Four Horsemen Studios had a storehorsemen “in stock” sale…a situation where really they offer flat-rate shipping more than discounts. Still, they open the vaults, and this time they offered something a little special different. “The Cosmic Legions Cosmic Ladies Character Pack.” (I find this to be a genius way for them to do a clearance sale). My order took almost all of the four weeks to arrive…that hasn’t been usual for the greatest action figure makers in the 6-inch scale. I decided to pick that Cosmic Ladies Character Pack up, and went ahead and got Kalian Shunn and the Barbarian Spare Parts. So I am going to discuss the entire haul and offer a rating of the two Cosmic Legions figures. (My rating system is based on sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and the intangible “feels” point..why did I want it…and what does it represent to me).
BARBARIAN SPARE PARTS
So this is the most unceremonious thing I have bought from the Four Horsemen. They shipped them in a poly bag.
It is what it is. A torso, parts for an upper thigh, and parts for upper arms. I have had experience with the thigh…longtime readers will know that Kannox Vull’s stump leg broke immediately out of the package, and I had the Horsemen send me a replacement part. They only sent the lower thigh…not the thigh-cut joint. So I had to extract that from the old stump and that was SO DIFFICULT. Seriously…I almost cannibalized the Warrior Beast Head Hunter figure…I would have just had to paint his thigh purple.
But now I have spare parts for such mishaps. I will probably use them to customize…I might even add some red sharpie for…you know…blood! (These are of the same complexion as the Legendary Barbarian).
COSMIC LADIES CHARACTER PACK and KALIAN SHUNN
This came as two packages…I expected that because I have purchased head-packs before when they did a similar thing earlier in the year. (I got the blue snake heads and the alien heads, but I didn’t get the character packs that are actually still available). Basically, I would have never picked up the Zeerian Spyre (Zeeri) as she is such a plain character. Actually, I thought, and probably many other fans also believed this to be a “legion builder,” after all, the title Zeerian Spyre kind of sounds like a race name followed by an occupation. Which is probably why she has wound up in this kind of clearance sale. The two heads, which I apologize for the glare, these are Barbie heads in Caucasian and African-American style. With these heads I should be able to make lots of different female builds, and that is the draw of paying $40 for this set.
Kalian Shunn (Kailey) comes in a similar kind of box. This is one that appeals to me because of the colors. I have almost picked this up at a toy store a few times, but never felt it was worth a $70 price tag. So I always put it back…if I am going to spend $70, it better be something substantially good for certain. Usually I was looking for something else that they didn’t have. But during this sale she was only $34, and so I went ahead and got it, taking advantage of that lower shipping cost as well.
I won’t bore you with photos of the backs and sides…basically they both have bio information and a description of the “wave” of figures, in font that I can’t read. It is best to just go to the Horsemen’s website. The backs of the packages show off a cross-sell of other Cosmic legions, and I believe Zeeri was from wave 1, while Kailey was from a later wave. (You can tell because all of the available Cosmic Legions are on the back. My photos were all burry 😦 … I really need a new iPhone)
What do you get in the packages?
Zeerian Spyre
- Zeerian Spyre (Zeeri) figure
- four translucent peg pieces
- a pair of alternate hands.
- a hologram
- a pair of pistols
- a sniper rifle
- a cloak
- a re-breather
- an alternate head with a different hairstyle
I can’t go any further without discussing the alternate heads. I think a couple of photos will tell the story.
In case you can’t tell, I’m ultra excited about the movie coming out next week! And I DID get a preview ticket! So I will see it Wednesday, and have a review ready for Friday!
So these alternate heads just add a lot of value, and they look great on Zeeri…more photos ahead.
Kalian Shunn
- Kalian Shunn (Kailey) figure
- four translucent peg pieces
- a pair of alternate hands
- a shoulder pauldron
- a weapons strap or belt
- a high-powered laser rifle
- a rocket
- a pistol
- a bo staff
- a cloak
- an alternate helmeted head
It seems kind of humble after that above showing of what is included, doesn’t it. But really, as a basic figure, Kailey has more stuff than Zeeri…I just paid out for an upgrade.
Figure Reviews
One big thing to say…these are almost identical figures as far as sculpt and articulation. Kailey is a later repaint of Zeeri. And that tells this story.
Besides the obvious difference in the heads, they have different lower legs and shoes. And really that is about it. It is notable, and perhaps unforgivable, that Kailey has to wear a dress. She has a socket on the front of her waist that the Horsemen did not give us a part for. This is the only time I have seen this…for instance even the Figura Obscura Father Christmas, who has a similar body underneath all of that Christmas robe, has a loin-cloth piece to plug in there. You can see why I wanted this figure…she looks great, with a cool color scheme. But the more I messed with it, the more I realized that this was the Horsemen geniusly maximizing their value out of the already percolating on-the-shelf Zeerian sculpt.
Even that belt…it is the same. I was almost fooled! About an hour of taking pictures and video, and I started to realize it. Something else…in the photo above, you can see the alternate masked head. (You can remove that orange part on the crown, but underneath isn’t much to look at). Without the cape, you have a bare orange neck that just seems wrong. There should have been a blue neck peg or some kind of collar piece to hide the neck peg. Instead they gave us this hood that doesn’t work with the default head. Furthermore, she has a bare orange arm, limiting the head-swapping action to other orange or at least alien heads.
Because of this parts re-use, they have identical articulation…except for one thing. Kailey’s hair is so stiff that her head can’t move. AND, because of the shoulder pauldron and that hair, her right arm is limited range too! Big issues with Kalian Shunn. Otherwise, the articulation is at every joint. Mythic Legions, Cosmic Legions, and related lines use pop-and-swap to where getting new parts is actually a point of collection for some people, especially customizers. For what it’s worth, I find the parts collection of Horsemen figures to be WAY COOLER than Legos.
Accessories
Both of these figures really shine in the accessory department. And you know the SpartanNerd hates it when figures don’t come with much. (Evil-Lyn is notorious for coming with nothing…Why Mattel)?!
The sniper rifle that Zeeri came with is really great! Notice that I have slotted one of those pegs in the side as a power source or ammo source. With that head and the sniper rifle, we now have a comparable Legions figure to GI Joe Classified Series Shooter. And now I have some guidance on how to paint Shooter’s rifle in my Summer Break free time.
I have this Kailey’s high-powered laser in other colors…this time it is painted terrifically, giving me ideas on how to improve my others. I didn’t even realize that she came with a wrist-rocket. You can attach this piece to the side of the gun as well.
These people are so fun to photograph it is hard not to just “run rabbits.” So here is some fun.
This is the same photo as earlier, take away the non-legions figures. The space men are 1.0 figures, while the ladies are considered 2.0 figures. I am not an expert on this, but basically in the past two years the Four Horsemen have added this 2.0 design for smaller figures like elves, but also ladies. But notice one of the first pictures I have…Ne’ve’ is a recent lady figure, and she is a 1.0. A heavier build than these two. One of the most obvious improvements with 2.0 is the neck peg, as opposed to a ball joint that is permanently attached to the torso. (See the barbarian parts above)
SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LADIES CHARACTER PACK AND KALIAN SHUNN
Well, both of these basic figures are 85% the same sculpt. And this is a good sculpt and design. However the cutting of corners that the Four Horsemen used to make Kalian Shunn…she is mostly a repaint with a different head. This feels like a strike against that figure. On the other hand, Zeerian Spyre is a humble paint job. That figure by itself feels a little less spectacular than Kalian Shunn. But that isn’t the full story, is it. The two additional heads that can make two completely different feeling figures, and that is where the strength is found in the Zeerian Spyre. But the fact that the Cosmic Legions/Mythic Legions/Figura Obscura/Infinite Legions build system is so modular and poppable-swappable means that the selection of character heads offered as a character pack with Zeeri makes it something extra special. Zeeri wouldn’t have the feels point if it weren’t for the option of the character pack…I would have never bought that figure. I considered getting Kailey several times before…(I only paid $37 during the “in Stock” sales event at store horsemen…not $70 at a local brick-and-mortar store). I guess I consider Kalie’s paint more awesome, even if that orange-ish skin-tone limits the swappability somewhat. Still…that hood covering up this problem is kind of a janky solution. And this is the only figure out of all of the legions that I own that has to wear a dress…she wasn’t given a piece to cover her front waist. You have no head articulation using the default head, and her right shoulder is also very limited, especially with the pauldron attached.
Breaking down the points, The Cosmic Legions Ladies set with Zeerian Spyre gets 5/5, while Kalian Shunn gets 3/5.
| Cosmic Ladies/ Zeerian Spyre | Kalian Shunn |
| Sculpt- 1 Paint- 1 Articulation-1 Accessories-1 Feels point-1 | Sculpt- 0 Paint- 1 Articulation-0 Accessories-1 Feels point-1 |
It’s just too hard for even a “legendary creature” kind of figure like Kalian Shuun to overcome the additional power of what is really three alternate heads. You have so many options. Kalian Shunn isn’t a bad figure…she just doesn’t measure up to what she is cracked up to be. Kind of like Kannox Vull turned out. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!
spartannerd 