We still have a loooong while to wait until the “Advent of Decay” figures from the last Mythic Legions Kickstarter ship, but it looks like T4H are gearing up to offer some more figures for pre-order later this month. To celebrate, I decided to open up another one of the handful of “Covenant of Shadows” figures that I’m sitting on to hold me over until next April. So, come on… let’s check out Baron Volligar!

It’s the same old packaging I’ve shown here dozens of times: Attractive, serviceable, and ultimately collector friendly. As always, you get a little bio blurb on the side panel of the bubble insert. I didn’t care about these at all in the beginning, maybe because the figures were still so new to me, but I’ve come to really appreciate exploring the lore and backstory of this action figure line. The bio here describes Baron Volligar as ancient vampyric royalty, and basically tells us that he is a pretty bad hombre, even as far as vampires go.

And oh, boy does he look the part! Volligar sports a suit of armor, which is a hybrid of Sir Godfrey’s and many of the pieces common to the Orcs’ armor. Mating Templar and Orc designs may sound like an unlikely marriage, but fear not, T4H really know what they’re doing and the results are pretty spectacular. Digging deeper, we can see that Volligar features the knightly tabard torso, hip armor, and upper legs and arms of Sir Godfrey, all of which is given a rather sinister twist thanks to the lower legs, grieves, shoulder armor, and collar of the Orcs. It almost looks like Volligar might have had a respectable suit of hero armor and gradually tweaked it after succumbing to the vampire curse. Of course, none of that is spelled out here, but rather just my own little musings.

As always, the shoulders are removable, and actually come packaged separate from the figure. I definitely prefer him with them on, but taking the armor pieces off does improve the range of motion in the shoulders quite a bit. The jagged and primitive look of these pieces mates beautifully with the similarly designed boots and grieves. There are some wonderful little nicks and pitting sculpted in as well to make them look well worn.

We last saw this helmet on Sir Godfrey, although it’s popped up a few times before him as well. It’s a very classically styled Great Helm with reinforced strips forming a cruciform pattern. Yeah, I find that a little odd for a vampire, but I’m willing to let that go. The helm features sculpted bolts and breather holes, and the deep set eye slits reveal only mystery. The helm is further customized by the rather imposing dragon crest at the top. I really dig the way the helmet sits deep in the center of the collar. It just further adds to the darker nature of a helmet that has so far only been used on the good guys.

And speaking of darker, the deco on this figure is superb. Besides knowing all the right ways to mix and match their system of parts, T4H are also adept at putting together some truly amazing color combinations. OK, so this one in particular is kind of a no-brainer and for me it really evokes a lovely Decepticon deco that I love so much. Yup, it’s all about the black and purple on that tabard. It almost looks like a primitive ribcage or ideogram for the undead. Lovely! The armor itself features both matte black and a rich, charcoal gray with a brushed metal finish. You also get some metallic purple applications on some of the ornate panels on the armor, which look quite striking under the light.

For armaments, The Baron relies on his trusty sword and shield. The sword is the two-handed variety that we’ve seen many times before. This design always reminds me of Glamdring from Lord of the Rings, probably because I saw an illustration of Gandalf carrying a similar looking sword. It’s a nice mix of classic and fantasy and I really dig the shape of the crossguard and that skull-crushing pommel. It has a sculpted black grip and the blade and other fixtures are painted with a charcoal gray to match those parts of Volligar’s armor.  The shield is also the same standard sculpt with his black and purple coat of arms painted on the face. Wait? You mean that’s it? These guys usually come loaded for bear. He just has a sword and shield? Yeah, Volligar is a little light on the weapons, when compared to other Mythic Legions figures, but that’s probably because he comes with…

…this enormous battle standard. T4H did a bunch of these representing the different factions of Mythic Legions. I think they were all available in one pack, but every time pre-orders go up, I’ve been budgeting to get as many figures as possible, so this is actually the first time I’m getting one of these standards into my collection. It’s a very cool piece with a pole so long it comes in three separate pieces. The flag itself is painted with Volligar’s coat of arms and there’s a pretty rad set of wings angling off of the top. Unfortunately, it’s way too tall for me to display him holding it on the shelf, but I may yet find a way to display it somewhere.

And so, to the surprise of absolutely no one, here’s another Mythic Legions figure that I can’t stop gushing over. What can I tell ya? I adore this line and I don’t see that changing any time soon. It’s probably worth pointing out that when I pre-ordered Volligar, I didn’t bother to read his bio and I thought he was just an awesome evil knight. The fact that he’s a vampire pleases me greatly, because the decision to chop the vampire, Carpathias from my original Kickstarter Backer Rewards remains a sore spot for me. At least now I finally have a vampire to tide me over until “Advent of Decay” arrives.