4 Colour Box: looks great and really shows off the piece. Even before opening and seeing the piece you know what you are getting into. The excitement just grows from there.
Sideshow Archive Thor Hammer and Helmet set 4 colour box front, back and side

Styrofoam Packing
The Styrofoam: Packed well and to save space this piece should save you a bit on shipping but the weight alone will probably make that saving negligible. Trust me though the weight is what makes this piece ever penny.


The Verdict: the fully metal pieces, life like wood and stone base give this the look of fiction really becoming reality. Get you hands on one of these comic fans, especially you Thor guys. You won't regret it.

5 Thrown Hammers out of 5

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. So far I've seen them listed for $200, but I was able to get one priced at about $175-180 after asking for a deal in Nov 2012.
      Good luck and Happy hunting. If I ever get another I will let you know.

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