It's not a full-scale replica, but the F4F Hylian Shield now takes center stage in my Zelda collection

After collecting the best Legend of Zelda merch for decades, it made complete sense to hunt down some Hylian Shield representation. After all, I finally obtained an official Master Sword replica late last year, and what good is a hero of Hyrule if they can't defend themselves against evil?

The Hylian Shield is up there with one of the most singular iconic items from the now 40-year-old game series, but neither Nintendo nor Bandai has yet to release a high-quality and full-scale replica. With that, I was left to grab the First 4 Figures Hylian Shield available for $79.95 at Walmart instead. This last-minute solution to some shield representation now remains the shining star of my collection, and I only wish I picked it up sooner. Time to play the Song of Time maybe?

First 4 Figures The Legend of Zelda: Hylian Shield | $79.95 at Walmart
This official Hylian Shield collectible from First of Figures is a faithful recreation of how the legendary item appears in Breath of the Wild, and would make a great addition to any collection. It stands at 11.5 inches tall, and comes with a magnetically attached stand and a cut-out backdrop for display.

UK: £59.99 at Amazon UK

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I'm not new to First 4 Figures statues, and in fact, the older Skyward Sword Link vs Scervo Diorama is sitting amongst my Zelda Shrine of collectibles at this very moment. While the quality isn't my favorite (for the life of me, I can't get Link's feet to sit in the pegs), the sculpts of the brand's releases have improved over time, and that includes its Hylian Shield release.

It looks exactly like I imagined it would in person, albeit in a smaller 3-can tall sized scale. Yet, I was put off grabbing it for so long as I assumed it was just a replica of the front, and so not worth its almost $80 price. On closer inspection, the official First 4 Figures website images revealed to me that it's a fully detailed copy, front and back, and that's when I knew I had to make it mine.

There are two versions of F4F's Hylian Shield, a Standard and a Collector's variant. This is pretty much the norm for a lot of the brand's statues, with the "Collector" name usually suggesting that it lights up in some shape or form. Unfortunately for me, I only managed to source the standard version. While I'd have loved for its display light to illuminate and refelct of its shiny surface, I did manage to grab it for just £23 on sale at Zavvi UK last week, so I can't complain too much.

Light up or not, this is a stunning piece of Zelda merch. All the intricate details on the legendary shield are 3-dimensional pieces, bar the loftwing iconography, and there's not a smear of paint out of place. The metal bolts and rim around the shield have been painted to look like real tarnished metal, and the effect is pretty realistic to boot.

As a kid, I dreamed of one day owning a real metal replica of the shield, but I imagine that'd be pretty heavy and hard to display anywhere around my nerdy home. Instead, this shield is made from a lightweight PVC plastic, and is super easy to move around - which I discovered while trying to find the perfect place for it amongst my Zelda bookcase.

Finding a place for it is also where I fell in love with the stand. A weird feature to be that crazy about, but as someone who has a vast collection of over 200+ anime figures, I'm used to cheap and ugly-looking stands. F4F geniusly opted to allow theirs to attach magnetically, so there's no hideous prongs sticking into the replica. This means you can keep the display in its box and have the shield lying out as you see fit. Or even find a way to pop it up on your wall, and there'd be zero signs that it's intended to be shown off in any other way.

It's this base that would light up if it were that fancy Collector's version, but I'm happy without that. There's room in my Zelda collection to add a self-adhesive ring light to shine upon the shield. With this being a full 360 recreation, I'm pretty much free to light and display it in any way I want. F4F even added a cut-out cardboard backdrop in its box, so I can have it sitting in front of a gorgeous piece of scenery from Breath of the Wild if I want - which is a great way to re-purpose some packaging.

I'm very happy with this new pickup, but I do wish it weren't entirely made of plastic. The back of the shield looks fantastic enough, but the hard plastic straps that are textured to look like leather throw me off a bit. On the Bandai Tamashii Nations Master Sword Proplica replica, the leather strap on the sword sheath is actually made from a leather-like material, and part of me hoped F4F also went down this route. Of course, the Master Sword is also $212 at Best Buy and other retailers, so the higher-quality materials come with a cost. I can make do with the slightly unrealistic handles if it means keeping this piece of merch cheaper and more accessible to fellow fans.

This Hylian Shield replica was released back in 2022, so it's one of their older pieces. If you've always been putting off adding it to your collection, now is definitely a good time. With the 40th anniversary here, all attention is on the Legend of Zelda series, and the UK retailer Zavvi (where I got mine from) is now sold out.

It's not hard to find in stock, but it's definitely one of those items you should grab sooner rather than later to avoid any Great Fairy-sized disappointment. At least resellers are all you'll have to worry about, as the likelihood of any LikeLike's gobbling you and the F4F Hylian Shield up is small.

• View all First 4 Figures Zelda collectibles at Amazon
• View all Legend of Zelda collectibles at Amazon

Looking for more Legend of Zelda merch? Our guide for the best Nintendo gifts has more goodies fit for a hero.