Warriors released Series 7 mini figures on July 23rd, continuing their latest trend of creating unique molds for their characters. This series features six figures as usual, with the duos including Berryheart and Splashtail, Briarlight and Purdy, and Onestar and Darktail.
I’ll be the first to complain about the weird way the Warrior Cats team announces their mini figures lately. In the last release for Series 6 and The Prophecies Begin figures, they gave no warning and didn’t send an email before releasing them. The figures sold out immediately, causing me to panic. It wasn’t clear whether it was a fault with the website or not because they restocked pretty soon after. Previously, they would hint at the release of the mini figures on their social media accounts which was interactive and excited fans.
Similarly to recent releases, Series 7 minis were also a surprise. This time, however, an email accompanied them going up on the website, so I got them immediately (they also very recently posted about them on Instagram). I’m not sure why they keep changing how they announce new minis, occasionally only posting on certain social media accounts and not all of them, but it’s made me more vigilant.
That aside, this is one of their more successful releases design-wise.
This article contains spoilers for all the characters named above and for the following arcs: Omen of the Stars, A Vision in Shadows, and A Starless Clan.
Berryheart and Splashtail
Pros
An immediate pro is both of these characters being villains. While it’s still up in the air whether Berryheart will get a redemption arc, we know for sure that Splashtail has earned himself a spot on the villain’s list of Warriors. The last time two villains were featured together was in Series 3 with Mudclaw and Ashfur. It’s also great to see characters from the newest arc A Starless Clan, joining the protagonist Frostpaw, whose mini was released in Series 5.
They’re also new, unique molds, which is a consistent pro for this series. Berryheart’s snarl, slightly scrunched eye, and raised paw convey her characterization from the books very well. Her tumultuous journey is represented in this expression, from ShadowClan to the Kin, to ShadowClan again, and then exile before joining Spalshtail as his new deputy in RiverClan. Splashtail too, with a serious expression and the raised claws, reveals his murderous intentions and power over RiverClan.
The designs themselves are in line with their canonical descriptions. I like the uniqueness of Berryheart’s tuxedo design specifically, with the diamond point of her forehead marking. It sets her aside from the other black-and-white cats designed already, especially the other tuxedo, Tallstar.
Cons
I will say despite how I like Spalshtail’s mold, he does lean when set down. Somehow, his thicker tail is not enough to keep his head from taking the weight of the figure tilting right. With the balance being off, even the smallest tap can send Spalshtail falling over, making it precarious to place him on a surface.
Related to his figure, I’m not sure how I feel about Splashtail’s design overall. I think the duller blue for his eyes is good, but I’m not a big fan of the slight tan/brown accents to his fur. I’ve seen plenty of art that includes these details, and his character fact sheet on the website does show them, but I picture him to be a darker brown. I also think the block of color on the tail could’ve been smaller.
While Berryheart’s full mold is new, the pose is similar to Hollyleaf’s; the only difference is her expression and tail. This is less of a complaint and more of an observation. I don’t mind slight differences between molds to keep them fresh.
Briarlight and Purdy
Pros
Briarlight and Purdy’s molds are the most unique ones in this release and possibly in all the releases so far. Purdy’s in particular is the first figure we have lying down, representative of his “lounging” elder status within the books. It’s simply perfect for his character. Briarlight’s mold is also very different than any other molds they’ve done; plus, it’s the best representation of disability in the figures, compared to Crookedstar and Cinderpelt. While Crookedstar’s jaw in his figure at least looks like it has a gap, the disability being on a flat-faced figure made it difficult to show the full effect. You wouldn’t even be able to tell that Cinderpelt has an unusable leg based on her figure (though Brightheart with her at least looks ravaged by dogs in some way). With Briarlight, it actually looks like she’s paralyzed in her back legs and not just lying down.
As far as designs go, the layering of the different browns on Briarlight is pleasing to me. They could’ve easily done flat brown for her design, as they’ve done with black-furred characters in past minis, but they went the extra mile to have a dark, light, and purple-ish brown. Several browns were also used for Purdy’s design, but that’s not what’s championing his mini. Instead, it’s the grandpa’s mustache and bushy appearance that makes his design superb. When the Clan cats first met Purdy, he was disheveled and uncared for. In the Clans, he has proper care, softening that scraggly appearance into this perfect representation.
Cons
The only con I can think of for Briarlight’s design is her vacant stare. With a slight smile and plain eyes, she looks a little creepily into anyone facing her head-on. I think it has a lot to do with the perfect roundness of the eyes, considering how Purdy also has a similar expression but doesn’t look as intense with more oval eyes.
Other than that, Purdy’s figure is a bit unsteady because of the lying position they have him in. He also looks a little weird with his midsection floating and the back half of his body looks like a mermaid tail. It would’ve been better if his back paws were present, both for stability and looks.
Frankly, this was a weird pairing. The Warriors team is no stranger to pairing two cats with no business together and it might’ve been nice to see someone with Briarlight that made more sense, like Blossomfall or Millie. I enjoy having Purdy’s mini regardless.
Onestar and Darktail
Pros
The last of the duos is exciting because of their connection to each other, father and son, but also enemies. I think choosing them was both interesting and surprising. As the first cats from A Vision of Shadows to be made, I’m surprised we haven’t gotten the protagonists, Alderheart, Twigbranch, and Violetshine, yet. Since these two met their tragic ends together, this was the best combination. As the main antagonist of that arc, I was delighted to see a mini made of Darktail.
As for the designs, I have nothing but good things to say about Darktail. It is almost exactly the book’s description of him, down to the black spots near his eyes and the fully black tail. His piercing blue eyes are also on par. While his figure is simplistic, the combination of narrowed eyes and a slight smile gives off his evil aura. He also has a ton of scars pointing to his bloody backstory.
As for his father, the best part of Onestar’s design is the silly singular whisker on his face. While Onestar has never actually been described in the books as having only one whisker, Kate Cary once made a statement that she believes his warrior name Onewhisker came about because he has a single white whisker that is thicker and longer than the others (though the evidence of this is no longer available on Facebook). It’s not that he has only one whisker, but that one is obvious. It makes him stand out as a figure, despite it looking a little goofy.
Cons
I’m sure people could argue Darktail isn’t perfect, but I have nothing negative to say about his figure. The only cons I have of this duo come down to Onestar. For starters, he’s technically the least unique figure of this entire release. He is weirdly similar to Leopardstar’s mold from the last release, Series 6. With the same expression and posture, the only difference in their molds is their colors and their position, being mirrored instead of exact with Leopardstar facing left and Onestar facing right. Yet, even their colors are similar with the browns in their design, despite Onestar being more orange.
I don’t think Onestar looks how I pictured him either. So many characters are described as “tabby” in the books, which leaves a lot of creative freedom up to merchandise and official art. His “mottled tabby” appearance is represented in graphic novels as stripes and spots, translating to mostly stripes and a few spots on his mini. Possibly, this means that Onestar is book-accurate. Yet, I still expected him to be paler in color and less vibrant. I’m not really a fan of his mini beyond his whisker.
One small thing I’ve noticed with the continuing releases is their quality has gone down slightly in terms of finishing touches. Some material is often left over in the creases of scars, knocks in the ears, or the tops of the ears. I’ve also seen a few tiny spots on the figures where the material has a small dip where there shouldn’t be one. However, these are such small concerns that I’m not holding them against them. The figures are made of strong, heavy material and the designs have (mostly) been good.
If the Warriors team follows their usual track record, we’ll get a second release of mini figures sometime closer to the holidays, so I look forward to who will be next. My current predictions are Heathertail, Breezepelt, Sunbeam, Nightheart, or Brambleclaw/star. They also haven’t done the main protagonists from Dawn of the Clans or A Vision of Shadows, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them. I’m also interested to see if they do the elusive Moonpaw, the new main character of the ninth arc, Changing Skies, coming out in January 2025.
No matter what characters come next, I’ll be waiting!
