Mythic Legions (Siege of Bjorngar): Bolthor The Tower by The Four Horsemen

I couldn’t tell you exactly how long it’s been since my last Mythic Legions review, but I do know it’s been too long. That new wave (with the horsies!!!!) will be shipping before I know it, and I’m not getting any closer to being caught up. As memory serves I was still working my way through the Ogres introduced in the Siege of Bjorngar, so I’ll pick up where I left off by opening up the mighty Bolthor!

Yes, the Ogres were a brand new class of figure, somewhere between the regular-sized figures and the mammoth Trolls. They come in beautifully illustrated and collector friendly window boxes, which I probably won’t be keeping because I barely have space for all these figures let alone their packaging. And technically Bolthor isn’t really an Ogre, he’s a Giant! Well, actually he’s a Half-Giant! Wait, how are Half-Giant’s made? Do actual Giants (who are presumably much larger than Half-Giants) have sex with regular people? HOW THE HELL DOES THAT WORK??? Actually, I probably don’t want to know. From his little bio, Bolthor is said to be agreeable company as well as a powerful fighter, and he has aligned himself with the forces of none other than Attlus the Conqueror! Oh yeah, did I mention his nickname is The Tower?

One of the key factors of Mythic Legions’ staggering success has been T4H’s ability to repaint and recombine parts into brand new figures, and Bolthor here is a perfect example of that, only heavy on the repainting and not so much the parts swapping. Both his body and outfit are directly borrowed from both the Ogre Legion Builder and Kkurzog. The only change-up is that he’s wearing the optional simpler wrist bands that came with the Legion Builder and the disc in his belt is the design of the Legion Builder as well, as opposed to the skull insignia worn by Kkurzog. But basically, if you have those two figures, than you’ve seen everything The Tower has to offer, at least from the neck down.

And so, I won’t go into too much detail with the sculpt, because I’ve covered it twice already, but I will say that it looks as amazing as ever with this new deco. The skin tone has been changed from Ogre green to a tanned human flesh, which still brings out all the muscles, sinew and veins that are in the sculpt. Bolthor’s outfit has a bit more of a bronze motif, and I’m still impressed by detail work in his harness. The plates on have individually sculpted and painted rivets, the straps have realistic leather texturing, and that elaborate belt remains a masterpiece. Each “leather” strap has a detailed bronze medallion, the bones look great, and the whole ensemble is worn above a furry barbarian diaper. Bolthor’s lower leg armor is colored the same as Kkurzog’s and still consists of the crude and jagged Orc-style armor with some kind of horns or teeth embedded in them. Unlike Kkurzog, who went barefoot, Bolthor has the heavy boots worn by the Ogre Legion Builder.

The head sculpt is brand new, with Bolthar wearing a helmet that only exposes the lower half of his face. His human-like visage has a pronounced chin and chiseled features. His down-turned mouth makes him look like he’s determined to hit something with a tree. The helmet is painted and textured to resemble iron, with plenty of pitting and cracks incorporated into the sculpt, and he has black ram horns protruding from each side.

Unlike the big Trolls, which were roto-scoped, mostly hollow, and had more limited articulation, the Ogre body is built with the same articulation as the regular figures, in other words lots of rotating hinges. That makes these fellows highly poseable and pretty damn hefty too. T4H have been including warnings with these figures about the joints possibly being brittle and snapping unless they are carefully worked out. I haven’t really had any difficulties in that area with any of mine.

The weapon is a repaint of the poleaxe that came with Ogre Legion Builder, and here’s my only real gripe about this set. Seeing as how the three Ogres from Bjorngar recycled so many parts between them, it would have been cool to get unique weapons with each one. Plus, the shaft on the axe looks a little dainty for such a big guy. With that having been said, the axe is still a gorgeous sculpt with some nice copper paint accents. I also dig the ability to change up the pole and make it shorter or longer.

 

I’ve been impressed with this new class of figures ever since I opened the first, and that sentiment has yet to wear off. Bolthor is probably even a little more exciting because the two Ogres were a lot more similar to each other and Bolthar at least feels like something new. And it’s cool to add such a heavy hitter to Attlus the Conqueror’s Wasteland Army. And I’m still not quite done with these big guys. Not yet. Next time I revisit Mythic Legions, I’ll check out the last of these fellas with Argemedes, an Ogre sized Cyclops from the Wasteland assortment. And then maybe I can get back to opening some of the regular sized figures again!

Mythic Legions: Tibius by The Four Horsemen

It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time to look at another magnificent figure from The Four Horsemen’s Kickstarted line of 6-inch fantasy figures: Mythic Legions! In the beginning, there was a method to my madness when it came to selecting the order of the figures I looked at. I was trying to showcase the different parts as best I could. Now, I’ve been through most of the new parts and from here on in we’re looking at the combinations that T4H have used to create new and unique characters. I thought today we’d venture back into skeleton territory and have a look at Tibius!

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Here’s the obligatory packaged shot and since I have nothing new to say about it, I’ll take this opportunity to point out what a big dummy I am for not buying all the skeletons. Skapular was amazing and at the risk of spoiling my own Feature, I’m going to tell you right now that Tibius is just as equally amazing. Well, maybe not equally… I do really adore Skapular, but Tibius is no slouch. Anyway, at some point, when I was tallying the figures I would get, my brain said, “You don’t need the Skeleton Legion Builder.” Ever since then, I have wanted to build a time machine and go back to that moment and punch my brain right in its flawed reasoning center.

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Yes, much like his bony chum, Skapular, Tibius is a skeleton knight and you should recognize a lot of the parts here from Mr. Skappy. It’s OK, we’re bros, I can call him that. The arms, legs, neck, and groin plates are all taken directly from that figure, but the tabard covered chest piece has been replaced with the full on plate armor that we’ve seen used for all the knights. The bone pieces are straight-up recycled while the armor has a more of a tarnished silver paint scheme going on. I like it a lot, particularly on the lower legs. It looks like he just pulled himself out of his Crypt. Perhaps it was the very same crypt that Skapular broke. This is not the flashiest armor we’ve seen, but I think it suits him.

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Yes, the shoulders are removable, and come detached in the package. They are required to attach the cape, as it pegs in between the shoulders and the body. The shoulders also offer a nice distinction between this figure and Skapular, who came with the other (Gorgo) style. The cape is fashioned in the black cloth, which is coarser than the red, and features a ragged cut that makes it look like Tibius doesn’t get out to see his tailor very often. As always, the figure is modular, and since the articulation is standard throughout the line, I’ll refer you back to the Skapular Feature that I linked above just in case this is your first visit to FFZ on Mythic Legions Wednesday and you want a run down on the articulation.

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The portrait here is a new one. Tibius’ noggin is a simple, but beautifully sculpted skull painted with the same yellowish finish as the rest of his bones. There’s some rotten carmel-colored paint in his vacant eye sockets and you get some cool crimson war paint in streaks down his face. When I say war paint, I’m just speaking figuratively. I’d actually like to think that it’s the blood of his enemies.

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You also get an extra head, which consists of an unpainted skull and has an articulated jaw. It’s a great bonus, particularly if you want to turn one of your other knights into a skeleton!

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Weapons in this line have been repaints of a handful of the same accessories and that continues to be the case here. The only difference is, Tibius doesn’t come with the usual spear or battle axe that have been included with almost every figure. Instead, he comes with a pair of swords and a pair of daggers. He does feature the same brown belt, which can be used either on the waist or as a cross strap, to hold one of his weapons, but he also has loops on either hip, so he can actually wear three out of the four weapons at once. Put the fourth one in his hand and you don’t have to leave anything behind!

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One set of sword and dagger are painted with red grips to match each other. The others vary enough so as not to look like a matched set. I will probably end up displaying this guy with the matched set and give the others to someone else, although he does look like quite the bad ass when dual wielding the swords, so that plan may change.

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And that’s Tibius! He’s another fantastic addition to this collection and I think he’ll make a fine right-hand man for Skapular. The only thing I have to be sad about now is that he’s my only other Skeleton until Wave 1.75 starts shipping. I was disappointed that the Skeleton Legion Builder didn’t turn up again as part of the All-Stars, but that’s what I get for passing on him the first time. And on that note, T4H just announced today that Wave 1.5 has shipped from the factory, so I’ll be receiving a pair of figures from that wave, probably in about a month. I’ve got a Troll coming from that wave as well, but those are running a little behind due to their size and more complex aspects of their production.