Happy Monday and I’m adding to the review queue today with a three pack of reviews for the Vitruvian Basics line from Boss Fight Studio! Designed as a less expensive alternative to facilitate army building and customizing, these Basics figures also manage to add some fantastic depth to the mythology and integrate real nicely with the Character Creator Kits as well.
Check out these three reviews at the Vitruvian Basics Review Page or click the links directly below. Also don’t forget that the VitruvianFACTS Wiki Page is out there, too for some more great detail on this fantastic toy line!
Rejoice! Volumes 2 and 3 of James Kavanaugh, Jr’s excellent Rank & File G.I. Joe guides are now LIVE on Kickstarter and ready for funding! Volume 2 has been sold out for a while and Volume 3 is dangerously close, so here is a perfect opportunity to get them both in production again.
Sitting at just over $1,500 already there’s a ton of great content crammed within these guides and you’re not going to want to miss out. Check out the press release below and help get these great guides funded!
Press Release
I am pleased to announce that, after a successful Rank & File volume 1 reprint campaign, the Kickstarter for volumes 2 and 3 is live! These resource guides are really picking up steam and now selling out inside of a year.
The Rank & File series archives the history of 4″ G.I. Joe and currently has three volumes produced with at least three more in the works. Volume 4 is coming this summer! This reprint was also updated to account for some carry forward action figures produced after the guide’s initial print run, as well as some additional information and error correction. Below is the description for Rank & File volumes 2 and 3:
After a brief hiatus in 2006, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero went in a new stylistic direction that is still predominately used today! Fans revisited some of their most cherished icons within the G.I. Joe mythos and were introduced to new characters that are now known and loved. Rank & File volume 1 captured these action figures in a resource guide and is currently on its second reprint. Rank & File volum3 2 is sold out and volume 3 is days away from selling out!
The Rank & File Guide volumes 2 and 3 archive the remaining mass produced G.I. Joe product by fully displaying every G.I. Joe action figure produced between theThe Rise of Cobra, The Pursuit of Cobra, 30th Anniversary/Renegades, Retaliation, 50, and G.I. Joe Basic Asst. series; complete with every accessory and variation produced. Not only are the accessories shown alongside the action figures, they have been carefully cataloged in an upcoming volume to guarantee the proper shade of accessory goes to the appropriate action figure. To top it off, every vehicle and play set released in the 4″ era has been documented and every easily removable piece has been individually photographed, ensuring collector completion. Theses full color, 52 page and 48 page (respectably) resource manuals beautifully illustrate the six series’ combined 328 action figures, 77 vehicles, and every accessory, including all known variations. Not only is every accessory present and accounted for, they have each been assigned a unique number and identified throughout the resource guides. Each action figure has been carefully examined between its initial run and further re-releases to ensure that an accurate sample is clearly and concisely presented; perfect for the collector who is identifying individual action figures or sorting through unorganized lots.
Whether you’re a seasoned or rejuvenated collector, enthusiast, or toy vendor; the Rank & File Guidebooks are the definitive compilation for G.I. Joe action figures, vehicles and play sets produced between 2007 to today. Let the Rank & File Guidebooks serve as a reference for completion or a scrapbook to the next big turning point of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
This Kickstarter not only allows you to be the first to have reprints of Rank & File volumes 2 and 3 in hand, it also provides a chance to obtain some rare and fun items, primarily some of the very action figures cataloged in these guidebooks. This particular Kickstarter even has a fans choice contest to potentially release the alternate cover I chose not to use for volume 2’s original run. You decide! The demand has been heard and the time is nigh, let’s bring back Rank & File volumes 2 and 3 for another round!
One final note, the supply of Rank & File volume 3 is available but dwindling. Order your copy at www.rahcguide.com or chose it from one of the great Kickstarter options in the link above! This Kickstarter’s immediate goal is to replenish stock for the 2018 International G.I. Joe Convention. These guides will only be available if this Kickstarter is successful.
First and foremost – this review was done with some early painted prototypes and the final product may vary slightly. That being said, these items are very close to production status… and a ton of fun to boot!
Ever since I first started making dio-stories like 16 years ago (good grief how old am I?) I’ve been dying for a modular diorama/base system to use with my G.I. Joe figures. Some things have come and gone over the years, and recently I’ve been drawn to the Chain Base model, but those can be complicated and usually have to be imported from Japan.
But now, Raginspoon toys is ramping up to start offering their own customizable base model, including swappable floor panels and wall panels with a ton of expandability and some great features for 1:18 action figure fanatics.
NOTE – The color of “Desert Tan” will be much more tan and much less yellow in the final version! The below color is a closer match:
Above is a Complex “Wall Panel” which comes in two separate colors, “Urban Gray” or “Desert Tan”, and as you can see above you can remove the two panels (or just one) to create a door or window. When you do remove just one of the panels to create a window, there is a hole in the lower panel that works with some of the connectors from one of your favorite 1:18 military toy lines…
As you can also see, the smaller holes here (and throughout the rest of the base parts) can accommodate backpacks (or other similarly sized peg items) from the same or similar toy lines.
Along with these wall panels are different types of floor panels, also available in “Urban Gray” or “Desert Tan”.
These floor panels can also double as additional wall panels if you need to expand your base. The floor panels (like the walls) reversible to show a metal grate pattern or a more concrete pattern on the opposite side. Then, in order to combine the floor panels with the wall panels, connectors are available as well.
The gray connectors seen above slide into grooves within the walls and floors in order to assemble the bases into any number of different configurations. As you can see above, the connectors can have one tab, two tabs, three tabs, or a fully decked out four tab system in order to provide flexibility and aesthetics when connecting the pieces together.
The last two images above are a “Desert Tan” end connector with a step. The end connector is designed to go underneath one of the wall panels with the step plugging into it to create a “step up” look for a door.
Note: The end connector and step will be colored in the same “Urban Gray” as the other parts in the final version, NOT the yellowish/tan.
So, the real question – how does this all work?
Really, REALLY well. I was fortunate enough to get some of these ahead of release so I could play around with them, and I am having a blast. The walls and floors slide together via the gray connectors really smoothly and are easy to take apart and put together, yet also hold together amazingly well. You can design single level bases, or lift the walls up higher by stacking, which makes these things exceptionally flexible. The various holes throughout the bases provide any number of points for adding tech detail or other things, and with a little creativity you can totally ramp up the usability of all of these pieces.
These items are NOT cast items, they are factory produced overseas and currently available for pre-order at SmallJoes.com. The material is solid and durable for the walls, floors, and all connecting pieces as well. Trust me when I say I beat on these pretty hard while taking pictures for the review and suffered no breakages or even weakness in any of the connecting joints at all. They work remarkably well and are only hindered by your imagination.
As I mentioned, the floors are double-sided and can be used as either floor pieces or wall pieces. The walls themselves are also double-sided and provide some cool additional detail on the external facing side, so not only do these make for great interior dio’s, but there’s some good flexibility for outside appearance as well.
In my nearly two decades of looking for unique ways to put together dioramas and dio-stories, this has been one of the most user-friendly and flexible ways to put together excellent next generation bases for your favorite action figures, big or small. The folks at Raginspoon also have some BIG things in the works for a second wave and going forward, which will take these sets and ramp them up big time. If these move there are even more fantastic items in the works for the future, so get them while you can over at SmallJoes.com!
Also, make sure you are following the Raginspoon Facebook Page and Instagram for the latest information on these sets and potential future sets to come.
Complex Base Building System
Sculpt
Durability
Paint Deco
Flexibility
5
Summary
A brand new, factory produced system for building and enhancing bases and dioramas for your favorite action figures of any scale! Whether you’re a fan of 1:18 military figures, convertible robots, space battle figures, or any other manner of awesome mass produced toys, these Complex Base Systems will work for it all. Tons of options, a wealth of customizing and enhancement capacity, and the building blocks for what looks like a truly impressive line going forward. Get on the ground floor on this one, you won’t want to miss it!
For the first time ever, Boss Fight Studio is mixing series within a single assortment, giving us fantasy figures and Greek mythology figures both in wave 1 of the Basics line. I’m really glad they did.
Alongside the Castle Guard and Nocturnal Hunter, they released the Archer of Molpadia, an Amazonian archer to further compliment your already impressive Amazon armies. To be honest, my love for the Amazon figures in the HACKS Series 01 line was completely unexpected, but that whole range of characters and figures are among my favorites in the entire line. From the unique armor to the leather combat skirts, the various weapons, and the character sculpted into each one, I really enjoy the Amazon figures and I’m truly excited to see an addition to their ranks.
With the Archer of Molpadia, they’ve added some long range weaponry capacity to an already excellent group of warriors and made a really terrific figure to go along with it. This archer uses the same female build as other figures, but with the head of the Tartarus Guard painted in Caucasian flesh tone with nicely hued blonde hair. Instead of the standard Amazon armor, she wears Medusa’s torso, shoulder, and arm bracers, which is an awesome, unique look.
To trim down on costs, she doesn’t have a ton of accessories, but the ones she has make perfect sense and work exceptionally well for the character. Her paint scheme is also minimal, with simple gold on the armor and weapons, and a red/brown leather for the skirt, which compliment each other to perfection.
All told, the Archer of Molpadia is a fantastic addition, even moreso when you consider the Basics format pricing and packaging.
Accessories
As mentioned the Archer of Molpadia comes with Medusa’s armor, an Amazon skirt, leg armor, a bow and four arrows. The bow that originally came with the Elven Archer works exceptionally well here, and the way the four arrows slide seamlessly into the hook on the back of the skirt is a stroke of genius.
A great, great figure, even if it wasn’t priced 20% less than the standard release options. I love the Archer of Molpadia and really look forward to more great Vitruvian Basics figures along the way.
Archer of Molpadia
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4
Summary
Even at the Basics price point, the Archer of Molpadia is near perfection. Fantastic sculpting and articulation using the default female buck with a truly original and intriguing accessory compliment to help her stand out from her sisters. Great, great figure.
Quickly becoming one of my favorite 4″ action figures ever, Boss Fight Studios Knight of Accord has a lot to love in a small scale. While the beauty of the figure includes all of the separate accessories it comes with, the base figure itself also has a lot to love with the terrific armored torso and cloth covered limbs.
When Boss Fight announced they’d be dipping their toes into lower priced Vitruvian BASICS figures with the idea of creating figures that are a bit more appealing from a price perspective, I wasn’t sure I’d be into them. I mean, the paint deco and accessory compliments are part of what makes their figures great. I should have known, they’re still able to make a figure that is impressive on several levels, even at a price point 20% cheaper than standard.
The Accord Castle Guard uses the same torso, head, legs, hands, and lower arms as the standard Knight, but with new unarmored upper arms. He also comes with less accessories, only including a cloth and armored belts, gauntlets, sword, spear and helmet. Honestly, though even with a somewhat smaller selection of weapons, the figure is amazingly enjoyable and fits in almost seamlessly to the existing Accord roster. Forgoing many of the elaborate paint applications, the Castle Guard simply is silver and black with some blue for the cloth. It’s a gorgeous, clean look and even without all the trimming and trappings, he remains a fantastic figure. Boss Fight used the Orc lower torso as well, which provides a somewhat lower tech look, making the Castle Guard really resemble a Knight that’s not so heavily “geared” up as the others.
It truly is a great effect, and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a whole lot, even though we’re paying 20% less for the figure overall. For some folks they may consider the additional gear worth the 20%, but even looking beyond the Castle Guard being a replacement of the knight, it just makes for a fantastic enhancement to it, and I find myself really enjoying the figure, not because it’s cheaper, but just because it’s a great figure.
These Basics come with simpler blister cards instead of the typical collector friendly packaging, but are also able to include a nice bio on the back regardless. All in all, I truly enjoy these Castle Guard figures, with vibrant color schemes, and interesting accessories to perfectly compliment the existing crew of Knights of the Accord.
Accessories
I really love what Boss Fight did here, giving the Castle Guard just enough accessories to fit in with the knights, without going overboard (and incurring rising costs). Including the helmet, sword, and spear from Series 01 was a stroke of genius as well, accenting the already impressive arsenal of Series 02 weapons without new tooling or sculpting. Very nice.
The Castle Guard is a lot of fun, even for a so called “budget” friendly figure. I can see him not only being perfect for troop building and customizing, but also just as natural enhancements to the standard knights. Regardless of the price point, the figure is really great.
Castle Guard
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.8
Summary
What a great compliment to the existing Knights of Accord! This relatively simple, but excellently crafted Castle Guard checks off all the right boxes and manages to come in 20% less cost-wise than the other HACKS figures, making for a great way to customize, troop build, or just bolster your existing Accord forces. Vibrant colors, great gear, and an all around fun figure.
