When the Mythic Legions: Illythia wave was first presented, way back in November 2020 at that year’s G-con broadcast, fans were delighted to see a new race introduced to the Realm of Mythoss – a Centaur!
As the stable lord of Xylona’s Flock, the introduction of Aphareus gave Legions fans a character type they had been pining for since the horses were first introduced in the Arethyr wave. Interestingly, this figure not only introduced the Centaur race to the line, it actually also brought with it a brand new figure scale – something we called “Brute Scale”. In this “Frequently Asked Questions” article we will look at this new scale and answer some of the questions that we have been seeing fans ask about this new size.
We’re Going to Need be a Bigger Body
As soon as we designed the horses for Mythic Legions, we knew we wanted to use the body to create a Centaur. Initially we expected that we would use a 1.0 scale upper body on these figures, but when we started playing around with the design, we discovered that the 1.0 torso felt too small for the Centaur we wanted to create. We did also have the ogre-scale torso, and while that actually looked better than the 1.0 did, it still was not perfect (in this case it was too big). We realized that what we actually needed was a scale that was somewhere between the 1.0 and ogre torsos. While this new size was first being considered because of the Centaur, the idea of having a new figure scale to work into the line was also very appealing, and so Eric Treadaway began working on a new torso, arms, and hands – the ones that would be found on Aphareus the Centaur.
More Brutes
While the larger size of the upper body on Aphareus was mentioned during the broadcast for the Illythia wave, the name “brute scale” would not become part of the Legions lexicon until a year later during the G-con reveals for the Poxxus wave. Named by our own Joe Vasapollo, the brute scale name became necessary since the Poxxus wave is where this new size would be fully realized.
With Aphareus, we only got an upper body, so the true size of the new scale was somewhat ambiguous since it was atop the horse, but with the Poxxus wave the studio added lower legs to the brutes, ultimately creating a pair of figures in the wave with this new size.
The orc shaman named Tharnog was the first true brute scale figure to be revealed. While orcs had played an important role in the line since the very first wave, being able to now create a member of this race with a new, larger overall frame was very exciting, and it immediately gave this new character a presence that he simply would not have had if the design had been attempted with the 1.0 parts alone.
The second brute figure revealed was the evil Djinn, Kalizirr! The magical Djinn are often depicted in fantasy settings as being large, powerful beings, so once again being able to use this new scale was perfect for this character.
Brute scale would not only be used in Mythic Legions, however. When the second Cosmic Legions wave was revealed, titled Hvalkatar: Book Two, Gravenight, a new brute scale character was included. The cybernetic member of the Red Spiral known as Kanoxx Vull uses the brute scale size. Many of the pieces on this new figure, such as the lower leg wrap and foot, were the same ones introduced with Tharnog and the Poxxus wave, but additional new pieces, including Kanoxx’s cybernetic limbs and attachments, were created specially for this wave.
The Fit of Brute Scale Parts
One of the common questions we are seeing regarding brute scale is how they fit with other sizes. As we mentioned, they are somewhere between 1.0 and ogre, which you can see illustrated below as examples of all 3 torso sizes are presented side by side.
As for the fittings, the ball opening on the lower part of the brute torso is the same as the one on the 1.0 figures, so awkward sizing aside, a brute scale torso WILL fit on a pair of 1.0 legs. Will brute legs therefore fit on a 1.0 torso? Well, we don’t have any production brute legs in hand yet since Tharnog and Kalizirr are still in the stages of the production process, but we presume they will indeed fit (although, once again, they will be oversized when used this way).
The head on the brute scale is also the same size opening as 1.0 heads, so once again you can swap between these scales if the sizing discrepancies work for you! The arms can also be swapped between the two figures (see above), as can the gauntlets, and the new pauldrons can be popped into the back of a 1.0 figure and used as well.
Below are images showing these various pops and swaps.
Just the Beginning of Brutes
One of the exciting aspects of the Legions lines now that we are so deep into the array of parts in our library is the range of figure sizes available. Being able to create waves of characters that range in scale from small goblin-like characters to towering trolls gives us so much creative freedom, and we are not done yet! We have ideas for character types that are smaller than what we’ve seen so far, and we have plans for releases that are bigger than the scales currently available. Of course, we will also explore more ways to use the scales we already have, and these new brutes will certainly be ones that get more attention in future waves of Mythic and Cosmic Legions.
Published on 09.21.22