I recently went back in time and updated an old archive of Four Horsemen Studios Fantastic Exclusive Anitherian Nine: Ramathorr, the Elephant Swordsman, and today I am bringing you an update to the very first Fantastic Exclusive — Xetheus. This was the first figure that was produced within the concept of the “Fantastic Exclusive” where collectors would vote via an online system for a concept that the Four Horsemen designed. The studio would produce Xetheus and a number of variants that could be purchased through various online sites and stores. This was huge success in 2005 and launched the 7th Kingdom and Gothitropolis lines.
Line: 7th Kingdom
Set: Mynothecean Soldiers
Figure Type: Standard
Scale: 1/12 or 6 inch
Actual Size: 7 inches
Release Date: August 2006
Xetheus is a minotaur and he’s the leader of a pack of minotaur warriors. He stands around 7 inches in height and has multiple points of articulation. Of the Fantastic Exclusives, this is still my favorite set of figures. I have almost all of them, missing only Guardian of the Dark Outland, which continues to elude me (either by price or bad timing). The figures feature incredible sculpting from the Four Horsemen and they really are labors of love. From the sculpted hair to the intricate detailing on the armor and weapons, these are stand-out figures.
There are two head sculpts associated with the figures: the Xetheus head, which has larger/longer horns without an articulated jaw, and the smaller horned heads with an articulated jaw. I don’t know enough about cattle anatomy to tell you what horn size or shape indicates, and quick research seems to indicate it means nothing. But I like the idea that the leader of the pack has some monster horns and his followers have smaller horns. While not quite Longhorn cattle horns, these definitely channel them.
The armor is beautifully sculpted. It’s got kind of a Mesoamerican feel to it and it really pops. With the horns being similar to Longhorn cattle’s, the Mesoamerican design makes the figure pop. Nothing on the figure is so specific that he can’t work as a display piece in other collections, so he’ll fit perfectly with Marvel Legends, DC Universe Classics, Masters of the Universe Classics, and many more!
The articulation on this beast is perfect in that it has all the right articulation points and they all function and do what they were designed to do. You can get some amazing poses from the creature, and he’s fun to pose battling any of the action figures lines mentioned. Here is a breakdown of the articulation:
Hinged ankles
Swivel ankles
Double hinged knees
Swivel thigh
Ball hips
Swivel waist
Hinged abs
Ball shoulders
Swivel biceps
Hinged elbows
Swivel wrists
Hinged wrists
Double ball (barbell) neck/head
The paint on this figure needs to be mentioned, this is one of the better painted action figures in my collection. He’s simply a beauty to look at, and I am thoroughly enjoy picking this figure up under a good lamp and looking at the details in the paint. It’s a good example of how paint can make an excellence sculpt pop.
Sadly, you’ll have to resort to eBay where these guys sell quickly and often for a good sum of money. Here’s the only Xetheus that I could find on eBay at the time of this writing. If you have find one, hold onto it; it’s a “fantastic” figure.
