August 2004 - Conan has always been a favorite to us slightly older collectors whether we love him in trade paperbacks, Marvel Comics or the Schwarzeneggar movies. And discovering that McFarlane got the license to produce this character and series of figures was fantastic news to us all. If anyone can do these figures right, it's them! Now with Action-HQ.com having them available now for sale, here is one of the first review of these highly anticipated favored warriors of old.

I, like probably many of you, could not wait for the final finished figures and had to view the prototypes on the McFarlane website. And seeing them, one can not help be be extremely impressive. Great design, menacing poses, fantastic sculpts, what can one say but magnificent. However with figures now in hand, it seems to have lost a little something from the larger prototypes to the smaller final 6" version. Another observation is that where I thought the female figures were more stunning and dramatic, now the male characters seem more worthy. But all in all, great sculpts, dynamic poses, and a series worth getting!

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Conan the Indomitable - The sculpted body and musculature of Conan is undeniably one of the best I've ever seen! It is enhanced further by the worn and "dirty" look of the skin. Everything is what you imagine Conan to be! The only faults I can see after close examination is his headband should protrude a little more from his head to be more realistic and that 2 weapons included, war hammer and sword, the war hammer's handle should be thicker to me more balanced as a weapon. Final note, where in the pictures and packaging it shows Conan with a 5 o'clock shadow, he actually has more painted facial hair. This might be okay for some people, but I am who prefers Conan portrayed more clean-shaved. This Conan with base is one of a 2-part set with Skifell.

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Skifell - Another very detailed and strikingly posed character. Excellent sculpt all around and more articulation than most figures in any McFarlane collection. Face is daunting with bulging eyes similar to Monsters 3 Dracula. Comes with 2 hand axes and connecting base to Conan the Indomitable. This overall is one of the best figures in the set. Two things however, in the story on the card, you would imagine him to look a little younger and as a 2 part set, you would imagine him to be more furious-looking as Conan killed his dad.

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Conan of Cimmeria - Conan in his normally portrayed full military wear is intricately sculpted from head to toe. This has to be the most detailed figure of the lot. He comes with sword, hand ax and base. He looks very bulky and menacing in his pose. No faults with this figure except it would have been nice if you could take off his helmet.

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Fire Dragon - The design of the Fire Dragon looks awesome and lot better than what was shown in the earlier pictures. Extremely long and lots of details. The painting is superb. Comes with base with 2 sprouting eggs. My only gripe with this one is that they should have made him bigger as a deluxe box with a detail diorama. In the current state, it is more human-size and when compared to Conan, very puny. Wouldn't seem much of a challenge to any full size male figure. Possibly the reason McFarlane made it this size is because she is a 2 part set with Belit.

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Belit - When first viewing the McFarlane site, I thought the female characters were going to be the hot ones. In addition to being skimpily clad females, they seem to be the most attractive out of the bunch. However my opinion has changed slightly. Belit is one hot sexy figure but the painting of the facial expression seems off. Her expression is more astonishment than in attack rage to slay the Fire Dragon with her sword. And when placed together with the Fire Dragon, her eyes are staring down too low versus toward its face. But this will not stop anyone from purchasing her as she is definitely a worthy figure to get whether you care for Conan or not.

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Svadun - It seems like there is difficulty in getting the facial expressions right with female figures in fury. Svadun unfortunately lacks any viciousness in her bladed strike pose. But like Belit, you will just have to get her anyway because she's got it together with loads of tattoos all over her sleek body and her cool funky hair. Who can resist that. Best get both of these female characters as we predict they will go fast!