I don’t remember how this figure came into my possession, but I am assuming that I either ordered it from the local comic shop, bought it off the shelf, or shoplifted it. However it came into my possession, I have it and I love it, even though after 14 years it is falling apart, the clear plastic joints haven’t held, and the ball joint in the head snapped (the head is being held into place with sticky tack).
Getting ready for this article I Googled to see if I could remember anything at all about ARTFX, and, sadly, I cannot. I think this might a leg of Kotobukiya, but there’s nothing listed that helps to jog my memory. Squaresoft, that’s easy, they make video games and have been doing it since 1984 — you might have heard of Final Fantasy. Eventually Squaresoft, or Square, merged with Enix and they are the action figure powerhouse Square Enix of today. But who made the figures, exactly, and how it all worked, well, Google fails me.
This made me want to make up a story about it, but then I might be raked over the burning fire pit of toy-collecting hell. And that’s not a good place to be.
The figure is beautifully sculpted, and, as I can see, it’s another excellent representation of something that I haven’t played or watched, an ongoing theme these days. But that’s a minor thing. See, I like demons and Diabolus is a demon. He hangs out with Devilman and Balrog. He stands 8 inches tall and has some decent articulation for the time. He can’t pose without the help of his stand, which makes the articulation useful for flying poses.
Despite his inability to support himself, the figure has a lot of articulation, and, as mentioned before, for flying poses this is very useful. If you are a play-with-your-toys kind of guy, then you’ll love the articulation as it will allow for some pretty epic battles. His wings are articulated where they attach to the back with a swiveled hinge joint (ball) for up-down and back-to-front movements. Here’s the full breakdown:
Hinged ankles
Hinged knees
Swivel thighs
Ball hips
Ball wings
Ball shoulders
Swivel elbows
Hinged elbows
Swivel wrists
Ball head
For 1999 this was a good deal of articulation, especially when coupled with the sculpting. I don’t know what the scale of this figure is exactly, and in that he can float in and out of different scales. He’s a great demon for 4-inch figures, 6-inch figures, and 7-inch figures.
You can still pick him up on Amazon and eBay for a small fee.
