Continuing our look at the Gothitropolis Ravens from the Four horsemen, this time we’re taking a quick look at the Owl and the Rooster. Previously Veebee has given us a review on the Flamingo and Duck, and I’ve done the Black Raven.
While the Raven as a central concept would have been a fun one on its own, expanding the line to include a variety of different birds is, ornithologically speaking, pretty cool. And what’s amazing is how well each of them work on the single body and look vastly different just by the use of different color schemes and heads. Mentally, you know you just bought the same thing over and over, but it doesn’t feel that way, if you know what I mean.
There’s not much new that can be said about the body since, as stated, it’s the same body. Well articulated, with plenty of posing possibilities, this is a good body for a bird. I really like the ball joint used for the head, because it allows the birds to get that very realistic head tilt that makes them all the more lifelike.
Owls are, let’s face it, pretty creepy birds. There’s a reason that they went to an owl to find an Earth 3 version of Batman, because they are just plain weird. And hearing that “hoo hoo” of a solitary owl out in the pitch black night doesn’t help their reputation either.
I love the color choice of that electric blue over top the bright orange. The colors rub against each other in just the right way and make a colorfully dissonant yet visually interesting armor for a bird like the Owl to wear.
The staff is utilitarian and gets the job done even if it isn’t as flashy as the one that came with the Raven. One thing I discovered just by accident taking pictures this time around is that the little mace at the end is removable. Not sure what use that info is, but it’s pretty cool, and with a hook already molded into it somebody might want to make their bird a flail of some kind if they want with a little bit of chain and some styrene…or just cut up the staff itself.
Finally, the bird is named Atheneus, so named for a specific genus of owls called athene. Also, in Greek Mythology, Athena was either represented by or accompanied by a Little Owl, or Athena Noctua. She was the Goddess of wisdom, which may have a lot to do with why owls have been portrayed as wise.
Up next we have the Rooster, which also features one of my favorite of the various bird head sculpts. It’s not from a quality standpoint, because they’re all excellent, but there’s something about it that pushes all the right buttons, especially with just the right tilt to it. This guy totally wants to obnoxiously wake me up in the morning, you just know it.
The color scheme is also one of my favorites. The red is nicely color coordinated with his wattles and comb, and the gold accents give him a regal flavor. King Cock, you may say.
Yeah, his name is actually Cockitrus, which is totally giggleworthy but requires no explanation. I like that that actually went for it and didn’t go subtle with his name, or just went with something like “Roosterion” or something. They just went for it: Cockitrus.
The paint jobs on all of them have been great so far, with very few errors. We get so used to fairly bad paint jobs from mass produced figures that the variety of dry-brushing and subtlety that’s going on in the paint here really make these feel high end and worth their price. I don’t know if I’d be tempted to pay the extra money to get better paint on my Black Series Star wars figures, but there would be a temptation if the dry brushing and details were this perky.
Again, some heat was necessary to free some joints, so be careful, but otherwise, these were another pair of great looking birds. Stay tuned next week as we continue our look at the Ravens!
