Going to take a moment out of my board vacation to post my thoughts on the Ages of Action figures from Unimax, 'cause I just got my set today and have them in hand. Keep in mind this is my opinion on them, yours may vary, and I'm being blunt since these puppies cost me $45 plus shipping, so I'm not
anyone.
Overall: Taking the figures as a whole first, they're about what I expect from Unimax--great detailing on the bodies, tight joints, good paint apps. Accessories are fairly well-detailed if not 100% perfect (no wood grain on spear shafts, etc., but passable as toys more than collectibles) and relatively sturdy (no bendy swords here). Plenty of articulation, though unfortunately, there are limits--you get t-crotches and the heads are side-to-side swivel ONLY, no ball jointed heads. In fact there are no ball joints used at all. What you do get--swivel heads, swivel biceps/thighs, standard joint knees, and elbows, jointed shoulders (think SpyTroops), jointed ankles (no swivel). Only the Ninja seems to have a swivel waist. Hands tend to be a bit on the stiff side but not as rigid as I've seen with the Unimax Bravo team figures (which are often so rigid it's a struggle to fit accessories into their hands). Each figure also comes with a molded gray "terrain" style figure stand.
Each figure also comes with a fold-out pamphlet giving a brief bio of each figure, and the box can double as a background display (same for each figure). Best of all, there's only a SINGLE twist tie involved! So they're easy to open. Now, for a quick rundown of each figure.
Samurai (Tokugawa Hideoshi): Okay, hands down, the very worst of the lot. Sorry, Unimax, but you blew it. Where to start? How about the face--the red mask you see on him is permanent--you can't remove it. It's not just painted, it's molded on. Now the face above it, gives me a very definite Larry Hama vibe (the face there is dead-on for recent pictures I've seen of Mr. Hama, I kid you not. Perhaps a bit of homage to him?) The helmet falls off easily; the katana in sheath (you have one he can carry, and one that's mounted to the sheath) doesn't fit properly into the hole on his side, and falls out easily. And the wakizashi, or short sword--the sheathed one--that's to mount into a hole on his waist sash, has to go in at such a tight angle that I broke mine trying.
These little disasters aside, he's otherwise well-detailed, and comes with his helmet, bladed spear/staff, katana and wakizashi (along with "sheathed" versions of both weapons.)
Grade: D
Ninja (Tateoka Muneyoshi): I used to love ninjas, back in the 80s. I really did. Then the whole Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow thing made me hate them. Unimax could almost have me liking them again--almost.
The Ninja is a nicely detailed figure; all done up in shades of very dark brown (not true black and it works). His belt sash contains several molded on dangling pouches and devices; out of the package he's holding a coiled, weight hook and chain, which is made of soft, flexible plastic instead of ever-so-annoying, ever-tangling string. He also comes with two different shuriken (throwing stars) and both sheated and unsheathed swords (ninja-to, I think they're called?); there is a hole on the sash presumably for the sheathed weapon, but I've no clue how to mount it. He also comes with a straw hat, which the back of the box has him using as a shield. I guess it works like that, but also works as a pretty good hat--easy to put on and remove, and it stays in place.
The only real downside is the t-crotch means no side-kicking capability--something you'd want in a ninja, I expect. Still, I rank him one of the best of the set!
Grade: A
Roman Legionnaire (Lucius Gratias Ralla): Now, I should be fair in stating that Roman soldiers have never been one of my favorite historical military figures; that whole armored skirt and sandal thing just never did it for me, you know? That said, this figure BLEW ME AWAY. He is easily the best of the entire lot.
First off, we have the head. In the box, it looked sort of goofy, and like a mold of one of Unimax's WWII American soldiers. Out of the box, and with his helmet on, it's very, very easy to imagine him as a Legionnaire pitted against Goth hordes--he has a kind of glowering, fierce look that conveys very well. The body is terrifically detailed, but one point that really sticks out is his wrists. They are very similar to the hideous Duke/Flint 25A wrists EXCEPT Unimax has managed to make the joint so thin and tight, it's almost invisible! The result is mid-forearm articulation that doesn't look like crap.
He comes equipped with a javelin (spear), a massive tower-style shield (getting it into his hand can be a bit tricky but once there, it fits very nicely), sheathed and unsheated short swords. Unlike the other figures I've reviewed so far his sheathed sword doesn't mount on him, but it slung over one shoulder instead. He also includes a plumed helmet which proved to be a good, snug fit to the head and looks great mounted to him.
Grade: A+
Knight Templar (Brother Jaques Martel): This figure gives me some mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm a big fan of knights and all things medieval, be they historical or imagined (the late Heather Ledger in "A Knigtht's Tale" really hooked me big into it). Now, the Templar has great body detail--realistic looking chain mail with all accoutrements molded on, a plain but authentic livery akin to the Crusades...and a face that is either fierce, or has just smelled something bad.
Beyond that though he suffers from only two tiny issues: his chainmail coif (headgear) isn't dry-brushed to match the rest of the armor, and his sheathed sword is apparently mounted permanently to his waist--kind of an issue if you also want to pose him with the unsheathed one. But these are small issues.
Accessory-wise, he's one of the more equipped figures, coming with a sword, mace, dagger, helmet (which fits snugly but removes easily) and an authentic shield that has not only two arm straps but a shoulder strap as well. Definitely worth the purchase.
Grade: A
Norman Knight (Guinard Des Roches): Like his Templar counterpart, the Norman Knight is also highly detailed, but with added touches to his armor (while the Templar is mostly in chain mail, there are elements of plate armor found on the Norman knight). The face is well-molded, with a determined look; the padded livery is nicely detailed coat of arms and added dry-brushing to bring out the fringes. And like the Templar, the Norman Knight comes with a permanently-mounted sheathed sword, in addition to an unsheathed version he can hold; he also comes with a similar shield (dual arm straps, one shoulder strap), and a snug-fitting helmet. Whereas the Templar comes with a spear (or pike), the Norman comes with a poleaxe; he has no additional weaponry. I recommend this one as highly as I do the Templar.
Grade: A
Final thought: While overall these are great figures, the nearly $10 price point of each is a bit steep for what you get; considering brick-and-mortar prices for current Unimax 1:18 scale figures is roughly $5.99, and you get about the same overall in quality and accessories, I fear this line will suffer badly not due to issues with the line itself, but rather the high price point that's bound to turn off army-builders or customizers like myself who would normally buy them in quantity. Something for Unimax to consider in trying to push these to places like Target.
