It’s pretty incredible how much mileage good designers can get out of a common base figure with some color and parts alterations. While Medusa received a pretty heavy overhaul with her armored bits, both Black Racer and the Coral Snake are exactly the same, minus different heads and different paint apps.
You know what? That’s okay.
As I mentioned, the snake body base female figure is good enough that it’s hard to complain about seeing it reused. Plus, considering there’s a Gorgon army out there, I see no reason not to embrace and appreciate the different various of these creatures based on real life snakes.
At first, I was really drawn to the Black Racer. For some reason I just loved the stark black paint apps, the screaming serpentine mouth, all complimented by really nice gold armor. As I get into these, though, I find myself really loving the Coral Gorgon with the very nicely done brown/red, black and yellow snake skin paint scheme. It looks very much like you’d expect a coral snake to look, and adds some great variation compared to the straight black Racer.
Both figures, like Medusa, are sculpted and articulated to perfection, retaining the perfect blend of slim design, durability, and range of motion. It’s great seeing the different color schemes together, and I really look forward to getting more of these.
The Coral Gorgon’s head is solemn, but malevolent, with wide, yellow eyes and a firm grimace. Where Black Racer looks like she’s about to bite your face off, the Coral is simply contemplating how your flesh tastes, not actually taking a sample.
However, it would be cool if, perhaps in an upcoming accessory pack, we get some alternate heads for the existing Gorgons, so we could see a Coral with her mouth stretched open in the Black Racer scream.
The Coral Gorgon isn’t quite as well equipped as her darker scaled sister, only coming with the bone headress, a sword, and a shield (along with the battle stand and alternate hands, of course). I imagine the added paint applications on the tail might have pushed cost high enough that the sheath could not be included. Not a major deal at all, in my mind, though I do love that sheath.
Speaking of the hands, one set that has the up-down wrist joint, and a second set with back-and-forth wrist joints is included, so you can swap out to your heart’s desire. This appears to be standard release with each figure.
The sword is firm plastic, meaning no worry about warping, and as I mentioned in the Black Racer review, the shield has a clever way to attach to the arm. A thick, plastic clasp can be unfolded behind the shield, then closed around the arm, and it holds pretty tight. On the female figures, you can also wedge their fingers into the handle for that extra attachment.
As I also mentioned in the Black Racer review, the figures are incredibly customizable, with removable pieces nearly everywhere, and while fitting quite snug, the gauntlets and chest armor are pretty easily removable.
I find myself really loving the brown/red and black/yellow paint scheme running up and down the tail of the Coral Gorgon, and in spite of her calmer demeanor, she feels a bit more sinister with that tight grimace and glaring eyes. Even without the sheath, I think I enjoy this figure just a bit more than her darker compatriot, though they are both, obviously fantastic.
Coral Gorgon
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.1
Summary
I have grown immediately fond of the snake body used for the three Gorgons in our first Vitruvian HACKS shipment, and I believe the Coral Gorgon wears that suit the best. Her intricate paint scheme is vibrant and appealing, and I find her calm, serpentine face to be quite disturbing.
Looking at the three Gorgons, it’s obvious that Medusa received a pretty heavy overhaul with her armored bits, but Black Racer and the Coral Snake are exactly the same, minus different heads and different paint apps.
That’s cool with me.
The snake base body is fantastic, and as I slowly amass an army (or Gorgon horde if you will) I believe I’ll appreciate each and every little variation of this figure design.
During the initial Kickstarter campaign, I really grew fond of Black Racer (which is why I’ve got two of them), but getting her in hand, the lack of paint apps does drop her down a couple of notches in comparison to her more elaborately decoed “sisters”.
Comparing head sculpts, the Black Racer has a very elongated, serpent-like head, stretched open in an angry scream. Meanwhile, the Coral’s head is more serious and not nearly as aggressive, yet somehow oozes evil. The two compliment each other quite nicely.
It would be awesome if perhaps Boss Fight might consider some additional body parts, so maybe we could get a Black Racer paint scheme on the Coral head and vice versa. Having a closed mouth Racer would make for a very cool compliment to the screaming version, just like a screaming Coral Gorgon would be cool to mix in with the serious ones.
Now from a customizing perspective, I should note that Black Racer (as well as all the snake ladies) have several areas where they can be disassembled, as shown below. The unique “dumbbell” shape of the neck joint lets the head sit further down on the neck, yet it can also be used with other “socket” heads throughout other toy lines pretty effectively.
Both the Coral and Black Racer come with similar accessories, including the terrific looking snake skull and spine headdress, the gold chest plate armor and the gold gauntlets. However, while the Black Racer comes with a sword, shield, and sheath, the Coral Gorgon only comes with the sword and shield. It seems as if the reward for less paint applications on the Black Racer is the inclusion of a place to slide her sword.
Like every other figure in the assortment, Black Racer comes with an extra set of hands, with the jointed wrists for each direction.
The sword is firm plastic,and the shield has a great way to attach to the arm, just as it does with the other figures here. A thick, plastic clasp can be unfolded behind the shield, then closed around the arm, and it holds pretty tight. On the female figures, you can also wedge their fingers into the handle for that extra attachment.
With just a hint of variety, the Black Racer and Coral Gorgon look great individually, but are also fantastic compliments to each other, each one with a nice look and feature set that the other doesn’t have. The snake body continues to blow me away, even after three different figures, and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on more of these things. Pure beauty.
Black Racer
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4.2
Summary
This dark and foreboding Gorgon warrior captivated me right away, and I actually ended up buying a pair during the Kickstarter campaign. In hand, I find her not quite as impactful as both Medusa or the Coral Gorgon, but with her screaming head sculpt and foreboding blackness, she still has a nasty attitude that I love.
The figure that started it all… when Boss Fight Studio first announced this new Vitruvian HACKS line, the Spartan soldier was front and center, and from my perspective, things have only gotten better.
As I mentioned in my overview of the line itself, I don’t have any particular love for Greek mythology or the whole Spartan concept, but I can appreciate good action figures, and that’s exactly what we’ve got here.
Under the covers, the base figure is a picture perfect example of what happens when you combine incredible sculpting, intuitive design, and great construction all into a single figure. The musculature of the Spartan Warrior is tightly designed and nearly seamless, yet retains an incredible amount of articulation, more than I’ve seen on almost any other 4″ action figure ever. Even without armor, just posing and playing with a plain Spartan figure has been a blast, making small adjustments to waist rotation, torso posing, etc…
The joints move very freely, yet hold tight, remaining solid even after taking parts off and replacing with others. The base figure itself is pretty incredible, and I’m thrilled that it will remain the base figure for many future waves. Boss Fight certainly started on the right foot here.
A relatively plain looking bearded head sits utop the Spartan figure, with no alternate heads in the package. It’s a great head sculpt and looks relatively generic enough, though once some flesh colored blanks become available, it’ll be nice to add some variety to be sure. Paint apps here are pretty straight forward, with a base flesh color, brown shorts, and nicely detailed sandals. Interesting to note is that the feet do not contain rocker ankles, just a swivel and tilt. When rocker ankles are done well, I think they’re very effective, but I’ll fully admit that it’s very tough to do them well.
On top of the figure we have a great piece of chest armor with decorative tail, adding some beef and protection to the Spartan underneath. The polished metal paint apps look great and the armor fits exceptionally snugly, so it doesn’t end up restricting range of motion much at all even when on.
Spartan Warrior also comes with a helmet, spear, two swords and a single sheath, fully equipped and ready for battle. The spear and two swords are rigid plastic, and he can hold all of his weapons really nicely in either set of hands. The helmet is a bit different than the other two Spartan type figures in this wave, with a braided tail that comes off the end of the headdress on top. I really like that he comes with a pair of swords, that adds a neat element to the figure that keeps him apart from the others.
For someone who is usually a fan of extremely intricate futuristic military figures, it feels odd to be so interested in a figure based on centuries old mythology. That being said, the construction and execution of the Spartan Warrior is enough to win me over, even without any tactical vests or heavy machine guns.
Spartan Warrior
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4
Summary
The fiercest soldier in all of history gets translated into especially hard-edged plastic, with Boss Fight Studios’ fantastic foray into Spartan mythology. Excellent articulation, great paint deco, and a level of interchangability the likes of which have never been seen in a 4″ toy line. The Spartan Warrior is spectacular.
In the grand scheme of things, as much as I’m a toy fan, I’m also a story fan, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t real sure on where the “story” elements of a toyline based on Greek mythology would come from. Thankfully, Boss Fight has done a really good job building a story with the filecards on the back of the packages, and even two figures made to resemble statues can somehow end up having personality.
The Cursed Spartan is obviously based on what might happen if a Spartan got caught in Medusa’s gaze, but the way the story is written, these Cursed Spartans could have strange superhuman powers while being frozen in stone, and if Medusa is slain, they could end up coming back to life, even in a more modern era.
Obviously, main story aside, it’s the deco of these two figures that really makes them stand out.
The Cursed Spartan is painted to resemble a stone texture, with some layered grays and a darker overspray that mimics some of the texture you might see with stones or rocks. The figure comes with a bald head, rather than the bearded head of the Spartan, but comes with the same smooth chest armor as the Spartan Warrior. On his lower legs is the same armor as the standard Spartan as well, nicely form fitted, but removable, made of a softer material than the regular plastic. It’s amazing just how snugly the leg armor fits over the lower legs, it’s completely removable but does not look at all bulky or out of place.
One thing I did notice was that the paint on the chest armor was still just a little bit tacky. Not terrible, but there’s definitely some stickiness there.
Along with the armor, Cursed Spartan comes with a stone deco helmet, sword, spear, and shield.
Overall, I really love the deco, the overspray paint applications look remarkably like stone, and it’s amazing how detailed the paint work is, and how much some simple color layers can replicate material.
If I have any complaints, it might be that while the straight Spartan Warrior comes with only a bearded head, the Cursed Spartan comes only with a bald one. It would have been neat if they both could have had the same head, so you could have this figure be a stone version of the existing Spartan Warrior. A very minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.
If you’d told me I’d be in love with two figures who were painted to look like immovable artwork, I’d have said you were crazy, but the variations in paint scheme with both figures truly injects new life into the Spartan base figure, and I find myself truly enjoying the way they both look.
As I went through this review I found myself swapping out Spartan parts for Cursed parts, and showing a cool series of “progression” shots as a hapless warrior was turned to stone. This figure is just a heck of a lot of fun.
Cursed Spartan
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
3.6
Summary
Yay, a stone statue of the world’s most deadly warrior. That would make for a great toy (said no one ever). Yet, somehow, Boss Fight manages to do just that. With a spectacular stone spray deco and the excellent base figure underneath, the Cursed Spartan manages to look fantastic and be just as fun to play with as his more lively brother.
While I can appreciate great toys, I’m one of those pesky collectors who likes to know where my characters come from. As I mentioned in the Cursed Spartan review, Boss Fight has done a great job building a story with the packages, and even two figures made to resemble statues can somehow end up having personality.
Talos, the Eternal Bronze Warrior is based on the legend of Talos, the man of bronze, who circles the island of Crete, protecting it. The filecard actually mentions four separate men (army builders GO!) made of bronze who traveled under the sea in pursuit of Poseidon.
Obviously, main story aside, it’s the deco of these two figures that really makes them stand out.
Where the Cursed Spartan is layers of gray and black, Talos is colored a very metallic bronze, with some faded green highlights, giving the impression of an aged bronzed statue, just as one might expect. The effect is truly stunning. As I was taking pictures for this review, I was messing with the sharpness settings and it’s incredible just how metallic Talos looks in the images, simply from a perfectly executed paint scheme.
Talos was a Kickstarter exclusive, so is not available on the pre-order page, but even as such is a figure you’ll want to track down. The metallic paint spray is nearly flawless, making the figure truly look like a statue come to life. Like other Spartan based figures, he has a helmet, spear, shield, and sword with sheath, also coming with two sets of hands.
His head is a bearded head, not the bald head of the Cursed Spartan, and he looks old and grizzled, which is a pretty cool look. I believe the head he sports is the same one that will be used with the upcoming Leonidas.
His armor isn’t the same smooth armor as other figures, but instead is a more chain mail look, and I really love the texture mixed with the layers of metallic paint. It has a raised hook in the back of the vest, too, I imagine to hold the spear (at least that’s what I have it doing.
Ultimately both Talos and the Cursed Spartan had the potential to be dull, simply because they’re figures built to look like immovable objects. Thanks to some clever history, however, and terrific paint work, both figures manage to illicit a ton of play value as well as looking great on the shelf. Who could ask for more?
Talos, the Bronze Warrior
Character
Sculpt
Articulation
Paint Deco
Accessories
4
Summary
I half expected this figure to feel like a lead miniature when I picked it up, just because the paint work was so flawless it looked metallic. One of those especially photogenic decos, Talos is an intriguing and fun addition to the Vitruvian HACKS toy line, and I’m really having a blast with him. His armor and leg guards are slightly different than the other two released Spartan figures, adding some nice variety, and I’m really digging his thick, curled bearded head. A far better figure than I thought it might be.
