It’s been a while since I last posted (about a week and a half) but I was finally able to find some time amidst school and other stuff to put together another post! Today we’re going to take a look at the Gertrud Barkhorn 1/8th scale figure by Alter!

As I mentioned in my last Strike Witches figure unboxing, I’m planning on collecting the whole Strike Witches line of figures by Alter. Add in the fact that Gertrud Barkhorn is my favorite girl from the Strike Witches series and this figure instantly became a must buy for me as soon as I spotted her for a good price.

Trude (Barkhorn’s nickname) was originally released in April of 2012, but due to the popularity of the series she was re-released in June of this year. She originally retailed for 7800 yen, but I managed to snag her new off AmiAmi for a little cheaper, 7000 yen, back in July (yes, my pictures for this review have been sitting on my hard drive for a while).



For those of you unfamiliar with the Strike Witches series, each girl is based on an ace archetype, has a specific magical ability, and displays traits of their familiar. Trude was based on the ace Gerhard Barkhorn, the #2 ranked flying ace of World War II, and displays the traits of a German Pointer. If you’re wondering how she is able to carry an MG42 in each hand, the reason is because her magical ability is Superhuman Strength.

Alright, let’s open up the box!! As is the case for most scale figures, there is a tiny bit of assembly required.

Like my last Strike Witches figure from Alter, Trude comes with two sets of propellers; the difference being one set looks like they’re in motion while the other does not. To swap the propellers all you have to do is pop off the end of the Striker unit and choose the propeller you want.

Another similarity shared between my Strike Witches figure by Alter is that one of the arms is detachable; in this case Trude’s right arm detaches from the main body of the figure. If the instructions hadn’t been provided I would have never guessed that her right arm was detachable since it fits so snug and seamlessly with the rest of the body. The purpose of this is to get the MG42 in her right hand properly positioned underneath her armpit.

Now let’s take a look at the complete figure and a few closeups on some of the details.

I really love the dynamic look to this figure. All of the details – from the wrinkles in her clothes to the loose straps on the MG42 – make it seem like Trude is really flying in the sky.

I thought that the name “Chris” written on the side of Trude’s left Striker Unit was a really nice touch. For those of you not familiar with the series, Chris is the name of Trude’s little sister. Trude has a major siscon, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise that her little sister’s name would be on her Striker unit.

Here’s how the second propeller looks. In my opinion it doesn’t look as nice as the first one, so I rarely use it.

One of the things I really love about the Strike Witches figures is the amount of detail in the guns. They look absolutely stunning!

To Buy or Not To Buy? That is the Question

My standard spiel: “Buying a figure always depends on how much you like the character.” In my case, since Trude is my favorite character from Strike Witches, this was an instant buy.

That aside, even if you’re not a Strike Witches fan this is a great buy! Alter and Good Smile Company are my two favorite figure companies since all of there figures are of great quality. The detail in this figure really captures a sense of motion and makes it appear as though Trude is actually flying. Definitely worth the price of 7000 yen I paid!!

Listed below are a few places you can buy her. She’s gone up in price since I bought her in July, so the best place to buy her would most likely be Mandarake or Rakuten.

Mandarake Rakuten Global Market – There are a few on here currently as I’m writing this, but they may be gone soon Plamoya

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