The Legions keep on coming. The Mythic Legions, that is! With the massive Advent of Decay assortment on the horizon, the Coliseum series is keeping us satiated in the best way possible because two of my favorite Legions figures are from this recent offering. We already looked at the impressive Brontus, but today we are featuring the fearsome Raygorr, a figure that holds two special tributes, all packaged in the form of an awesome figure.
Without a doubt, this figure is definitely a Mythic Legions figure in the way that it is built off of pre-existing parts, and has an overall aesthetic cohesive with the rest of the line. That might seem obvious, but, this is also a “tribute” figure; much like Keltus and the other figures that give familiar callbacks to certain “universe masters” in their design cues, Raygorr harkens back to a certain “duke of war” from the a popular game about underground jails and fire-breathing lizard worms. It is not quite as overt as the other figures, but when the pieces are properly configured (like in most of the photos herein), this figure makes for a great modern take on that popular villain yet, so there are many reasons I am glad to add him to my collection.
The great part about Mythic Legions is that there is room for a LOT of different characters, creatures, and designs. So in a way, it is the perfect line to take far-flung and unassociated histories and mash them all together for an extremely varied, yet completely cohesive property. So, building a figure out of Legion parts, but with colors and combinations that bring in an outside entity just provides us with a new warrior as much at home in Mythoss as anyone else from the line. So, while Raygorr has been plucked away from his local dungeon master in a way, there are PLENTY of guys for him to battle and slay amongst the Legions, and adding him as a bit of an outside loner really makes for a wild card as I make up my own stories in my head.
So, for the most part, Raygorr is built on the human “barbarian” base, and holds many pieces in common with the previously-released Attlus figure. In fact, these two characters make pretty good spoils for one and other, so I have a feeling they will be fighting quite a bit. Now, this figure does have the tunic torso piece and cloth “loin cloth” to help carry over the influence of the base character a bit more, but with the armored legs and forearms, he is definitely a threatening presence. Now, this figure does include two shoulder armor pieces, two straps, and interchangeable horns and “fins” for the helmet, so you can certainly have some variety when you put it all together. However, for a classic ‘duke look, having the fins in place with the left shoulder armor attached probably gets you the closest to the iconic look. It is not exact, of course, but it is perfectly reasonable to say that this is what our war friend would look like in Mythic Legions.
The included weapons are pretty stock, but that is okay because the sword works just fine for the character, and the shield is emblazoned with a wink to the other property as well in the form a dragon crest. Pretty sneaky, Horsemen! He also has a dagger because, well, those are always useful on the battlefield and he has a perfect spot on his belt to store it. If you are not into the weapons included here, it is not like there isn’t an extensive cache you can plunder to beef Raygorr up a bit, so feel free to go nuts there. The sword is, of course, classic, but this guy would also look great brandishing a big ass axe as well.
The engineering, construction, and paints are all on point for the most part with this guy, and I only have a couple of quibbles because he is so well put together. This figure is solid, but all of the articulation is fluid and allows for a good range of movement. I wish the elbows on these guys had a bit more range, but other than that, everything functions well. Most of the paint work is great, especially with the shading and airbrushing, but I do have a few blotches here and there, including a glob of blue on the red loincloth that I will need to remove. The materials are also good overall, but like the previous releases, I wish the hands were made of a softer plastic because it can be really difficult to get some of the weapons in the hands. Hopefully that will get better in the future, but it is not like it is a deal-breaker or anything.
Finally, while this might be a bit of a tribute figure to another fictional pop culture character, this release also carries a bit of a sad note with it. While guys like Keltus and Adamonn carry winks to those characters with their names, too, Raygorr here does not. Instead, the Four Horsemen have paid a very nice tribute to Mythic Legions fan, photographer, and customizer Ray Wu, who unfortunately passed away awhile back. It is always sad when we lose such a positive and active member of our collecting community, but I really appreciate how his memory will be held in this figure. I think he would have loved this, so kudos to the Horsemen for doing such a classy tribute.
Love this figure. LOVE it. I love just about everything about it from the tributes, to the construction, to the overall look. This is a very successful Mythic Legions release on several levels, so if you pre-ordered him, I know Raygorr will make you happy. For me, he will not be taking any sides and he will be fighting and killing everyone from knights, to dwarves, to orcs, to skeletons, and everyone in between in Mythoss, so watch out! Thanks for reading, and if you missed out on this, well, feel free to kick yourself, but go get a pre-order in for the Advent of Decay figures.
