Wrapping Up 2023: Grail Table from Indiana Jones: Adventure Series by Hasbro

 

   Last week I looked at the Skull Temple Build-an-Artifact from Hasbro Indiana Jones: Adventure Series line and today I'm looking at the last of the Build-An-Artifacts: The Grail Table from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Housed within the Temple of the Sun, the Grail Table holds the Holy Grail and the other false grails in the secret Grail chamber. Out of all five Indiana Jones films, the only film scene with more than two characters you can really do any justice to with the figures released in the Adventure Series is the Grail chamber scene as Hasbro released the Grail Knight, Elsa Schneider, and Walter Donovan to accompany Indy. That's pretty wild, right? This makes for a great backdrop for those figures, even if it is scaled down a bit from the movie set design. Let's take a look at the Grail Table after the break...

The Facts:

Dimensions: 7 1/4ths inches tall by 6 3/4ths inches long

Articulation: None

Accessories: 5 false grails, 2 braziers, and 2 reliefs.

Non-Scalper Price: N/A. To build it you need the parts from Indiana Jones (Last Crusade), Grail Knight, Henry Jones, Sr., Dr. Elsa Schneider, Doctor Jurgen Voller, and Renaldo.

The Positives:

* The Grail Table is a decent sized Build-An-Artifact that does function as a nice centerpiece for the Last Crusade figures released in the Adventure Series. It's large enough for those figures but it could easily be worked in to a collection of the 2008 1/18th scale Indiana Jones figures, too.

* The legs of the grail table  are quite interesting with carved images of what are clearly angles on some sides and what look to be... aliens on the others. They have big eyes, long fingers, and heads shaped like your standard grey aliens. What do you think these are? Odds are they're some sort of depiction of early Christian saints and/or leaders, perhaps bishops. They do have what look like tall hats on their heads, so maybe they're bishops miters. 

* The top of the Grail Table has a tablecloth covering the middle, a nice stony texture, and some paint to add texture and depth to the stony top. It's quite nice and looks fairly impressive. 

* The silver reliefs plug into two slots on the table and offer a bit of shine to the setup. Perhaps they're designed to reflect the light of the braziers and add more light to the Grail chamber? 

* On the back of the Grail Table is a large relief that appears to represent Jesus Christ. I tried to look through a number of resources to see if anyone had identified this, but the general look of this seems to be an example of the pantocrator depiction of Christ. You have the crown on his head, the right hand extended in a symbol of blessing, and holding a book in his left hand, typically one of the Gospels. It's a neat rendering of a Christ icon.

* The braziers are neat little pieces that just rest on the table. There's a bit of a divot for the in the table and tablecloth, but they just rest there. 

* The Grail Knight comes with the true Holy Grail and both Elsa Schneider and Walter Donovan come with false grails as accessories, but the other five false grails seem to be included as pieces for the Build-an-Artifact Grail Table. There's a nice selection and they look great sitting on the table. Like the braziers, they don't attach to the table but they do rest in little divots. There's a nice variety here. 

The Negatives:

* I do wish Hasbro had included the fountain for filling the Grail. That could have been one solid piece and would have made a nice extra. Two figures came with very small pieces, so including the water font would have been quite welcome. It definitely feels like a missing piece. 

   The Grail Table is pretty impressive and makes for a unique piece for the build-a-figure concept. It's not 100% accurate and it could have benefitted from being a bit larger and including the font so the various grails could be filled, but overall it is an impressive extra that probably wouldn't have made it into this line in any other way. I love the relief of Christ in the center, the braziers, and the variety of false grails to supplement the true Grail. It's a Great and a 1/2 artifact and definitely makes scenes with Indy, Donovan, the Grail Knight, and Elsa more fun. 





This is the first Grail Table accessory I've reviewed. For more Indiana Jones Adventure Series reviews check out the following:

Grail Knight
Henry Jones, Sr.
Indiana Jones (Cairo)
Indiana Jones (Club Obi Wan)
Indiana Jones (Last Crusade)
Indiana Jones (Map Room)

Indiana Jones (Professor)

Indiana Jones (Temple Escape)
Indiana Jones (Temple of Doom)
Major Arnold Toht
Skull Temple (Build-an-Artifact)