When I heard they were making this figure, I had to have it. Not because I’m an Assassin’s Creed fan (I’ve never played the games) but because it has the distinction of being the very first action figure based on the eerie look of the historical figures known as Plague Doctors.
This figure’s based on a multiplayer character in the game Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. The Doctor’s true name is Malfatto, and he uses his poison syringe to carry out his executions. Although he has very little personality, his game bio leaves no question that he is a true sadist and has killed more people than he has ever treated.
But the reason I’m interested in him is not for who he is, but what he looks like. Plague doctors are one of those interesting footnotes in history we don’t normally hear about. They were special physicians under contract with cities to treat only those suffering from plague. This way the doctor and his patients could remain in a quarantine, hopefully minimizing the spread of the disease. This profession dates as far back as the mid 500s in Constantinople. But it wasn’t until the seventeenth century that the now familiar bird-masked costumes were developed and commonly used.
The costumes themselves usually consisted of a long robe-like garment that was made from leather and then coated in wax. Their leather gloves were similarly coated in wax, while their wide brimmed hood not only protected their head but also indicated their profession. Their mask had glass lenses to protect the eyes and contained aromatic herbs and flowers in the beak, which acted as a crude gas mask. These doctors also would carry long wooden sticks which they used to examine patients or move clothing without having to touch the patients.
I’ve always found their ominous bird-like appearance a suitably creepy match for their occupation, and I’m thrilled to finally be getting a toy of one.
This figure was made by Unimax Toys. I’m not really familiar with them but I have to say they did an excellent job with the sculpt on this figure. Aside from the folds and wrinkles on his overcoat, you can also see the more subtle quilted patterns on his arms and his gloves have these tiny serrated seams. Then there are the objects on his belt which have been sculpted/molded separately and glued on. Even his syringe has a nice amount of detail for something so small. Continue to page 2…
I saw these at my local Target this past week. I Kinda want Leonardo DaVinci and Niccolo Machiavelli. The idea of having those two Historical Icons hanging out with my GI Joes and Marvel Universe figures makes me laugh. The rest of the figures are cool too though. I’ve never played the game, but having something this “old fashioned” in the boys toy aisle is pretty cool.
way to go vaulty… a learned history fan as well as a figure collector… good stuff. my only riff w/ these is the face mask isn’t really detailed… the edges of the face especially look soft. but yes, the plague doctor in action figure form is just drool inducing.
The figures in this series that I saw at Target were terrible; awful faces. I wanted to get into this line before it hit shelves, but now that I’ve seen the human faces up close I can pass.
I do think I want the doctor here, though, because the idea of a plague doctor action figure is just too cool to ignore.
The scale makes these a pass for me. Otherwise a cool figure, just wish he was 6″ or 7″ scale.
Definitely, I would have picked these up if they were 6″.
Sweet! Does the head pop off? I’ve got an idea for a custom! =)
I liked the previous line of historical figures that Animax released and wished it had continued. I’m not familiar with the video game but these looked to be just as sweet although there were no actual prototype pics available during preorders. Their paint aps might be the deal breaker here.
I saws these up here last week at South County Target (thought it was Kirkwood, but both are being remodelled at the moment.) ! got mine for $7.99 each, so $40+tax for everybody but the main character.
I’d seen the main character before, but didn’t think much of him, so these took me by surprise, esp seeing there’s a new “Leonardo Da Vinci” figure out in the line. My immediate response was “these would go great with my Doctor Who figures!” then I realized these were 1/18 scale with GI Joe and MU versus the Doctor’s 5″ scale. therein lies my main problem with these figures, as I’ve only cherried the Joes the last few years and only have a handful of MU. (which included buying Apocalypse and Cable with this set.)
Hasbro has cornered the market on the 1/18 scale with SW, GI Joe, and now MU, so any new line that tries that scale will be unfavorably judged against it (koffTRONkoff). That said, the attempt at detail is nice, but that comparison still hangs over them.
I found these on three pegs overflowing with the main character and only one full set of the “new” secondary characters:
Ezio – the main character in the game
The Doctor (and I’m guessing you don’t have a certain time Lord to put in the pics?)
Cesare Borgia – yes, the infamous son of the Pope
Leonardo Da Vinci – the maestro himself, comes with a small ‘gold’ mechanical bird (glider?)
Niccolo Machiavelli – another infamous historical face
The Harlequin – this is the dude that sold me on getting the whole set. The package art shows him wearing brown leather gloves and boots, but the figure wear dark blue which do go better with his blue/green/white striped motley.
of the figures I found, only Harlequin and Borgia(?) had a second figure on the pegs beyond the Assassin Ezio.
I’m not familiar with the game or the previous historical line that Joe mentions, but I do think these are a decent attempt at the video game action figure niche.