Ice Giant (Eldrador by Schleich)

The most massive and physically strong creature in the Ice Kingdom of Eldrador is the ice giant. His huge body is comprised of virtually impenetrable ice, he shoots frost blasts from his mouth, and he wields deadly weapons in combat.

The ice giant is indeed a huge monster, measuring 12.5 cm tall and 9 cm wide at the shoulders. He is appropriately made out of translucent light and dark blue PVC, with ample white airbrushing. Black is applied around his white eyes, almost like camouflage makeup. 

And as his name suggests, this giant looks to be made entirely out of thick, uneven, jagged ice, like a living, breathing, and walking iceberg. His feet are huge and round. Great shards jut out from his limbs, his head, and especially his back, effectively serving as both defensive and offensive weaponry. 

The ice giant’s mouth is huge and lined with sharp teeth, and his hinged lower jaw opens to about 30 degrees. He can either freeze you with his breath, crunch you into bits, or do both. He also has a 360 degree rotating torso and ball joints at the shoulders.

The ice giant’s left arm ends in an enormous four digit hand. A notch between his thumb and forefinger enables him to securely grip his first weapon: a dark grey, somewhat crude-looking, but also deadly-looking sword. When not in use, it can be stored in a deep slot on the giant’s back.

The ice giant’s right arm terminates not in a hand, but rather a gigantic, dark grey anchor head. The rest of the anchor is partially visible within his forearm and a section of the heavy chain is wrapped around his upper arm. The head of the anchor even rotates. It all looks very awesome and formidable indeed. 

However . . . you’ve undoubtedly noticed the ample duct tape wrapped around the anchor. Well, when I first got this toy for my older son, the head of the anchor broke clean off after a mere fall from the coffee table on the very same day. Needless to say, we were both quite disappointed. I expressed as much in a short review on Schleich’s website and I was then contacted by a representative asking for my mailing address. Lo and behold, they sent us a replacement ice giant for free, which was very kind and generous of them indeed. And since I certainly didn’t want the same breakage to occur again, I applied the duct tape. And it has worked great for years now. Naturally, the anchor head can no longer rotate, but none of us mind. As you can see from all the scuffs, this ice giant has fought in many savage battles and taken many falls without serious issue.

The Schleich ice giant is one of my very favourite Eldrador monsters, and both my sons feel the same way. It’s huge, it’s scary-looking, it’s poseable, and it has two melee weapons, more than any other such giant. But I sure do wish that Schleich had made the anchor more durable, as I have no doubt that other fans have experienced the same breakage. If you’re an adult collector who doesn’t make a habit of smashing toys together, then it’s probably no big deal. But if you’re planning on giving this toy to a child, then I’d strongly advise taking the same precautions as I did.