Linear-A Jason and the Argonauts

Linear-A has just released a couple of kits based on the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts, best known for the visual effects created by Ray Harryhausen.

The recent 3D printed Linear-A sets have been expensive, and these are no exception. The Hydra, Golden Fleece, and Skeleton Army set (LA136) runs about US$45, while the Talos and Crew set (LA121) runs a whopping US$70.

I went ahead and bought the Hydra set because of the skeletons, but passed on the Talos set due to the price.

I've seen some talk claiming the high prices are due to licensing, but I doubt that is the case. I see no markings on the packaging crediting the Ray Harryhausen Film Library or Columbia Pictures.

In addition, similar products such as the Oxus Civilization and Jesus Story sets released at the same time are similarly priced.

With regard the Talos set, it includes two multi-part Talos models, but it's not clear how big they are.

In any event, options for sofubi and polystone Talos figures exist from X-Plus, and come in 8", 12", and even 20" sizes.

The 20" Star Ace version is prohibitively expensive for most people, but the smaller figures can be found for around the same price as the Linear-A set.

The box for these sets are quite large compared to their normal boxes.

The largely empty box makes the contents seem rather meager though, given the price.

You can actually fit four of the regular sized Linear-A boxes inside, with room to spare.

Anyway, the two human figures in the set are King Aeetes with his basket of Hydra teeth, and Jason poised to fight the Hydra or Spartoi.

I feel that the figures are actually better scaled than the previous Linear-A sets that I have reviewed, which I felt were on the big and bulky side (particularly for people of antiquity).

The Hydra from the set is a faithful representation of the creature from the film, and the size is quite reasonable.

The other figure on the left is a Mage Knight Hydra, which I wrote about along with other Hydra miniatures in another post.

The Golden Fleece is also quite reminescent of the one from the movie, although the tree is on the bulky side.

The painted Golden Fleece on the left is produced by Crocodile Games.

Jason v. Hydra clip

Of course in actual Greek mythology, it was the Colchian Dragon guarding the Golden Fleece (which I have written about here), instead of the Hydra.

Last up are the skeletons (or Children of the Hydra's Teeth) which are printed in green resin, and quite faithful to their appearance in the movie.

The skeletons may seem frail if you are used to metal or injection plastic skeletons, but they are accurately proportioned. My main peeve though, is that they count the skeletons rising from the ground as three separate poses.

Star Ace Children of the Hydra's Teeth
(Statue, singular)

Argonauts v. Skeletons clip

Overall, I'm satisfied with the set I purchased. I'm not sure if I will buy a lot of these 3D printed Linear-A sets in the future, but we'll see.

Chintoys Marathon

Chintoys is a Russian manufacturer of toy soldiers. They are known mostly for their eclectic range of 1/32 scale figures, but their most recent release are two sets of figures in 1/72 scale representing the two sides from the Battle of Marathon.

Datis vs Callimachus (detail)
Reconstruction of painting
from the Stoa Poikile.

An interview with Igor Basevich of Engineer Basevich by Warhorse Miniatures includes some tangential details about Chintoys for anyone who is interested.

The art design on the boxes is similar to the ones used for their larger figures, and repeats the same image on both sides.

The first set of miniatures represent the Persians.

The set contains one sprue of command figures and five sprues of infantry, all in gray plastic.

Persian command

Persian infantry

Persian infantry

The figures have a bit of flash to clean up, and are not particularly stable on their bases, requiring some bending to keep from falling over (particularly the fighting poses which are rather flat).

Otherwise, the figures are are nicely sculpted, and detailed down to the patterns on their clothing.

The second set is of the Greek forces.

The box contains eight sprues in green plastic, each with six figures.

Greek hoplites

Greek hoplites

Greek psiloi

The hoplites are really tall at ~28mm in height. I suppose they are meant to be heroic representations, but having so many 6' 8" hoplites seems a bit much. The psiloi, being mere commoners are a bit more reasonable in height.

The sculpts, like those of the Persians are a bit on the flat side, but are nicely detailed. There was quite a bit of flash to clean up.

Overall, I think these sets were a decent first effort from Chintoys. I hope they will consider producing some of their Mesoamerican and other more obscure figures in 1/72 scale.

Some D&D 50th Anniversary Miniatures

For the 50th Anniversary of D&D, WizKids has released a set of Icons of the Realms figures representing creatures from 1st ed. AD&D and the current 5th ed. of the game.

I picked up a few of the miniatures that I felt I could use alongside 1/72 scale figures, the first being the Classic Red Dragon, which is probably the size of a typical young dragon in the current line of miniatures.

The miniature represents the red dragon from the cover of the original D&D Basic Set from 1977.

I think it's a great representation of the artwork, though I wish they would have made the wings a little more in proportion to its body (certainly they were able to alter the appearance of other miniatures, so I don't know why they couldn't have made changes to make this miniature look better).

I also bought a Gold Dragon which is based on the 5th ed. ampersand logo.

This miniature is a Young Gold Dragon (50th Anniversary #50), which is the equivalent size I use for adult dragons in 1/72 scale. This particular miniature seems to sell on eBay for ~US$50, which is way overpriced. You can find it for much cheaper by shopping around.

The next miniature is an efreet based on the cover of the 1st ed. AD&D DMG.

The Efreeti (50th Anniversary #47) has been modified to suit modern tastes, with the damsel in distress replaced by a ball of fire. The sword arm is a separate part, and the seam line where it is attached to the body is quite glaring. I do like how the sunburst eyes from the artwork are replicated in the miniature though.

I was also surprised to learn that Super7 makes a similarly sized 3.75" action figure of the efreet (along with various other figures). Note how the left hand is conveniently cropped from the blister card art.

There is also a US$250 12" resin figure produced by WizKids that represents the "advanced scene" on the DMG cover after the scantily clad damsel has convinced the efreet that the knight is a much better candidate for his attentions.

Next are a pair of goblins. The 1E version is based on Dave Trampier's art from the AD&D Monster Manual.

The 1E Goblin (50th Anniversary #6) is similar to the art, with the main difference being the helmet (because of the way it is painted). The 5E Goblin (50th Anniversary #5) is an archer that is firing his bow.

Next are a pair of Shadow Demons, with the 1E version based on the art from the Fiend Folio.

The 1E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #17) mimics the artwork too faithfully, with its brows painted white. I'm pretty sure in the artwork, it is just a stylistic technique used to suggest some semblance of shape to the head of the demon. The 5E Shadow Demon (50th Anniversary #18) is just completely black except for its eyes and teeth.

The last two miniatures are a Pit Fiend (50th Anniversary #31) and a Glabrezu (50th Anniversary #25).

I wish the Icons Pit Fiend was closer to the original Trampier artwork, with half-furled wings partially cloaking his body, instead of the 2nd ed. Monstrous Manual version, since the miniature is similar in appearance to the conversion I made using a Reaper Pit Fiend.

Unfortunately, my Icons Pit Fiend is missing his tail, so it looks like he has a huge tear in his pants.

Finally, I really would have liked to get the demon idol miniature, but it looked like it was more suitable in scale for 15mm figures.