ALTAIR HIDDEN BLADE AND VAMBRACE REVIEW
Being a huge fan of the Assassin’s Creed’s original protagonist Altair, have been requested to review the Spirit Halloween interpretation of his hidden blade and vambrace, we jumped right on it.
The Legendary Eagles Blade
We are no stranger to reviewing Altair weaponry having previously reviewed the Windless Studio’s Altair Hidden Blade, Sword, and Knife. You can check out that review here. I also created my own 3D-printed hidden blade for my Altair Cosplay Photoshoot. So we have a lot of experience we this particular weapon.
Pros
What I love about this hidden blade is the size. Too often these plastic hidden blades are far too small. This one, extending to the tip of my finger, is a respectable size for a single tiered hidden blade.
I also very much appreciate that they include a lock on the blade housing. This prevents any unexpected firings of the blade. While it is a small detail, not all of the official replicas have included this feature.
The armor detailing is another standout feature. The details are spot on, and I love that they chose to represent the metal version of the armor. If you have not played the original game, Altair’s vambrace gets upgraded as you progress through the story. The metal version, represents the highest form of that vambrace, and is personally my favorite design. Having 3D printed my own plates, for my own custom Altair vambrace, I can tell you this could have saved me a lot of time.
Finally, there is very good weathering on the paint job. At least, better than what I expected from a Halloween prop store piece.
Cons
Unfortunately, this hidden blade and vambrace does have some downsides to consider.
An inaccurate official replica?
First, although the blade length is respectable, it is not accurate to the game. Altair’s hidden blade is a two-tiered hidden blade. This means, the blade housing has a secondary extension not only to support the blade, but to extend its reach. Altair’s hidden blade is supposed to be much longer because of this. Considering NECA included this two tiered system with their Ezio Brotherhood hidden blade, this prop is effectively much more accurate to the Edward Kenway hidden blade.
Considering this is an official replica – which has already showcased its capacity for great detail on the armor – for it to not be accurate here, where it counts, is very disappointing.
Sloppy designs?
Additionally, the blade housing has some sloppy detailing on it. Looking at the artwork for the original game, the Assassin’s logo is beautifully represented on the housing. However, on this prop, that same logo is soft, rounded, and not fully formed. Now they could be going for a more rustic look, but unfortunately it does come off as being sloppy.
Furthermore, the blade length does come at a cost. Sadly, the blade housing was crafted smaller than the blade itself. This means, the tip of the blade extends well into the palm area of your hand, restricting the movement of your wrist. Had the two tiered system been implemented, or the blade housing extended, this may have been avoided. Will this effect you? It all depends what your using this hidden blade for. If it is for a costume party, probably not. Is it a movie prop, it might interfere with more active stunts.
And that leads us to our final con, the durability. The plastic an materials used here are fairly thin. I doubt they will survive a decent fall. But, in all fairness, the build quality is what you might expect from a Halloween store. Although, for the price (and being an official replica) I expect it to be more on par with the McFarlane hidden blades.
Note, you’ll probably want to purchase your own finger-less gloves and a leather vambrace (or make one out of foam) to replace the rubber mess of a glove they provide. It is nice that they include it, but if you have any perspiration on your arm or hand, the rubber makes it a nightmare to get off.
Overall Opinion
In the end, I don’t want to recommend this hidden blade. But am I being to harsh?
I do like the armor detail. It might be worth it for that alone. And it is a complete package, but the cons are so considerable.
Let’s put it this way – of your just getting into Assassin’s Creed cosplay, and you don’t want to spend too much money on a hidden blade – or if you just want to use this for a Halloween costume – or if your just being a generic assassin – this could work just fine. It is generic looking enough, and good looking enough that people will understand your an assassin.
But if your really into Assassin’s Creed cosplay and you value accurate detail, or if your just collecting because your a huge fan of Altair, the inaccuracies on the hidden blade itself will most likely leave you disappointed.
It really depends on what you plan to do with this hidden blade.
Resources
If you find yourself thinking “YES!” this is the hidden blade for me, here is a link to where I bought my blade on Amazon. You can also purchase the prop directly from Spirit Halloween.
Note* That is an affiliate link, so if you make a purchase using it, you will help us out as we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
But if this is not for you, we have done multiple reviews of the hidden blades over the years. Check out our other reviews for more insight and make good purchasing decisions!