The packaging is identical to what we saw for Shepard, but the contents make it a lot heavier. I’m kind of impressed that they were able to get Grunt into the same style of package, and obviously he fills out the bubble rather nicely. His weapon is visible through the side panel, and he’s held in place by some twisty-ties, but it’s not too hard to get Grunt out of the package and ready for display.

Grunt is certainly a big slab of action figure, but I’m still trying to decide whether or not he should be taller. As he stands, he’s barely half a head taller than Shepard and I’m pretty sure that on average the Krogan were supposed to be closer to seven feet tall. But when I go back and look at stills from the game, he doesn’t look all that much taller. Still, what he lacks in height he makes up for in bulk and that helps him look satisfyingly big when standing next to the other figures. The sculpting and paintwork on Grunt’s armor gives it a nice, layered look, with the ribbed black suit underneath and the heavy grey plating on top. The armor plates have a brushed finish to the paint that adds a nice realism to the piece. The sculpting on his exposed, muscular arms looks great and he’s even got his stubby little tail bump hanging off his butt!

Moving on to the head sculpt… the details on the face are really well defined, giving us a face that only a mother Krogan could love. The excellent paint work on the head helps tie everything together. His three crests are painted as are all the little spots on his brow ridge and the sides of his face and the use of a little gloss make his tiny, beady eyes really stand out. The paint on the mouth slit is particularly effective, making it almost appear as if the mouth could open. All in all, this is a great portrait of our rather distinctive looking alien friend.

Grunt’s articulation is serviceable and given the bulky nature of the character, it’s probably close to everything we could expect from him. The head swivels side to side just like a dog hearing a curious sound. His arms feature ball joints in the shoulders and wrists, and hinges in the elbows. The legs have a typical “T” design to the hips, hinged knees, and swivels in the ankles. Lastly, Grunt can swivel at the waist. While Shep could have used a few more points of articulation, I can’t think of much more I would want out of Grunt, other than maybe swivels in the biceps.

Accessories? Grunt comes with a big-ass rifle. I don’t like it as much as Shep’s more iconic Assault Rifle, but it’s still a great piece. It’s mostly black, but it does have a little silver-painted weathered look to the metal on the tip and a few other paint apps to signify lights and detail. Grunt can hold it quite well in his right hand. You also get the same plain black disc stand that came with Shep, but Grunt sure as hell doesn’t need it. He’s bulky enough to stand just fine on his own.

I’m a happy camper with this one! Grunt is a fantastic figure. The sculpting and paintwork are great, and like Shepard he features a fairly neutral stance with good, workable articulation that makes them not only great display pieces, but fun to play around with. Maybe he should have been taller? I still can’t decide, but he looks fine standing next to my other ME3 figures. So far, we’re two for two on this line. I’m really happy with what I’ve got. But tomorrow, things will start to fall apart as we check out the third figure from Series 1… Thane!