EmencyBlazer Works

NAME: Gwendolyn
SERIES: Odin Sphere
SCULPTOR: Unknown
SCALE/CREATOR: 1/5, by Gathering (e2046)
RELEASE DATE: July 2008

Odin Sphere proved that 2D could still look pretty damn good in this age of “make everything as realistic and brown as possible”. It was a stunning game with vibrant visuals, a moving soundtrack, and one of the most (overly) dramatic stories I’ve come across. Gwendolyn is the first of five heroes/heroines you play as. She’s not only a battle-hardened Valkyrie, she’s also a delicate princess struggling with love.

Now before I actually start discussing the figure, we first need to look at the company that produced her. e2046 is a site that specializes in resin recasts. Recasts, as you may or may not know, are illegal reproductions of garage kits. Bootlegs, to put it bluntly.

Recasts are a mixed blessing. On the positive side, they make hard/impossible to acquire kits available to more fans. Unless you live in Japan and attend an event odds are you won’t be getting your hands on many garage kits. On the negative side, the sculptors who poured their blood/sweat/tears/countless hours into creating the kits don’t see a dime for all their hard work. The companies that own the original license for copyrighted characters also lose out.

So about Gwen…

The four wings on the Valkyrie costume always confused me. Are they magical adornments on the armor, or actual wings of the woman? I recall a Valkyrie whining about her wings getting removed…

Gwendolyn is a part of Gathering, a line of high quality pre-painted resins that has way too many Kanu Unchou figures in it. (Seriously, enough with the Kanu) Most Gathering offerings tend to be of voluptuous scantily-clad women (like Kanu), but every now and then you get a tasteful offering like Gwen. Each resin is professionally hand-painted and assembled, and is carefully packaged to prevent damage during shipping.

Gwendolyn wields a long spear-like Psypher. Though I don’t remember it being THAT long.

Gwendolyn did need some assembly. Her four wings, Psypher, and one of her legs needed to be attached to her main body. Just about everything fits snugly in place. Her leg is a little loose, though, and can fall off. Thanks to her wings all of the weight of the figure is in the back. Place Gwen on a slant and she WILL fall.

As with my other resins, she doesn’t have any of the problems that plague PVC figures (seams, injection scars, flash, etc) That’s great news considering she cost me a small fortune.

Say hello to Gwendolyn’s major selling point: Transparent multicolored wings!

Gwen’s paint job is downright gorgeous. Her armor has a shiny finish which really makes it look impressive. Her hair, skin and clothes are all properly shaded. The clear resin parts (wings, Psypher tip) look pretty brilliant, too. Stick Gwen in front of some light and her wings look like they’re glowing. Neat.

She fights to win her father’s affection. Too bad her dad’s a jerk.

Gwen’s size is pretty impressive. At 1/5 scale, she’s monstrously huge. Her wingspan is over 14 inches! She won’t even fit in my display case, so I’m stuck with having her on my mini-fridge. She’s really heavy too.

OVERALL: 9/10
She may be expensive (over $150) but her size and nearly flawless paint job make her well worth the money. She’s still up for pre-order at e2046.com. For you Odin Sphere fans with low funding (or refusal to support recasts), Alter has recently revealed a 1/8 Gwendolyn PVC.

~G.K. Sil Kamina