To continue the HACKS Week celebration, I worked with Chris at The Full Force to remaster some of the first Kickstarter videos now with some awesome history and a look back at the mythology behind some of these characters.
Check out the barrage of videos below.
Now this train is moving… I covered the first four figures (Wave 2) of Vitruvian HACKS carded figures yesterday and it was just a precursor to the great stuff in store in Wave 3. I’ve already covered Black Racer, who was one of the Wave 3 figures, but the remaining three (Myrmidon Warrior, Leonidas, and Eurayle) are now posted on the Vitruvian HACKS review page!
Among these three figures is probably my favorite figure of the entire HACKS run so far… you may be surprised at which one it is. Check out the reviews below.
Pre-Order at BossFightShop!
As I looked through images of the Vitruvian HACKS figures throughout the Kickstarter and with every update that Boss Fight Studio, I had visions of which figure I thought would be my favorite. At first it was Leonidas, the ruler of the Spartan army with his identifiable visage, arsenal of weapons, and great armor. Then I thought it would probably be one of the Gorgons with Medusa and Black Racer edging their way up towards the top.
From a character perspective, I latched onto the Myrmidon Warrior as a great looking mercenary, and of course my own personal favorite Stonefist. As the new engineering and gear became more visible, I found myself looking past figures that seemed more… I don’t know… ordinary? Someone like Eurayle, who looked fine, but was essentially a female figure in some kind of ceremonial two piece. She looked fine, but didn’t knock my socks off.
Well, I got her in hand, and much to my own surprise, she rocketed straight to the top of my favorites list. I can’t even explain it. The construction of the figure just feels perfect. The weight, the durability, the articulation, it all comes together and feels about as right as a 4” action figure can feel. Each joint is the perfect tightness, her secondaries look great, but don’t restrict movement at all, and the sculpt of her pulled back snake hair simply looks fantastic. She’s slender, but looks exceedingly strong, a powerful figure in the Gorgon mythology.
Her characterization in the bio card is great as well, the youngest Gorgon sister who seems to have her own hidden agenda as she hypnotizes a private army of Disciples who are willing to do anything for her. I was so captivated by the figure and the character, that I was thrilled that I had a few extra Disciples, and just feeling how great Eurayle was actually made me even more thrilled about the Precurse Medusa, who is built on the same framework.
Everything comes together here. A great character, a nicely poseable figure, nearly perfect construction. She may not have the state of the art engineering of the poseable tail or the layers of body armor and armory of weapons, but everything about her just feels right. She may be one of the best 4” female action figures I’ve ever held in my hand.
If I have any complaint it’s that due to the bare feet of the figure and the rocker ankles, she has some trouble standing on the foot stand. This is an ongoing issue that we’ve seen many times before, and while Boss Fight managed to get around that with the sandled feet and the booted feet, the bare feet don’t fare quite so well. Knowing Boss Fight Studio like I do, I suspect they have some plans to resolve this in some way or another going forward.
Accessories
Eurayle comes with some great weapons as well. Two sets of ornate bladed weapons of varying lengths manage to look regal and lethal all at once. My favorite is probably the longer of the solid blade weapons, though a truly love the look of the interwoven snake-handled knives as well.
Along with this, she comes with arm and leg bands, which at first I thought would be a real pain, but they’re exceedingly flexible and manage to stay in place fairly well, even when moving the figure all around. I was quite surprised at how nicely they compliment her and do not negatively impact the figure as a whole.
Eurayle wasn’t even really on my radar during the Kickstarter, and actually I probably only own her because she was part of the All In package, but good grief I’m glad I got her. Far and away one of the nicest 4” action figures I’ve ever held, she manages to stand out amongst an already crowded field of fantastic Vitruvian HACKS figures which is really saying something.
Check out the video review below!
Summary
The younger sister of Medusa is also the best Gorgon sister of them all. Flawless construction, understated, yet perfect paint applications, and just the right assortment of cool accessories gives us one of the finest Vitruvian HACKS figures I’ve seen to date and one of my favorite female action figures ever. Stellar, stellar work to all involved. This one is an absolute winner.
Pre-Order at BossFightShop!
At this point, mostly thanks to the Zack Snyder film, 300, the character of Leonidas is one that is relatively well known in popular culture. One would assume, with the decision to focus on Spartans with their first series, that Boss Fight Studio would endeavor to produce a figure of Sparta’s most notorious leader, and they did.
The majority of this figure is the same as what we’ve seen in previous figures, at least from a structural standpoint. He’s got the same greatly articulated base figure, with the easily swapping parts, nearly flawless sculpting, and impressive articulation. From a long range aesthetic, he fits very nicely with the rest of the Spartan figures, but there are some subtle changes that differentiate him just enough.
First of all, his bearded head sculpt is different than the one released with the standard Spartan Warrior, though it’s the same one we see on the NJCC exclusive Ultimate Spartan. It’s a really well done sculpt, with great detail on the beard, and very nice paint applications. With all of the Vitruvian HACKS figures I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing so far, I haven’t noticed many issues with sloppy paint apps on the face, and the eyes in particular have been really nicely done. Considering how tricky that is for even large scale toy factories, it bears mention here.
Leonidas’ skin tone is closer to the standard Spartan than the Ultimate and he isn’t caked with mud, dirt, and blood like the Ultimate version. His armor is nice and polished bronze, and he’s got some great dark trim on his skirting that differentiates him from the more standard Spartan soldiers. The color scheme is similar enough to jive with the rest, but just enough differences to help him stand out. Just when I forget how great these basic figures are, I crack open one that doesn’t have a whole lot of bells and whistles, but the core figure is just so good that it makes me remember what a foundation Boss Fight Studio has built here.
Accessories
Leonidas comes with a really nice assortment of accessories, though after seeing a figure like the Ultimate Spartan, it can feel a little less impressive. From the perspective of a normal release carded figure, however, I’m extremely impressed by the sheer amount of weapons he comes with.
Leonidas has a helmet, spear, four swords, a sheath as well as his trusty Spartan shield along with the standard swappable hands and foot stand. It’s a veritable arsenal of gear, and I think it suits him quite well.
I’ve already stated in another review that I much prefer the raw armored look of the Spartans over the slightly more decorative Athenians, Myrmidons, etc… and Leonidas is no exception. He’s got the terrific base body, but is a more central character in the mythology and the darker trim distinguishes him from his peers. A great figure as part of a great series.
Summary
Everything there is to love about the Spartans, all in one awesome package. A unique, well known character with a great new head sculpt, the same excellent base Spartan figure with accessories, plus some nice, different gear. Leonidas seems to be a potential lynchpin to this conflict, and it’s awesome to get him included in the line up. I’ve been waiting for this guy!
Pre-Order at BossFightShop!
The Myrmidon Warriors have a storied place in the history of Greek Mythology. Legends say this team of highly trained soldiers was led by Achilles after Zeus created them from a colony of ants. Throughout Homer’s Iliad they fought alongside Achilles in the Trojan War, and it’s pretty awesome to see that history twisted somewhat and see them in combat against the Gorgons. Part of the joy of the Vitruvian HACKS toy line has been doing some further research into the depths of Greek Mythology and finding where some of this inspiration was drawn and trying to see how that might shape future installments. I’m not sure how many more figures within the realm of the Greek theme Boss Fight Studio might produce but for every moment of research I do, the possibilities continue to emerge. The great thing about the HACKS format is that even if Boss Fight doesn’t make your favorite hero (or army) it’s not at all difficult to just do it yourself!
Looking past history and just at the Myrmidon himself, we find an excellent figure to supplement your Spartan armies. Described as a mercenary on the bio card or a “Soldier of Fortune” on the package itself, the Myrmidons appear to be soldiers for hire who the Spartans bring in to assist in battle with the Horde. The dark skinned Myrmidons have fantastic layered armor (the same we originally saw with Talos) which has some fantastic texture and sculpting throughout.
The color of the armor is very dark, an almost black hue trimmed with bright, vibrant gold. It’s an excellent combination of colors brought to life in just the right way. The gold is a perfect compliment that doesn’t overwhelm the darker armor and does just what it’s supposed to do in bringing some nice color out without sacrificing the stealth natures of the darkness.
His helmet and shin guards are the more ornate decorative ones, with each curved line brushed in the gold trim and the effect is excellent. As with each HACKS figure, the base articulation is terrific and I really love the bald head sculpt used here, too.
Accessories
With the thick, layered chest and leg armor, the Myrmidon Warrior looks like a force to be reckoned with. He comes with a great helmet, sheath, sword and fairly ordinary shield. He’s not burdened with a ton of gear, which actually makes sense given his needs for being mobile and fast moving, depending on where the next payday comes from. I really love the scorpion emblem on the shield, it adds a nice flair to the accessories for sure.
This is another figure I was pleasantly surprised by. During the Kickstarter it felt as if the Spartans themselves and the Gorgons were the highlight, while a lot of stuff was sprinkled in as filler for each side of the conflict, but I gotta say, the Myrmidon is another key piece of the HACKS collection and a terrific accentuation of the Spartan troops.
For the video review, look below.
Summary
Another great addition to the human army, the Myrmidon Warrior is a group with a storied past in Greek Mythology. Their place in the Trojan War is the stuff of legends, and I’m exceedingly excited to see where their inclusion in the HACKS line leads. The figure itself is well done with some really rich and interesting color combinations, great parts selections, and a nice, if somewhat small, set of accessories. Not the showcase of the line, but a great supporting member, and I love their mercenary backdrop.
It turns out the moderate lull in G.I. Joe news presents a great opportunity to focus on an obscure new toy line that I’m sure nobody reading this page has ever heard about…
I was fortunate enough to be able to get my hands on the second shipment of HACKS figures from my Kickstarter pledge… now seven days, nearly 800 images and 4 gigabytes worth of digital files later, the reviews can now begin!
My intention is to devote a day to each wave, then to the exclusives, then the accessory packs, blanks and skeletons. I’m still working on these, so time will tell how successful I am at meeting that schedule, but I’m giving it the old college try.
Today, over on the Vitruvian HACKS review page, I’ve posted the full line up of Wave 2 carded figures, including Stheno, Underworld Warrior, Athenian Warrior, and the Green Mamba.
I’ve been friends with the folks in Boss Fight for many years, but I am trying very hard to look at these things through an unfiltered eye. Hopefully I have some success. Check out the reviews below and I look forward to rolling through this fun week of HACKS greatness!
Wave 2
