Hello, and welcome to a SpOoKy edition of Figure Friday! Remember the dream sequence in An American Werewolf in London? Did you ever think to yourself, “Can I get an action figure of the werewolf nazi, but in red and… ya know, maybe not so nazi?” YOU CAN! Sort of.
Fresh Monkey Fiction and Big Bad Workshop’s Monster Force line has given us some very cool figures that combine military aesthetics with horror elements (and Captain Eagle characters), but teetering on the edge of copyright infringement is their subline Order of the Crimson Moon, which is intended to serve as a prequel line to Monster Force.
Order of the Crimson Moon is a line that… let’s say “is heavily inspired by” the 80s’ Palitoy Action Force line, especially the Red Shadows characters.
“But Hans! Isn’t Action Force just what they called G.I. Joe in England!? And now a competitor line to G.I. Joe Classified?”
The short answer is “yes,” but it didn’t start out that way!
In the early 1980s, British toy company Palitoy, inspired by Kenner’s success with its 3.75” Star Wars line, decided to recreate their Action Man line in the same scale! Calling the new line Action Force, Palitoy initially focused on realistic soldiers from around the world, just like they’d already done in 12” scale. Soon after, they shifted more toward fantasy, so Action Force needed a villain. The Red Shadows were created to be that villain! As we all know, toy companies are always looking to save a buck and reuse a mould, and Action Force’s German Stormtrooper figure already made a great base for a bad guy trooper! They cast it in red, slapped on a new full cover helmeted head, and the Red Shadow Trooper was born! Hordes of them would follow the evil Baron Ironblood and Black Major into battle for several years!
The next year, Palitoy worked out a deal with Hasbro and started incorporating repainted and renamed G.I. Joe figures into the line, eventually phasing out new ideas and mostly just selling G.I. Joe toys as Action Force. I’d venture to say most American Joe fans probably had no knowledge or interest in any of this until two things happened.* First, there was an extensive feature on the line in Tomart’s Action Figure Digest sometime in the early 2000s. Then the Devil’s Due G.I. Joe comic book incorporated the Red Shadows into that series. Interestingly, these were all-new characters merely using the Red Shadows name and logo. It was enough to make people ask questions and do some research, and there’s no better place for that than www.BloodfortheBaron.com!
Didn’t I start off talking about werewolves!? I’ll get there.
The Red Shadows name seems to have bounced around legal Hell for many years but is currently owned by a toy company called Skeletron, makers of the amazing Roboskull 2.0! The company has taken its name from one of the original Red Shadows figures. They’re making updated versions of Red Shadows, as well as original characters, and those figures are STELLAR! However, if you want 6” Red Shadows in their classic look, Fresh Monkey Fiction and Big Bad Workshop’s The Order of the Crimson Moon line has characters who are NOT those characters, but… if you swap their heads and accessories around a bit, you can make yourself some awesome Red Shadows! They’ve also done these characters in 4” scale for the Eagle Force line, but those are a little harder to come by. Interestingly, the Crimson Moon Trooper was released as Kiloworg in that line, and was also packaged in its wolfman form. Does this help them get around any lingering copyrights or trademarks? Only the lawyers know for sure!
The Crimson Moon Trooper has over 30 points of articulation and includes Red Sh—er, Crimson Trooper helmet head, human neck, 4 pairs of gloved hands, 2 pairs of Kiloworg/wolf hands, an AK-47 w/removable magazine, blast effect, and a stand. The figure sells for USD $39.99 and is exclusively available at BigBadToyStore.
But what if evil werewolf soldiers aren’t spooky enough for you!? Well, the Order of the Crimson Moon has just the thing with the Crimson Moon Legionnaire! Now the Legionnaire appears to be a Trooper who went ahead and got himself zombified, but here’s the thing: he can still turn into a Kiloworg, albeit a rotting one! The figure has a lot less “battle damage” than most zombified character figures, but what it has is much more detailed and grisly than others. He also has a containment helmet which just happens to resemble the helmet worn by Baron Ironblood (or maybe an Australian bank robber)
Crimson Moon Legionnaire sports the same articulation as his teammate: human zombie head, human zombie neck, 2 pairs of wolf hands, 2 pairs of zombie hands, containment helmet, AK-47 w/removable magazine, blast effect, and a stand. This figure also retails for USD $39.99, exclusively at BigBadToyStore.
Yes, these figures are a little on the pricey side, but as soon as you take them out of the box, you’ll feel the difference in quality. These are made of a much denser plastic than most of your big-name brand figures. This also makes them a little stiff at first, so you’ll probably want to do the boiling water trick before you force anything. The weapons and blast effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen, and I appreciate all the hand options. The only negative thing I can say is that I’d maybe like to see the slits in the rubber lower half of the jacket be in the front and back rather than the side. This would look a little more realistic. A few more accessories couldn’t hurt either. The first Monster Force figures had a ton, and they were the same price!
Anyway, I must return to my tomb for now, but I shall arise in two weeks to tell you of other spoOOoky toyyys! Ok, I tried.
*This could very well just be my experience.
