Sunday, March 1, 2020

Action Figure Review: Ragnarok: Max Level from Fortnite: Legendary Series by Jazwares

 Jazwares really impressed me with their Fortnite: Legendary Series figures last year and 2020 sounds seems like it's going to be another great year for them. Not only does it seem like lots of cool Fortnite stuff is coming (I should actually be getting Beef Boss and Sentinel in the mail tomorrow!) but they also had a great showing of new action figures based on AEW (All Elite Wrestling) and Halo. Seriously, Jazwares seems to really be on a roll lately with big plans. Their Fortnite: Legendary Series line has been interesting as they just kind of drop figures out of nowhere, which is what happened with Ragnarok. He just kind of showed up out of nowhere on Amazon back in January. I've had him for over a month but I'm just now getting around to checking him out! Like Omega, Ragnarok is a "Max Level" deluxe release that includes multiple outfit parts so that you can create all of the different looks for his tiered in-game appearances. Ragnarok is part of the Harbinger set alongside his counterpart Valkyrie (who is still the line's lone female figure). Let's check this guy out after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Hinged toes, swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, swivel/hinge hips, waist swivel, balljointed mid-torso, "butterfly" pecs, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged fingers, hinged neck, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: 3 interchangeable face plates, 4 interchangeable hands, 2 bracers, helmet, 2 pauldrons, 2 greaves, chest strap, cape, chest armor, belt, Permafrost harvesting tool, and Thermal Scoped Assault Rifle.

Non-Scalper Price: $30 dollars

 The Positives:


* The base figure of Ragnarok is a big, bald, muscular dude with some runic inspired tattoos that kind of look like snowflakes. He's like a weird blend of the German mechanic from Indiana Jones and Jack Frost. He's a fairly basic figure, but that's the point: Just like the old Kenner quick change Batman figures the idea is that you take this basic figure and "level him up" through all of his in-game looks!


* Ragnarok is a pretty rough looking due. He's got blue hair (there's even a light spray on the pate of his head to depict his closely shaved hair) and icy blue eyes. He's also sporting a really cool mustache that just gets more and more epic.


 * While the various armored bits will impede his movement some, at this base Ragnarok is incredibly well articulated. Heck, even his hinged fingers (which are the on thing about this line I just don't like) work really well. He's another very well made toy in this line.


* This is Ragnarok's Tier 1 look. It's just the basic figure with a couple of leather straps around his shoulder. The leather straps are one piece but they do look like separate pieces. They also match really with with the sculpted belts on his waist and the leather straps around his wrists.


 * For his Tier 2 look Ragnarok adds on an armored cuirass underneath his leather straps, a belt with a padded waistcoat, and new hairdo. The cuirass is made from a very flexible plastic that fits over his arms and easily closes in the back. The belt is much the same: It simply goes around Ragnarok's waist with a hidden peg in the front to buckle it. These fit on quite easily and both look really good on the figure. The size is perfect!


* Ragnarok's new Tier 2 hairdo features a very trendy half haircut (or whatever you call this particularly style) and a nicely shaped longer beard. Again, this is another face plate that simply fits onto the head of the figure.


 * I like the viking drinking horn on Ragnarok's belt. It's not removable (it's glued on) but it does add a cool little bit of extra flair to the figure.


 * For Tier 3 Ragnarok adds on a few new pieces of armor to the figure as well as a longer beard. Ragnarok has armored greaves that plug into holes on the front of his boots, a second set of armored hands with spiked armored plates, and a spiked pauldron on his left shoulder. Everything stays on quite well and changing the hands out is very simple. The hands feel quite sturdy, too, so I had no fear of breakage.


 * Ragnarok's third and final face plate has the same hipster haircut but this time he's rocking a longer beard. It's even braided!

* Ragnarok's 4th tier outfit can't quite be replicated here. He has armored bracers on his forearms (which, looking at it, might actually be part of the 3rd tier outfit) that simply slide over his forearms when you remove his hands and a new cape. The cape is very cool as the outer facing side of the material has a pleather-like feel to it and a cool, mottled texture. It plugs into the hole on Ragnarok's back (the hole is accessible through the cuirass) and it looks fine. There is supposed to be a second plainpauldron added on to the right side, but that plain pauldron isn't included here. That's not too big of a deal, though, as you'll get something cooler in a second.

 * For Tier 5 Ragnarok adds on this massive bony helmet. He also now has a translucent beard and long flowing hair in the back (also blue, also translucent), although that's part of the helmet sculpt. You can put the helmet on over his standard face plate but I found it easiest to put the helmet on the figure with no face plate present. This thing looks really cool and definitely makes Ragnarok at least 8 times more fearsome.

 * To reach his Tier 6, place the bone armored pauldron on Ragnarok's right shoulder. Boom! Done! This guy looks great, doesn't he? I wasn't a huge fan of Omega, as his armor was a paint to put on, but Ragnarok is a lot of fun to armor up. You can also mess around to give him his own unique looks, too, which is fun. He definitely reminds me of Kenner's various "quick change" figures such as the various Batmans and Robins they made, or even The Shadow. Remember that one?

 * Ragnarok, like Havoc,  includes the Thermal Scoped Assault Rifle which, at one time, was one of the rarest weapons in the game. It looks a little bit stubby, but that seems to be a stylistic choice. The weapon seems like a strange for Ragnarok, but I guess in Fortnite you pick up whatever guns you can find. This rifle actually has a new camouflage paint scheme which makes it even cooler than Havoc's rifle.

* Ragnarok's Permafrost harvesting tool suits him much better than his rifle. It's a fantastic looking weapon with metal spikes and translucent blue blades, giving it an icy look. This is a great weapon for a viking inspired warriors and the paintwork really makes this feel like something special. Seriously, there's a lot of detail on this accessory.
 The Negatives:

* While most of the time I'm sure the figure will be covered with armor and such, the Ragnarok base body definitely makes the joints various noticeable. I'm not sure what could have been done to disguise these, but Ragnark definitely has that very segmented look that some super articulated figures have.


* Like some of the other figures where the face plate attaches to a regular head, the seam between the face plate and the head is very visible. From the side this is quite noticeable and it just ends up looking kind of off.

 







 * Looking at the character's eyes in the game (or in stills), it seems that Ragnarok's eyes are meant to glow. Here, they look too similar to his beard. If the eyes had more white in them I think it would have helped break things up a bit.
   While Ragnarok is $10 bucks higher than the other Fortnite: Legendary Series figures, you're getting a lot more accessories. This guy really is very fun to play with and has a lot of cool armored bits to play around with. His weapons are good, too. He really is quite an Epic toy. I like this guy way more than Omega, and if Jazwares makes any more of these Max Level figures I'd definitely like more in the pattern Ragnarok than Omega. Jazwares is making some of the best toys on the market today with their Fortnite lines and the Legendary Series is definitely impressive. I can't wait to see what drops next!



This is the first figure of Ragnarok I've reviewed. For more Fortnite: Legendary Series figures check out the following:
Abstrakt
Crackshot
DJ Yonder
Enforcer
Havoc
Jonesy
Leviathan
Molten Battle Hound
Omega: Max Level (Purple)
Peely
Rabbit Raider 
Raven
Rust Lord
Skull Trooper 
Skull Trooper (Purple Glow)
Tomatohead
Valkyrie
The Visitor 
Wild Card 

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