I worked extra hours during college to feed my addiction to resin statues, so I’ve definitely been a hardcore resin collector for basically my entire adult life. Even so, I still know the value of a good PVC statue, and can be tempted by the right character or design. The subject of today’s review is the latter, as it’s a $100 PVC statue I purchased of a character I’ve never actually seen in a game at all! My Wait List order for F4F Dark Souls Artorias SD EX finally came through—and he was indeed worth the ‘Wait’!
Resin statues and busts are one of the great loves of my life, so when First 4 Figures announces their burgeoning line of PVC Statues, I was going to need a little bit of convincing. That came in the form of the outstanding Breath of the Wild Link and Crash Bandicoot PVC statues that I reviewed in 2017.
In a home filled with hundreds of $10 Funko POPs, I wasn’t sure if I really needed the first entry in a line of super-deformed statues from F4F, however, so I let the pre-order for the Exclusive Artorias SD pass me by.
But once I had my humongous resin statue of cuddly puppy Sif on my shelf, I realized my mistake and joined the Wait List for Dark Souls SD Artorias EX. It took over half a year, but my Wait List order finally converted and shipped out! And now that I’ve had the opportunity to unbox this beauty, I’m very glad that it did.
One of the primary differences between the regular edition (that you can find at stores like GameStop) and the exclusive edition of Artorias SD (which is only available via the First4Figures website) is deluxe, premium packaging.
If you’ve been looking at the photos while you’ve been reading this review, you’ve probably noticed a few boxes. That’s because this figure comes inside of the regular/mass release packaging, which comes inside of the premium collector’s box, which comes inside of a protective brown box, which comes inside of a brown shipper box with foam corners inside.
So to summarize, this Artorias comes in a box within a box within a box within a box. That seems a little over-the-top to me for a PVC figure, but very few of these have been reported with any kind of damage or breakage from shipping, so clearly the crazy amount of boxes is doing its job protecting what’s inside!
The deluxe Exclusive packaging is a lush, beautiful shoebox style art box with silver and blue foil-printed elements on it. This looks downright insane, and is unquestionably the fanciest packaging I’ve ever seen for a PVC statue from any company. Wild!
Once you pull off the fancy lid, you’ll find a tray inside containing the obligatory authenticity card that can be registered on the First 4 Figures website to reserve your number for the next piece in the Dark Souls SD line, Solaire SD. For those who care about matching numbers, this is a super cool feature that no other company has ever offered (to my knowledge).
As always, the included authenticity card has a nice heft to it and features gorgeous graphics. If you like collecting these authenticity art cards, you’re going to need the Artorias EX version. [There was also an additional Day One exclusive art card signed by F4F CEO Alex Davis included for those who ordered in the first 24 hours, but I didn’t order during that period.]
Inside of the exclusive art box, we find the mass retail “regular” window box. It’s a nice box, although I have to admit that I think it’s a bit of overkill that it’s protected inside three other boxes.
Beyond the additional packaging and individual numbering, there’s one change to the actual SD Artorias figure itself for the exclusive edition: a slightly taller base that facilitates an electronic light-up feature on Artorias’ energy swirls.
The white lights inside of the swirling translucent purple plastic look incredible, and I love that there are both “always on” and “animated” settings for the lights so you can change them up at will. Rarely do you see LEDs on a PVC figure, but they’ve been integrated to perfection here.
While I had the electronics on mine activated for several minutes during the photo shoot I did on Arty SD and didn’t experience this myself, I’ve heard that the batteries in this figure burn out quickly since there are a lot of lights to power and the battery used is really tiny. If you’re someone who likes lighting up your statues frequently, that possibility is something that definitely should be taken into consideration, as it sounds like this piece may eat through a lot of batteries.
And oh yeah—there’s also an actual statue here, not just four boxes and some LEDs…! Because I’m not exactly a Dark Souls guy, I was never going to drop $500+ and a bunch of display space on the 1:4 Artorias resin statue. But this $100 8” PVC that can fit right in front of my Sif…? Yeah—I’m in.
Given how this piece is vastly smaller and cheaper than the “realistic” resin, you might expect to see a massive reduction in detailing as well. However, that’s not the case—at all.
Those used to Funko POPs and cheaper-priced PVC figures are going to have their minds blown by the level of sculpting detail and paint deco on this piece, as it’s absolutely astonishing.
There’s tiny moss growing on the weathered stone platform base that Arty stands atop; hundreds of tiny little texture details on the cape; and an incredible metal-like deco on the armor of this Artorias. He may have highly exaggerated proportions (hence the “SD”), but this figure packs in a level of detail that’s unheard of in a sub-$100 PVC.
And although this statue is super-deformed, First 4 Figures chose Artorias’ most iconic pose and detailed it so realistically that this figure really doesn’t feel “kiddy” at all despite the stylization. Despite the style, this statue still feels like an authentic part of the gritty Dark Souls world.
The quality on this figure is also a huge victory: there’s no defects of any kind that I can find on mine, the paint applications are all exemplary, the translucent effects pieces are some of the nicest-looking I can recall on a PVC, the heft is nice, and the plastic feels solid and sturdy. QC-wise, this is aces.
Overall: If you just don’t like this style of super-deformed figures, then this line may not hold any interest for you. But if you’re open to this style, what you’ll find here with Dark Souls SD Artorias is easily one of the most amazing super-deformed figures that’s ever been made.
The reports that this piece quickly burns through batteries is really the only negative to be seen with Artorias SD. From elaborate packaging that goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my life for a PVC to a level of detail that puts many resins to shame, this is a masterwork.