Bog Goblin

Imagine if Assassin's Creed starred this guy. Vicious and surly, the Bog Goblin is one of the most vile creatures in Mythoss. Small in size and amphibious in nature, they are well suited to hiding away in their swampland homes. Of all of the greater goblin subspecies, this filthy breed is the most willing to serve in the armies of the dark forces. Armed with the ability to vomit a hot and sticky black bile at their enemies, Bog Goblins are feared by even the bravest warrior. I opted to get the Bog Goblin from the Four Horseman's first Mythic Legions Kickstarter because he was a weird little monster and so vastly different from the rest of the figures being offered - 13 humans, seven dwarves, six skeletons, three orcs, two demons, a humanoid vampire, a humanoid minotaur... and then this short little frog man. That was enough. But then the art book arrived, and Boglin had a decent role to play in the story, so I was doubly glad to have him! As vaguely hinted above, the Bog Goblin is built on the Mythic Legions dwarf body, meaning he has... wait, this is an amphibian, right? Or a fantasy realm amphibian-style creature, at least? The bio on the side of the packaging refers to it as one of a full species, but never provides a specific gender. So why assume that it's a male? For all we know, this may be a Bog She-Goblin! So anyway, she has the same torso and hips as every other armored figure, but the shorter limbs to keep her from being as tall. The armor is sculpted with faux rivets holding it together, and inset patterns around the torso and down the limbs. The groin covering is a long strip of fur with three rings dangling on leather straps, which 1) is not seen on any of the other dwarves, and 2) looks more "uncivilized" than the various armored pieces would be. Also contributing to the notion that this Bog Goblin has been living out in the filthy wilds of Mythoss is the paintscheme. The figure is molded in orange plastic, then given a bronze coat of paint over that and a dark brown dry-brushing to top things off. The cumulative effect is a set of armor that is old and rusted, like it's been exposed regularly to brackish water. Even the blue used to pick out the patterns on the armor looks more like tarnish than a conscious design choice. This is terrific! What really makes the Bog Goblin stand out, however, is the head. Looking like a cross between a bullfrog and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the head has large, pointed ears; gills; a wide mouth with big lips; and a pouchy chin/throat that looks like it could inflate, either to release a call or to prepare to spit bile. Rather than sitting on top of the shoulders, like a normal head, the fact that it includes a unique neck piece allows it to jut forward from the chest. The upper surface is scaly, with a black strip against green skin, while the face itself is pale tan with squinty black eyes. The new head also means new articulation: the neck still connects to the body via a large peg, since it needs to fit in the same slot as always, but the actual head, the face portion of it, is not balljointed here; rather, it's just another swivel joint, but since the neck curves 90° as it goes, the head twists like a pendulum rather than looking side-to-side (the neck itself handles that particular motion). The rest of the joints are as plentiful and sturdy as the ones in the rest of this line's figures, primarily because they're the same as the ones in the rest of this line's figures. Bog Goblin gets the big, sharp shoulder pads, which do block the range of motion on the head quite a bit, but at least they can fit on - at first, it didn't look like they would. It's close, but credit to the Horsemen for making sure everything was right. The weapons include the two-handed sword, the dagger, and a spear, and all three of them are just as rusty as the armor is. There's also the brown leather strap, which doesn't mesh well with the shoulder pads, but does work just fine as a rather loose belt. It's a shame they couldn't have given her an alternate head with the mouth in a spitting pose, and a stream of black goo to hock at someone. Male or female, the Bog Goblin is a really engaging Mythic Legions toy. The inhuman head is great by itself, but the super-rusty paint apps are wonderful. -- 03/18/17

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