Back in July Four Horsemen Studios and their authorized retailers ran a special sale where all Cosmic Legions figures were 20% off. During that sale I managed to grab a few of the older figures I didn't have yet and catch up on the newest series, Outpost Zaxxius. Kalian Shunn was one of the figures I picked up and is probably one of my favorite Cosmic Legions figures of the year. Kalian Shunn (Kalie for short) is a bodyguard for the AEXOR3 company who keeps her real identity hidden. For a sci-fi themed character, Kalian Shunn checks so many boxes for me: She's wearing a cool helmet with some sort of display visor, she's wearing random bits of armor, and she's using both a blaster and a melee weapon. Oh, and she has a cool hooded cloak. I'm loving this outfit! Let's check out Kalian Shunn after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 6 3/8ths inches
Articulation: Double swivel hinge ankles, swivel/hinge knees, swivel thighs, H-hinged hips, swivel waist, balljointed midtorso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel forearms, swivel/hinge wrists, and a balljointed head..
Accessories: Pistols, staff, rifle, wrist rocket, 2 short pegs, 2 long pegs, 2 swappable portraits, shoulder pad, chest strap, dome for helmeted head, and cloak.
Non-Scalper Price: $50 dollars
The Positives:
* Kalian Shunn is a Zuvan like
Zeerian Spyre from the first series (Hvalkatar: Book One), but her skin a different color: It's a very deep tan that is almost brown in some places. Kalie is also more heavily armored, it seems, with what seems like a hodgepodge of gear. She's wearing green, shirtsleeve body suit , but it's covered by so many extra bits of gear that it's hard to tell. The paint and colors are really good here with blue and red being the predominant colors, though there's her brown leather belt (with green straps) and some more traditional looking armor on her right arm. Four Horsemen Studios do mix pieces together from Cosmic and Mythic Legions (as well as Figura Obscura) to create a wider variety of character designs, and I love the antiquated bits of armor that Kalie has picked up along the way.
* While Kalian Shunn is trying to stay hidden, she does come with an unmasked portrait for when she just wants to relax and let her hair down. She's very pretty and I love the yellow dots on her face that match her eye color. She has some fairly long blue hair that's rather detailed with a nice dark wash to bring out the details.
* Her second portrait is an armored helmet that keeps her identity secret. This helmet is what the
female T.U.5.C.C. agents wear, though the color scheme matches the rest of Kalie's gear. The paintwork is excellent here and there's a lot of detail on the various equipment and sensors built into the helmet.
* There's a visor that fits over the helmet to look like some sort of display. The letters look like the block language seen on the bio cards but it doesn't seem to be saying anything specific. Maybe just some data or information streaming to Kalie's helmet?
* Kalie's right arm is covered by some armor that's reused from Mythic Legions, I believe. Her chestplate/ torso is too. I love it. I love the vibe of her utilizing that super sophisticated helmet and a blaster rifle while also wearing something that seems quite antiquated. The sculpt is solid with lots of overlapping plates and the paint job gives it an appropriately aged and weathered appearance.
* Kalian Shun's utility belt isn't new, but the green and black straps and buckles are need and it's still fitted with multiple pouches of different sizes. There's a nice drybrush effect on the pouches too and plug holes on the belt to tote around her pistol.
* The soft goods on the Cosmic Legions figures have been excellent so far. The fits are right and they're just of a very high quality. They're all designed by CJESIM and add a lot to the figures. Kalian's skirt piece is really cool with a dark red color, great stitching, and wired edges for posing it. It's not too common to find soft goods of this quality on figures under the $80-100 dollar mark, so that's a real plus.
* While Kalie's wearing more basic looking leather shoes, she does have the armored greaves with thrusters. Multiple paint applications here give them a worn look with all of the little bolts and screws painted, too. There's really nothing on this figure that you'd look at and not be surprised by some impressive paint applications that many other companies would have skipped.
* Kalian Shunn also has a large armored pauldron that can be added over her arm and a belt with metal panels that can fit across her chest. You could conceivably fit her staff into a slit on the back, but it's a tight fit with everything else on the figure. It looks really cool, though, and meshes nicely with the rest of her armor and gear.
* A matching hooded cloak is included to really offer her some protection from the elements and to help her stay discrete when she's in the field. Added in with her cool helmet and armor, it just gives me such a Star Wars bounty hunter kind of feel. The cloak is nice and thick (not cheap at all) and has a dark blue lining.
* The hood is excellent and it looks fantastic over the helmeted head. It makes Kalian look very mysterious! It's also wired around the edges, giving you the ability to make a perfect fit.
* The whole cape is wired, so you can come up with some incredibly dramatic poses. This is a quality piece and this cloak mixed with the helmet makes the figure.
* If you're familiar with Mythic Legions or Figure Obscura, you should know what to expect as the Cosmic Legions figures are built the same as those lines, meaning the parts are interchangeable. They're quite sturdy and I've found them to have really good quality control. Kalian Shunn is really fun to pose due to her flowing cloak and skirt and her weapons. She just looks awesome whether she's standing around menacingly or actively defending her charges.
* Two sets of hands are included, both being gloved hands with painted rivets on the armor protecting the outside of the hand. You get a pair with regular grips and a pair with pistol grips for holding her blasters.
* Kalie is well armed. Her first weapon is a heavy blaster, a weapon we've seen before. The design philosophy of this rifle matches the other weapons in this line: Futuristic but also with enough of a real world aesthetic to look like something from a few years down the line. The paintwork is impressive with a dry brushed cooper body and metallic blue details such as the bottom of the magazine and the end of the scope.
* The pistol is also a weapon we've seen before, but it's a cool one with the same paint scheme as the heavy blaster.
* Kalie does come with a new toy: A small rocket that can fit into one of the ports on her wrists. That's pretty neat! It gives me Destro vibes.
* The little holes on the figures and the weapons are universal and fit the holographic transmissions, snap on weapons, and can hold these clear pegs. Kalian Shunn comes with the same four as most everyone else: Two short pegs and two long pegs.
* Last up is her battle staff. It's simple and doesn't seem to be anything sophisticated, but the design is quite cool. Her toting this around with a cape and a helmeted head definitely makes me think of Boushh.
* The pegs can be used to store a pistol on the back of her belt so it's close at hand (but hidden under her cloak) or even to tote around a heavy blaster.
* You can also connect some weapons and gear. Add the wrist rocket to any of the weapons to give your firearm an upgrade.
The Negatives:
* The cloak closes with Velcro, which works really well for the helmeted head, but it's challenging to get this on Kalie's unmasked head. It can be done, but it's challenging and a bit frustrating to get it just right.
Kalian Shunn isn't just my favorite Cosmic Legions figure of the year (thus far, OxKrewe Book One: Thraxxon might make it out before the end of 2024 still), she's probably one of my favorite figures of the year. I love her design, her color scheme, and the awesome accessories she comes with. Outpost Zaxxius is kind of a middle series with a good bit of reuse, but Kalian Shunn just comes together so well. This is a really high quality action figure and the soft goods really make her standout from the rest. She's an Epic figure and one of the figures I'd most highly recommend from this line.
This is the first figure of Kalian Shunn I've reviewed. For more Cosmic Legions reviews check out the following:
Highwarden SloggKanoxx VullKraggnarOlekk Thygar (GraveRing)Olekk Thygar (Hvalkatar)Sphexxian Block CommanderT.U.5.C.C. EngineerT.U.5.C.C. Science OfficerT.U.5.C.C. SentryVorggaZeerian Spyre
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