Happy New Year! 2026 is here and while the calendar has already made a fresh start, it's unlikely that you'll see too much new in the toy aisles for a bit. January is usually a fairly dead time for new releases as most companies try to ship out their product well in advance of the Christmas and holiday gift buying season. Because so much new stuff makes its way out during the last quarter of the year and because I scored so many new action figures for Christmas, I usually spend January playing catch up. To start, let's check out Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword! Boss Fight Studios has been announcing quite a few Red Sonja figures in various styles and scales but this one is part of their Epic H.A.C.K.S. (Highly Articulated Character Kit System) range, so it's a 1/12 scale figure with lots of swappable parts. Loosely inspired by the Robert E. Howard character Red Sonya of Rogatino, this Red Sonja was created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. She was part of the Marvel Universe for quite some time though for a the past twenty five years or so she's been owned by Dynamite Entertainment and is still one of their major stars. Whether you're a Marvel Legends collector, a Dynamite comics fan, a Conan the Barbarian enthusiast, or just someone with a passion for swords & sorcery warrior women, this figure is probably on your radar. Ready to see if this take on Red Sonja is worthy of your shelf? Then join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 6 and 5/16ths inches
Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, ball jointed waist, barbell jointed torso, butterfly pecs, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.
Accessories: 3 Swappable portaits, 6 swappable hands, 4 glove cuffs, 2 shoulder pad sets, chainmail top, 2 chainmail bikini bottoms, 2 bicep cuffs, 2 thigh straps, belt, display stand, dagger, thigh sheath, sword, scabbard, axe,
Non-Scalper Price: $55 to $60 dollars
Year of Release: 2025
The Positives:
* Let's start off by taking a look at the base figure of Red Sonja. OK, so yes, you can take offer clothes. Boss Fight Studios' H.A.C.K.S. system tends to use an assortment of base bodies that allow you to put additional gear on them. What's she look like under that outfit? A Barbie doll. There's nothing going on there, folks. She comes wearing her standard chainmail bikini which is definitely her most memorable outfit. Her proportions look good; she's attractive and muscular with fairly reasonable proportions. The body doesn't have a ton of detail and there's no shading but the color is consistent everywhere. The H.A.C.K.S. system does allow you to disassemble the figure, so you can pop her apart at the torso and pop her arms off at the biceps to change things up. This is the first 1/12th scaled Boss Fight figure I've owned. I did have a couple of the Bucky O'Hare figures a number of years back but I sold them off pretty quickly.
* Three portraits are included with this set, two of which are really quite good and one that's just OK. This sculpt has Red Sonja's hair flowing and she has a bit of a determined or focused look on her face. Some of the early samples of the figure did not looks as good as this. It definitely captures the art of the Dynamite comics fairly well and the paintwork is pretty good for traditional paint and not a faceprint. I think she'll fit in with Marvel Legends fairly well.
* Red Sonja has a lot of red hair and it looks pretty good. Lots of detail on the individual strands and some highlights to give it some volume.
* You can add some shoulder armor to Red Sonja if you want: Just pop off her head and place it over her neck. There's even a plug on her back so you can keep it in place. The shoulder armor is a bit soft and pliable, so you might want to use a bit of heat to shape it to her shoulders a bit more.
* The second set has pauldron-like armor on both sides and a jeweled necklace. The armored bits look really god with some nice paintwork. Again, it can plug into place on her back. Since it's also soft and flexible, you might want to use some heat to really get it into place how you like it.
* The second portrait is actually my favorite as it depicts Red Sonja shouting while in battle. I know that heads with extreme expressions like this one sometimes look odd in pictures, but it looks fabulous in person. Her wild, flowing hair does perfectly with the open mouthed shout! Her teeth are fairly detailed if you look closely. Neat!
* Here's a shot so you can see how the armor plugs in. You can also see that she's sporting some removable arm bands. They look like bronze or gold and slide over her arms on to her biceps. They're each a little different, too.
* Red Sonja's hands are permanently sculpted as gloved hands but you can change up the cuffs of the gloves. Just remove the hands and slide these over the wrists. The first pair have longer gloves with a flared bottom.
* The second set seems a bit smaller and has an interesting cutout on her forearm.
* There are also two removable thigh bands. They're both the same and have some iron armored bits attached on the leather straps.
The Positives:
* Let's start off by taking a look at the base figure of Red Sonja. OK, so yes, you can take offer clothes. Boss Fight Studios' H.A.C.K.S. system tends to use an assortment of base bodies that allow you to put additional gear on them. What's she look like under that outfit? A Barbie doll. There's nothing going on there, folks. She comes wearing her standard chainmail bikini which is definitely her most memorable outfit. Her proportions look good; she's attractive and muscular with fairly reasonable proportions. The body doesn't have a ton of detail and there's no shading but the color is consistent everywhere. The H.A.C.K.S. system does allow you to disassemble the figure, so you can pop her apart at the torso and pop her arms off at the biceps to change things up. This is the first 1/12th scaled Boss Fight figure I've owned. I did have a couple of the Bucky O'Hare figures a number of years back but I sold them off pretty quickly.
* Three portraits are included with this set, two of which are really quite good and one that's just OK. This sculpt has Red Sonja's hair flowing and she has a bit of a determined or focused look on her face. Some of the early samples of the figure did not looks as good as this. It definitely captures the art of the Dynamite comics fairly well and the paintwork is pretty good for traditional paint and not a faceprint. I think she'll fit in with Marvel Legends fairly well.
* Red Sonja has a lot of red hair and it looks pretty good. Lots of detail on the individual strands and some highlights to give it some volume.
* You can add some shoulder armor to Red Sonja if you want: Just pop off her head and place it over her neck. There's even a plug on her back so you can keep it in place. The shoulder armor is a bit soft and pliable, so you might want to use a bit of heat to shape it to her shoulders a bit more.
* The second set has pauldron-like armor on both sides and a jeweled necklace. The armored bits look really god with some nice paintwork. Again, it can plug into place on her back. Since it's also soft and flexible, you might want to use some heat to really get it into place how you like it.
* The second portrait is actually my favorite as it depicts Red Sonja shouting while in battle. I know that heads with extreme expressions like this one sometimes look odd in pictures, but it looks fabulous in person. Her wild, flowing hair does perfectly with the open mouthed shout! Her teeth are fairly detailed if you look closely. Neat!
* Here's a shot so you can see how the armor plugs in. You can also see that she's sporting some removable arm bands. They look like bronze or gold and slide over her arms on to her biceps. They're each a little different, too.
* Red Sonja's hands are permanently sculpted as gloved hands but you can change up the cuffs of the gloves. Just remove the hands and slide these over the wrists. The first pair have longer gloves with a flared bottom.
* The second set seems a bit smaller and has an interesting cutout on her forearm.
* There are also two removable thigh bands. They're both the same and have some iron armored bits attached on the leather straps.
* A second pair of chainmail bikini bottoms is included as well. This pair has a red belt or sash attached, making them just a bit more modest. Not by much, though. The red belt does add a nice pop of color to the rest of the outfit, though.
* A belt can be placed over Red Sonja's waist. There's a peg on the side to plug it into a hole on the right side of either pair of her chainmail bikini bottoms. There's a gold loop on the left side for holding the scabbard of her sword along with a leather loop on the pack for also storing a weapon.
* Let's talk about the articulation for a bit as this is the first 1/12th scale Boss Fight figure I've had my hands on. Overall, I think it's quite good. The joints are pretty typical for a 1/12th scale figure of this sort these days (they match up with Marvel Legends' articulation scheme for the most part) though the range of motion seems a bit better on most joints and the joints feel a bit smoother. The lateral shoulder joints/ butterfly joints are excellent, allowing Sonja to hold her sword with both hands. The plastic quality is pretty good. She feels a bit "light" when you pick her up, but I didn't have any worries about anything breaking while I've been messing around with her, posing her, and swapping out outfits.
* Six hands are included, all of which swapped easily for me. There is a pair of fists, a loose grasping right hand, a relaxed left hand, and a pair of grips with separate index fingers.
* Red Sonja comes with a few sharp and pointy accessories to equip her for battle. First up is her sword. It's a solid sculpt with some decent paint applications. The weapons are very firm though they do feel like they could be brittle if you're not careful with them.
* The sword stows away in her scabbard. The scabbard is wrapped and has a plug so it can fit on the right hip of her bikini bottom or on the left side of her belt.
* This is an excellent axe sculpt. The blade is wicked looking, the details are sharp, and it's nicely sized for the figure.
* Last up is a basic dagger. Nothing too fancy; just something for emergencies and when combat gets really close.
* A removable thigh band with attached holster can also be slid over either thigh, giving Red Sonja her dagger easy at hand.
* A disc stand with Red Sonja's name is also included. It's a little over 1/8th of an inch tall and has two foot pegs for keeping her standing on your shelf.
* Here's the third portrait. It looks fairly different from the other two as the face shape is different. Why's that? I think it's intended to be a tribute to the Marvel Red Sonja.
The Negatives:
* There's something off about it, though. I don't know; it just doesn't look as good as the other portraits.
The Positives:
* Red Sonja's boots are cool. They really do like leather and have an interesting design, especially the straps that wrap around her calves.
The Negatives:
* The upper part of the boot has a cover of the ankle hinge that looks insanely large and weird on the inside of the ankle. The ankle hinge isn't that large; it's just the plastic overlay that's weirdly oversized.
* I totally get the point of the Epic H.A.C.K.S. series: Use base bodies and unique heads with the clothing and gear being swappable and removable. Honestly, it works pretty well for the most part, but there are parts of Red Sonja's outfit that don't fit quite right, especially the shoulder pads. Her bikini bottom also doesn't want to stay in place quite right, leaving her rather exposed.
* When removing her from the package I noticed quite a few little paint stains here and there. Nothing particularly egregious but definitely noticeable here on her left bicep and on her lower back. It's a weird QC error that's more prevalent on a figure like Red Sonja with mostly exposed skin.
I know I did have some complaints about Red Sonja but, when all is said and done, I really do like her. Two of her portraits are excellent, she comes with a plenty of accessories and a stand, and the ability to swap up her outfit is a nice feature. I do think she seems a bit overpriced but I'm not disappointed by everything included here. The articulation is also quite good. I actually bought my figure through Boss Fight Studios' Amazon store in a set with a couple of the older 1/12 scaled Skeleton H.A.C.K.S., so I got a decent deal on her.
There are multiple versions available now and coming soon, so check them out before you commit to one. She's a Great figure, though not one I need every version of.
This is the first figure of Red Sonja I've reviewed on the site.



























No comments:
Post a Comment
What'chu talkin' 'bout?