Timeline knights review (lots of big pics)

[dstephan]

http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/fight2.jpg
So Timeline the movie has come and gone, but the Dragon Timeline figures are here to stay. Okay, so the film wasn’t that great, but I knew I had to have these. The two knights are extremely well done and something that 1/6 collectors have been clamoring for for a long time. (I’ll try to identify the armor by its proper names but please correct me if I’m wrong – we’re all here to learn).
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn4.jpghttp://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/dek4.jpg

The knight in blue is Lord Arnaut, the French semi-good guy and De Kere (in red) is the bad guy in league with the English. There are a couple of innovations in these figures that we haven’t seen before -- one is that Dragon has figured out how a figure can have molded hair and still wear a helmet that isn’t way too oversized. The hair piece is removable on both of these guys which allow their helmets to fit perfectly. One drawback to this is that the hairless head has no ears so it really couldn’t be used for a bald character. Both head sculpts are fairly well done, although I don’t know that they are completely true to the actors. Since the actors are unfamiliar to me except for this film it’s much easier to believe that the resemblance is there. This isn’t true with the Paul Walker figure from this line that looks nothing like the actor. The paint jobs on both heads are good, although it’s difficult to simulate partial beard grown so Arnaut looks like his face might just be dirty rather than having the stubble the character had in the film.
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn5.jpghttp://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/dek6.jpg

The second innovation is the rubber chain mail. Both Sideshow with the Holy Grail knights, and Ignite with their Crusaders, went with a cloth-simulated chain mail. However Dragon has molded chainmail that looks more like the real thing and yet doesn’t inhibit movement that much. The Hauberk (mail shirt) has separate arms, which probably isn’t realistic, but gives the figure more flexibility. It comes down to mid-thigh, a great detail and seemingly unnecessary considering both knight’s tunics cover it for the most part however it does inhibit the leg movement a bit. Arnaut also has mail leggings that end at the ankle and the top of the thigh. This is more accurate although in the real world they would need suspenders to hang the leggings from like the Ignite Knight has. Under the mail he has grey shorts, again a detail that wouldn’t normally be seen. DeKere has grey pants instead of mail leggings. The hauberk is glued to the figure’s shoulders so you need to be careful in removing it.
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn10.jpghttp://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn9.jpg

While the sculpted rubber chainmail seems to be the best solution to chain that we’ve yet seen in 1/6 one must worry that the rubber may break down over time. However it feels much thicker and more durable than the rubber from Art Asylum’s Enterprise figures or Toybiz’s Cave Troll.

[continued]

[dstephan]

Arnaut comes with two coifs (mail hoods), one in the down position and another covering his head that he can wear the helmet over. His hair must be removed to put the full head coif on and it’s still a tight fit. Arnaut has a hard plastic medallion that will only sit properly when he’s wearing the hood up. The hood down coif won’t allow the medallion to rest around his neck. The medallion isn’t in these pictures because I lost it due to this problem. Arnaut also has besagews (round armor on the chest) stitched to the tunic. DeKere has a chainmail bishop’s mantle (collar) which is a different sculpt from the collar on Arnaut’s coif.
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/Arn1.jpghttp://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn7.jpg

Each has a distinctive helmet, DeKere has a visored great helm and Arnaut has a pointy green hat.

Each knight has gauntlets that are part of the hand, just like regular Dragon gloved hands. The gauntlet sculpts for each knight are excellent and distinct, but they can’t hold the swords very well. It would seem that just by making a more bendy hand or sculpting the hand with a tighter grasp would address this issue.
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn2.jpghttp://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/dek1.jpg

Arnaut has spaulders (shoulder protection) and both knights have leg armor from the knee to foot although they are different sculpts. Arnaut has a two piece leg armor with greaves (shin guards) hinged to a poleyn (knee protection) so they bend naturally. His sabatons (scale mail shoes) are a separate piece and slip off easily. The leg armor has little faux leather straps holding it on, be careful with it, I ripped one taking the armor off. DeKere’s leg armor is molded more like a standard Dragon boot, but it has the hinge at the knee and the greaves are all one piece with the sabatons. He also has leather straps holding the thigh piece on.
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn8.jpg
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/dek9.jpghttp://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/dek10.jpg

Both knights have sword belts made of plastic with separate scabbards that fit snugly in the belt loop. The swords and daggers are flimsy black plastic although the hilts are painted. The belt and sword scabbards are the same sculpt for both knights, however the sword hilt, daggers and dagger sheaths are different sculpts. Also the weapons inexplicably have black blades. At first I thought this might have been true to the film, but no, in the movie the swords are traditional metal color. Since it seems that all the figures released have the black blades it doesn’t seem to be a QC issue. Also the flimsiness of the swords is a drawback reminiscent of the Toybiz LOTR swords.

Arnaut’s tunic has a painted design and has a unhemmed, scalloped edge. The prototype of Arnaut’s tunic had what appears to be a felt design with metal buttons but the production model has painted on designs. Also the unhemmed fancy edges don’t translate well to 1/6, if they had used a heavier cloth that doesn’t fray as much it might have worked better. DeKere’s tunic is much closer to the film’s as it is simpler and the painted design closely resembles the movie version.
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn11.jpg http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/arn3.jpg

Both knights have shields which are the same except for the paint job and have two elastic bands on the back so the knights can hold them. This would be fine except we’ve been spoiled by Ignite’s shield which had more realistic straps.
http://maxwellsgoldenhammer.com/timeline/dek5.jpg
Overall I’m extremely pleased with these figures despite their drawbacks. For $45 each they are a bargain and compare favorably with Ignite’s knights at $65. Here’s hoping that Dragon continues with the theme and does some original knights not tied to a film.

[Arnakis]

Put Arnaut's head (including the hair) on another Dragon figure (it's not worth it trying to remove the armor), put him in the Sideshow Blackbeard's outfit, and you have the perfect 17th-century pirate. Blackbeard's hat fits nicely over Arnaut's molded hair.

[creecher]

I haven't been able to locate any Ignite figures here in Australia. So, after reading Michael Crawfords review I was interested, and after reading your review, Dstephan, I went out and bought them. Even though Dragon figures are 50% more expensive here.
The rubber chain mail is fantastic. Their legs are somewhat restricted, so their poseability is quite limited. Looks like rubber is becoming a cool vehicle for innovation a la the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Sideshow you've done it again. Leaders not followers.