Boss Fight Studio Vitruvian HACKS Aiyana

Pre-Orders available at BossFightShop.com!

So I did it again.  Back when Vitruvian HACKS Series 1 was first in its Kickstarter phases, I looked at the offerings and while I fell in love with many of them, there were a few that didn’t especially tickle my fancy, most notably Eurayle.  I mean, she seemed neat, but was basically a female blank with some accessories and not much more.

Then I got her in hand and was promptly blown away.

History has repeated itself.  While I love the idea of elves, and they’re one of the few fantasy concepts that I feel like I have some exposure to, Aiyana wasn’t knocking my socks off.  She didn’t have as much gear as the knight or the orc and she didn’t have the awesome wings of Lacuna.  I mean, she looked great, as all of the HACKS figures do, but I wasn’t enthralled.

I am now.

Like Eurayle, the simplicity of Aiyana is one of her strengths.  With a simple grass top and grass skirt (plus the gauntlets and leg coverings) you can truly appreciate the impressive sculpting and articulation of the base figure, which is the same as the female base figure we’ve gotten countless times before, but that doesn’t detract from the amazing articulation, balance and poseability that exists within it.  Aiyana’s joints are smooth and pose well, and I really love the way her rocker ankles work.  I keep hoping that perhaps somewhere along the way, the male figures will get the same treatment.

The sculpting and material of the secondaries for Aiyana help sell the figure as well.  They are soft and malleable, easily moving with the limbs and maintaining an awesome look.  They fit snugly, yet are easily removable, the perfect combination of aesthetics and function.

Aiyana’s head sculpt is great as well.  Her understated pointed ears are complimented by the nicely sculpted and decoed hair, which gives her a ton of character.

But at the end of the day, as usual with these simpler figures, it’s the accessories that really take the figures to the next level.

If I have any complaint with this figure or with Lacuna it’s that the female feet still have a real issue fitting on the Boss Fight display stands.  It’s an issue that Boss Fight is aware of, I know, but it would be nice to have that little issue resolved.  It’s tough to do with how small the feet are, though, I’m sure, and in the meantime, the rubber clamps that come with the dozens of skeletons you bought can work just fine.

Accessories

Aiyana comes with a nicely sculpted bow and set of six arrows, which gives you just enough arrows to fit in the quiver with one extra to be fired by the bow itself.  Speaking of the quiver, it’s a great look, definitely capturing that wilderness feel, but with some impressive functionality.  Along with a chamber to hold five arrows, there are also twin sheaths that hold both of Aiyana’s knives.

And her knives are awesome.  The deco and rigid nature of the material makes them look and feel as if they’re sculpted stone.  She can hold both knives very well and they fit perfectly into the quiver as well.  The design of all of these accessories makes them look as if they were crafted by nature, which suits the story of the elves to perfection, yet the gear is all functional and looks great as well.  Aiyana can hold the arrow perfectly between her fingers and can be posed firing the bow better than any 1:18 figure I’ve ever seen.

Yes, Aiyana is a great figure that I didn’t give enough credit to when they were all first revealed.  As an Autumn Archer, I’m looking forward to seeing what else evolves from the elf story, especially the Withered Branch and the potential for spring elves down the line.

Pre-Orders available at BossFightShop.com!