After months of anticipation, I finally got my hands on the Fantastic Exclusive Scarabus figure in the form of Light and Dark Talisman variants from the Four Horsemen’s Toypocalypse show. While these two are rare variants with minimalist paint schemes, based on these figures I would say that Scarabus is highest quality Fantastic Exclusive figure yet!
I love the Four Horsemen’s Fantastic Exclusive project. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a yearly contest where the Horsemen allow fans to vote on what figure they will produce and release. Scarabus was the winning character some time ago, but production costs and the Horsemen’s busy schedule delayed the release of Scarabus.
Accessories
Scarabus comes with a grip of accessories. Each package includes:
- 3 sets of hands (Claws, fist and accessory holding).
- One set of flame attachments for the clawed hands.
- 3 face plates for the different versions of Scarabus – Normal, Demon Form and Dormant form.
- 1 Staff with a swappable top to make into a spear.
- 1 removeable cape.
- 1 set of armor and a spear head for previous Fantastic exclusive figure, Timekepper.
- 1 set of removeable ‘Scarabus claws’ that attach to Scarabus’ back.
The removeable hands pop on and off easily and are nice and solid when in place. I think my favorite hand sculpt is the clawed hands because I love the flame attachments for them. I’m a sucker for a good power demonstration attachment for my figures. The flames just slip on over the fingers of the clawed hands and rest securely through posing. You can take the cape/ shoulder pads off by popping the head off and slipping it over the neck peg. The cape has a large peg that holds it securely in place when on.
The back pinschers pop on and off easily as well and, while articulated with a ball hinge joint, maintain their pose well. You can hide them behind Scarabus’ back if you wish. The face plates also pop on and off easily, but rest securely due to the large peg that holds it in place. The staff head can be swapped out for a spear head and that peg is also nice and solid, so there is no fear of breakage while you swap. The accessories all work great.
The Timekeeper’s helmet snaps onto the Timekeeper’s head securely and the chest armor is easily swapped out by popping the head off. The spear head aslo snaps onto the shaft of the Timekeeper’s original hammer accessory securely. If you already have some Timekeepers, this is a great value added inclusion, if you don’t, go buy some! They are cool little figures in their own right.
I liked the Time Keepers before, but the addition of the armor, helmet and spear breathes some new life into them.
Articulation
Scarabus has articulation similar to DC Universe Classics figures. Ball jointed neck, Ball hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, ball hinge wrists, waist swivel, swivel/hinge hips, hinged knees and ball hinge ankles. The only thing he’s really missing is an ab crunch.
If you had bought previous Fanex figures like Xetheus or Rammathorr, you may have noticed some looseness of joints that lead to figures toppling over. I’m pleased to say that this is not the case with my two Scarabus figures. All joints are nice and solid and hold their position well.
Not only is the articulation solid, it’s all functional with decent range of motion. Even with the trademarked 4H long skirt, the hip articulation is unimpeded. The top of the skirt is actually part of the leg and the belt is made up of a soft enough plastic that the leg can move freely.
Paint
There’s not a lot to say about paint on these versions as they are pretty uniform. The jem details are nice and crisp without slop, though. I have to say, I love solid color figures. All the cool little textural details are so much easier to see. It’s like looking at a prototype.
Overall, I’d say Scarabus has been worth the wait. I’m excited to pick up some more variants when they are released, especially the original Gold version. I feel like he’s a good action figure dollar value, too. These two were 50 dollars, but that was a special price inflated due to shipping concerns. The regular figures will be 30 dollars a piece. That’s around what you would pay for a figma or Revoltech figure with a similar amount of extra accessories and Scarabus is way bigger than one of those! He looks great with Marvel Legends, the previous Fantastic Exclusive releases or DC Universe Classics figures but he’s just a cool toy in his own right.
The Four Horsemen are selling a set of 10 Scarabus figures and his variants online right now and the Light and Dark variants are also available for order there. Soon they will be selling some Scarabus by himself and sets of variants. Keep watching here or http://www.fourhorsemen.biz/ for more news!