We get all sorts of books to review in the Starburst Magazine offices, some more different and notable than others. However publisher Carlton Books must get some sort of award for sending us not a book, but an enormous wolfs-head in a box.
Though we were briefly concerned that your humble Starburst team had upset a gang of mobster Vikings, your ever sharp reviewers swiftly realised the head was made out of cardboard and also a stylised version of the House Stark wolfs-head from popular Games of Thrones TV series.
Carlton Books’ Game of Thrones 3D Masks and Wall Mounts series provides the base materials required to mount your own Westeros themed hunting trophies. They’re quite frankly, a really weird idea that also works. For a start, the Stark Wolf is a stylised wolfs head, as if someone had animated the Stark Banner. The grey printed cardboard looks steely eyed and cube-like. You can stick it on your head as a mask or construct the wall mount (which is also cardboard). You’ll need to reinforce the backing on the mount if you want to stick it on your wall in a way that lasts (we glued the cardboard backing mount provided to foam board, which worked). Still, the ‘head’ bit is easily removed from the mount, so the mount basically serves as a ‘rack’ for the mask.
The range includes Lannister (Lion), Tagragryen (Dragon) and White Walker. All the kits work fairly well, though you’ll need to be miserly with the glue and patient as things stick. If you’re more enthusiastic than patient, then good tape is probably a better prospect. The result is something sturdy but fragile. Suitable for a novelty wall covering for the hardcore fan, or as a quick fix for a party. It’s also a good rainy day activity. The finished product is nice but we had more fun putting the actual thing together.
Over the years we’ve noticed an increasing shift in focus in the uses of the book as a medium. With so many ways now to communicate words and pictures to an ever growing readership, there’s been a rise in books that don’t involve reading. Carlton Books 3D Masks and Wall Mount series do exactly that as a thing. It has a nifty explanation of what the mask is about, but that’s only one page. The rest is instructions and tips. This is not really book (though it’ll fit on the shelf until needed), more a fun couple of hours of construction for the hardcore Game of Thrones fan. Fun.
GAME OF THRONES 3D MASKS AND WALL MOUNTS / DESIGNER: WINTERCROFT / PUBLISHER: CARLTON BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: ALL IN THE RANGE ARE AVAILABLE NOW (VIA CARLTON) (WHITE WALKER SET AVAILABLE FROM 7TH SEPTEMBER)
