Sláine--What is and what shall be, pt. 1

I originally conceived of this project as a straight OOB “Painter’s” figure. However, the more I looked at the figure and the graphic artwork, the less I was convinced that this figure truly captured the character and presence of Sláine. 

Before I itemize my issues with this piece, please understand that these are MY opinions, and in no way reflect on the quality or design of the figure. I understand why the figure was done in the way that it was—my question to the good folk at DWC is: “Knowing what you do now, if Sláine was to be your next release, instead of it being your fourth release, would you elect this presentation?”

I should also point out that my experience with the graphic version of Sláine is limited to the collected trade anthology, Demon Killer, since this was the source for the 3-d’al interpretation of the subject. While I have attempted to construct a graphic timeline of the subject’s appearance, this is hardly definitive. Hence, some of my conclusions might be, to varying degrees, at best, indefensible.

OK. . . in no particular order. . .

• The pose is rather stiff and two dimensional. And artistic license has been exercised a number of times, regrettably not in a good way.
• Case in point, the sword. Sláine is depicted with a sword on the cover art of DK; 

        but 1) he is not wearing a scabbard; and 2) that is the only instance where Sláine is
        shown wielding a sword! [NOT TRUE! See UPDATE below.] The sword was included to:
        1) increase the mayhem potential of the subject; and 2) give the left hand something to do--
        without  resorting to anatomical machinations, and potentially discouraging sales due to the
        painting implications. Animation on this piece is quite limited.

• The scabbard. Apparently there were difficulties in lining-up the hand/grip with the scabbarded sword: in my sample, the quillons are not perpendicular to the blade, and the top scabbard binding has been angled to accommodate the quillons. The ideal solution would have been to include the sword as a stand-alone accessory and have the hand jauntily at the hip.  

• The sword belt. Perfunctory at best! And the scabbard bindings are significantly wider than the belt, which is but a smidge wider that the bindings on the lower legs of the breeches!    
• The “leggings”. The bindings are very nicely done. . . BUT, why are there no fur leggings?!
• The “belt” with the head totems. WHY? There is no evidence of the belt being sup- ported in any fashion, which means that Sláine would be tripping on the belt after 2 or three strides! Also, such an accessory is nowhere to be found in the graphic art. UPDATE 24.06.2014. . . Not true. While Rin indicated that the graphic source of this piece is the collected trade anthology, Demon Killer (not the story by the same name!), specifically it belongs to an introductory story titled, "The High King". . . And the figure is faithful to the illustration!
• Why was the torc left off? This is an iconic--and culturally-defining!--item for the subject. [see previous notation: Sláine did not wear a torc in this story.]

[to be continued. . . ]