Tag Archives: kickstarters

Sep 1 2023

Cosmic Legions (Hvalkatar Book One): Highwarden Slogg by The Four Horsemen

Happy Friday all! You may have noticed that there was no content on Wednesday as i was hunkered down for the hurricane, but it passed us by leaving just a nasty taste of tropical storm force winds and lots of rain. But, I am back today and I’m continuing my look at the initial wave of Cosmic Legions figures! If you need to get caught up you can take a look at the two versions of Oleg Thygar, the four-armed brute, Kraggnar, and the femme fatales, Vorgga and Zeerian Spyre. Today I’m turning my attention to the big daddy of the wave: Highwarden Slogg. He is the biggest figure by far and he looks like one nasty piece of business.

As with the previous figures, Slogg comes in a very attractive window box, but this one differs in that it is absolutely huge, even dwarfing Kraggnar’s box to some extent. As his title states, Slogg is in command of Hvalkatar Prison and his little bio tells us that he is encased in a suit that keeps him alive by moisturizing and treating his epidermis, which was severely burned when he was just a young blob. Let’s get him out of the box and have a look at him!

And yes indeed, he is one hefty hunk of plastic. Slogg’s impressive size is more girth than length, with most of it in his rather unique support suit. Slogg’s lower arms and legs are exposed showing his rough green skin, which is just covered with ridges and fissures. Meanwhile his bulbous head resides under a frosted dome that keeps him moist and flavorful. But how about the detail on that suit! You can just about make out the orange onesie that all the gear and equipment is grafted onto. Otherwise it’s a mess of tubes, hoses, pipes, fixtures, straps, buckles, gauges, and even a pair of what… nipple canisters? Sorry, I don’t know what else to call them. The dingy colors of the suit’s equipment looks great next to the bright green of the skin and the orange of the undersuit. You also get some bright red, blue, and yellow buttons down there in his groinular region. Gosh, there’s so much to see!

Indeed, when I first got Slogg out of the box I had a great time just turning the figure over and over in my hands and examining all the little bits and bobs. I really like the alien lettering stenciled here and there. Also, I’m pretty sure that’s a pee port located right in between his legs, possibly with an evacuation nozzle stored below it that has to be attached for him to relieve himself. I don’t know, folks, but I’m having fun making it up as I go. He also has a TU5CC badge on his shoulder, which stands for Trader’s Union of the Five Circles of Cosmerrium. Yeah, that’s a mouthful and we’ll learn more about it in the next Cosmic Legions review!

The murky dome can be a bit tricky to get off, but trust me it does come off! Removing it gives you a better look at Slogg’s disgusting melon. He kind of looks like The Gillman from The Black Lagoon hit up Five Guys a few too many times. There are so many gross folds in his skin that lead to that flappy mess of a mouth. His beady eyes peer out from beneath bloated brows, or at least one peers out. His left eye looks like it’s seen better days. There’s a scar running down the middle of it and the pupil is gone. Boy do I love the paintwork on Slogg’s noggin. It matches the rest of his skin, but also has some absolutely gorgeous gradient work where it wavers between darker green in some places and almost yellow in others. This portrait is a goddamn work of art.

And if you like your green blobby space wardens a little more angry, T4H have you covered with a second head sculpt. And oh damn is he angry! This portrait has his mouth open showing his spikey teeth and even a bit of the insides in his disgusting maw. It’s an absolute crime that one of these heads has to sit in the box, so I may just wind up displaying it beside the figure on a riser or something.

Because Slogg has plenty of chonks, his articulation is a tad more limited, but most of that comes from the range of motion in what are most of the usual joints. Rotating hinges are the order of the day, and they’re found in his shoulders, elbows, wrists, and lower legs. His hips are ball jointed, he can swivel at the waist, and his giant head can rotate left and right. But yeah, you do have to pop his dome every time you want to change the direction of his head. The arms are great, but the legs are mostly for positioning so he can stand. Although he really doesn’t have a problem in that department. Slogg also comes with two sets of hands: One set of accessory holding and one set of fists.

And that accessory is what T4H call a Data Screen. This device has a cable that plugs into one of the two holes on his butt, depending on which hand you want him to hold it in. Now, this looks to me like it’s a multipurpose device used to check on the status of his suit, as it looks like a suit schematic is displayed on the screen. It’s kind of a burdensome device to carry around for suit diagnostics, so I’d like to think it serves a double purpose.

A weapon, maybe? Yeah it appears there are possible beam emitters on the front that reminds me of the weapon design from Space 1999. Maybe the orange nob controls the beam intensity or maybe it just regulates how moist his suit makes him. And because Slogg is such a huge bastard and uses up so much plastic, that’s all you get for accessories. Still, for a figure this big extra hands, an extra head, and that big device ain’t too shabby.

There’s no doubt that from the very first solicitation pictures, Slogg struck me as a stand out figure in the wave and now that he’s in hand he does not disappoint. The sculpted detail and imagination that went into this figure makes it an absolute work of art. I’m extremely curious to see how the pieces to this guy will play out in future releases. In a modular line like Cosmic Legions, I have to imagine that T4H considers parts recycling when designing figure components, especially with big and costly figures like this. But, it’s hard to imagine a figure this distinctive will be easy to repurpose. I guess we’ll find out!

Jul 26 2023

Cosmic Legions (Hvalkatar: Book One): Olek Thygar (Hvalkater and GraveRing) by The Four Horsemen

It’s finally here! After almost two years since the preorder closed, the first wave of Cosmic Legions figures arrived and I’m ready to start digging in. For those unfamiliar, they are basically a sci-fi version of T4H’s wildly popular fantasy based Mythic Legions figures, which have been going strong for a little while now. I went All-In on this first wave, although T4H didn’t pack one of the figures in the box, and I’m trying to solve that issue with them now. Wouldn’t you know it, it had to be one of the expensive ones! Anyway, I’m starting off with what seems to be the main protagonist of the wave, Olek Thygar, because we got two versions of him in this initial assortment.

Here’s the packaging for both figures. T4H has finally transitioned from bubbles on cardbacks to full on window boxes. I like these better, but they are putting the accessories on a tray mounted inside the side of the bubble, which is kind of awkward to get to. The left side panel has a blurb about the line’s narrative and the right has a blurb about the character. I’m not going to get terribly deep into the fiction of this line, but Hvalkatar appears to be an intergalactic prison where Olek finds himself thrown into, and eventually I guess leads a revolt. GraveRing is a particularly nasty Cell Block where the prisoners are made to fight in gladiatorial combat between bouts of hard labor. So, the GraveRing version of Olek sees him as a gladiator and the other version has him in a spacesuit with weapons, so I’m guessing it’s after the revolt? I really don’t know. Like Mythic Legions, the narrative and character bios are there to take or leave… let’s just enjoy the figures! We’re going to start with the Hvalkatar version as it is the more complex figure with the most accessories.

There are a few different display options for this figure, but I’m starting him off in his full-on space suit with the dome helmet. The detail on this figure is just mind blowing and while most of the intricate detailing of the suit is sculpted as part of the body, T4H have added some separately sculpted pieces here and there to add to that complexity, making for an exquisite layered effect of depth and interlocking plates. The articulation style here is pretty much identical to what we’ve seen in Mythic Legions, and the figure is still built on a modular model. For customizers who want to mix and match, Cosmic is compatible with Mythic, but that sort of thing is beyond what I’ll be looking at here. I am happy to report that neither of these figures had any joint issues and they articulated fine right out of the box.

The boots and gloves hint at Olek’s alien anatomy with only three fingers on each hand and what appears to be two giant toes. There are peg holes located on the gauntlets and the front and back of the torso. These are part of a new play mechanic that runs throughout this line, and we’ll explore these a further in a bit. The coloring here is quite beautiful. The armored pieces of the base suit are matte black and gray with an orange undersuit, shown mostly in the pants. You get some more orange trim throughout and some gorgeous metallic blue trim as well. All the paint operations are sharp and clean.

The helmet is removable and you can even remove the orange-tinted dome separately. This brings me to one issue with the figure and that’s the helmet not locking securely to the figure. Not only does it leave a gap in a few spaces, but it seems to be designed to be held on by friction alone, which does not do the job at all. It’s not a critical problem, but considering how much thought and design T4H puts into these figures, this one seems like a really uncharacteristic oversight.

And that brings us to Olek’s portrait, which is absolutely beautiful. He has a gorgeous blue color with bright red piercing globes for eyes. The skin is heavily scaled with deep fissures and definitely has a dragonesque motif, particularly in the scaling on the neck. Olek also has a gold fixture placed on his forehead, which I suppose could be ornamental for his race or perhaps serve some kind of purpose. I really love the sculpted detail inside the helmet, and there are even some paint apps in there too.

You get a completely different style helmet as well, which is a lot more streamlined. This head also comes with a separate neck piece, which is completely enclosed extension of the space suit. The helmet is designed to be form fitted to Olek’s head and it gives the figure even more of an alien profile, which is pretty cool. You also don’t have to deal with the fit issues of the larger domed helmet. The orange shield is even removable so you can get a better look at the fully sculpted face under it. This neck piece is also useable with the regular head and can be incorporated into the dome helmet for what I think makes for a better overall look. If you like display options, this figure certainly has you covered! Let’s start checking out accessories and weapons!

One of the coolest little extras is this holographic readout that plugs into the peg hole on either of the gauntlets. Similar pieces will be a recurring theme in this wave and this one makes for a really neat effect. It’s cast in translucent plastic with green tint at the bottom and a frame around the green text panel.

And while we’re on the subject of those arm peg holes, Olek comes with a pair of pop-up blasters for them as well. I really dig these a lot!

Olek comes with a matched pair of pistols, and here’s where we can get into the other peg holes on the suit. The figures come with an assortment of translucent pegs (two short and two longer) and these clear cylinders can be placed into the ports to secure weapons to them. In this case, the pistols work pretty well attached to the peg holes on the back. I have yet to find a good use for the peg holes on the front of the suit, as those seem to be oddly placed to attach anything.

The pistols sport some excellent detail and are painted in a speckled gray finish. They work really well with the included trigger finger hands, and I guess I should point out here that Olek comes with two sets of trigger hands, one designed to hinge up and down and one side to side. If you want to beef these guns up, you can also plug the arm blasters into the peg holes on the sides.

Next up is his heavy blaster rifle, which again is intricately sculpted and finished to match the pistols. This has a scope, a non-removable magazine and looks totally bad ass. It also has a peg hole, but I haven’t found a really good place to attach it. Again, you can beef it up by adding one of the arm blasters to the side. I have to say, I am really digging the gun designs in this line so far.

The final accessory is a big one! It’s listed as an extra heavy blaster, but to me it looks like it’s a digging tool, like a jackhammer. I’d like to think this is a piece of equipment that the guards gave to the prisoners to go out and mine asteroids as it has a big chisel-like wedge at the end. Maybe Olek is using it as a weapon like Isaac Clarke in Dead Space. Either way, this is a gorgeous piece of kit with lots of sculpted detail and lots of paint hits to the shell and the various components. There’s a grip on the back and a grab bar on the front so he can hold it like a chain gun and use it to pulverize rock or prison guards. And that covers this version of Olek, let’s move on and check out the GraveRing version…

And here he is, stripped of his space suit and ready for gladiatorial prison combat. There isn’t as much to talk about here as with the previous figure. This version of Olek reuses the belt and legs from the space suit, as well as the arm bracers from the gauntlets. His feet, hands, and upper torso are all bare showing off that beautiful blue scaled skin, and I am absolutely in love with the gradients of blue used here, it’s just so gorgeous! I also really dig that Cardassian-like neck. And holy crap is the sculpting for his back scales just incredible. This version comes with several more pairs of hands than the last one, including relaxed hands and various types to hold accessories.

The head sculpt is partially resculpted and it’s kind of fun to speculate as to why. The gold fixture is missing and in its place is what looks like three more exposed eyes. It actually looks like the gold piece was ripped out and this is a wound left behind. His horns are also grown longer. Maybe his species normally cuts these and he left them to grow long for combat? Either way this is a beautiful portrait!

Now in terms of accessories, this version comes up really short when compared to the last version. You get a new hologram piece for his gauntlet, this time it looks like an image of a spaceship. It’s cast in translucent green plastic and has some very nice detail. I just really dig the way these hologram pieces look.

You get a staff, which is kind of plain looking and strikes me as a Mythic Legions throwback. I guess the guards don’t want the gladiators to have powerful weapons. Makes sense. This one does, however transform into a flail.

Well, not really, but it’s supposed to and you get the pieces to make it look like the top comes off and connects to another piece with a chain. It looks like it would come in handy for whacking opponents in the head or tripping them up so you can make the kill.

I remember really being on the fence about picking up both versions of Oleg, but in the end I’m glad I did. The first version is definitely the more interesting figure, but that’s to be expected because at $48 he sold for $11 more than the second version. Meanwhile, the second has it’s own charms with all that exposed blue scaly skin. So far, I dig the peg system for attaching weapons and accessories to the figures, as it gives me a nostalgic feel for the old Centurions line by Kenner. So far Cosmic Legions manages to secure its own identity, while still being planted firmly in the Mythic Legions system. Indeed, I think we’ve already seen a Dragon Man figure teased using parts from Olek and it will be interesting to see what other crossover T4H and customizers can do.

Jun 26 2022

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay) Artemyss Silverchord by The Four Horsemen

Here we go, folks! It’s the final installment of Mythos Monday for a while, as after today I’ll be all caught up on showcasing the Mythic Legions figures in my collection! As I mentioned last week, I saved the two Deluxe figures for last, and that means today I’m checking out Artemyss Silverchord!

Artemyss comes in the same style packaging as the Deluxe Knight Builder we saw last week, but there isn’t nearly as much stuff crammed into this bubble. In fact, the main reason for the elongated tray was to accommodate her wings, which are nested in the bottom tray under the figure and other accessories. She does, however, have one of the coolest bios I’ve come across in the line. Artemyss’ parents were killed by vampyre assassins, and now she leads Xylona’s Flock as a noble warrior and paragon of virtue. Oh yeah, and Asterionn the Minotaur is her personal guardian! There are a couple of different display options for this figure, so let’s get started!

Artemyss makes use of an interesting mix of parts from Advent of Decay, basically borrowing some heavy armor from the female knights and some lighter armor from the elves. Her cuirass is the one first introduced on Gwendolyn Heavensbrand, finished with the same gold paint, but using some copper and purple to add color to the panels. Her belt, however, is different, with shorter hip armor and a purple stone front and center. Her upper arms and legs are the usual bare female limbs, but her legs are painted to resemble leggings. She has the lighter armor for her lower legs, with the knees painted gold to signify reinforced armor, and the rest brown to convey leather boots. She has the elven wrist bracers on her forearms, painted gold to match the rest of her armor, with brown inner sleeves.

Artemyss is one of the very few figures to not get shoulder armor of any kind, which makes sense, as it would interfere with her optional wings. She does have a cape, but since most capes in this line are designed to hang on the shoulder armor pegs, here it just has a neck hole. I like this method, since it can be worn over her bare shoulders, or folded back out of the way, or even shifted to cover her free arm when wielding a sword. The cape is green, but it’s a few shades shy from matching the green plastic sash that hangs down the front of Artemyss’ belt.

The head sculpt is all new, and I absolutely love it. It’s characterized by the elaborate clutch of braided hair that cascades down her back, complete with gold rings to hold weight them down. She also has an elaborate set of gravity-defying antlers protruding from her tiara. Seriously, for this thing to work, that tiara would have to be bolted to her head! But it looks so majestic and amazing, I’ll just chalk it up to magic! She has a beautiful face, with narrow, almond-shaped eyes, blue lipstick, and a heavy dose of purple eyeshadow. I particularly love how TFH sculpted the two braids that fall from in front of her pointed ears to frame her face.

As for accessories, Artemyss comes with two swords, one is the standard one-handed cruciform sword with a gold hilt and a silver blade. Chances are very good that this one will go to another one of my figures.

And that’s because she also comes with the elven short sword, and this one just suits her perfectly. Sadly, this sword doesn’t turn up very often, and I think I last encountered it when checking out Dorina Onoris. It’s an absolutely beautiful piece with an ornate gold hilt and a leaf-shaped blade.

Next up, Artemyss comes with a bow, quiver, and one loose arrow. The bow is a rather distinctive piece, sculpted to look like it’s crafted from antlers, with a green grip and gold bands to secure the string. This is a new accessory to me, and that’s saying something considering how many of these figures I’ve reveiwed over the years. The quiver is the same sculpt we’ve seen a bunch of times, painted brown with gold trim. These usually have a clip on them, but mine does not, but it can still be passed through the loop on the sword belt and worn on her back using the belt as a shoulder strap. The loose arrow is silver with purple fletching to match the ones sculpted in the quiver. She looks great holding the bow, but as I’ve said before, the articulation on these figures is not ideal for having them actually knock an arrow to shoot it.

And last, but not least, are her translucent pink wings. These attach to the holes usually used for the shoulder armor, or you can use one of the adapter pieces to tab it into the slot in the middle of her back. Because of her hair, I find the shoulder holes work better. And obviously, the cape needs to come off when using these. They attach via hinged pegs, so that gives them the ability to swivel and be angled forward and back. They were positioned in the box with the narrower parts on the top, but I prefer them on the bottom. They do make Artemyss a bit back-heavy, but she can still stand with them without the need for additional support. I find that they also remain pegged in more securely than some of the other, heavier wings.

Artemyss is an absolutely gorgeous figure, and I think she’s a fine addition to end on. The mix of parts here works perfectly to create a fresh new look, the unique head sculpt is beautiful, and the addition of the wings is just icing on the cake! And with that, it’s time to put Mythic Legions on the back burner until some new figures arrive. This trek has taken me through nearly 90 figures over the course of about six years! Keep in mind, I also have Cosmic Legions pre-orders in the pipe, so I’m looking forward to checking those out as well. Next week will see a return of Marvel Mondays so that I can wrap up some of the Marvel Legends waves I have waiting to be opened!

Jun 20 2022

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay) Deluxe Knight Builder by The Four Horsemen

We’re in the home stretch now, folks! By my reckoning, I have only two more Mythic Legions releases to spotlight here before I’ve wrapped up with all the figures I currently own. And I saved the two Deluxe Sets I have for last! Today I’m checking out the Deluxe Knight Builder, which is kind of like a super-sized Legion Builder, only with the premium paint applications of a regular release, and a hefty assortment of accessories. There’s a lot of stuff to cover here, so let’s jump right in, because I’m going to go long today!

The packaging here is pretty unique, as the figure comes on a much wider card to accommodate the large tray packed full of goodies. Actually, there are two nested trays here, with two levels of weapons, heads, extra armor bits, and you even get a second torso. Obviously, the goal here is to give you as many different options as possible to create all sorts of variants, although both torsos are female, making use of the slighter build introduced in Advent of Decay. As a result, I’m just going to be assembling four different figures, based on the four different heads, to try to show off everything that’s included. Just about everything in the box has been seen before in previous reviews, except for one piece, which I’ll call out when we get to it!

I’m starting out with the Salade style helmet and no tabard for what is a really beautiful femme knight. As always, the armor sculpt here is exquisite, with every tiny rivet, strap, and interlocking plate lovingly recreated, along with the chainmail texturing exposed at the joints. You also get some stunning decorative relief work sculpted into some of the panels. The paint job gives the armor a clean, burnished silver finish, with a striking turquois used for some of the decorative panels. Add to that some gold edging and rivets, copper for the chainmail, and brown for the retaining straps, and you get what I think is one of the most gorgeous knights this line has produced.

I think I first encountered the Salade helmet when I reviewed the Advent of Decay Knight Legion Builders, and it hasn’t been used much, which is a shame because I’m a fan of both the helmet design and this sculpt. The swept back and narrow slit in the visor make it quite a distinctive piece of headgear, and the hammered look of the sculpt is just so damn great. I also went with the segmented lobster-tail style shoulder armor for this particular configuration, which I think looks perfect!

As for weapons, I gave her the simple one-handed cruciform sword, worn on her waist with the brown belt, and the circular, concave shield. The sword needs no discussion, as it was introduced in the original Kickstarter assortment and we’ve seen it dozens of times since. And yes, it’s still a favorite of mine! The shield has turned up a few times, mainly with some of the Gladiator-style figures like Calavius. The paint here is actually very similar to that appearance, but with the central boss left silver like the rest of the shield, as opposed to gold to match the decorative ring. I love the deco, but it would have been interesting to see the outer ring painted in the same metallic turquois!

And just to keep the distribution of weapons fair, here she is wielding the mace. This weapon has a large, bulbous studded head, perfect for bashing in even the most heavily armored brains. The shaft is sculpted with a wood grain pattern, although the whole weapon is painted in silver. The head is interchangeable, so we’ll see a variation on this mace in a little bit. This particular mace is another one of those weapons that has turned up here and there, but is not as often as others, so it’s a welcome addition! Let’s swap out the head and a few other parts, and check out the next variation!

Here’s another head, and I’ve also swapped out the plated groin armor with this leather scaled look. I actually don’t really like using this piece with this armor, I think it looks too low-rent, but I wanted to showcase it anyway. I’ve also moved the waist belt to become a shoulder strap to better carry the two-handed sword.

The Armet-A-Rondelle helmet, to give it its fancy name, is the one piece in this set that I believe is brand new. Or at lest, I don’t remember seeing it before. It’s a close fitting 15th Century style helmet, that’s characterized by the rondel plate at the back and base of the neck. You get some gold trim, and some lovely sculpted relief work around the visor. Like the Salade, I think this helmet goes really well with the figure.

Like the one-handed sword, this two-hander needs no introduction, as it’s been issued so many times to so many releases. It’s even been given the copper painted hilt, which has been seen before. I do like that the silver blade has been given a bit of a wash, to give it a slightly weathered look. All in all, this sword still looks great and remains one of my favorite accessories.

And, as long as we’re on the subject of over-used accessories, here’s the infamous spear introduced in the original Kickstarter assortment. OK, this is one accessory that I think it’s time to retire and sculpt a new one. This one looks a tad chunky, which works fine with the bulkier male knights, but looks a little off with the slighter builds introduced in Advent of Decay. This one has been painted silver and given a bit of a rust wash. Let’s change things up again, and this time we’ll swap the head and the whole torso!

Here is the tabard torso along with the tabard groin piece, introduced in Advent of Decay and seen at least a few times since. The plastic garment has a blue stripe flanked by a mustard color on each side, along with some gold trim. I think it looks pretty good with the existing color scheme on the armor. It also has a little spray on the bottom piece to make it look dirty. I’ve also swapped out the segmented shoulders for these curvy ones, which include the turquoise panels to match the rest of the armor perfectly.

The helmet is pretty familiar, as I first encountered it with back with Delphina, the female Templar in Advent of Decay. Indeed, I think we’ve seen it in this exact color scheme as well. I don’t have anything new to say about it, other than it just goes perfectly with this body, and it’s one of my favorite helmet designs, which somehow manages to look both noble and intimidating at the same time.

As far as weapons go, first, I’ve given her the chunky dagger, which is another callback to the original Kickstarter assortment, and one which hasn’t been turning up that often in the recent waves. I think it’s a great little piece, and it makes for an excellent main gauche when paired with the sword. I’ll also note, the hilt is painted to match that of the sword, which is always a plus in my book!

Next up is the flanged mace, which was swapped out for the spherical studded mace head. I tend to favor this one over the previous, as it has a vicious beauty to its design. I also love that each of the rivets in the head are painted gold.

And let’s bring in the second shield, which introduced in the original Kickstarter, but here given a spiffy new paintjob. The blue and white checkered deco has a nice sense of pageantry about it, and when you add the gold frame, it matches the armor pretty well. Like the tabard, the shield has a little bit of spray on it to give it a slightly dirty and worn look. I think the shield pairs really well with the flanged mace. OK, let’s do one more variant!

Here, I kept the body all the same, but added the final head, which is a sort of Burganet. This lovely form-fitting helmet has a ridged pate, bisected by a central crest, and a rather distinctive beaked visor. You get some piercings to help with breathing, two rather wide eye slits, and some painted rivets. You also get a choice of either a spike for the top, or blue plumage.

And lest you thought we were done showcasing the original Kickstarter weapons, here’s are friend the beefy battle axe. Just about everyone who was anyone got one of these in the initial assortment. The weapon includes pieces to customize it as either a double-headed axe, or to give it a single blade and a spike. Either one works fine for me! The grips are painted black, with the rest silver and given a light patina of rust.

And finally, here she is with the the shiny silver halberd. This is a weapon I’d like to see a little more often. It was introduced in Advent of Decay, but hasn’t turn up all that much since.

If you’re still with me, well congratulations, because this was easily the longest Mythos Monday Review I’ve ever done. The Deluxe Knight Builder set retailed for about $60 at pre-order, and as usual, I wish I had a little more money in the budget to have picked up two or three of these. With so many different weapons, four different heads, and two different bodies, there’s a lot of fun and variety to be had here. But Advent of Decay was a massive figure drop, and I didn’t have enough cash for all the figures I wanted, let alone enough to double up on treasures like this one. This is definitely one of those figures that should be up for order on Store Horsemen all the time, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a reissue with a new deco either!

Jun 13 2022

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay): Barbarian Warrior by The Four Horsemen

It’s another Mythos Monday, and I’m really closing in on the final figures I have to review from The Four Horsemen’s glorious Mythic Legions line! Today I’m going back to that deep, deep well that is Advent of Decay with a look at the Barbarian Warrior!

While not on the package, Barbarian Warrior is actually a Legion Builder, and as such, she doesn’t have a name or bio on the package, but I’ll just call her Barb-Ra! These figures feature less paint applications, and are intended as a means to army build your forces. That is, unless you’re like me and spent all your monies just trying to get as many of the figures in this assortment as possible, and only have enough left to buy one! Let’s open her up and check her out!

With three heads, and three different weapons, this figure has a number of variations, which is great if you did happen to buy a few. Just to mix things up a bit, I’ve set her up with three different looks, and we’ll take each one in turn. First, I have her as a Barbarian Sword-slinger, and with the addition of the breast armor from last week’s review, we’ve now officially seen all the pieces used on this figure somewhere before. Barb-Ra shows off a lot of skin, utilizing the female bare arms and legs, bare midriff, and just the aforementioned breast armor covering her top. The armor is mostly of the female Orc variety, giving it that crude and angular look. I dig the upturned toes on her boots, plus the hip and shoulder armor works very well here. All of the armor pieces have a blackened iron finish, with no additional paint for the rivets or straps. I think everything about this figure just gels wonderfully!

The head features a very Orcish-style helmet that leaves the bottom of the face exposed. The facial features are a little soft on this sculpt, but not bad at all. The horns curve outward, and can be interchanged with the other set of horns included in the set. There was also a pair of wings, similar to what we saw on Freyja last time, but for the life of me I can’t find where they went. When I’m finally done reviewing these figures, I’m going to start a major accessory organization project! Anyway, the helmet sculpt is great, with plenty of nicks and scrapes to show battle wear. My only complaint is the lack of detail in the eye slits. They’re just left blank. There’s a hole in the top of the helmet, which can be used for a spike or a ponytail, but I’ve opted to leave it vacant. We’ll see that ponytail in a bit.

I’ve got this version of Barb-Ra armed with the standard Mythic Legions 1.0 two-handed sword, this time painted up all in silver. I still love this piece, and if you’re going to go with just one color, I think silver is the way to go! She can get away with wearing the sword belted to her waist, but I prefer it on the back, because it is pretty long. And because these shoulders aren’t too bulky, both can be worn with the sword angled off to one side or the other, for easy reach-around access.

Hammer Girl is up next, sporting a new head, and the tried-and-true Mythic Legions 1.0 Hammer of Smashing! I probably have at least two-dozen of these giant war hammers by now, and I ain’t complaining because it’s awesome. This one is painted in a very dark copper color, which brings out the beautiful detail in the sculpt.

The head here is a fully enclosed helmet with ram horns, and boy do I love this one. It has a very strong Skyrim vibe going for it, and I think it looks absolutely fantastic on this particular figure. The paint matches the rest of the armor, and there’s some beautiful sculpted detail in the strip running down the center of it.

And finally we have Ax Maiden, and finally a weapon that’s not carried over from the first Kickstarter assortment, but rather the bearded ax that was introduced in Advent of Decay. This was another great choice for the Barbarian Warrior, and I think it goes particularly well with this third head.

And, yeah… that’s a pretty distinctive head! It’s recycled from The female Orcs, but painted in a caucasian flesh tone to create what TFH call a Half-Orc. The Orc features can be clearly seen in the pointed ears and the large tusks reaching up from her bottom jaw. The helmet is very similar to the first one, but with side slits for the ears, and the cheek protectors extended. I’ve also incorporated the ponytail into this one. On the downside, the lack of any detail in the eye slits is really jarring on this head.

And that’s the Barbarian Warrior! In a perfect world, TFH would at the very least get their Legion Builders up for sale on Store Horsemen as permanent offerings, and if they did, I would budget out a couple each month, because I’d love to be able to display a squad of all three of these ladies to back up the House of the Noble Bear! I especially think these ladies make nice counters to the Skeleton Soldiers released in the same assortment.

Jun 5 2022

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay): Freyja of Deadhall by The Four Horsemen

Holy cats! It’s Monday again, time to travel to the mystical land of Mythos and open up another Mythic Legions figure! As promised last time (and the time before that!), there are no Goblins today, but we do have a legendary lady warrior to check out, as I present to you Freyja of Deadhall!

I love Freyja’s bio, which recounts her uncanny ability to somehow resurrect herself and return to fight over the centuries when her skills are needed. She is aligned with Attlus The Conqueror, which has got to be a combined force to be reckoned with! And finally, she is rumored to have the ability to instill her own fighting skills into any army she commands! When all is said and done, Freyja sounds like a lady you do not want to go up against on the battlefield!

Freyja brings a decidedly Norse flavor to the Mythic Legions lineup, as she is clearly patterned after the Valkyries of old. With how many Mythic Legions figures I’ve looked at here (and how few are left) it should come to no surprise that we’ve seen almost all these components before. But, as always, TFH are wizards at grabbing a piece here and a part there and giving birth to a striking new character, like Freyja. Some Elf parts jump out at me as the boots, gauntlets, and mid-riff area, and we’ve seen the bare arms and legs appear on figures like Juno the Crusher and Queen Urkzaa. I was almost convinced the chest armor came from those figures too, but these concentric circled breast guards are a first appearance for me. The belt comes from the original knightly armor, complete with plastic sash hanging down the front, and plated armor on the hips. I like the colors here, as you get a nice mix of leather-like browns with copper and silver. As always, I’m impressed by the little paint flourishes, like the individual rivets and strap fixtures. Just beautiful!

The shoulder armor secures a red cloth cape, and we also get a very cool fur mantle for her to wear around her shoulders. As with a lot of the fur garments in this line, there’s no tried and true way to secure it to the figure. In this case, it seems best to just tuck it in under the shoulders and the back of Freyja’s hair, and it seems to stay put fairly well. Threading a string across her neck, may be a good way to go if I ever get ambitious and crafty. The fur piece is a bit unruly, as you can see in a few of the pictures, and it could probably use a little trim.

I think this portrait is one of their better ones! The shape of her face is well defined, but not too severe, and I like the little jutting chin and her narrow nose. The paint is absolutely impeccable, with razor sharp applications to her lips, eyebrows, and beautiful blue eyes, and there’s even a little color in her cheeks. The expression is rather blank, but I still love it. Her form-fitting helmet is permanently attached, with some nice raised scrollwork on the visor, which sadly cannot be lowered. The headpiece is capped off by a pair of feathered wings, completing the Valkyrie look! I especially love the way they sculpted her hair, with three branded braids separated from the rest of her cascading coif! Let’s check out her accessories!

It’s the classic one-handed sword again, and yup, I still love it. And nope, there’s not much more to say about it. She also comes with a circular wooden-style shield, which we’ve seen a few times before, but not nearly enough! This is a fantastic looking piece, and the design fits Freyja’s Valkyrie look perfectly. The sculpted woodgrain surface is painted brown, with gray paint for the reinforced bands and edging, and finally some very pale copper for the central boss, and the rivets. There’s some beautiful weathering in the sculpt, which includes some nicks and scrapes to show this shield has deflected a few blows in its day. You get the same level of detail on the obverse side, and a grip bar.

And lastly, Freyja comes with the old spear, which was introduced in the original Kickstarter. Like the sword, there’s not much more I can say about this weapon, except we got a two-tone paint job with gold on the shaft and silver on the spear.

Freyja of Deadhall is very cool and distinctive addition to the Mythic Legions lineup, and she looks great standing on the shelf next to her ally, Attlus. The combination of parts and fresh paint are wonderful, and I really dig the added fur mantle to give her that extra Norse oompf. If I had one little nitpick, I would have given her one of the short hand axes in addition to the sword and spear, but maybe that wouldn’t have costed out in the budget. Besides, I can always lend her one from another figure.

May 30 2022

Mythic Legions (Wasteland): Thumpp by The Four Horsemen

I know what you’re saying. Dave, you lying bastard! You said you were all done with the Goblins, and now you’re back with another. Well, truth be told, after collecting all my Gobbies together and realizing that I was missing the one released in the Wasteland assortment, I just couldn’t let that stand. I friend of mine was willing to trade me his for one of my extra Skeleton Legion Builders, and here we are today… let’s check out Thumpp!

According to his bio, Thumpp is the very nephew of the Goblin King, No’glin, and commander of an elite force fighting under the flag of Gorgo Aetherblade. He’s a war veteran and has the scrapes to prove it! And was part of an early release at the 2019 DesignerCon. He was later made available to a wider market as part of Wasteland. There’s some stuff I like here, and some stuff I don’t, so let’s get cracking!

Thumpp is built on the standard armored Goblin body, with the addition of some segmented hip and groin armor, and the spiked collar, which we’ve seen a lot of the Goblins wearing. The paint here is standard dark iron, with some excessive rust showing in all the little nooks and crannies of the suit. Other than the orange rust, the only bright spot here is the silver paint used on the chain mail that peeks through at the joints. As always, the finish looks great, making the armor look like it’s been through more than a few campaigns!

On the downside, Thumpp makes use of the big shoulders we last saw on Gonxx. They worked fine on him, but he was built off the burlier Dwarf body, and here they are kind of big and bothersome. Don’t get me wrong, I think they look good on him, but they restrict his movement in the arms, and don’t work well with the collar. They were also crazy difficult to get pegged in, and yet still seem to pop out quite easily… that’s a bad combination! In the end, I will likely use these for displaying him on the shelf, but whenever I’m playing around with him, they’re coming off.

Thumpp gets one head, and it’s pretty fantastic. The portrait certainly fits the role of a seasoned warrior who’s sick of everyone’s shit. The skull cap is painted silver, which is one of the few times, TFH didn’t accessorize the deco to match the rest of the figure, but I don’t mind it. I love his bulbous chin, which looks like a giant air-filled dewlap, with various wart-like bumps. He’s got piercing yellow eyes, and a pair of big tusks rising from his lower jaw. This is definitely one of my favorite Goblin portraits of the bunch!

Thumpp comes with three weapons, one of which, his war hammer, is mentioned in his bio. This isn’t the one that was prevalent in the earlier releases, but rather the Dwarf hammer that was introduced in Advent of Decay. I think it’s a pretty good fit for him, even though it is really long and towers above him. The slender shaft and spiked counterweight makes me think he could reasonably wield this with some effect, despite his small size.

Next up, he has the one-handed axe, which we saw last time carried by the Goblin Legion Builders, so I won’t spend a lot of time on it. This one is fully painted out with a brown handle to go with the woodgrain sculpt. The axe head and pommel are both painted as steel, and they really did a nice job even putting some forging lines in it. I think it looks great slung on his belt.

And finally, you get the sickle sword, which we’ve seen quite a few times, but I tend to associate it with the Vampire Legion Builder the most. It also usually comes in pairs, with one socketed at the pommel and one pegged, so they can be joined together to form a crazy looking double-bladed slicer-dicer. The peg on the bottom of the pommel is a little obvious, and it would have been cool if they had crafted a pommel piece to put on it for when they only hand out one to a figure. I like this sword a lot, and it works OK for the Goblins, but I think the red painted hilt feels off. I wish they had went with dark gray.

And that’s Thumpp! There were a few choices with this figure that didn’t entirely work for me, but all in all I still dig him quite a bit. The shoulders are fine for display, but I take them right off when I’m going to be handling him to save on frustration. Either way, I think he makes a great addition to the Gobbie shelf, as the very last (for reals this time!) Goblin entry to my collection. At least until TFH released the Deluxe Goblin Legion Builder! No Goblins next time! I swear!

May 23 2022

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay): Goblin Legion Builder by The Four Horsemen

I haven’t done a count recently, but I know that I’m close to being all caught up on reviews of my current Mythic Legions figures. Today, for example, I’m having a look at the very last Goblin in my collection, but don’t worry… there will be more! This time, we aren’t looking at a specific Goblin character, but rather the Legion Builders, which are meant to be generic troops to strengthen your army. I bought a pair of these, and opened them a while ago, so I don’t have an in-package shot to share, so let’s just jump right in and check out these little green bastards!

Unlike last week’s figure, Gonxx, these Goblins return to the slighter build, which has been the norm. Gobbie is decked out in full armor, colored in a deep, dark shade of iron gray, with all the pitting and scrapes that make these sculpts look so damn convincing. This is armor that’s seen its share of battles, and probably saved the wearer’s life on many occasions. Either that, or another Gobbie got killed and this one just claimed his suit. As is often the case with these Legion Builders, there are no additional paint operations on the body, so you won’t see any painted rivets or belts, but I don’t mind. I love the slight upturn at the toes of the long boots, and the angular shoulders are the perfect marrying of style and practical crudeness. He also dons a collar with upward spikes, no doubt protecting the neck from a lucky decapitating swipe of some do-gooder’s blade. The collar, is the only nitpick I have here. It looks great, but it pegs in in the back and that pushes it forward. It doesn’t take much to push the tab out of the back when handling him.

You get two heads to help customize the Legion Builder into multiple troopers. The default comes sans helmet, and lets all his ugly hang out in the open. But generic soldier or no, the portrait is still outstanding. His bulbous wrinkled nose, deep set yellow eyes, bald pate, and pointy Yoda-ears all look great. And yet it’s the mouth that really makes this portrait shine. The wide mouth is packed with a brace of nasty teeth, framed by two upward jutting fangs, likening him to be a lesser cousin to the Orcs of Mythos. I could easily imagine these fiendish chompers biting chunks out of heroes in battle.

The other head may look familiar, as it’s the same sculpt we saw with Gonxx, and it’s still every bit as glorious a noggin. The paint here lacks the detail and rusty patina that came on the named figure, and in its place is just more of that deep iron finish to match the rest of his armor. You do, however, get some great paintwork visible inside the eye holes, showing off those beady eyes. The sculpt and paint are so good, that if I didn’t know better I’d swear the mask could be removed to show a full face sculpt beneath it. It’s worth noting, that this head works best with the spiked collar removed. OK… Let’s check out his weapons!

For starters, he comes with the Orc scimitar that we’ve seen on a few occasions in the past. As with each of these weapons, the entire piece is painted over in silver, with no flourishes of color on the hilt. It still works well, and the finish does manage to bring out all the scrapes and nicks in the blade. Previous paint work on this sword make it look like the hilt is made of bones or even teeth, but here it just looks like it’s all metal but designed to mimic actual bone, which I suppose is pretty cool too. The blade is a bit long for the slighter Goblin frame, but I think it still works for him, and he can wear it on his belt without much trouble.

Next up is the silver one-handed axe, which accidently made it into a few shots last week with Gonxx. And while there are once again, no additional paint operations on the weapon, it does come with a great looking skull, which can be skewered through the tip of the axe handle, adding a ton of personality to the weapon. It’s great that this adornment got added to a lowly Legion Builder!

And finally, you get a standard silver spear, which is the same type we’ve seen over and over (and over!) again since the original Kickstarter figures. These spears are pretty long even for the human-sized figures, so it might be a bit of a reach for these half-pints to wield it. It wouldn’t have been my first choice for these little guys, but it’ll do in a pinch!

And that’s the Goblin Legion Builder! It took restraint (and a tight budget) to limit myself to just a pair of these guys, but in a perfect world, I’d have a half-dozen. I dream of some day TFH actually stocking their store with Legion Builders all the time, but that could be dangerous to my finances, so maybe it’s better if they don’t! I should note that there is a Deluxe Goblin Legion Builder coming soon and I’m really looking forward to adding him to my army of little green meanies!

May 16 2022

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay): Gonxx by The Four Horsemen

We’re heading toward a solemn day on this Mythos Monday, because I’m having a look at the second to very last Goblin figure in my Mythic Legions collection. Oh, I’ll bet there will be more coming, but this one almost catches me up on what we got so far. And while I’ve been a big fan of all the new creatures and races introduced in the Advent of Decay assortment, these little green bastards continue to have a special place in my heart. Let’s check out Gonxx!

Gonxx is not just any Goblin! No, he’s the Commander of the Goblin Army! And as his bio reminds us, the Goblin Army is nearly infinite in size, so this guy has some major responsibilities riding on his little green shoulders. We’re also told that under his command, the vast armies of The Gobhollow Caverns are now aligned with The Legion of Arethyr, and that can’t be a good thing!

Gonxx is quite a distinctive little bugger, mainly because he doesn’t utilize the slighter body used for the other Goblins. Nope, this guy makes use of the same assortment of pieces as the Dwarves, making him a stockier and more robust Gobbie. As such he really stands out on the battlefield among his pulsating green sea of troops. From the neck down, there’s nothing here that hasn’t been seen before, it’s just a mix of knightly armor and orc armor, all painted in mix of black, brown, and deep bronze, with a hint of shiny copper chainmail peeking through the joints. It works really well, giving his armor a well-worn look, which is brought out beautifully with the heavy paint wash. The rust spots on the shoulders are especially well done! I also really like the use of the more primitive groin piece, with it’s sculpted fur and hanging rings. I look at this guy, and can’t help but wonder if that suit is padded to support a spindly Goblin body, or he really is that buff!

Gonxx comes with a helmeted head, which really follows through on making this guy look like a little tank. The helmet features a reinforced comb running from his nose and straight up the through the back, and there’s a single spike jutting out the back. The lower portion of his face is secured with a bulbous mask, with holes to help him breath. His two beady yellow eyes peek through the eye slits, and his floppy green ears jut out the sides. If this guy were a video game boss, those ears would be your best bet for a weak spot! The helmet has the same rusty brown finish as the rest of the armor, and when coupled with the pitting and scratches in the sculpt, looks absolutely amazing. TFH’s ability to make plastic look like metal will never cease to amaze me. The mask is convincing enough to look like it might rest on actual hinges, but it cannot be moved, so we’ll never actually get to see Gonxx’s lovely mug. I’m OK with that!

As the Commander of the Goblin Armies, Gonxx comes pretty well outfitted with weapons. And let me jump in here first, by saying I accidently put a silver axe on his belt, which he DOES NOT COME WITH. Just consider that accessory as a sneak peek into next week’s review! He does, however, come with this big honkin war hammer. If this thing looks familiar, it should, because it was a fairly common hand-out back in the original Mythic Legions assortment, and we’ve seen it peppered throughout the line ever since. It’s a pretty big weapon even for the regular sized figures, so it’s doubly impressive that Gonxx can handle it. The sculpt is as gorgeous as ever, and it has the same painted worn finish as Gonxx’s armor.

Next up, you get a spiked flail on a real chain. This weapon is a lot less common, but we did see it before, at the beginning of the year with Hadriana. I really dig it and I’d love to see it included with more figures in the future.

And finally, Gnoxx comes with the big two-handed sword that was common in the first assortment. This is a tad large for him to wear on his waist, so I opted to remove one of his shoulders and have him wear it on his back, using the belt as a cross-strap. The blade has a beautiful silver finish, and the hilt is left grungy and brown to match the armor. You could argue that this sword is over-used, but I’m always happy to get another one!

Gonxx is a great addition to the Goblins of Mythos, and I really dig that they built him off the bulkier parts to make him stand out among his fellow Gobbies. And while he’s the only Goblin so far to not show his beautiful face, I think the helmet is so distinctive, that leaving him masked works fine for me. Sure, apart from that noggin, there’s nothing new here, but as usual, TFH managed to pull from their inventory of existing parts, apply some new paint, and give birth to an awesome new creation. And that leaves us just one more Gobbie to go, so next week, we’ll have a look at the Goblin Legion Builder!

May 9 2022

Mythic Legions (Advent of Decay): Lord Aydon by The Four Horsemen

Welcome to another Mythoss Monday! I still have lots of catching up to do from the spectacularly large Advent of Decay assortment. This massive wave introduced us to the various Elves of Mythoss, and today we’re checking out one of the Wood Elves…

Yes, the Elves were a major attraction in this assortment and they added a new fantasy flavor to the Mythoss lineup. As his bio recounts: The impressively named, Lord Aristaeus Aydon, is both Uncle and advisor to Queen Artemyss Silverchord, which is every bit as big a deal as it sounds! When he’s not dishing out his stern wisdom to his beloved niece, he’s fending off inquisitive tourists mistaking him for Hugo Weaving. OK. That last bit may not have been in the actual bio.

And yet, there’s no denying that TFH were going for a major Elrond vibe with this guy, but I ain’t complaining! A great deal of the body here is reused from the Elf Ranger, which fittingly enough was a firm nod toward Orlando Bloom as Legolas. The torso, upper arms and legs, belt, and hip armor are all borrowed from that release, with the lower arms and legs given the more armored knight parts. But, what I find especially interesting here is the choice of colors. The torso armor is painted brown to give it a hardened leather look, along with silver buckles and brass studs, with the same colors matching on the scaled hip armor. The upper arms and legs feature a bronze finish, with silver chainmail exposed at the joints, and some electric blue accents. Meanwhile, the lower legs and arms have a metallic emerald finish with more of that brilliant blue, along with matching shoulders. It’s a bit of a scattershot color palate, but in the end, I do quite like it. And as always the attention to detail in the sculpt is striking, with all the tiny straps and buckles and rivets on the armor pieces.

The portrait here more than hints at the Hugo Weaving likeness. He sports a rather dour expression, synonymous with his strict teachings. The eyes have a nice gloss to them, his down-turned eyebrows are sharp, and he has a bit of pink to his pouty lip. There’s some brilliant gold leaf paint for his headpiece, and some antler-like horns protruding from the center it. My figure has a pair of nasty scars on his right cheek, which I’m assuming are intentional and not a defect. I mean, they look intentional, but I don’t recall seeing this kind of wound on any of the other figures, nor is it mentioned in his bio. It does certainly give him a distinctive quality. Of course, he has tall pointed ears, and his hair cascades down his back.

Lord Aydon is absolutely stacked with gear, so much so that he comes with two belts, one for his waist and one as a shoulder strap. These can be used to allow him to wear both of his swords at once. The shorter one is the classic knightly sword we have seen over and over again, and remains one of my favorites for it’s trusty, no-nonsense design. The other is the larger two-handed sword with the cut-outs in the ricasso, and a blade that swells near the tip. They are a matched set, with gold hilts and silver blades. Both of these blades date back tot he original Kickstarter.

He also comes with the rather shapely and ornate Elven Shield, which we’ve seen a few times now, but not enough in my opinion. This piece is absolutely gorgeous, with a satin gold finish, emerald cut-outs, and some brilliant blue stones painted into it.

Two blades and a shield is plenty for most Mythic Legions, but Lord Aydon also comes with an arrow, quiver, and one loose arrow to knock in the bow. Yup, both of these accessories are repeats. The bow is painted gold and has a black string, while the quiver is painted in green and gold to match Aydon’s armor. The arrows have silver shafts and bright blue fletching. Simply gorgeous!

Lord Aydon is an absolute homerun in my book. Not only is he a great looking figure with some gorgeous paintwork, but TFH really showed him some favoritism when it comes to his accessories. With two swords and a bow, he’s pretty much equipped for anything. Not to mention he looks great among my other Elves of Mythoss!