It’s funny how things work out, but apparently this is the unofficial and impromptu “Skeleton Week” at the site.
Did you see our opening salvo with Matt K’s feature on the impressive Strangefate Skeleton? If not, go check it out now! I will wait…
Are you back? Good! What I have for you now is a look at the recently released Baron Dark and Titan Skeleton from the successful October Toy Kickstarter campaign. A revival of the Goddard Group property from the early 1990s, this amazing idea never really saw full fruition with Playmates’ original run, but now the good guy and girl at October are looking to bring it back for the full time in the sun it deserves. With the first successful crowd-funding push under their belts, plans are already being made for another go-round to get more characters, but this first offering gave us the most iconic character from the mythos as well as a really nifty army builder.
I must admit that I was not into the Skeleton Warriors during the ’94-’95 run. That was right in the very small window of time that I was out of the action figure game, and by the time my interest was rekindled, their brief stint on the shelves and airwaves was over, so I did not really discover anything about them until much, much later. However, I do have a serious weakness for skeletons, and between these, Strangefate, Boss Fight, and the Mythic Legions, I am hitting a real heyday, so it is very exciting. So that affinity made it impossible for me to pass on backing this Kickstarter, and now that everything is here and accounted for, I am so glad I took the plunge.
George and Ayleen Gaspar of October Toys have hit this revival out of the park. I don’t just mean that from a quality and production standpoint (which is a HUGE feat in and of itself), but also from the point of running a successful and seamless Kickstarter campaign. Now, I have not backed a ton of Kickstarters in my day, but I have to say that this was the most straightforward and painless campaign I have backed. They did a great job establishing expectations, keeping the updates regular but impactful/relevant, and delivering what was promised in the stated timeline. Delays are something that often plague Kickstaters, sometime to their ultimate doom, but I daresay that this one ran off without a hitch, at least to public. So kudos to the Gaspars; this smooth process guarantees that they will get at least consideration from me the next time they go live with something, no matter what it is. It is tough getting sweat equity with crowd-funding, but they have certainly earned it.
That being said, the ultimate point of all of this is to get the product that you want and in expected fashion with the quality needed to justify tossing up your money in advance. Well, I can tell you that is exactly what I got with Baron Dark and the Titan Skeletons I ordered, so I could not be more pleased. Sure, it might seem trite to celebrate something that you were promised in the first place, but as any action figure collector knows, there are all sorts of things that can go haywire from concept to delivery, but not only was October Toys able to avoid all of those things, but they put a lot places to shame with how well their product ultimately turned out. So score another one for the little guys.
With Baron Dark, you get a faithful recreation of the original toy, but in a way that almost every facet has been improved upon, from sculpt to paint to engineering. George handled the sculpt and did a great job, so while it might seem like the Baron is just a skeleton, he is actually a weird-looking dude, and all of his details and dressing have been created in fine fashion. As I said, he is a great update to the original and while he is first and foremost in the form of a skeleton, the Warriors themselves have a very distinct look about them that highlights their “living” skeletal forms from the classic fleshless fellows. The bones in the arms and legs and are nice and thick, so they are strong, but they also include a lot of lines and pits to give them a bit of a distressed look that is unique to the brand. Since these guys are built on the Glyos joint system, that helps ensure that everything is nice and sturdy, and, of course, very modular. Now, there are integral joints, like in the shoulders, elbows, and knees that are more traditional, but they are nice and tight and stand the support test.
Baron Dark has some pretty unique raiments and is covered with little skulls about his shoulders and one at the top of his head. This makes sense keeping with the skeleton theme, but it also makes it quite clear that he is the boss and baddest of the bad. The “hair” portion is unique as well and adds a lot of character, while the cape and “boots” help hold the look of the more classic villain. Overall, these things, along with Baron Dark’s scary head sculpt (my daughter has assured me he is a “mean guy”) make for a great figure and a fine way to bring the Baron back to us.
I also opted for the Titan Skeleton as part of my pledge, and I would classify this guy as a simplified army builder that can be used for a variety of things. The titan is built on the same system/joint configuration as Baron Dark, but he is “naked” and does not have the paint applications. This makes sense as these guys were significantly cheaper during the campaign, and it leaves them open to easy customization. Ultimately, that is what I am going to do, and I plan on getting more from the October Toys store so I can really build out a legion.
I also got a cool art card and a booklet about the history with some great information from former Legendary, now current Goddard Group CEO, Gary Goddard. It is always awesome when the original creator/producer of a property can be involved in a revival like this, and since Gary is the director of the original MOTU movie, that is just a little more fan service for me.
I am very, very pleased with this Skeleton Warriors campaign and my Baron Dark and Titan Skeletons are great additions to my shelf. If you like the property or skeletons in general, I highly recommend that you check these out and pick up some now. The Kickstarter was handled brilliantly, so if the rumored follow-up to this one is to be true, I will be backing on the first day.
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