Along with it's wave-mate, the Sea Serpent, this was a Great Adventures toy that stood out to me as a young teenager and now as a collector. I'm not sure why it took me the better part of 16 years to finally buy this guy off of eBay (yeah, what the heck was my problem??) but in April of 2016 I finally snagged him.
 |
| Oohhh yeah, this was a good purchase. Another childhood want finally satisfied. 15 yr old me would be so proud. |
Before we get into it, I just need to touch on the box. The packaging on this guy is utterly fantastic. All over it are drawings depicting knights running for their lives with a forced perspective inside the box showing the destruction Blundar has caused from stomping his way through the hillside.
 |
| It is as if a portal to another world lies inside this box and Blundar has stepped through it into our world. |
 |
| The floor of the box interior even has grass with footprints, rocks and an abandoned shield from a knight Blundar pummeled. |
 |
| Fun Fact: The castle depicted here is in fact the Great Adventures Castle from 1994, down to the banners and everything. Well done Fisher-Price. |
 |
| Run knights, run!!! |
 |
| I also love how the scrolls with really fun artwork show off what the toy can do and yet do not break the illusion the box is showing. |
 |
| The attention to detail is awesome here. The scenary that Blundar is standing on was created specifically for the photo shoot on the back of the box. So much craftsmanship for such a simple thing. |
That box is just amazing, you can tell alot of thought and love went into it's design. A ton of fun that would be sure to get the imaginations of any kids going after seeing it at their local toy store.
So, for twenty plus years I've waited to own this toy, was it worth the wait? Let's find out!
Contents! What do you get??
 |
| Knight, Blundar, Talon & Blundar's club |
For the 1996 price of $9.99, you get Blundar the giant, a big brown club, Talon the giant bird & a gold or black knight.
Loose Collector Reminder: When looking for Blundar loose on the secondary market, remember he always came with a knight so if someone claims to be selling him loose & complete and without a knight, tell them they are mistaken.
Okay cool, tell us about 'em!
Blundar the Giant: This guys is MASSIVE compared to the figures of the Great Adventures Castle theme. Standing at a whopping 6" tall, he's roughly 3 times the size of a standard knight figure and is almost 8" wide. A brutish behemoth, Blundar is ally to no kingdom and all knights need fear his crushing might!
Anyway....
Blundar is a combination of two types of plastic with his head, arms and legs being made from some sort of rubberized plastic while his torso and waist are a harder type of plastic. This gives him a realistic feel and allows him to lay powerful pummeling punches (say that three-times fast!) on any opponents.
 |
| Blundar front view |
 |
| Blundar Rear View (*ba-dum-bum!*) |
 |
| Blundar Left Side View |
 |
| Blundar Right Side View |
All you have to do is grab his arm, pull it back slightly, put a knight in it's path and *BAM!* that knight will go sailing. One hand is a closed fist, perfect for punching, that can hold his 4" tall brown spiked club.
 |
| Blundar's club. Favored tool of mayhem by giants everywhere. |
 |
| It is funny that I am drawing attention to this but it IS a very smart idea to design the accessory to work with the secruity features on the packaging. |
Blundar's left hand is sculpted in an open position and he can hold and grasp a knight to either fling around or use as a club to smash into other knights.
 |
| Blundar: "Blundar crush puny knight!!" Talon: "Leave me his eyes *squawk!*" |
He's sculpted to be wearing a tan tunic with a net-like backpack and bedroll (odds are a sleeping bag or blanket), brown belt and a small axe behind his back. When you pick him up and thump him on the ground, metal vibrates inside his torso cavity making it sound like his footsteps are echoing throughout the land. This is a fun feature and very simply made without any electronics or batteries needed. His feet are huge and covered in teal fur that goes partially up his shins. Nice look and a clever way for the sculptor to sneak around not sculpting the individual toes on his feet.
Even with only 3 points of articulation (head turns, arms rotate around at the shoulder), Blundar is still a great toy and totally gives something for a 3rd friend to play with who is not affiliated with either the Heroic Gold or Evil Black knights.
 |
| Talon Front View |
 |
| Talon Back View |
 |
| Talon Left Side View |
 |
| Talon Right Side View |
Not being a small bird itself, Talon has a 4" wingspan and stands just a smidgen under 2" tall. If each of these knights scale at 5 feet tall, that means this is one giant bird of prey; if this creature came after you, that'd be pretty terrifying. Talon was also sculpted with that classic Great Adventures no-eyes-for-you style and instead a furrowed brow serves as his only eyes.
Large yellow...um...talons(?) are sculpted in a grasping style so Talon can grab the bedroll on Blundar's back, perch on his arms or grab a knight to carry off into the sky.
 |
| Talon: *squawk!* "Can you fly knight? CAN YOU FLY!?!" |
I'm not sure what kind of bird he is supposed to be, but that is not critical to having fun with him. Great companion piece to this giant, simple yet effectively done.
Random Gold or Black Knight: Okay, this is where you completionists out there might loose your minds. Blundar was packed with a knight zip-tied to his open right hand, so every MIB sample of this toy comes with a knight....which style knight and what color said knight is, is completely random. I have scoured the internet and only found 3 MIB photos of this set, (one of those photos being from the eBay auction I won my set from) and each set included a different knight: one had gold knight with a sword (as seen HERE on ThisOldToy.com), another had a gold knight with a flail (seen HERE) and the last had a black knight with a mace (see..well, this review). And that's just what I discovered, I have litterally no clue how many different knights were packed in with this giant.
 |
| Black Mace Knight: ready for battle! |
 |
| I always call these knights the 'Knights of the Yellow Dragon". Also, fun fact: this same dragon is sculpted onto a pendant on top of the Dungeon Trap play set. |
With 8 different knights, 4 gold & 4 black, that would mean there could be a total of EIGHT variations of this set. AND this line is virtually un-documented except for thisoldtoy.com and 1 or 2 old websites, so finding definitive information is very difficult. Happy hunting! :-D
That all being said, my knight is pretty cool, nice sculpt on the armor and a good pose on his weapon arm to let you smack enemies easily.
If you want to see Blundar 'in action!', check him out on my YouTube channel:
So what do you really think about it?: This set is amazing, from the sculpting to the simple yet fun action features and accessories. What I really like about it is the imaginative play value of Blundar & Talon: this guy is a destructive force in Great Adventures land and enemy to everyone allowing for all sorts of fun ways to play with him and your collection. It's been a long time coming, but I am very happy to finally own him, money well spent!
 |
Mace knight: "Have at thee giant!"
Blundar: "Oooo me favorite game- 'Whack-A-Knight'! Mace knight: "Crapbaskets." |
No comments:
Post a Comment