[Open-box review] Shield Maiden from Nuts Planet by Kevin

Hi to everyone , We again see another release from the prolific company in Korea called Nuts Planet , alongside others they have established a reputation for interesting and quality releases in all scales . The one I will be sharing my thoughts on is as announced in this thread from Nuts Planet : http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/new-release-of-nutsplanet-shieldmaiden.69585/watch-confirm.H to everyone , We again see another release from the prolific company in Korea called Nuts Planet , alongside others they have established a reputation for interesting and quality releases in all scales . The one I will be sharing my thoughts on is as announced in this thread from Nuts Planet : http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/new-release-of-nutsplanet-shieldmaiden.69585/watch-confirm.

It is of course the Shield Maiden but before we look at the box and its contents lets see what exactly these "ladys" were all about. Female warriors feature in many legends and myths in the Ancient world particularly in the Norse tales , did they actually exist well evidence is very scarce , they certainly existed in modern films as in The Vikings , in folklore they fought alongside their men replacing any gaps in the shield walls by picking up their fallen warriors shields , no actual graves have been found which definately show female warriors .but much is imagined to have been so . Did they exist ...who can definately say ..but one thing I wouldn't want to come against one !!!!

Books of course are many on the Vikings these are a few that are really good reading and full of information.

Fearsome warriors with fearsome weapons!!!!

Lets begin our journey, Perhaps we will end up in Valhalla or even worse we might still be alive after our brave maiden fought to the death. What are we looking at : Title: Shield Maiden - The Viking Age Reference: NP-B013 Scale: 1/10th Material: Gray Resin No of parts: 9 Sculptor: Jun-Sik Ahn Box Art: Myeong-Ha Ahn As with all the releases from Nuts we finds our purchase in the blue box , strong and sturdy as always with colour pictures of the piece on the top and one of the sides.

Parts were carefully placed within sandwiched between foam pieces ...no chance of any damage with this sort of packing . Parts consist of the torso , the arms , the shield, 2 hands one for the shield the other for the weapon she holds an axe , a top part of a sword , and the shield strap and last but not least a base.

In this part of the review we will look at the Torso and the Arms.....lets look at the prep needed on these pieces first : One casting plug from the base of the torso beautifully positioned for ease of removal , the arms each have 2 small plugs to take off on the elbows ...and that is it , nothing more needed. Beginning with the Torso , an examination of the piece showed a flawless piece of casting , nothing , I paid particular attention to the hair as if there was any this would be the difficult area ....nothing ..good start .

The sculpting is as I expected also flawless , looking perhaps a bit like a character we might have seen in a recent tele visual delight but who cares ..not me !!! The pose is with the upper body turned slightly to the right , back slightly arched to counter the weight of the shield she carrys . The features of the face are extraordinary , very smooth and very accurate , , a fine pointed nose , good nostril details , eyes and ears are well formed , neck muscles are prominant in keeping with her position , her female form is very nicely done , I spent a long time looking at this area..hard life reviewing eh!!!

Her hair is nothing short of brilliant , plaits fall down at the front with the hair swept back at the forehead with another plait on the top , hair strands are all there to enjoy in excellent form...sculpting at its best Clothing she wears is full of fine details all really well cast , at the back here bodice is tied in a cris cross , again well worked , the whole clothing area will allow the painter to really bring the surface details out ..good chance for leather effects as in the box art .

At her waist we see 2 sword belts well sculpted sitting on her hips . On the shoulder area we have a male plug ready to receive the shield arm with the appropriate cutout and the other has a female ready to receive the plug cast onto the weapon arm....no chance of trying to fit the wrong arm. On to the Arms now , fit into the required position is first class , excellent join with no filler being needed , the shield arm is held up and back .This comment applys to both clothing folds are really good with the wrists having some well sculpted decoration in particular .

Nice start and already a fine looking figure

Let us continue in our longship to look at the other parts : Beginning with the Prep needed ...the shield has a casting plug to remove from the outer rim ..carefully do this and don't try and snap it off !!!!, the hands with are both on formers and will need cutting off as is the shield strap , I like this presentation keeping the parts safe and easy to take off ..well thought out by Nuts , the sword hilt has a remnant to take off just below the cross piece , the base needed a slight sanding around the lower edge ..but that is all the prep required ...easy to sort out . The Shield this is the full version and with no design ...a blank canvas for the painter , with a great bit of details on the wood effect , the central boss is suitably battle damaged with the shield itself having battle scars , on the front we have to plates which hold the strap rings on the back , these are again well sculpted and we also see locating holes ready to receive the shield handle .

The Strap for the shield , this should be fitted first before the shield is put on for obvious reasons !!!! . it hangs very naturally in place with nice positioning as well .

On now to the Hands and their contents , the left hand holds the shield handle , I would recommend you dry fit this to the arm and check its position .I did and it confirmed that it was spot on , it will for most be easier to paint this before getting your chosen glue out!!!

The other has the war axe in the hand , this is a lovely bit of work again with fine details , leather strapping secures the axe head with the lower parts being covered as a grip

Both hands are very well sculpted and fit into the wrists with no concerns , when in place they look tye parts and sit very naturally. The Sword hilt is a typical design , there is no blade to it it ends in keeping with the torso , again surface work is seen with a 3 pommel at the top.

The Base is the usual one perfectly adequete as always ...pin it for additional security and peace of nmind or use a brass rod as is my choice.

Final Thoughts: As anticipated another cracking bit of work from the team at Nuts Planet ,,,presentation spot on , quality of sculpting the same with casting easily some of the best I have seen...a really pretty female subject , full of details which when painted will make a great addition to the display cabinet Thanks to Nuts Planet for the review sample and also ....... to you all for coming along with me on the journey . For more information and to see where you can purchase this and other releases in all scales .. why not go to their website at : www.nutsplanet.com or bookmark them and be friends on Facebook at : www.facebook.com/nutsplanet Happy Figure Modelling Nap