Ignite Julius Caesar

Well, I'm done with Ignite. I've been moving away from more toy-like product as I've gotten more into statues and prop replicas, and Caesar has put me off Ignite completely.

Sure, the head sculpt and loose body aren't any worse than previous figures. And the leather parts of the outfit sticking out like wings is also common. But the plastic look of the chest armor and the above mentioned cheesyness just makes me hate this guy that I was so looking forward to.

And it doesn't help that the scabbard and winged helmet broke as I removed them from the package.

So as much as I want ancient warriors in 1/6 scale - someone besides Ignite will have to do them in order to get me to buy.

Something about Ignite just bugs me. I don't own any of their figures, but I find myself almost buying them... but I can never justify it. I think it is they are a bit generic looking, and don't have the refinement you want, especially at the price.

Too bad, because there's a lot of potential in the series

I'm not familiar with Ignite at all. From what you say Dave, they don't sound that great.

If only someone would do figures based on HBO's Rome. But since we won't see Sopranos or Deadwood figures, I don't see it happening. Too bad.

I'm so sorry to hear of your disappointment, DD. I guess that you siezed him, but do not praise him, wot? I do appreciate the review, though as I've been waltzing around trying to find a reason to get this one. The pictures of him that I saw did look very "cheesy" to me so I passed on him 'til he sold out. He was restocked and I was once again tempted. I've also had thoughts about the Ignite gladiators. They look nice, but not look that well put together and WAY overpriced. I will continue to buy the loose parts when they become available, but no more boxed figures for me. Sad, really.


Rabbit

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Sorry to hear about your disappointment, Dave! Nothing more frustrating than wasted potential.

SOrry Dave for the dissapointment

here are some figures from IGNITE:

https://www.merit-intl.com/vendor/ignite.html

i personally have not bought any IGNITE figures but a big fan of SEA INTERNATIONAL. Maybe you'll them better. Saw these figures at the con.

https://www.merit-intl.com/merit/main.html

I agree with Dave's disappointment about the plastic armor. It would be better if they had plastic armor but made it fully articulated (Ignite's Roman Imperial Legionary). I've held off on getting Caesar because I have yet to see any pics that make him at all appealing to me.

The one figure that was a huge disappointment for me was the Greece Hoplite II. His armor was cheap, thin, inaccurate, and not at all realistic to the way they should've appeared. His Greaves were the correct type but were assembled wrong with that huge unsightly seem running down the front (they should've been made in one piece not two). Ignite didn't even include any ankle garters for their Hoplites.

Having said that I'd hate to mis out on Ignite's upcoming Spartan Warriors and King Leonidas!

Will I partially share your feelings. I agree that what ignite puts out is made by a very low standard of quality certainly compaired to what e.g. DiD is doing with the napoleonics. But then again they're the only one making romans and hoplites etc so there isn't much choice than to put up with their high prices. Most of their stuff has tremendous potential if you're a bit handy with paint and switching the headsculpt is thé primary must to make the figure enjoyable. That's all very well with the usual generic soldiers of course but with Caesar, well...
I'm kind of looking forward to the Spartans as well, but then again it's justthe exact same helmet allover again... and the gladiators, from what I've seen this far, are going to be crap.
I doubt Ignite is going to hold out for very much longer this way. DiD is experimenting with body armour on their napoleonics and if you see what detail they've put in their upcoming samurai I expect they'll give ancient history a chance sooner or later, and kick butt, as usual.
And let's not forget that they are rumoured to be bringing out a series of well detailed horses.

Ignite is an older company then Dragon In Dreams. The stuff Ignite used to put out when they first started was on par with what the other companies were doing at the time. But they have now been surpassed in quality lately.
DID's new Samurais look great and are infinitely better then Ignite but you get what you pay for. At $300 and hand assembled, they're a great deal for those that can afford them, but I'll never have one at that price. Ignite does need to shape up or ship out. Something in a higher quality, less reuse, and much cheaper then $300 but could be a bit more then Ignite's current prices would be where they need to go.

Yep, same helmet with the Spartans. And looking at how many different helmets the greeks used, you have to scratch your head. Comparing them to the previous Greece Hoplites, these look to be more inline with what I had envisioned as Ancient Greece warriors, so I think they may be more satisfying then the first one and far more satisfying then the second version which is why I'm so looking forward to them.
The Gladiators look terrible. I don't think I'll buy them but the Myrmillo' helmet looks very interesting. I think it was originally based on Etruscan Helmets so I hope they reuse at least that item for an Etruscan warrior.

Thanks for the warning Dave. Despite buying multiple Ignite Romans for kit bashing I have held off buying the Caesar figure because of the Cheesy photos, despite being desperate for a Roman General, Legate or Tribune.
I guess I'll hold off and wait until they bring out a better figure.

Hint Hint Sideshow...we need an Augustus, Tiberius or even a Clive Owen King Arthur!!!!

This is the first I'm hearing about the DiD samurai - are there pics anywhere?

https://www.onlinedid.com/

Just follow the link, Dave.


Rabbit

Okay, there's one of these samurai on ebay for $600. Is that the standard price? Did they come out already?

There's a lot of uncertainty about these guys, for now seems they will retail at $225, quantities will be extremely limited and therefore it's even questionable that more than a few will actually reach the US market. Release could take untill October. Haven't seen anyone offer them yet for now...

I think I saw Elitebrigade offering these samurai figures.
They haven't been released yet.
I think they will be selling anywhere between $199 - $225 US.
If you like Romans, has anyone ever purchased Elitebrigade's Roman
or armored figures? I bought mine years ago and still enjoy them,
although the articulation suffers a bit due to the extremely heavy armor.
Here are pics of three of my figures.

the elite brigade stuff is a lot of fun. i haven't bought the julius caesar figure yet but i did i recently pick up the ignite hoplite I and II and am fairly pleased with them overall. they are doing a spartan and king leonidas which will be pretty cool as well.

...i recently pick up the ignite hoplite I and II and am fairly pleased with them overall.

Click to expand...

I bought the Greece Hoplite 1 but gave the doll away. I then scoffed a bunch of the useful loose parts from 1 and 2. I now have enough to make over a dozen Hoplites on the cheap as soon as I repaint the shields, make chitons for them all and some linen armour. Most of the stuff that they came with was either incorrect or superfluous. I intend to add parts from the two new Spartans when they become available. Pictures of my Athenian Greeks will be posted when (and if) they are completed.

Any pictures of your Greeks to share, Mr. Orc? I'd dearly love to see them.


Rabbitus

nothing yet. i also dislike the ignite bodies and in 4 figures have yet to get one that can stand worth a crap under the gear. i have some pics of the hoplite 2 stuff on a old school vintage joe body at my blog. nothing serious just playing around with the gear and my new camera:






i have been stockpiling more accurate gear also (along with better bodies) to work on a display or small section of hoplite line.

A very nice rendition of a Hoplite, Mr. Orc. Were you shooting for a Spartan look? If so I can see why you are thrilled about the two new Spartans being offered by Ignite. I intend to get a helmet, a couple of shields, swords, and a nude Leonidis just because. I wish that they would have given them a different helmet though. Amonst Hoplites diversity was standard. You probably know this already, but the helmet crest was removable on the original and, when not in use, kept in a special "hat box" and stored away in a chest or some such. Sometimes the crest would be lost, left behind or just not purchased with the rest of the kit. I broke the crest off of one of my helmets. I wanted to see if and how it might be removed and replaced (it's fairly permanent) I will leave some with the crests removed and I intend to replace the Ignite crest with a tall one of my own. This will help diversify them to a point. I just purchased Dragon Alexander of Macedon to lead my citizen soldiers.

Once again thank you for sharing your pictures, Mr. Orc. I enjoyed that.


Rabbit

thanks man--i had actually just taken the crest off of one of mine as well. it was already bent via shipping so i figured what the hey. i am going to mess with that figure a bit more then try and take some pics once i get him suitably 'worn in'. wasn't really going for a spartan look at first but after the pics came out he looked more like one and had a little more of a stand-offish cast to him (just because of the cloak). it's really hard to get a bad shot with the corinthian style helmet with the shadows and all.

i am digging the new spartans from ignite but they are kind of similar to dday and june 6th as far as popular history goes (and what with 300 the movie and and the past few novels about them). they are treated kind of like the royalty and rock stars of ancient greece when there are many other city states that are cool to read about and who contributed to that period and culture. i kind of dig reading about the sacred band, pelopidas and epaminondas, or thebes in the Peloponnesian War--especially when considering the fact that thebes could field some very tough, able troops, maybe the best citizen soldier/farmer infantry at that time and in numbers that almost dwarfed what the spartans could field. i'm not taking anything away from them. i love reading about them and they are incredibly interesting but mystique goes along way i guess...and a last stand at Thermopylae.

anyway, back on topic...i have a desk full of ever-growing greek gear and kit that i can't wait to dive into once i get a few more bodies (either dragon or bbi, though i might try out one of the hot toy bodies i have). i think a peltast of some sort would be cool to try as well or some other type of Peloponnesian War-era, asymmetrical light troop.