The Gorgon Hordes have invaded! The Spartans have arrived! The Boss Fight Studio Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. figures are arriving on doorsteps now (still in progress), and we have gotten our first taste of the fruits from their successful 2014 Kickstarter campaign.
When this campaign went live a couple of years ago, we enthusiastically backed the project, and since it ended up earning over $400,000, we certainly were not alone. Comprised of several experienced designers and sculptors, Boss Fight Studio conceived a concept for their own line of action figures in addition to the work that they do for established toy manufacturers. Working within the familiar confines of the 4-inch scale (historically, their bread and butter as they have worked on several Star Wars and G.I. Joe figures), the Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. first offerings are based on historical and mythological subject matter, and everything has been presented under the umbrella of ancient Greek warriors against mythological creatures, like Medusa, Gorgons, and re-animated skeletons.
That is definitely simplifying things, but if you want to learn more about the line’s influence and ethos, it is well documented on the Kickstarter page.
Now, we are right in the middle of the shipping process, so not all of the figures listed on the Kickstarter page are shipping yet, but Boss Fight Studio has started sending out the first series (Spartan Warrior, Medusa, Cursed Spartan, Eternal Spartan, Coral Gorgon, and Black Racer Gorgon) to US-based backers, so we wanted to provide a look at a couple of the figures now, with the promise of more to come. Thus, we will be focusing on the Spartan Warrior and Medusa figures today, as these are likely the most popular figures from the campaign, and, since they are very different from each other, it gives us a chance to talk about this line’s already-impressive range.
SPARTAN WARRIOR
If you don’t know it already, I will come right out and say that, traditionally, I am not a 4-inch scale collector. I live in the 1:12 scale world for the most part, but when you have figures and subject matter as cool as what these are offering, it makes it easy to break from the norm. Really, that is what you want from ANY action figure line: a cool concept brought to life by cool figures, and that is exactly what H.A.C.K.S. is. As an overall assessment, these figures are VERY well done, and even though I have a couple of preferential departures from some of the choices in the line, there is no denying that Boss Fight Studio knows what they are doing, and I hope we see a lot more offered within this concept in the future.
That said, I wish I had the scratch to build an army of at least 50 of these Spartan warriors. Just playing around with one of them makes it easy to see how cool one figure is, and it is drool-inducing thinking about building an army at a grand scale. This little guy is just plain rad, and even though he has a few articulation limitations, I have not put him down, and I cannot stop trying out different poses. I get it; it is cheap to say that we live in a post-300 world, but having that as a point of reference sure makes posing this guy a hoot, no matter how inconceivable the end result might be.
If you have been following this project from the beginning, you already knew that this figure looks pretty amazing, and in case you did not know that, or cannot tell from the pictures herein, I will tell you: this figure looks amazing. I am not one to need to be fussed about historical accuracy with something like this, so if it is painstakingly accurate, all the better; if it is not, however, it does not take a single thing away from the design. Frankly, for those of you who have been waiting for a little Gerard Butler you can keep in your pocket, that time is over because this figure delivers, and I say that knowing full well that an actual Leonidas figure is on its way to me eventually.
As far as I am concerned, this figure passes the “Greek warrior” smell test with flying colors, and the included accessories and raiment look great from sculpt to paint. The figure is bearded in classic “bust” fashion, and the included armor, skirt, and sandals are all executed very well to sell the look. He comes with a requisite helmet and shield, along with a scabbard, two swords, a spear, extra hands, and a character base. That is a lot of stuff, so even if you cannot army build into the hundreds, you can still get a lot of diversity among just a few figures.
For me, helmet on, with the Lambda-adorned shield, and the broad sword are the way to go for my preferred look, but there is no one way to outfit this guy, and he always looks good kicking ass. He can hold all of his accessories well (the shield is a snug fit), and it is nice for those options to be there for fighting different opponents. All of the sculpt and paint detail are great, as I said, so I hope you can see it in the pictures.
The articulation is good too, for the most part, but if I had to pick one spot to nitpick a bit, this is where it would be. The figure has a ball-jointed head, ball shoulders, “elbrows,” hinge-and-swivel wrists, partial ball hips, double knees, and ankle hinges, so he certainly does have several movement points, but I find myself selfishly wanting even more. I know that shows my 1:12 background, and the scheme here is pretty standard for a super-articulated figure at this scale, but so it goes.
I am particularly missing biceps swivels and double elbows (I prefer this combination over “elbrows”), along with torso articulation, and rocker joints in the ankles. Now, the standard figures DO have torso articulation, but I can’t get the armor off without fear of breaking it, but I think the joint is stuck on this figure. I am interested to see what, if any, range you can get here, but I am probably going to have to boils the figure first. I will say that I do not care for the ankle joints much at all, and though I was alerted to the fact that these are pretty standard “Joe” joints, I don’t think they are as functionally or aesthetically pleasing as a front foot pin rocker ankle (think, Marvel Legends). I think that rocker would do a TON to increase some of the posing, and it would look better as well since the transition from leg to ankle here is pretty blunt. I know, I am getting pretty tough here, but it is coming from a good place, because this guy is stellar otherwise.
Even with me harping on the articulation a bit, this figure is really great, and I am having a fun time with him. He is ready to fight anything and anyone (for SPART-TA!), and he has the look and weapons to do it. Like I said, I want to build an army of these guys for Leonidas to lead, so my wallet is about to get a hole burned in it. If Spartan Warriors appeal to you for pop culture or historical reasons, or if you are just into cool toys, this figure is definitely for you.
MEDUSA
The other high profile figure in this first series is Medusa, and as much as I like the Spartan Warrior, she is by far the runaway winner when it comes to being an impressive figure. A perfect opponent for the Spartan army, this cursed despot of the underworld is a great toy interpretation of a mythological character who has certainly not gotten enough toy attention. This is a more modern take on the character, but the biography on the back of the character card explains this full serpentine form (as well as the standard iteration that is coming soon).
I am not sure where to even begin with this figure, to be honest. Just because there is so much to talk about, this could get out of hand really quickly. I will say this: Medusa is probably the most impressive 4-inch scale figure I have ever owned. Yeah, this is coming from a guy who doesn’t own very many smaller scale figures, but damn, she is very, very nice. She shares all of the strengths of the Spartan Warriors with her impressive sculpt and clean paint applications, but she surpasses him with her articulation and her overall functional design. There is a lot of engineering that has gone into this figure as well, and that is good because if great care had not been taken at both the design and production stages, this figure could have been a disaster rather than a work of art.
Let’s hit the big point first: this is a CRAZY half humanoid half serpent figure, and Medusa has all of the features to give this impressive design a worthy figure. The “top half” is very well-sculpted and nice on its own, but the snake portion is what is really going give you the “wow factor” in terms of being an impressive figure. The snake portion is segmented with individual points of articulation at just about every half inch, which will allow you a lot of posing options.
The surrounding plastic is soft and pliable, so that helps with the movement, and the articulation segments allow you turn, twist, move up, and move down. You can even remove segments to adjust the length of the tail. This Medusa has a rattle at the end of her tail, something that I must have forgotten about when the campaign was active, because I was not expecting it. The scale sculpt and paint patterns are very intricate, and very clean, so that only adds to the impressive nature of the design. I will say it takes a bit of finessing to get Medusa to balance in some poses, but, overall, the functionality is great.
The other highlight of the sculpt is the head and the face, as well as the detailed hair snakes, which are certainly given their due. The expression is perfect, especially to turn an opponent to stone, and the snake mane is scary, to be sure. I wish the snakes themselves had a bit more paint detail, but that is REALLY nitpicking because they still look great. The armor and belt are a cool take for Medusa as well. This is certainly a version of her that is ready for battle, so I like this take, especially if she is going to lead a pack of Gorgons.
Speaking of, she also has two weapons: a dagger and a whip, and both of them look as though they are made from snake bones, which is actually pretty cool. Medusa doesn’t really NEED a weapon (her face will do), but it’s cool to get more, and she has swappable hands with opposite articulation directions to help her wield them well.
Like I said, I could go on and on here, but I hope the pictures will do the product more justice than I ever could. If you are going to get just one figure from this assortment, make it Medusa; you will not be disappointed.
Well, it has taken almost two years, and shipping is still moving a bit slowly, but the H.A.C.K.S. are here, and they are well worth the wait. Kickstarter backers are starting to get this initial part of the all-in package, and the rest will be shipping relatively soon. I want to give the kids a Boss Fight Studio a hearty “kudos” because they really knocked these figures out of the park, and more are on the way. We will have another feature soon, so we can take a look at the rest of the assortment. In the meantime, check out the link below and pre-order some of your own.
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