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.
Leonidas
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.4
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!
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.
Myrmidon Warrior
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.8
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.
Word has started to emerge about a new upcoming action figure line called Animal Warriors of the Kingdom from Spero Toys!
They appear to be shooting to launch a Kickstarter soon and have started a press campaign featuring images from some of their initial release toys. These action figures look to be humanoid animals, which is pretty much right up my alley, and are darn close to a 4″ scale. They look to be highly articulated and pretty intriguing from a design perspective.
GeneralsJoes will absolutely be paying some close attention to these, and I’ll let you know as soon as the Kickstarter hits. Meanwhile, check out some fantastic press photos below, and make sure you’re following Animal Warriors of the Kingdom from Spero Toys on Facebook for all of the latest updates.
Also, head on over to the Spero Toys website for some fantastic concept art and other goodies to take a peek at.
The latest in a long line of Gorgons, the Green Mamba uses the same parts formula as the Black Racer, but in my opinion, executes it 100% better. During the initial Kickstarter campaign, I fell in love with the Black Racer and considered it the top of the Gorgon heap, but for whatever reason, getting it in hand, I lamented somewhat the lack of interesting deco. The Green Mamba takes what I love about the Black Racer, (most notably the awesome rage-induced fang-filled scream face) and convert it into a fantastic green and yellow deco reminiscent of an actual Green Mamba itself.
I find the texture of the surface of the tail works a lot better with the brighter colors and more elaborate patterns on the skin, and the more I look at these gorgons the more ecstatic I get about these figures.
At this point, the Green Mamba is like the fourth or fifth Gorgon that I’ve opened and I never get tired of them. The various poses allowed due to the flexibility of the tail, the structure of the female tooling, the various accessories, it all adds up to build a veritable legion (or horde if you will) of figures that are exciting to display, pose, and play, even after you’ve amassed a small group of them.
The paint work on the Green Mamba is spectacular as well. The bright green surface is offset nicely by the yellow underbelly, and the patterns along the back is really great. There are some minor layered paint differences throughout the body of the snake that look excellent. The gold armor (and helmet) is vibrant and exceptionally shiny, making the Green Mamba really stand out against the more subdued armor of the Black Racer.
Accessories
Like the other Gorgons, the Green Mamba is outfitted with stone deco weaponry, but instead of a sword, she comes equipped with the bad ass two battle axes (along with the standard shield). As if the bright colors and awesome deco weren’t enough, the two axes put this figure even further ahead.
Yes, it’s another Gorgon, and no there aren’t any dynamic new structural elements that make this figure great. However, I absolutely love the build of these gorgons, and the colors here really rock. Add that to the fact that she comes with nearly perfect accessories, and you have a gorgon that rests at the peak. She is my favorite gorgon horde member to date, and I suspect I’ll be getting a few more down the line.
Green Mamba
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.7
Summary
The familiar Gorgon structure with a fantastic new patterned snake motif, the Green Mamba has quickly become my favorite member of the Gorgon Horde. That screaming head looks fantastic in green, I love the deco pattern on the tail, and her accessory compliment is a nice shift from the more standard deployment of sword and sheath. The highlight of Wave 2.
It certainly seems like Hades is a pretty big player in this little Gorgon war. Along with the Undead Warrior, the Tartarus Guard, and the purple skeleton, this Underworld Warrior can be added to list of Hades’ minions.
This particular figure comes with a pretty neat twist, however.
Reading the bio on the back of the package, you see that the Underworld Warrior isn’t just a soldier for Hades army, he’s actually the result of cursed Spartans being reanimated and crafted as defense against the Gorgon horde. Looking at the Cursed Spartan figure next to the Underworld Warrior, you can see many similarities, almost as if Hades walked up to that figure and used his magic to bring it to life. There are some accessory differences, but the essence is there.
The Underworld Warrior is a much darker stone deco than the Cursed Spartan, interwoven with some really nicely done magma kind of paint applications. The effect is very cool, looking almost as if the hapless stone Spartan is splitting under the raw power of Hades’ energy, being forced to life and into battle. The slightly different shades of red, orange and yellow create a really neat decorative effect that not only looks nice, but also creates a really great story.
Colors are pretty basic and not exceptionally varied here, but they look interesting and I really like how the bio card takes the Cursed Spartan into consideration, which leaves some room for interesting story telling behind the scenes.
Accessories
The Underworld Warrior is built much like the Cursed Spartan with the same armor, helmet, and sheath. He’s got two swords, the spear and a more standardized stone shield. That appears to be the main difference, where the Cursed Spartan has that stone Medusa themed shield, the Underworld Warrior’s looks more straight stone without that unique look.
On the surface, the concept of the Underworld Warrior is neat, and I enjoy how it builds upon the Cursed Spartan. I much prefer the Tartarus Guard and Undead Warrior, but at a certain point, complimenting those troops with mindless stone automatons is a really cool concept.
Underworld Warrior
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.8
Summary
Hades continues to unleash his minions against the Gorgon Horde, and I couldn’t be more excited. The Underworld Warrior takes a different track than some of the other Hades oriented folks we’ve seen so far, but I love the idea of him reanimating the stone-crusted corpses of men who have fallen before Medusa. It’s a really neat concept and the magma like deco looks pretty awesome. Some purple elements would have been cool to tie this guy in with some of the others, but I can see how that might not make much functional sense considering where these guys are coming from.
With the Vitruvian HACKS Kickstarter, I officially learned something new… I learned that Medusa actually had sisters. I guess I hadn’t been paying attention during my Greek mythology classes at school.
Stheno is the eldest Gorgon sister, sinister, vindictive, and hateful for what the Gods have cursed her sister with. She stands tall and proud with an amazingly elaborate mane of snake themed hair. Like Medusa, she can also turn men to stone, but her bite also transforms normal humans into Gorgon soldiers. She’s a very intriguing character who I was fascinated to learn more about.
As for the figure itself, Boss Fight gave themselves quite the challenge when they designed Stheno, building out an incredible head sculpt with intricate woven snakes for hair, giving Stheno a quite imposing presence above her two sisters. The result is a figure who I will admit is a little top heavy, plus with her bare feet/rocker ankles, I’m sorry to say the footpegs don’t work quite as well as I’m sure Boss Fight intended.
The figure itself looks magestic and regal with the ornate chest plate armor and snake skin skirt, with trims of gold and a fantastic decoed snake pattern on the back of the skirt. The texture almost looks as if she skinned a large snake and is wearing its hide for protection, which is an intriguing concept.
Her snake themed forearm guards are really nicely done, and the complex pattern of the shin armor looks regal and authoritative as well. Combine this with her head dress and you have an elder Gorgon sister who looks like she’s the maternal member of the clan.
Accessories
Stheno doesn’t come with a lot of accessories. She has a really nicely designed snake themed staff which looks very cool and definitely accentuates the regal nature of her character. Along with that she has a nicely built dagger that is small, but lethal looking. She has the normal battle stand and replaceable hands to round it off.
Stheno looks really nice. Her sculpting is excellent, the overall design is busy, but still incredibly appealing. The deco work is spectacular, and while her accessories are few, they make sense. The sheer weight of her head, a slight lack of functionality due to her overall design aesthetic, and the issues with her foot holes drop down her score somewhat, but as a compliment to her sisters, she still feels like a necessary part of any HACKS collection going forward.
Check out the video review below!
Stheno
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.6
Summary
An impressive and powerful looking character with some amazing design aesthetics and impressive sculpting. The size of her head and hair can limit her poseability somewhat, and the issues with her feet fitting in the footpegs are things that Boss Fight needs to (and likely will) address. All in all, a gorgeous looking figure that would be exceedingly tough to translate into plastic, and Boss Fight does an excellent job doing so.
