I’m running a little behind on reviewing the FSS figures, but I’m trying to play some catch up!
I have posted the FSS 4.0 Barricade and Night Creeper to my G.I. Joe Collectors Club review page. You can also check out the direct links below.
There are a few things I immediately take away from my early experiences with the Amazon (Elite Warrior) Vitruvian HACKS figure (available exclusively from Kokomo Toys and All the Cool Stuff).
First and foremost, this is the first human female figure that has been released in the HACKS line so far, and I cannot say enough fantastic things about its construction, articulation, and overall durability. The female buck is sculpted somewhat slimmer than the male buck, yet still maintains the excellent range of motion, and doesn’t feel significantly more fragile in any way. She moves and plays just as effectively as the male, and as my six year old grabbed her from the review station and started doing battle with Evil Lyn, my heart skipped a beat somewhat, but the end result was 15 minutes of fun play time for my kid, and no damage done to the Amazon.
The second thing I immediately took away was that Boss Fight Studio is using their tooling dollars very wisely and has already managed to supply themselves with a library of parts that can extend their own lives by complimenting many different kinds of figures.
Her upper torso and arms are the same as the Gorgons we’ve seen so far (though the Gorgons have a different lower torso to jive with their snake tails). She has the same bracers and similar chest armor as the snake ladies as well, and with an amazingly vibrant sort of brushed metal silver deco that really makes the figure pop.
Unlike the Spartans, the leather skirt is a separate piece from the torso armor, and it’s sculpted to look remarkably like real leather, with very fine texture bringing some great depth to the accessory. I also love the loop on the back which enables the Amazon to hold her sword effortlessly back there.
The Amazon’s paint scheme is terrific, with an excellent and realistic skin tone and these incredible paint tampo tattoos that are intricate and fantastic. They bring a ton of character to the figure and the paint masks used to produce them are spectacular. I love the look.
Like the Spartans, she has nearly flawless articulation, and with the Amazon they even added rocker ankles which only serves to enhance the realism of the way she can pose. I have had very mixed reactions with rocker ankles in other toylines as they can sometimes be fragile or cause the foot pegs to not fit in all the way. Neither of these appears to be an issue with the Amazon, as her ankles tilt perfectly, yet still maintain a nicely deep heel hole for the foot peg. I really like the sculpted sandals on her feet as well. I am exceedingly impressed with my first exposure to a human female figure within the Vitruvian HACKS line and fine myself antsy for their fantasy series. My aforementioned six year old daughter has a major affinity for fairies and has already asked me to give her one of the HACKS fairies for her birthday.
As much as I love the structural qualities of the Amazon, it’s the paint deco that really makes it shine, with the combination of skin tone, warpaint (tattoos?), bright silver armor and the dark leather skirt. She’s a very vibrant and exciting looking figure.
ACCESSORIES
The Amazon Elite Warrior is extremely well accessorized. She comes with two axes, two separate helmets, a shield, a sword, and a spear. The shield has a new deco which looks really great. Like the other female Gorgons, she can hold her shield much better than the male figures, and looks truly imposing once she’s all decked out with her gear.
Exclusive domestically to Kokomo Toys and internationally to All the Cool Stuff, this Amazon Elite Warrior has been selling quite briskly. If you want one for yourself (as well you should) you should pull the trigger quickly. She’s got great construction, terrific articulation, and a really exciting paint scheme which all combines to give us a really great figure and an excellent introduction to the female human form within Vitruvian HACKS.
Buy this figure from Kokomo Toys and All the Cool Stuff!
Summary
Capable of going toe-to-toe with any enemy on Earth, the fearless Amazon Elite Warriors look like the bad ass soldiers they are. Great sculpting, impressive articulation (with some rocker ankles that are actually functional!) and intricate detailed paint work, this is a figure for the Gorgons to fear. Available in very limited quantities domestically from Kokomo Toys and internationally from All The Cool Stuff, she is the perfect compliment to your Spartan army. A great figure!
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Buy this guy on on eBay now!
I have to think that there will come a time when receiving a new Vitruvian HACKS figure isn’t such a special occasion. Sometime, maybe a few years down the road, after I own a few series of figures, it’ll just be kind of “oh, cool, a new HACKS shipment”.
For now, though? Not so much. At this point, the arrival of a new HACKS action figure is something to be celebrated and something to get very excited for, even when it’s an exclusive item that is little more than a repainted version of an existing figure.
In truth, though, the New Jersey Collectors’ Con Ultimate Spartan figure is more than just a repainted figure, especially so early in the line’s life. He comes with a wealth of different accessories, some of which have not been seen yet, as well as a new head sculpt, which looks to be the same head that’s coming with Leonidas, though I’m not 100% certain of that yet.
For the most part, the Ultimate Spartan is the same base figure as the standard release Spartan with the excellent sculpting and articulation we’ve already gotten used to with other figures. He has fantastic range of motion in his elbows and knees, and I just love the number of different dynamic poses he can get into, just like the other figures. I find that I don’t mind the fact that he closely resembles other Spartans, as it makes it a bit easier to troop build and add some variety to your Spartan legions.
I really like the Leonidas head sculpt with the longer, bushier beard and pretty distinctive look on his face. I would encourage Boss Fight to find a way to maybe get more spare heads out in accessory packs, because once Leonidas is released, I would think you might want to differentiate the ground troops a little bit more. The Blanks will be a good start, but I know I’m not a big fan of eye painting.
The Ultimate Spartan paint deco is pretty fantastic as well. Covered from head to toe in realistic mud/blood spatter he looks like a trooper that has been through the worst that battle has to offer. His skin tone is a bit darker than the other Spartan as well, which is a nice addition to the figure. The spatter detail work is absolutely fantastic with different layers of color differences that really make the figure stand out look exciting. I love that detail work, and although I only bought a single standard Spartan Warrior, I made sure to get a couple of the Ultimates, as it makes sense to me that the ground troops would be the ones that got themselves a little dirtied up.
ACCESSORIES
Aside from the addition of the really nice spatter detail, the Ultimate Spartan comes with a ton of accessories, many of which we have not yet seen before. Several different swords, the familiar scabbard and spear, four different helmets, two axes, two different shields, plus the armor and leather skirt that the standard Spartans come with. All of these different accessories really encourage army building as you can deck out a bunch of Spartans with a bunch of different accessories to really build out your Spartan army and have them look different. Each weapon fits seamlessly into the Spartan’s hand, with the exception of the shields, but that is a known issue at this point with that handle at the end.
Right now the recommendation is to remove the hand at the wrist, slip the shield handle on, then plug the hand back in.
As an exclusive to the New Jersey Collectors Con, the Ultimate Spartan is a pretty fantastic addition to an already robust line of Vitruvian HACKS figures. I remain ecstatic every time I get a new figure in the mail, and find a lot to love about pretty much every one of them. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the box art for the Ultimate Spartan as well. It really is fantastic. Very dramatic and really fun, a nice presentation for the NJCC exclusive.
Summary
As an exclusive to the 2016 Spring New Jersey Collectors’ Convention, the Ultimate Spartan is a significant repaint to the standard Spartan Warrior, and stands apart in nearly every way. With a plethora of fantastic accessories and a staggeringly brutal paint deco, the Ultimate Spartan has been in the bowels of war and looks the part. A fantastic figure and a great value, this is one you’ll want to get your hands on.
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For those folks not fortunate enough to make it to the New Jersey Collectors Convention last weekend, you still have a chance to get your Vitruvian HACKS NJCC Ultimate Spartan figure.
The organizers of NJCC have posted a bunch of the Ultimate Spartans on eBay for sale to folks who couldn’t make the show.
Check it out below: