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 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.
It makes the contents seem rather meager though.
The box 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.
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 Spartoi) 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.
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.
2 comments:
As well as the cost, some of these 3D printer polymers don't last very long, some brittle from the off, other crumbling after a year or two, one hopes a commercial presentation like this will be manufactured in one of the better plastics, but at around sixty-quid, it's a gamble!
H
Hi Hugh,
From what I understand, UV curable resins degrade with further UV exposure, so a nice coat of paint, and keeping them away from sunlight should help keep them from crumbling. They are definitely brittle though. The vinyl materials are more durable, but they don't take detail very well.
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