The Rundown: Four
Horsemen’s Mythic Legions!

NoisyDvL5

The Four Horsemen made the big jump to Toy Fair this year with an official booth at the show. And what they brought along was amazing. True, we’d seen the beginnings of the Mythic Legions line at SDCC, but the 4H wisely used the spectacle of Toy Fair to launch what looks to be their second huge Kickstarter success. I don’t want to jinx it here, but it’s already 74% funded and it’s only been about two weeks. The 4H seem to have this Kickstarter thing down.

The big announcement going into the Kickstater was about scale:

From the 4H: It’s been almost a year to the date since we first debuted our Mythic Legions line at our 2014 Toypocalypse show, and a lot has changed in that year. The characters have changed, the number of characters sculpted has almost doubled, and after a year of debate amongst fans (and amongst us here at the studio too!) so has the line’s scale. After a lot of thought, analysis, and consideration we are proud to officially announce that Mythic Legions is officially a 6” scaled line!

We know that there are going to be a lot of questions about the decision, so we wanted to touch on some of the reasons that we ultimately went in this direction:

The success of our Raven figures. The overwhelming response to the Raven pre-order this year only confirmed further the appetite for highly detailed 6” figures that our fanbase has. The Raven figures are far and above our highest selling figures to date, and that is a statistic that we simply could not ignore.

-Our past releases: Over the years all of our fantasy themed figures have been done in a 6” scale. We’ve invested so much time, energy, and money creating a solid collection of figures at that scale, that it would be tough to lose compatibility and access to those resources. This really became apparent to us when we first received our 6” scaled display bases from the factory. We’ve talked about doing a high quality display base for years, and now we will have one ready to go for Mythic Legions!

-Price/Value: This is absolute biggest part of the equation. When we got into pricing these figures out the numbers were not working out when it came to doing these at 4”. These are complex figures with a lot of parts and accessories, and the paint is very elaborate. With all of that factored in, the prices for 6” figures and the prices for 4” figures were very similar. What that means for customers is that you’d be paying basically the same price (give or take a dollar or two) for either scale. In the end we just didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do to overcharge for a 4” figure when we could give a fair price for a 6” figure.

So there you have it! We’ve been working on this line for almost two years now, and it’s transformed and grown almost the entire time. This decision wasn’t an easy one, and it was certainly not made without careful consideration. One of the primary reasons that we were excited about 4” was that we wanted to do large scale figures and mounts, and just because the line is moving to 6” that is not going to change. It will be more of a challenge, but we are more committed than ever to building an entire world with Mythic Legions full of figures and beasts with wide-ranging sizes and shapes. We already have some BIG things in the works!

Okay, so we’re going 6″. While that is a huge loss for the 4″ collectors out there, I have to admit that it made me pretty happy. My collection – which at this point was largely sculpted by the Four Horsemen – is a 6″ Collection and this is the best way for Mythic Legions to make it’s presence known on my shelves and that of other long-time 4H collectors.

So now that we know it’s 6″, what’s the line about? Check out this snippet from the Kickstarter.

Mythic Legions is a breathtaking new fantasy world of action figures created by the award winning Four Horsemen Studios. The action figure line consists of an endless variety of characters ranging from heroic knights and dwarves to evil orcs and skeleton soldiers. Interchangeable parts and accessories give fans the chance to create and build their very own custom characters. These exquisitely detailed and highly articulated figures also offer collectors the opportunity to build the legions of warriors that they have always dreamed of. Mythic Legions finally brings limitless possibilities to the world of premium quality fantasy action figures.

    These will be 6” scaled figures. For example, knights and skeletons will come in at approximately 6.5″ tall while dwarves will be shorter. Most figures have 30 points of articulation

  • Each figure is fully accessorized and ready for battle
  • Interchangeable heads and armor pieces allow for simple mix-and-match customizing
  • The regular edition figures have intricate paint schemes that complement the meticulously sculpted details.
  • Legion builder figures with simpler paint schemes provide an affordable way to bolster your legions.

We have created 16 prototypes for the initial assortment plus 6 different styles of legion builders and an amazing Mythic Legions art Book. Each figure features a unique look showcasing the tremendous detail and gorgeous paintwork that was put into each of these characters.

For the initial Kickstarter we are starting with 16 figures, the 6 legion builders, and n art book. Of course we didn’t want to stop there when we are trying to create an entire world of characters, so we’ve also created a fantastic array of stretch goal characters that we hope to unlock with your help. We have also put together a variety of add-ons so that you can customize your order into your own perfect assortment. The shipping costs are included in all of the prices, and using the add-ons will help bring your overall shipping costs down.

And those figures, we’ll they’re pretty snazzy:

[nggallery id=221]

But wait? There’s more figures there than what the 4H said? That Amazing Bog Goblin? And accessories? And stands? Checkout this KS update:

MASSIVE MYTHIC LEGIONS UPDATE!!
We are now just a little over a week and a half into our Mythic Legions Kickstarter campaign, and along the way we have seen several requests for certain types of items and characters. One of the great things about Kickstarter is that we can make adjustments along the way to meet the needs of our backers. So today we are making some major adjustments to the Kickstarter page, including newly available items and a restructuring of the stretch goals. Here’s a rundown of what’s in store:

Four Horsemen Figure Stands: These universal figure stands are perfect for displaying any and all 6” scale figures. They work perfectly for Mythic Legions figures, our various Bird figures, along with of our previous in-house lines. The adjustable metal figure clip allows for standing poses as well as hovering and flight poses. The figure stands are available as add ons for $5 shipped for both domestic and International backers.

Mythic Legions Weapon Packs: Each pack includes all six of the current Mythic Legions weapons in a themed paint scheme. Those weapons include: a small sword, large sword, dagger, spear, axe, and shield! The two themes are a heroic pack which is painted in a shining silver and gold combination, while the evil pack is painted in and ominous black and gunmetal scheme. Each weapon pack is in the add ons section and they are $12 for US backers and $13 for International backers.

Urzokk and Bog Goblin figures: Fans have been asking for Orcs, so we figured out a way to move around our tooling plan a bit so we can make it happen with Urzokk! And since those new parts are now available, we are also now able to offer the Bog Goblin figure! These two awesomely evil figures are now available as add ons at $33 a piece for US backers and $40 a piece for International backers.

The reconfigured Stretch goals: Now that Urzokk and the Bog Goblin figures have been moved out of the stretch goal section we have decided to re-assess the structure for the stretch goals. We are so excited about the stretch goals that we wanted to double them up at each level, so we can get to unlocking them faster! The new levels will now be: at $150,000 Attlus the Conqueror and Urkku will be unlocked, at $160,000 Vitus and Asterionn will be unlocked, and at $170,000 Azhar and Zazhar will be unlocked. Where we go from there will be revealed when and if it is necessary!

Reveals and surprises: We are currently working on casting up and painting the hidden stretch goals as the campaign is going on. We are going to show off updated silhouettes, and fully painted figures as they progress! We also hope to have some more exciting updates and surprise items available along they way to ensure that this campaign remains exciting, and most importantly, fun!

Again, we cannot thank you enough for all of the support on this project! The kind words and encouragement have been amazing. We just can’t wait to try and pay you all back by getting some seriously cool toys into your hands as quickly as we can!

That’s right, like any good Kickstarter, there’s more! Most of the Stretch Characters have their identities hidden, but it’s worth sauntering over and taking a look.

There is also one more fun tidbit, the Mythic Legions also herald the return of the Fantastic Exclusive!

FANtastic Exclusive is BACK!!

Four Horsemen Studios is thrilled to announce the return of FANtastic Exclusive! FANtasic Exclusive which ran from 2006-2009 was a process that put the critical decision making regarding action figure production into the fans’ hands. Fans voted on everything from character to scale to articulation points. We had a great run with FANtastic Exclusive, but it became harder and harder to make the system work when production costs were skyrocketing. We’ve talked about bringing it back for years, and that time has finally come!

With our upcoming Mythic Legions Kickstarter, FANtastic Exclusive will make it’s official return, but in an all new incarnation. We’ve designed this round to specifically work with the Kickstarter format, and to move quickly in order to have a final character chosen before the end of the Kickstarter campaign!

The Fantastic Exclusive voting will all take place on the Sourcehorsemen.com forums, and it will launch alongside the Mythic Legions Kickstarter campaign.

Want to learn more? Take a look at the various sites that covered the 4H’s visit to Toy Fair and their KS Launch:

And of course you can go directly to the Horse’s Mouth at Source Horsemen & MythicLegions.com or catch up with the Four Horsemen on on Facebook.

Continue to the
Mythic Legions Kickstarter!

NoisyDvL5

16 thoughts on “The Rundown: Four
Horsemen’s Mythic Legions!”

  1. Here’s my dilemma: I love the 4H. I’m crazy loyal to their brand, because their brand has always been top notch stuff. The Mythic Legions look no different.

    But there are way too many to choose. There’s no way I can afford to be all-in with this line at this time, and there aren’t any figures in this line that jump out at me as ones I really want above the others. I’m partial to knights, so I’d like to get as many of them as I can, but with the rampant parts reuse in this line (not knocking it, that’s the nature of the beast), getting all the knights would start to feel kind of redundant pretty quickly. Plus, I’d be getting all really similar figures while not getting some of the more unique ones, like any of the dwarfs, skeletons, orcs, bog goblin etc.

    If I thought I’d be able to keep collecting the line past the Kickstarter, I’d be less hesitant to jump in. Pledging for a few, and then picking up more from Store Horsemen next year would be fine with me. But if this is anything like the Ravens, there won’t be any in-store stock. It makes me loathe to jump in head-first the way I have with 4H figures in the past. I have almost all of the Scarabus figures, because those were put up as in-stock items at Store Horsemen, and I could buy them as was convenient for me (me being the customer, in this case). I got burned on the Ravens pretty bad, not knowing there would be no in-store stock (and not being able to spend any more than what I did for the two birds I got during the Kickstarter during the window that was open). Having such a narrow window to get in on the figures is one of the things that soured me on MOTUC, a line I’ve long since given up.

    So, yes, I’ll be backing this Kickstarter, but it’s taking me an unusually lengthy amount of time to figure out which of these figures I’ll be getting now (as none are “have to have!” any more than most of the others), and which I’ll cross my fingers on and hope are made available for general sale next year.

    1. so what would you do to fix things? on the one hand, showing product too far ahead seems dangerous, as production schedules could change, costs could change, etc… but it seems the only solution to your dilemma would be more advance notice and smaller batches of characters over a period of time. am i correct?

      i look at it like this, kickstarter is a chance to get the hugest chunk of expense, the tooling, done up front. hence, it behooves them to showcase as much tooling as is logistically possible, to entice people with what they have in mind, and to tease potential for future releases using creative reorganization of said tools. where the issue emerges for me is a complete lack of follow up to make some new product using the existing tooling. the raven reduxes are really the first time i’ve seen something like that, and even there, they’re more paint reduxes than parts swaps. if they want me to get what can be done with mythic legions, i would have started with just troop builder types, no generals, and once the tools are cut, announce in advance some new general class characters with modest new pieces and more paint aps as regular releases for store horsemen and do a pre-order system for those with a margin of overproduction for stock. or maybe, just makes fucking more of an already sold-old figure to sell on the store… like say, more scarabi. pick the two or three fastest selling variants, add a blurb on the card that card that says “second release!” and release the exact same figure, same accessories, to keep a modest stock of those characters (until the inevitable second sellthrough)

      the biggest weakness to the mythic legions concept that i see so far is that not prior four horsemen product has been available enough to “army build” in the strictest sense. especially with CB going on about 9 inch trolls and 3 ft dragons, cuz i’m going to need to load and reload dwarves until i have at least 50 to fight that dragon, and i’ll need 40 or 50 skeletons or varying ranks to swarm metroplex and godzilla. there’s no way i should be expected to army build 4 sects in one grand purchase, but they as a studio have never made enough of a product to reload my coffers and come back for more toys.

      1. I think what would put my mind at ease would be some kind of assurance that figures would be available after the Kickstarter. The Ravens, the 4H’s first Kickstarter, was the first time there were 0 in-stock sales on Store Horsemen. What little extra stock they made above-and-beyond the KS numbers all went to pre-sales, and they’ve been mum on a new production run of those figures (and since I’m not really wowed by any of the “Wave 2” birds, that’s not a substitute for me for not being able to pick up the rest of wave 1 that I didn’t have the funds for when the campaign first ran).

        If I knew that I could buy a handful of the figures now, and then a year from now, they’d be in stock at Store Horsemen and I could buy a few more, and then maybe, a few months later buy more, etc., I’d be more gung-ho for this line. But the idea of “get them all now or you miss out” doesn’t appeal to the collector in me.

        I know the 4H would prefer to never have overstock on anything, and sell through everything right away so they don’t have money just sitting on the shelf in their warehouse, but as a customer, that’s not the way I shop, especially when figures are released in such large numbers all at once. So, yeah, few figures released all at once would help, or just knowing I’ll be able to pick things up later if I can’t afford everything right now.

  3. The figure is $33. Shipping is $12. That’s why if makes sense to buy more than one figure. Because the shipping doesn’t increase and you can add on Standard Army builders for $18 a pop or more deluxe figures for $33. So it’s not like you are paying $45 a figure and shipping unless you only buy one.

  4. Lemme also add that these figures are likely to be even more limited than the last Kickstarter figures and some of those figures quintupled in price (on ebay) as soon as they arrived. Check out finished auctions for Quetzalcoatls and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

    1. See, that doesn’t incentivize me to invest in a toy line. “Buy them now or they’ll be prohibitively expensive in the future”? That’s not motivation to me, that’s a deterrent.

  5. There are way too many figures. I just can’t afford them all like I would want to. It is definitely a deterrent. And as a result I am unsure I would support this line long term. I will back it eventually as well (I think, budget wise I am saving for a wedding so I may not be able to) I want a lot of the figures, but since the odds are good that I will only get what I choose when I back the project I may just not do it and save the money. The argument that they will cost more on eBay isn’t as sound when it is said to a person who likes to keep his toys and display them. Money isn’t finite, and some of the prices on eBay were crazy. So if I buy now and look to collect later it will be even worse for me, turning me off even more. Finally, I am a little frustrated at the moment. My Raven figure came to me originally with a broken leg. (snapped in 2 at the knee) Got a replacement figure, and the right arm is floating around in the package out of the socket (Its fixable with a hair dryer and some muscle) which is ridiculous. Ive had issues in the past with 4H QC, and theyve been helpful, but it happens too often and right in the middle of while trying to decide to back their new project is frustrating as well.

    Ill probably get a named skeleton and a few skeleton army builders, but itll be under $100 if i do

  6. Damn, and here I was so looking forward to mixing these guys up with the Boss Fight Studios fantasy figures…

  7. I don’t really do Dark Ages type stuff – although the Gothitropolis figures are sufficiently out there and wild to go for. These are a bit more standard in design and while certainly well-made, not exactly my cup of tea. Still, that standard skeleton looks really neat and I could pick that guy up. I’ll have to find out if the standard army builders like him come with any weapons or anything. He’s just my favorite.

    1. Every figure gets three weapons, though off the top of my head i forget which three come with the AB skellies, bit there are also weapons packs now if you want a different combo of items or to give those weapons to figs from another line.

  9. I was thinking about something regarding this line the other day, about the switch in scale. I know many fans were upset that, a week before the Kickstarter launched, the announcement was made that line switched from 4″ to 6″ scale. They were mostly upset because they prefer the smaller scale. I realized, the scale switch bothers me a little, but for a different reason. I had planned on passing on this line when it was going to be 4″. At 6″, I find it a lot more appealing, but it’s also not something I budgeted for. It would be a little dishonest of me to say that I don’t have the money for toys right now, the problem I’m having is that my toy budget, such as it is, has been allocated elsewhere. If the 4H had made the announcement about the scale earlier, I could have tried budgeting a bit more for Mythic Legions.

  11. I am a huge fan of this series, but cannot get the figures I really want without shelling out $400 bucks or more! Just too many choices (not that it is a bad thing) might stick to about $200 just to support and see what I can get at a later date.

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