Thursday, April 3, 2014

Game of Thrones Premiere Party: Dark Horse's Map Marker & Map Set


The time of the walkers is over til October dawns once more. Now is the time of the WHITE WALKERS...and though the tulips are just starting to poke through the ground in the real world, on your TV, WINTER IS COMING! We celebrate the return of Game of Thrones (our next favorite obsession for the forseeable future) with a series of articles showcasing killer collectibles from the realm.

FIRST UP...is probably the best Game of Thrones collectible on the market...short of a life size iron throne you can slip over your toilet. ......holy damn. I'm copyrighting that. TMPaulNomad. Dark Horse has been intensely enthusiastic about creating the best GOT collectibles from day one, and the Game of Thrones Map Markers and Map Set (click to pre-order!) is the perfect example of their love, eye for detail and dedication to above-and-beyond geekery.






I know what you're thinking. ...Yes, we did make snow just for this photo shoot. Geek Level - Expert. +6 Obsessive Compulsive.

This is one hell of a boxed set, weighing enough to defend your castle from any invading armies...well...small armies maybe. An army of two..rather skinny people. After sliding off the outer sleeve, you'll find the box itself feels substantial and makes for an amazing display on it's own merits, but those crazy goofs at Dark Horse said "Oh NO! We're going to put something IN the box!!!" Mind..blown. Now, it's worth noting that lifting the hinged lid reveals the sizable map markers layed into not-so-fancy styrofoam, but I'm betting this was a cost cutting move. Did you want to spend $200 dollars on this set....or $300 just to have a fancy bed for your war mongering sigils? I'll let you mull that over a bit. The map markers themselves are far bigger than any convention images may have made them appear, and knowing that ..well..let's just say there was no space in my tiny apartment to lay out the massive map these markers play on. The map itself is printed on a sturdy cloth...almost rigid vinyl-like material, so no worries of tearing such an irreplaceable item..at least not so easily. I know some of you will find a way. Now..how you would display this particular set will pose a bit of a challenge! My first thought was to throw it in the biggest frame you can find and get one of those fancy looking, ornamental shelves at Target for the markers. With a couple of well placed lights, you'll be sure to keep your guests oo'ing and ahh'ing well into Season 6!














Here's Dark Horse's official words on this mega-collectible...

In the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones, we see Robb Stark plotting the movements of opposing armies using a map of Westeros and a set of sculpted map markers, each hewn into a representation of one of the house symbols. We have reproduced these items in their true size, using the actual props as reference.


The six individual map markers range from 4.5” to 6” in height, and mimic different materials. Each is hand-painted. The map itself is full size, 50” x 35.5” cloth material with a paper backing, reproduced in color. The big size allows the owner to move the map markers in scale and formulate strategic situations or reproduce those from the show.

The map markers and folded map are stored in a deluxe, heavy-duty, 14" x 4.75" x 18" hinged-lid presentation box, protected by a full-color, thick-stock sleeve.

Click HERE for a full gallery with more images!

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