I have briefly mentioned Rise of the Beasts before but I figure it’s about time the line from Jon Karis over at Little Rubber Guys gets the spotlight. The Glyos compatible line, Rise of the Beasts, first release was back in mid November of last year. These figures pay homage to Battle Beasts from the late 80’s, the inspiration is easy to see. Similar articulation and size give these modern day figures a very nostalgic feel.
The two figures available now on the store are a Rhino and a Scorpion, each available in multiple painted and solid color options. Weapons(!) and more figures are in the works, follow littlerubberguys on Instagram for awesome progress shots and updates.
On to the figures!
THE MEAT
My initial purchase of these figures consisted of the solid flesh version of both characters. After they arrived and I fiddled around with them I knew these figures were winners. They are 60 millimeter scale, or just under 2.5 inches, with articulation at the neck, both shoulders, waist, and in the scorpions case the tail.
The sculpting detail is simple but thorough, every part of the figure that needs a detail line has it. The contrast of skin and metal is great, muscle lines are very natural and organic while the armor is sleek and solid. The heads in particular add a lot of character. The Rhino head hangs out over the chest, its long and cone shaped like it should be. Two horns line the top of the snout and ears top the head, perked forward as if tackling prey. The scorpion head is awesome, I have no idea what a real scorpion head looks like but I wouldn’t change a thing. The lower mandibles are sharp and exposed with an extra spike on the chin to give him a more menacing look. He also has a sweet eye patch on one side that really pops on the painted figures.
The painted figures help lend character as well. So far the figures seem to have a primary color, a secondary color, and one or two accenting colors. My favorite color way so far is the army green edition. I love the color and it translates well on the beasts. The light grey skin of the rhino looks awesome with the green armor plating, and the scorpion is almost opposite with dark green skin and army green armor.
So far these two figures have been released in the following colors:
Solid: flesh, black, gold, army green
Painted: metallic black/orange, metallic black/grey, army green/grey & army green/dark green
THE POTATOES
These figures being Glyos compatible means you have a lot of options for customization. That being said you don’t have to have any other Glyos figures to play around with them. Switching torsos, or arms, or legs, or heads, or any combination yields really fun results. I particularly like swapping a rhino's arm for the scorpion tail, it makes for a cool robotic whip arm if you have the special silver edition.
THE DESSERT
Another great thing Jon is doing with these figures is a limited edition promotional figure. For every figure you order you get a sticker, once you get ten stickers you can mail away for a limited edition gold or silver painted figure. These figures are only available as mail away promotions! I love that Jon does this, it shows that he appreciates the fans and supporters of the line. You better believe he is on top of these promotional figures to. On my last order, which made ten, he emailed me and asked which promotional figure I wanted. This saved me the hassle of shipping and the time I would have had to wait. Jon is top notch and really cares about what he is doing, you should definitely consider purchasing a couple of these figures, you will not be disappointed!
Over at Fantastic Plastic they just released some urethane prototypes of Takeshi Sumo over the weekend and said that he will hopefully be doing the same for Tembo Jiwe later this month. I already have a Takeshi and I can easily say he will be worth it. He is a solid figure so keep your eyes open.