I mentioned some anticipated deliveries in my last column. Right on schedule, the Figure Gods (or maybe it was FedEx) delivered my first-ever All-In set from Four Horsemen Studios.
As the name implies, you’re going “All-In” by purchasing one of each figure and/or items in a wave for a slight discount. It’s also making a commitment to buying a product that you won’t see for quite a while. In this case, right around two years as Cosmic Legions: OxKrewe, Book One – Thraxxon (a name that aims to use as many punctuation marks as possible) debuted and went up for preorder at Power Con 2023.
This wave of Cosmic Legions brought with it a shift in setting to the wreckage of the Qorgonox, a downed reclamation and recovery vessel on the planet Thraxxon. You get three of the six surviving crew members as part of this wave. You also get a Thraxxian Sout, the Veeblian: UkHa and the mysterious Kurnn Ray.
All of that lore is out there and available on Source Horsemen, but if I’m being honest, I rarely follow much of the story. The great thing about Legion figures, both Cosmic and Mythic, is the fact that you can make your own stories and factions. You can even mix Cosmic and Mythic if you want to. I won’t judge. The versatility and storytelling options are what make these lines so appealing to me as a figure photographer. Let’s get this wave in the photo booth and see what they have to offer.
Uularia and Vellok Speer
According to the storyline, Uularia and Vellok are the spiritual mother and father to the OxKrewe. In my mind, that makes them the mom and dad on whatever version of Lost in Space you choose to vibe with.
The figures themselves are essentially male or female in a beautifully designed bubble-helmeted space suit. We’ve gotten similar suits in the line previously, but these suits are a bit more bulky. Despite that added size, they still manage to pose well and come with some great-looking salvage accessories.
The colour choice on the suits is striking, and they look gorgeous in this shot of them floating adrift in space, holding onto one another. “We’ve gotten through worse. We’ve still got each other.”
Orvar
The third member of the OxKrewe included in this wave is Orvar. The description of the demolitions and discovery specialist: Ornery and ill-tempered. Say less. I’m sold. Little Mr Sassy Pants Orvar has zero fucks left to give, and he has explosives. I took the liberty of giving him Vellok’s chainsaw for this shot. The figure is essentially a scaled-down version of the other space suits from this wave. Orvar is squat and surly, and I can already hear him complaining like a queen. Am I the only one who hears Harvey Fierstein when I look at this guy?
Thraxxian Scout and Lowland Scapeback
Our first beast, or animal in the Cosmic line, is the Lowland Scapeback. We’ll be getting a domesticated version of this in a future wave, which allows for a mount and rider. This is the more feral and ferocious version. I’d love to get two more of these to make my own little pack of Scapebacks.
The Scapeback is a fun, unique design, but fair warning, those spikes don’t mess around. You can fend off a would-be assailant by bludgeoning them with this purple pin cushion. First thing out of the box, I would advise you to gently pop off the head and shoulder plates just so you can see how much articulation is packed into this figure. Loosening it up will also avoid any unnecessary trips to the ER from trying to figure out exactly what type of poses this guy is capable of, which I’m happy to report is better than expected! The Horsemen are accustomed to reuse. I could see some modifications to this body making for a pretty great El Chupacabra Figura Obscura release.
Speaking of reuse, the Thraxxian Scout pulls it off perfectly by creating an interesting new species relying heavily on parts from previous releases. Thraxxians and their reptilian appearance make my mind jump to the Gorn from Star Trek. (The Original, not Strange New Worlds.) They packed in a jawbone spear and a femur club to add to the primitive aesthetic of the species. This is a great army builder, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a bigger-bodied Thraxxian Brute in the future.
UkHa
Another great example of a little bit old, a little bit new. You might recognize some of UkHa’s limbs from the previously released Grayborn figures. Add in some fresh new pieces and you get a Veeblian. An alien species that would be at home on any sci-fi shelf or outer space cantina.
UkHa comes geared up with all sorts of little trinkets that might come in useful on his journey. Where’s he going to? That’s up to you to decide. He looks like the kind of companion that shows up at just the right time to instill in you some great wisdom or help you solve a riddle.
I might ask UkHa how we get out of this mess, and he’d say: “Sticky situations call for sticky solutions.” It would then take me another 20 minutes before I figured out I should use the duct tape he was trying to hand me.
Kurnn Ray
This was the figure from this set that originally captured my imagination. The Mysterious Stranger is on the outskirts of the crash site, spying on the survivors. Why does she need that giant helmet? Is she a Daft Punk Stan? Is that trench coat wired? (She’s allergic to idiots. Definitely. It is!)
There’s just so much going on with this figure, and I mean that in the best possible way. The coat, in and of itself, is something I would expect to see on figures twice the price. The only downside about this figure is that they gave you a great head sculpt in the unmasked portrait, which will never be used on this figure because that Imperial Probe Droid head is so crazy-good.
When I heard “mysterious helmeted traveller of the wastelands,” I naturally flashed back to Boba Fett’s introduction in The Star Wars Holiday Special. While I don’t have a Panna Dragon for her to ride, this Hammond Collection T-Rex was a suitable stand-in. It also made me want a Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur two-pack, but that’s for another column.
OxKrewe Campside Collection
The last item included in the All-In offering is the OxKrewe Campside Collection. Which sounds like a jacket I’d buy at L.L. Bean. It’s actually a set of diorama accessories. You get two different sized crates, a generator with a chassis to move it around, a computer and last but most certainly not least 2 tubes!
We gotta talk about these tubes, you guys. And I fear some of you aren’t mature enough to make it through this conversation without giving in to your inner 12-year-old. Here goes…
Cosmic Legion figures have a lot of holes. They also don’t come with detailed instructions as to what’s supposed to go into all these holes. Some are easy enough to figure out: This is a communication projection coming out of this guy’s forearm. This appears to be a breathing apparatus. I’ll put a tube here. But others are just… there.
These lonely holes are looking for something to be inserted into them without a clear direction on what should be inserted into them. Part of it is exciting. Dream up whatever, and as long as it ports in, cool! But then it’s also triggering my OCD because shouldn’t all those holes be filled with something? These are the things that will haunt my sleep… Dreaming of unfilled holes.
Hey, it was fun going All-In with Cosmic Legions! This is a great lineup of figures. I’m excited to see what the other two members of the OxKrewe will add to the family dynamic. I’m also eager to get more creatures if they’re as good as the Scapeback. The Horsemen crushed it!
