Thursday, October 27, 2011

Review II: Kaustic Plastik's 1/6 scale "Celadus" Roman gladiator armor, equipment & weapon

We've seen the Kaustic Plastik Thraex 1/6 scale "Celadus" Roman gladiator 12-inch figure in the previous post and the boxed packaging before that, now let's look at the crazy details that are found with this boxed figure. All the Roman gladiator figures by Kaustic Plastik are completelly designed in Italy (Kaustic Plastik is based in Rome, home of the gladiators) with just the final prodution done in China. Kaustic Plastik is an Italian company and this gives them the opportunity to make a "direct" research on the archelogical places, where the Ancient Roman lived.

All the armor is made from die-cast metal and are based on the original models discovered in Pompeii. This gives the figure an added weight and also a nice feel to it because it is now heavier. Kaustic Plastik has taken note of this and has made the "LEGS stronger then EVERYBODY ELSE's (i.e. competitor's) in the market" so that the figure can take the full weight of his armor and equipment. Kudos to Kaustic Plastik for thinking of all these and coming up with solutions for collectors :)


This is the 1/6 scale Thraex Gladiator Helmet made of die-cast metal. All the metal parts of Kaustic Plastik gladiator releases (including the metal blades, weapons, pieces of armour and helmet are TOTALLY MADE of METAL! - how's that for authenticity!!) Even better, they are not the classic "white metal" often used in die cast productions but the "right kind" of metal for each piece. So the bronze parts are made in a league of Metal mixed with real bronze to get it as close to the real thing as possible. For this reason, the "look" of the armours as you can see it's totally realistic!!




Scroll down to see the amazing details of this 1/6 scale Kaustic Plastik Thraex Gladiator Helmet with side plumes, visor and high crest.





Look at what's at the end of the high crest of the Kaustic Plastik 1/6 scale Thraex Gladiator Helmet that is made of die-cast bronze metal. The creature on the crest of the Thracian is a GRIFFON. The Griffon was the symbol used in all the Thracian helmets.


And there's even a 1/6 scale helmet inner liner made from a leather-like material that the Thraex Gladiator will wear before putting on the helmet.


And check out the 1/6 scale die-cast bronze metal armored greaves "ocrae". Look at the awesome details! Kaustic Plastik personally went on site in Pompeii taking pictures, and speaking with local Archeologists who helped them in ensuring that they made a "perfect" replica of everything. If you check out the reference pictures they took (posted HERE), you can see how close they came to matching the real thing. In fact, if I didn't tell you, you probably couldn't tell which ones were 1:1 scale and which pair was 1:6 scale. It's really that good :)


The reason the Thraex Gladiator wore metal armored greaves was because they were equipped with only a small shield "pamula" for defense. This 1/6 scale version is made of plastic which I think is a wise choice of material to use to achieve the authentic look.



Last but not least, the Thraex Roman gladiator is armed with the curved sword "Sica" for attacking his opponents. With such a short blade, he really must be able to get in close to deliver the kill and it would have been pretty bloody. The Kaustic Plastik 1/6 scale curved sword "Sica" is a die-cast metal blade as well. That's a lot of metal pieces for a 1/6 figure :) There are also the extra pair of hands for posing with.



All in all, Kaustic Plastik didn't hold back when it came to their products and this 1/6 scale Kaustic Plastik Thraex "Celadus" Roman Gladiator 12-inch figure is packed full of good stuff, from the newly developed excellent 12-inch body with equally realistic and well sculpted head resembling that of UFC Fighting Champion Randy Couture (see all the pictures HERE) to the well designed and well crafted metal armor parts (helmet, greaves - leg protectors, and sword) plus shield, this figure is really authentic and should belong in a museum :)

NEXT: Celadus puts on all his armor and gets ready to go into the arena! Stay tuned.

You can order the Kaustic Plastik 1/6 scale Celadus Thraex 12-inch Roman gladiator figure on their website HERE. Their products are also distributed in USA by Cotswold Collectibles and they are very proud of this because Cotswold Collectibles is one of the oldest company totally dedicated to Action Figures!

If you are in Singapore or around this region, you can also order through The Falcon's Hangar

No comments: