Tag: #Dinosaurs

Recommended music: The Cars – Shake It Up

This #WhateverWednesday, we’re shaking it up with another look at some great dinosaur action figures. It’s the Ideas From Mars Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore Alternate Color Weapons Pack!

“The blacksmiths of Ashmore are renowned for crafting some of the most devastating and resilient weapons. The ancient craft passed down from generation to generation has been instrumental in the legacy of the Saurian race and the continued dominance of the brave warriors who defend their Queen. They are the Armies of Ashmore!”

The 2023 Armies of Ashmore Kickstarter campaign for this line allowed backers to pledge for a variety of items. These included half a dozen different named dinosaurs, blank bucks, pins, comics, head packs, and weapons packs available.

The Brute Weapons Pack (for this larger 8-11″ brute scale action figure) includes the legendary battle ax, a war club mace, and both the armored and infantry shields. While the paint job is crisp, and the weapons are detailed, the color palette and weapon selection of this set were just too plain for me.

Instead, I opted for the more deluxe Ashmore Armory. It offers up a half dozen different weapons, several of which I don’t have from the figures. All come in an alternate color scheme from the original releases, including the oversized magic effect. In addition to the axe, club, and shields from the smaller set, you also get the mage’s staff and a royal spear.

Unlike the sold-out figures, the weapons packs were still available at BigBadToyStore as of the time of this writing. I’d highly recommend picking them up quickly if you have some larger 1/12 scale figures in need of additional options for their weapons. Big thanks to Pizza Monster and Gladiator Hulk for stepping in to model some weapons. 😄

Roar!

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Recommended music: Hank Williams Jr. – Dinosaur

This #WhateverWednesday, we’re taking a look at another great action figure. It’s the Ideas From Mars Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore Infantry Warrior Blank!

While the Kickstarter campaign in the spring of 2023 allowed you to pledge for a half dozen different named dinosaurs. It also allowed backers to purchase “blanks” of the various mold options.

I have picked up other anthropomorphic dinosaur action figures before. These include Saurozoic Warriors from Boss Fight Studios, as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Triceratons from NECA Toys. However, this line gave me another option. Besides those lines being scaled much smaller than this 8.5″ beast, their character offerings were already established as coming with a character-specific color scheme.

The idea of making a custom figure and starting with more of a blank slate is more appealing to me than just painting over all the previous colors. Yes, Ideas from Mars did use this head and body combination with the Armies of Ashmore line for General Cerros and Rydoor, but I didn’t want another blue or green Triceratops; I want one that with more of a red color scheme.

Unfortunately, I have yet to paint him up, so the blank figure still resembles more of an action figure test shot or prototype. In the meantime, we can just pretend he’s a statue of an unknown dinosaur army soldier. Fortunately, he comes with the same 17 points of articulation, removable armor, and multiple accessories as if he were a named character. These include an axe, three pairs of hands, a helmet, and a shield. Unlike the regular characters that arrived in beautifully detailed window-packaged boxes, the blank one here arrived in a clear poly bag with this simple “Create-An-Infantry Warrior” header card, awaiting the day when it can finally be customized.

Also ,I don’t know of any retailers that stocked the blank figures, so they’re likely the most rare figures in the line, including the Kickstarter exclusives. This means if you’re interested in painting one up yourself, you’ll likely have to seek out this dinosaur on the inflated secondary market.

Roar!

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Recommended music: Olivia Newton-John – Magic

Something magical is happening this #WhateverWednesday. Today, we’re taking a look at another great action figure. It’s the Ideas From Mars Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore Milwick!

While Cuzzo was the specific figure I pledged for during the Kickstarter campaign in the spring of 2023, Milwick Thunder Mage was also a must-buy for me and well worth the two-year wait. The Armies of Ashmore line revealed at Legions Con 2022 was a unique idea, and the scale of these figures absolutely dwarfs previous anthropomorphic dinosaur action figure releases. Milwick’s purple color and magic abilities also help him from other dinosaur toys.

‘The world of Eden is a place of vast wonder and magic. Across the land lives many races and warriors. None more fierce then the great Saurian race in the southern hemisphere. The vibrant warriors who guard the child queen and her kingdom, they are the Armies of Ashmore!’

According to Milwick’s official bio, Milwick has seen queens come and go. He has lived through many battles and many times of peace. As a Thunder Mage, he is in tune with not only the magic of Ashmore but also throughout all of Eden. Milwick often keeps council with the queen of Ashmore, along with other spiritual beings in Eden. Do not let his simple staff deceive you; mystic powers allow him to fight at great distances.

The Milwick figure is so large that he had trouble fitting in the oversized packaging, even with his additional neck piece removed and his head pointed down. Once the neck is attached, Milwick measures eleven inches high by four inches wide, really dwarfing other 1/12 scale action figures. The figure comes in a large window packaged box with beautiful comic art on the side, which makes up 20 percent of a fantastic mural before going in the recycle bin.

In addition to the solid paint details and 17 points of articulation, Milwick came with two extra sets of hands, an adjustable helmet, a staff that is taller than most 1/12 scale action figures, and a magic effect that can be attached to the staff. Big Bad Toy Store quickly sold through their small allotment of this figure as well, with only weapons packs still in stock, so you’ll have to seek out this dinosaur on the inflated secondary market.

Roar!

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Recommended music: Joe Diffie – Third Rock From The Sun

Cause and effect are in play on this #WhateverWednesday. Today, we’re taking a look at another great action figure. It’s the Ideas From Mars Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore Cuzzo!

What a mouthful that full name was, but the name of this toy really isn’t all that important here. Because this company designed and promoted an excellent dinosaur action figure, it had the effect of opening my wallet to get the figure in my collection.

Armies of Ashmore was initially revealed at Legions Con 2022 and was labeled as the first wave of the Defenders of Eden toy line. The convention was the perfect location for this debut, as Ideas From Mars hired Four Horsemen Studios to fully design these dinosaur warrior figures based on the direction of the artists behind the Defenders of Eden comic book.

Now, I’m not sure how much the Defenders of Eden comic or toyline will continue to grow, as I believe they are still stuck on the same three issues from a few years ago, but in the meantime, this company put out an excellent wave of dinosaur action figures. While the figures were a part of a Kickstarter campaign in the spring of 2023 and didn’t ship for about two years, they were well worth the wait.

According to Cuzzo’s official bio: “Most of the armor division is full of hard heads, but none more than Cuzzo. Cuzzo loves being the first to run into battle and the last to clean his club off after a day of fighting. His plated armor is perfect to shield himself and help the infantry warriors if needed. The armor division might not be the fastest, but what they lack in speed, they make up in spirit and strength.” While that backstory paints a nice picture, to me, this can just be a generic dinosaur warrior that you wouldn’t want to cross paths with.

Cuzzo is a large, beefy figure, measuring eight and a half inches high by four inches wide. Though he’s at the short end for this line, he still towers over other 1/12 scale action figures. Also, the figure arrived in a large window packaged box with beautiful comic art on the side, which was nice, but it all eventually went to the recycle bin. The interior art could not be salvaged as the substantial packing trays were glued to it.

In addition to the fantastic paint application and 17 points of articulation, Cuzzo came with two extra sets of hands, an adjustable helmet, a mace that can be swapped out with the weapon on his tail, and a shield that can split into two small shields. All these options make a great army builder if only you could find more. Big Bad Toy Store quickly sold through their small allotment of figures, with only some accessories still in stock, so you’ll have to seek out these dinos on the inflated secondary market.

I’ll share some more pictures of Cuzzo at some point. This is another figure I’m sure will return to the blog in one way or another. He’ll likely be back at the end of the year on my Top 10 figures of 2025 list.

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