Product Review: Unimax "Ages of Action" Figures

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:31 pm

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned getting these new figures yet! Therefore, I thought I'd post a review of the new Unimax "Ages of Action" figures. I've only just dabbled into the collection, having so far purchased only the Roman Legionary and Ninja. However, after seeing the quality of these figures up close, I think I'm going to now get the whole set, plus a few more Romans and Ninjas

Here are a few photos of the Roman soldier. I'll get more photos of the Ninja once I open it and of the other figures when I get them. Enjoy!

The Roman legionary figure, at least, is very well crafted! Lots of detail, accessories, and worth the $9 price. The packaging is nice, but in some ways elaborate for just one figure. They could have bubble-carded the figure like the Bravo team ones and saved us a couple of bucks... The accessories with the Roman include the figure, helmet, pilum, gladius, gladius in scabboard, and the shield. The plastic on all is not rubbery, which is especially good for the swords. A little booklet is also included that details a little snippet of history about each figure. (Nice to see something quasi-educational for once!) The paint detail and weathering seem great to me. Lots of articulation is present on the figure as well, including seventeen points of movement! As you can see in the last picture, it is a little large for 1:18 scale, especially as a Roman was concerned. (Most people during Roman times were around 5.5 feet, very rarely being over six feet, so this guy is huge!) Still, these are great figures and I highly recommend them.

Again, more photos to be posted in the coming weeks

Kleinesoldaten · Post by **Kleinesoldaten** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:52 pm

Thanks fpr the pics. The Roman looks pretty darn good. Except for the way too thick Cheek plates on the helmet and the wierd cut on the front of his tunic, he's damn near perfect. I especially like the shield(scutum) and Belt (balteus).
Where did you buy them? I think I need a couple.

Booga · Post by **Booga** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:06 pm

Great review! The accesories are great. I really want to get them all, but at $9 i'll probably only get the samurai and ninja. Loking forward to seeing more reviews.

zonetoys · Post by **zonetoys** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:36 am

Great pics. I had no idea these were that nice! Thanks for the review.

tmanthegreat wrote: As you can see in the last picture, it is a little large for 1:18 scale, especially as a Roman was concerned. (Most people during Roman times were around 5.5 feet, very rarely being over six feet, so this guy is huge!) Still, these are great figures and I highly recommend them.

These guys can be 1:18 Roman re-enactors.

Post by **aferguson** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:14 am

i remember reading that the average height of a legionaire during most of the time of the empire was 4 foot 11 inches. Near the end, the average height had increased to 5 foot 1 inch, mainly due to the influx into the ranks of 'huge' barbarian races (peoples that tended to average around 5 foot 6).

Very nicely crafted figure...i suspect the ninja is a giant too, though.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:24 am

aferguson wrote:i remember reading that the average height of a legionaire during most of the time of the empire was 4 foot 11 inches. Near the end, the average height had increased to 5 foot 1 inch, mainly due to the influx into the ranks of 'huge' non-roman races that tended to average around 5 foot 6.

Quite true. I've seen some archaeological evidence that easily confirmed their small stature - remains of a legionary's armor in the British Museum and body casts from Pompeii. I could have beaten up the soldier whose armor I saw - and I'm only 5.6

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 6:40 pm

I have one each of the Norman and the Templar Knight. They're quite good, and come with multiple weapons (mix and match!) - I may order more of each. Waiting on some Romans.

sdhenke · Post by **sdhenke** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:08 am

Where did you find these? I really just want the Knight Templar and the Roman.

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:23 am

I love these - but If the only place I can find them is small joes - then Ill only pick up a couple - but If we find these at WM, TRU, or even Target - I will buy, buy, buy as many as I see or have the money in my pocket for...

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:24 am

dreaded double post

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:41 am

argh no - smalljoes does not take paypal!!! thats $30+ going somewhere else

Jesse James · Post by **Jesse James** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:37 pm

STUKA wrote:I love these - but If the only place I can find them is small joes - then Ill only pick up a couple - but If we find these at WM, TRU, or even Target - I will buy, buy, buy as many as I see or have the money in my pocket for...

I like these figures a lot too but I'm not sure I would go the etailer route to get them. i'd like them for customizing a bit, but I'm not sure I want to shell out online kind of money to get them. I have a feeling these could get picked up at regular retail after a bit... The tooling investment in them alone could mean these are being shopped hard to big stores.

I figure I can wait... THey may wind up on sale online too. They look really cool, especially the ninja, but I don't want a whole set anyway and it's just fodder to me for the most part, so I think I've got the patience on these ones.

JamesW · Post by **JamesW** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:35 pm

I preordered a full set (Thanks smalljoes.com!) and am pretty happy with the figures.

1 bitch is the fragility of some of teh weapons. The handle on the shield seperated immediately. The sword on the samurai broke in 3 seconds.

And as stated above the size is outta control. the Samuari is a giant. The ninja is a giant. The roman is a giant. The knight are ok as big as they are IMO. But man a Japanese warrior that big, a little silly.

Of the lot, the Roman is the most awesome (even as big as he is) . and I too could use a few more. They are not available anywhere on the net that I know of - so if you find em please let us know

Most etailers list that a new shipment is coming later this year (as early as April, some list September). I'll be watching...

tosborne3 · Post by **tosborne3** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:09 pm

Tankgirl got me this set as well. Very impressed with them.

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:31 pm

The only sources I know of are foxholetoys and smalljoes. Last time I checked, foxholetoys was sold out of Romans but had the other figures, while smalljoes had all of them but was charging double for the Romans. If you have any interest in ancient warriors then you'll really like these.

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:58 pm

regular parcel post shipping wasnt too bad for two of them - around 6 dollars.

dandaman · Post by **dandaman** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:59 pm

Haven't any of you heard of MichToy? They are having a special 20% off sale this month. Click on this link for information on the Ages of Action figure series:

http://www.michtoy.com/MTSCnewSite/newp ... ction.html

JamesW · Post by **JamesW** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:18 am

I have now

A couple more on the way

coreystinson · Post by **coreystinson** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:38 am

Tinman wrote:The only sources I know of are foxholetoys and smalljoes. Last time I checked, foxholetoys was sold out of Romans but had the other figures, while smalljoes had all of them but was charging double for the Romans. If you have any interest in ancient warriors then you'll really like these.

Yeah, we had no choice but to charge much more for the Roman figure because demand for it far exceeded the other figures. Truth is, we nearly got cleaned out on that figure before we increased the price. (Keep in mind we were offering a complete set at a discount.)

We have discussed the Legionary demand issue with the distributor and I think (hope) they will be able to address it so that those of you who want extras of the Legionary can be accommodated without breaking the bank.

tosborne3 · Post by **tosborne3** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:40 am

Badcat has them as well. I wonder what ever happened to the Egyptian guy???

Hmmm, We'll I'm not complaning however because these figures rock!

Jesse James · Post by **Jesse James** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:12 am

Any comparison pics of the Ninja, Samruai, and Knights?

Just curious to see how out 'O wack the Ninja in particular is, to 1:18. It's a shame becuase he's such a good custom base for a variety of things.

flanker · Post by **flanker** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:40 pm

Im interested in the Norman and Crusader knights. Are they large like the Roman and can they be mounted on a horse? Also how durable are they? I have a bunch of 90mm Schleich knights and wonder how they might size up with them?

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:40 pm

flanker, I don't yet have the Roman, so I can't compare it with the Templar and the Norman. But I don't think you could sit one astride a horse. Get some regardless - you won't regret it.

Post by **aferguson** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:04 pm

the FOV knights will be a bit bigger than the schleich and bbi knights, if they're the same size as their roman figure, which i imagine they are. These will be big guys. However during the middle ages people weren't all that much smaller than we are today. It was around the industrial revolution that europeans got small again, due to poorer nutrition, disease etc. Middle age peoples were often around the size of an average man today.

For those interested in egyptians, papo has an egyptian warrior coming out this year, along with a war chariot. Figures are not articulated, however.

JamesW · Post by **JamesW** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 4:45 pm

Here's a couple comparison pictures for the ninja, a knight and the samurai. vs a 21st century German, Platoon fig, 25th anniversary storm shadow and a build and brawl dude.

Small Scale Military Headquarters

Product Review: Unimax "Ages of Action" Figures

Product Review: Unimax "Ages of Action" Figures

Re: Product Review: Unimax "Ages of Action" Figure

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