Review 1: Kaustic Plastik 1/6 "Astacius" Retiarius 12-inch roman gladiator figure

This is the Kaustic Plastik 1/6 scale "Astacius" 12-inch Retiarius roman gladiator figure as he is seen in Rome, Italy, circa 300 A.D. I have already posted pictures of the box packaging earlier HERE, so let's go right into the figure review itself :)

Some information about the company that made these figures: Kaustic Plastik emerged from the ashes of Twisting Toyz, formed by Fabio Varesi, former Twisting Toyz historical chief consultant and Danilo Leo, former Twisting Toyz chief prototyper. Kaustic Plastik products are TOTALLY designed in ITALY. Being headquartered in Italy, they have wide access to some of the world’s finest historical artifacts out there and they have managed to bring these very fine 1:6 scale replicas to us.

Kaustic Plastik has taken some creative license with the 1/6 scale head sculpts of their 12-inch roman gladiator figures. The 1/6 scale head sculpt of this "Astacius" 12-inch Retiarius roman gladiator figure was inspired by Italian Footballer Francesco Totti.

This is a totally new 12-inch body type designed, produced and released by Kaustic Plastik. Their body comes with 35+ points of articulation. The NECK and SHOULDER have internal mechanism hidden by the PVC Torso. This give a lot of flexibility to NECK and shoulder as well.

The Kaustic Plastik 1/6 scale Realistik Muscle Body KP01A is a newly developed 12-inch nude body with extraordinarily life-like muscle definition plus 4 posing hands, a lifelike head with "state of art" paint, carefully painted skin texture, improved ankle joints for extra stability and is made of extremely durable plastic (PVC and ABS) for lifetime enjoyment.

The Retiarius (plural retiarii; literally, "net-man" or "net-fighter" in Latin) was a Roman gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman: a weighted net (rete, hence the name), a three-pointed trident (fuscina or tridens), and a dagger (pugio). The retiarius was lightly armoured, wearing an arm guard (manica) and a shoulder guard (galerus).

Typically, his clothing consisted only of a loincloth (subligaculum) held in place by a wide belt, or of a short tunic with light padding. He wore no head protection or footwear.

The retiarius was routinely pitted against a heavily armed secutor. The net-fighter made up for his lack of protective gear by using his speed and agility to avoid his opponent's attacks and waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Close-up views of the 1/6 "Astacius" head sculpt that is part of the Kaustic Plastik Retiarius 12-inch roman gladiator, inspired by Italian Footballer Francesco Totti.

Check out the details of the crest Astacius wears on his chest and belt :)

Scroll down for close-up pictures of the Kaustic Plastik 1/6 "Astacius" Retiarius 12-inch roman gladiator figure upper body, showing off the arm guard (manica) and loincloth (subligaculum) held in place by the wide belt

And here are some close-up views of the Kaustic Plastik 1/6 "Astacius" Retiarius 12-inch roman gladiator figure legs.

Kaustic Plastik has made the ankle joints of their 1/6 scale Realistik Muscle Body KP01A really strong and stable so that the figure will not topple under its own weight. Many a time we've experienced so many instances where the ankles just cannot support the weight of the figure but this is NOT the case here :)

Last but not least, tools of the trade :) "Astacius" Retiarius 12-inch roman gladiator figure's 1/6 scale weapons: a three-pointed trident (fuscina or tridens), a dagger (pugio), a dagger with four spikes (known as a quadrens – each spike at the corner of a square guard) – previously thought to be an artistic invention or perhaps a ceremonial weapon but a recently excavated femur bone from a gladiator graveyard in Ephesus has wounds consistent with the use of such a weapon, a weighted net (rete, hence the name) and a shoulder guard (galerus) made of die-cast bronze metal

Check out the details of the die-cast bronze metal shoulder guard (galerus) - AMAZING!

What has come before:
Kaustic Plastik 1/6 scale "Celadus" Thraex Roman gladiator 12-inch figure reviewed HERE

What comes after:
Fully equipped Kaustic Plastik 1/6 "Astacius" Retiarius 12-inch roman gladiator figure ready for battle in the arena (posted HERE)!

You can order the Kaustic Plastik 1/6 scale Celadus Thraex 12-inch Roman gladiator figure on their website HERE. Their products are also distributed in USA by Cotswold Collectibles and they are very proud of this because Cotswold Collectibles is one of the oldest company totally dedicated to Action Figures!

If you are in Singapore or around this region, you can also order through The Falcon's Hangar