Okay, look; you can't just say 'correct me' and have me not go ahead and do that. So, RESPECTFULLY, there's actually a fair bit to correct, but I also don't think the intent is wrong. Also, these are definitely fantasy designs and blither-blather about real history is just for fun context and some light reading to those interested or bored with nothing better to do.
Does the bowman's bow look like a Welsh/English longbow? No, but with a caveat. The caveat I'll just go ahead and put upfront: That's almost absolutely what BFS was going for with this bow design and it's very clearly based on the -idea- of the medieval 'English' longbow or warbow of the second half of the medieval period. That is what people see in their minds and it's absolutely correct to say that's what that item IS.
But is it?
No.
We have a fair bit of information about medieval longbows and we have quite a few preserved ones from the Mary Rose shipwreck (post-Medieval but still) and they don't look like that. There's no indication they had fashioned grips like that (in fact, it seems very unlikely and I don't think I've seen any competition or recreational modern longbow enthusiasts that do that with their bows). The area around the grip also makes it look like there's some angular cross-sectionality here whereas proper warbows are really just kind of cylindrical. The knocks on warbows are also mostly in-line with rest of the shape of the bow, rather than being canted off like in the toy. Besides being a tall bow, this looks like it actually has very little in common with a real medieval warbow.
But AGAIN.. it's definitely what people see in their mind, however inaccurate it may be. So it's accurate to the fantasy of the warbow, if not the reality.
Did longbows and English archery change warfare forever?
No.
In the grand scheme of things - firearms and pike blocks changed warfare. Bows were just another tool in medieval warfare for the entire period. Different campaigns, different countries, different specific engagements, across the entire medieval period, all made differing uses of available tactics. While longbows were particularly popular among the English - specifically against the French - and each other (and specifically from like 1320-1580) ; even 50-80 years after they first proved so successful by the English, they were not really being used much elsewhere (most everyone still favored the crossbow for a lot of reasons I won't bore you guys with).
The warbow's effectiveness even in its most famous engagements like Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt is often drastically overstated. It was important. Very important. But it didn't really change warfare in any meaningful way. And probably never could have for a lot of limitations that aren't worth getting into. Suffice to say that if firearms had not become the mainstay ranged weapon, it probably would have remained crossbows pretty much forever.
Were English archers pale?
No.
The pale skin we currently associate with sedentary office workers from London would have been a lot rarer in the medieval period where pale skin was quite specifically and intentionally a beauty standard that marked out who -wasn't- going to be an archer. That is, pale skin was for rich people that didn't have to work. And rich people largely did not become archers. Knights, dukes, earls - and all their wives, were pale. It was forever being called out as an important standard of beauty - in part specifically to disqualify working women in a world where beauty was a religious marker as much as a social one. Archers would have been quite dark (as far as English complexions go) from spending the majority of their lives outside in the fields. Even at war, lower class soldiers like archers would have spent considerable time outside doing labour while important fancy pale people were inside their tents probably fanning themselves with giant imported palm leaves or something. I don't know what rich people do.
As for the figures themselves, and with all respect to BFS, I think the designs are kind of all over the place. It's like there's a lot of historical inspiration here, but not a lot of understanding of the specific items (or an intentional not caring about the specifics of the items for design purposes - sure). Like, you don't generally see bicep-length mail sleeves with coifs. In fact, you don't really see bicep-length mail sleeves in the era of plate. That's a very early medieval kind of thing. I'm continuously agitated by BFS's insistance on everyone having greaves without any other leg armor - which is far more specifically a Classical way of wearing armor, not a medieval one.
I also continue to really dislike their choice for polearm shaft. Polearms just.. don't look like that. It may not be artistically fancy, but smooth wooden shafts are how you make polearms because something with a distinct handle and a bunch of giant studs on it would be absolutely fucking unusable.
Also, in the era of plate gauntlets, greaves, etc - you don't get late Anglo-Saxon/early Norman style riveted spangenhelms. Minimally, those nasal helmets should be entirely smooth. Again, feels less like someone didn't know this, and more like they just thought that, artistically, nodules and bumpiness and texture was more interesting. Personally, I find it annoying. I -hate- that they've done the corroded metal look on some otherwise really cool pieces like the new montante. There's definitely an over-reliance on sprucing up the figures with too much unnecessary texturing. In my opinion.
Important to point out that I don't really like these figures very much on their own for -historical- reasons. Not because they're ugly or bad designs. But if you really love history and instinctively 'understand' this stuff, then it can actually be hard to enjoy things that just look very wrong. However, there's tons of great parts here. I mostly love the archer as it is. The knights have excellent parts to use and swap around even if I don't think they necessarily go together all that well.
It's a bit bizarre for everyone to have the same sword these days only considering we know BFS has other sword molds. This makes me concerned that those molds are at a different factory and that's why this sword is the only one we're seeing on any of these new figures (these 2 and the 3 previous 10A knights). And the figures that have, seemingly, come from that factory so far have been not good.
So ultimately I'm excited about these from a parts perspective, not a figure perspective. And my excitement is SUPER tempered by how not overly impressed I've been with the 10A molds and quality of recent HACKS stuff. It also bears repeating that it KILLS me to make that statement because I am, or was, one of BFS's biggest cheerleaders.
I hope the figures turn out 100x better than the 10a Knights and new Zorros, because I want to love these and I already have some ideas for how to use these parts.
I got an email from BBTS that Athena was due soon
that's the only one I got from that wave so probably the Legionnaire will be coming soon too
My Athena is in stock and hit my POL today - so I shipped. Pretty excited to see how she turned out. I'm hoping she's more Classic HACKS than 10A HACKS, in terms of build and paint quality.
Shipped my POL today. It generally takes my packages about 10-15 days to get to me once BBTS sends them out. Which means I should have my package in about 327 days.
Man, Athena and Eurayle are already sold out on BBTS, and they are sold out on BFS shop. I hope they get some more in.
Man, Athena and Eurayle are already sold out on BBTS, and they are sold out on BFS shop. I hope they get some more in.
Entertainment Earth still has pre-orders up
Got Athena, Eurayle, and 2x Legionnairies in my PoL, alongside some TFs but I'm gonna hold off a bit more to see if some Gundam stuff comes in. I just got a PoL a couple days ago with some more Bloks/Buluke/Yolopark 'Action Master' TFs.
ColeOps should be hitting soon since she's out there elsewhere, no? What about medieval Leonidas? Where's he at?
Boss Fight got Eurayle and Athena back in stock, so I ordered them and x2 Roman Legionnaires.
Now just waiting on the Bard and the Desert Wanderer which I have pre ordered. And I guess Coleoptera and Knight Leonidas will come out when they do, probably next month. I will probably end up getting those 2, but I don't have them pre ordered at the moment.
I'm also waiting on the Bard & Desert Wanderer. Hopefully they come in before time expires on my PoL
Well, things have certainly changed for BossFight in the, *a-hem*, meantime. Erik and Catrina are no longer working there under circumstances they're apparently unhappy about. There's a reddit post out there making some assertions I've no idea the legitimacy of; but Catrina's PM me a vague note of 'I appreciate you, truly' in response to me raising a ruckus on the rest of the web about cancelling all my POs at BBTS. Even if the assertions are not true, the complete and utter silence in response to them is enough to satisfy me that the crux of their departure seemingly being something they feel betrayed by is enough to me to know I won't be happy receiving any more of their product in-hand so I'm just gonna save my money from now on.
Yeah, I have no idea what happened there. I didn't know whose fault it was, or if it was just a collective bunch of disagreements. I really like BFS and their products. So, hopefully they can continue letting out great figures.
I found the post you mentioned adrienveidt. I don't know if any of that is accurate, but if that is true, that is freakin' crazy.
Yeah, I have no idea what happened there. I didn't know whose fault it was, or if it was just a collective bunch of disagreements. I really like BFS and their products. So, hopefully they can continue letting out great figures.
I found the post you mentioned adrienveidt. I don't know if any of that is accurate, but if that is true, that is freakin' crazy.
It's the same leaker as the Brian Flynn rumor. Well we have double joints on TMNT 03 Ultimates and Brian said his decision was overridden so that rumor feels pretty true now.
I wonder how someone could possibly, legally, buy someone out of a company without them knowing? And again, I know we don't know for certain if any of this is true. But that just seems near impossible. But I would have no idea.
But if Erik and Catrina were founders and part owners, as was Andrew, I don't see how Andrew could ever legally and effectively buy Erik and Catrinas part/ownership of BFS unless they directly sold it to him.
Yeah, the details and timeline don't quite work for me. I knew something was up all the way back when Erik went to NewJerseyComicCon representing himself and not BFS. But the crux of them feeling betrayed sure rings true from their reactions, and again the complete and utter silence about the allegations in the reddit post sure make a person go ArsenioHallThingsThatMakeYouGoHMMMM.jpg
This event made me realize Dave Proctor had left several years back to live in China with his wife and officially stopped being a member of the BFS team at that point. He seems to have still contracted with them for a couple more years finessing things factory-side along with doing it for other lines like the AnimalWarriors and now Skeletron/RoboSkull guys. Now I'm wondering if the drop in quality with the 10A figures is due to him not finessing BFS product any more in the same timeframe Erik and Catrina left.
That leaves only 2 of the original 5 BossFighters still there.
In other BFS news, Saurozoic Wave 3 went up for pre order today. I love the look of this Wave. I think it is the strongest, best-looking Wave so far and that's saying something. Because Waves 1 and 2 were incredible.
Do any of you think you'll grab any of the figures from Wave 3? Do you have a favorite from Wave 3?
Haven't been a fan of Saurozoic from the beginning but I really like the look of that Underwater Mosasaurus. That $30 price tag is just tough when there's so much else out there right now.
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