Right, so I had time last night to unpack and play around with the General and the Praetorian.
Here's my review! (sorry, no pics)
Overall
Amazing. What else can I say? Both figures look and feel fantastic in hand. The materials used are absolutely top notch, the fit and weight of everything is perfect. Kaustic Plastik are not kidding when they say these are "museum quality" pieces. They really are.
Head sculpt
Both are great, the sculpting itself is clean and nicely detailed. The paint apps on both are very clean, although the General's laser-blue eyes look a tad unnatural. Perhaps not DiD or HT level, but getting awfully close.
Body
It's a solid base body, but has room for improvements.
I really like the option of the swappable arms (although the difference in range of motion from one to the other really isn't
that great), and KP have now included more and better hands (the sword gripping hands were sorely missed in earlier releases). Both figures had a bit of a loose left ankle, which is irksome.
The plastic-y color and shine of the bodies is a bit distracting, I much prefer ACI's painted bodies in that regard. The sculpted veins are also a bit overdone, IMHO. Again, ACI's painted detail looks better.
I also find the use of the rubber torso questionable for these heavily armoured figures, there's really no need to sacrifice functionality for aesthetics here, and the lack of articulation can be bothersome (there's very little, if any, sideways movement in the torso).
Clothing/Gear
Here is where KP really and truly shines. This stuff is outstanding.
I collect many different lines and buy from many different companies: DiD, ACI, Hot Toys, Sideshow, DML, Kaustic Plastik, Medicom and some bootlegs all grace my shelves. Usually DiD is at the top of my list when it comes to gear and clothing, thanks to their judicious use of leather, wood and metal, and their fantastic tailoring (hey, after doing hundreds of different nazi uniforms, you have to get good at it, right?), but now I think they have been finally ousted from their top spot in my personal list of preferences.
Helmets (
galea).
When you pick them up you immediately feel the heft. These things are solid metal. Heavy Metal. The craftsmanship is amazing, and the fit on each of the heads is perfect. The feathers on the Praetorian's helmet do look a bit iffy, but I think a bit of futzing and water might help a bit. Either that, or he'll have to be displayed after getting his feathers ruffled in battle...
Muscle Cuirass (
lorica musculata).
Beautiful. Both are exquisitely sculpted and painted. The leather effect on the Praetorian's and the metal effect on the General's cuirass are fantastic.
The gold details on the Praetorian's cuirass are clean and perfectly painted, the overall look of the General's puts to shame my ACI Maximus, making it look like cheap plastic.
Also very important, the clasps on the sides are of real leather and metal, with a very sturdy construction. I could pull and tighten the clasps without fear of breakage.
Boots.
Obviously, the General's stand out due to their decoration, but the Praetorian's are also very well constructed. Both fit great and look great. The Praetorian's might look a bit clunky when looked at too closely, but on the figure, at normal viewing distance, they look perfect. Again, the materials and craftsmanship on both are beautiful. Among the finest I've seen.
Leather vests (
pteruges).
Again, the General's stands out due to the beautiful color, but both are amazingly well made. They feel sturdy and the the material is suple and soft to the touch. The cut and fit is outstanding.
Belts and Weapons.
Real leather! Real metal! Real wood! Awesome stuff. You can't beat the real thing. The belts (balteus and cingulum militare) feel a lot sturdier now, and there's no fear of breakage. The brass bits do have a tendency to fall off, but I've used double sided tape and it works perfectly.
The hasta (old fashioned spear) of the Praetorian seems to be made of real wood and metal, and the pilum can be customised to make your favourite look.
The General has two gladii to choose from, one more ornate than the other, with an eagle's head on the hilt. The Praetorian has a new gladius, with a newly sculpted hilt, if I'm not mistaken. All three have metal blades with some good weathering and good paint apps.
Capes and Tunics.
Both come with two sets of tunics, a longer one for civilian wear (in the General's case) and for wear inside the city (in the Praetorian's case). The material of the tunics is a very soft, really nice fabric.
The Praetorian's cape (sagum, if I'm not mistaken) is the usual we've seen with Artorius (i.e. with no hood) that fastens at the neck.
The General comes with a beautiful purple cloak, unfortunately the embroidery makes it a bit stiff. I don't know how KP could have done this better, given the scale, so I'll just try to futz it into submission. Interestingly, the cape comes with ties so you can tie it on the lorica musculata, but there are small rings on the cuirass that look like they could have been used to fasten the cape if only they were a bit larger. Maybe KP tried to do it, but the small size prevented it from working? He also comes with a
toga picta in the same purple color and golden embroidery, to use with his long tunic when addressing the Senate.
A tutorial on how to drape the toga would be great...
Extras.
Yeah, there's even more stuff.
The General comes with a beautiful staff, again with an eagle, and
fasces (again real wood) for his
lictors to carry before him (a good job for our Praetorian friend in civilian garb).
Both come with stands, which is a really welcome addition. I'll have to hunt down a bunch of those for my growing Roman Legion.
Packaging
Superb. The art work is great, the boxes are sturdy, I had absolutely no breakage, both figures and their gear were securely ensconced in their foam trays.
I think that's about it...
I wish I'd had time to take pics for this review, because the figures are simply beautiful, but I'm sure my fellow collectors will post lots of pics over the next few days.
Congrats to KP, they keep making their figures better! There was a definite improvement from Valerius to Artorius and Tiberius, and now there's another marked improvement to Marcus and Lucius. Fantastic work all around.
