Scarabus Week, Day One:
Scarabus & Anubos

NoisyDvL5

Once you’ve got them open, the first thing you’re going to notice is the quality of the figure. While the Fantastic Exclusives of the past have always been beautiful figures, circumstances beyond the Four Horsemen’s control have some times caused a fly in the ointment here or there. That’s not the case with Scarabus. The quality is… through the roof. I’ve opened 40% of the ten-pack and played with Vault’s Dark & Light Talisman Scarabi and I’ve yet to find a loose joint. The accessories are sturdy, but flexible to resist breakage. And the paint puts a lot of the figures on my shelves to shame. Make no mistake, these figures are the best the Four Horsemen have produced, and even though I’m trying really hard to avoid any hyperbole this week… probably some of the best ever.

After you’ve opened the figures, cataloged the accessories, and broken in the joints, you’ll finally have some time to really see the intracacies of the sculpt and the cohesive little details that cover him from head-to-toe. I have a lot I want to say about the sculpt, like how it interacts with the articulation or works in tandem with the paint to create a unified look, but I’ll have plenty of time to get to that in the coming days. So far, I’ll just say that each of the four figures I’ve opened has been an individual joy. And while I’ve enjoyed them more together than apart, I still need to spend at least some time talking about Scarabus & Anubos before I move along to part two.

Scarabus is the big man himself of the set, of course. And if you’re brave enough to try having just one, it probably ought to be him. He’s got some surprising differences from the 2D original we first saw years ago when Fantastic Exclusive started, but I think they’re all for the better (a thumbs up to whichever Horsemen dropped the earrings!) and most of the changes are additions that were surely brought on by seeing him in three dimensions.

One thing separating Scarabus from the rest of his flock is that he includes three face plates: regular, demon fire, and dormant form. They switch out easily and stay in place just fine, but I’ve been keeping him with this regular face for the most part, leaving the special faces for his other forms which I imagine you’ll see tomorrow.

Out of the nine Scarabus variants, Anubos seemed to capture most people’s imaginations. I really have no idea which variant will sell out first, but my money is on him. He also just happens to be my favorite of the group of nine (though that could change before the week is out). Perhaps it’s just the familiarity of Anubis, or that I like dogs, or that it’s just a kick ass head sculpt that looks downright mean, I don’t know – but I know I like it. The other interesting thing about Anubos is his clothing – the other ten figures have very unique color schemes, but Anubos is just a few decos away from copying Scarabus. I’m curious to know why that’s the case, but I imagine asking might only elicit an “all will be revealed” answer from the Four Horsemen. Still Anubos is a favorite, and I doubt this will be the last you see of him (or Scarabus) this week.

Overall, Scarabus & Anubos received the Monday spot in Scarabus Week because they were the two I was most excited to open. After first seeing and wanting a Scarabus in the very first Fantastic Exclusive years ago, I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have him. I’ve enjoyed nearly every DCUC, MOTUC, and Outer Space Man I’ve had the good fortune to pick up the intervening years, but this is a long wished for figure. As happy as I am to have them, I can only imagine how excited the Four Horsemen must be to finally have them available for order at StoreHorsemen.Com.

Anubos was my second open just because his head sculpt spoke to me more than the others. While the Four Horsemen intended him to be thematically similar to the big man, I imagine his head might just end up on a different body before the week’s out. That’s actually one of the things I’m most excited about. I’ve heard around the ‘net about these figures all being similar and I know some might consider my doing five separate reviews on them repetitive – but there’s so much possibility to these figures. The options per figure, switching the pieces between figures – just the overall ability to customize them without getting out paints or popping the non-swappable joints apart. Now that part one is done, I’m excited at the prospect of opening more and adding their pieces to the collective.

Earlier I said that Part One of Scarabus Week basically amounted to the gist. Well, here it is: the Four Horsemen outdid themselves on these figures. So much so, that it is going to take me a few days to cover everything. I know that this quick overview probably only touched upon some of the concerns or interest you might have about these guys, but fear not… Scarabus Week has just begun!

A huge thanks out to all the Four Horsemen – Cornboy, Jim, Chris, and Eric – for making Scarabus Week a reality!

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38 thoughts on “Scarabus Week, Day One:
Scarabus & Anubos”

  1. I hope your first born child is a different race than you.

    Now I have to sell my kidney to afford Anubos.

    Great review / overview, and the pictures were amazing. The Four Horsemen can count on you to get them more sales with your pictures than their name alone.

  2. Just out of interest, did you get yours as a “review package” or through the normal ordering process?

    Gives me an idea whether I should rip the mailbox open every day when I get home or whether I should try to contain the excitement for a bit.

    I’ve broke myself too many times trying to get Horseman figures, but I’m nearly there. Just a few Mynos to go…

    Awesome reviews as always

    Jo

    1. These came as review samples to get the word out. They shipped out 56 pre-orders on Tuesday, hopefully you were in that batch!

  3. oh baby… these figs are just stellar. and truly speaking, they redefined how i look at the industry, because they really defy traditional logic (or logistics, however you want to couch it.) we’re in an era where some of the bigs are telling us, “we can’t cost out accessory pieces,” “we can’t cost out alternate heads” “collector friendly packages are expensive” “six inch figs are expensive” “no you can’t have that sword” and other silliness. scarabus is bit more expensive that some other toy lines… but hardly impossibly more expensive. and for what you pay, you get straight limbs, solid construction, a preposterous number of paint applications, a cubic buttload of accessory pieces, and the coolest packaging i’ve laid eyes on since the sigma six locker boxes. oh, and we get all this in a production run size that mattel or hasbro wouldn’t even be able to conceive working in, and then virally marketed by the same fans who helped create this fig in the first place… it is just an eye opening look at the power of YES in a NO world.

    2. I agree.

      (and thanks for reminding me of the Sigma Six boxes. I had intended to buy a bunch of the figures which I hated for the weapons and those boxes for my Adventure Team Joes. And I blinked and missed them on clearance. bummer.)

      Were I more cynical than I already am I’d assume the company was targeting the Japanese market, because that’s right up there with what is going on over there for the collector’s figure standard.

      OTOH, here’s where I get flayed. These do nothing for me. On an intellectual level I see the beauty and quality of the work, but it doesn’t fire me up, it doesn’t make me need to have these. Sorry.

      I do love the fun of the pictures however. 🙂

      1. If you’re tempted at all by one of them, you might want to purchase it. I ordered the black and white ones because I liked how they looked, but the figures themselves are just so much more impressive in person. We try to convey as much as we can through our pictures and write-ups, but ultimately you’ll never get that sense of awe until you’re holding one in your hand.

      2. i don’t think they were targeting the japanese market, or the run would likely have been larger, but i do know the horsemen are fans of various import lines, and i’m sure those design aesthetics and some of articulation schemes they’re using are surely inspired by some of the best of those lines. where i think the gothitropolis stuff really cuts itself away from like SIC and those kinds of import lines is the durability. these are much sturdier figures that are clearly designed for more than just casual posing.

    3. You hear that? That’s what a slow clap sounds like over the internet.

      Okay, so noise doesn’t travel over the internet like that, but trust me, I’m mentally applauding this post.

  4. it is a shame these will never be seen at retail or mass produced to try and get the price down. I am very tempted to pick up one or two, but I feel that will lead to wanting the whole set! Amazing figures that really show what a company like McFarlane could have been if they had not been so cheap on the articulation or the QC. I hope we see some of those other lines that 4H came up with in the near future and at a a more regular pace. The face that thy put so much care into how they figures come out says a lot.

    I almost wish Mattel would help out, but I think the QC would suffer greatly.

    1. What’s kind of crazy is that I’m not sure how much less they’d cost at mass retail. If DCUC figures, with their high production runs, gross reuse of parts (Scaribus only reuses the same body 10 times. How many times have we seen each of the standard DCUC bucks?), sloppier paint, cheaper plastic, lower number of accessories, overall smaller size, shoddy quality control, etc., etc., are slowly creeping up to the $20 range, something as beautiful as the Scaribus bunch would probably still cost nearly $30 at TRU (which is what they go for over at StoreHorsemen.com).

  6. OMG! These are beautiful figures. I’ve been reading all the reviews, but I was really waiting for yours and you didn’t disappoint! That moonlit tree picture is amazing. That’s art man!

  7. Great review, Dan! I love when you unwind and get a little more whimsical with your reviews. I totally agree on the stockpile comment! That’s so true!

  8. 1. I’m diggin’ the Scarabi review week idea. Definitely looking forward to more.

    2. I’m hoping we will see some Masters of the Universe Classics figures posed next to a Scarabus (or variant) in the coming week. How tall is Scarabus compared to Skeletor? I’ am looking for a demonic archfiend for my MOTUCverse. Scarbus looks the part, but it sure would be disappointing if he was 2″ shorter than Skelly.

    3. I enjoyed your opening to this review. Enjoying a toy simply because it’s a great toy. For a hobby such as toy collecting, which is itself borderline absurd, it’s amazing, and a little depressing, how serious the collectors take themselves. I bought Fin Fang Foom not because he was a Marvel Legends figure, but because he’s a great articulated dragon who can terrorize everyone from He-Man to GI JOE, or he could play fetch with Galactus. You know, whatever.
    http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/Lost_Caballero/MOTUC/MonsterBeastFight001.jpg
    http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae129/Lost_Caballero/Galactus/Galactus012.jpg

    I say toy collectors, “Embrace the ridiculous.” Forget scale, series, manufacturer, and buy what strikes you. Then go have fun with it.

    2. Look to Friday for some comparison shots! 🙂

      And I do want to forget scale, but my DCUC Swamp Thing will be a giant and it just makes me sad. LOL

  9. just one word…Amazing! I cannot believe the details on these figures. Great photography in this review Noisy!
    I wanna buy the entire 10 set + the 2 pack special..but it’s gonna set me back by about $500 with international shipping 🙁

  10. JamesLynch, I have to agree with you that at retail, they would probably not be much less in this current toy market. I guess I am thinking that when this was announced a few years ago, before Matty and such, a $30 figure seemed absurd, but with the current rising price of DCUC (and less and less accessories and QC in some cases) and the ML 2pack prices and MOTUC, this could be a $35-40 figures at retail and be well worth it. I bought the DCUC 12 Inch Hal Jordan for a custom and it was nearly $40 with tax!!!! No accessories and much less articulation then the 6 inch scale ones. (no wrist or elbow or bicep joints). Right now I only buy sets from BBTS to keep each figure under $20. I never buy at TRU cause they start at $19.99 without tax!!!! They even cheaped out on the display stand with 12 inch Hal because they said it did not cost out.

    And Fire King, I am pretty sure these are at least 6-8 inches tall so they should tower over MOTUC, but I could be wrong…(I am still contemplating getting some of these figures…decisions decisions…)

  11. I am loving these figures… Their detail, the variety of toys that come with them (yes, I just called Sacarabus’s accessories toys, as in MORE things to play around with). The extra faces (and the fact that he can hold them) is really awesome. The details are beautiful. Props to the 4Hmen!

    I loved the picture with the Stargate joke, by-the-by. Classic 🙂

    Really nice review! I think Dormant Scarabus is my favorite of the color variations (he IS purple, after all…) I can’t wait to see the rest of the reviews for this week. Stellar so far!

  12. Anubos sure looks snazzy with the gold headdress/tendril thingy rather than his blue one. I love his blue-gray, but that gold just pops on him. I’ll see if I can’t get Vault to display his that way when he gets one. 🙂

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