Sunday, December 9, 2012

LJN Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Bowmarc on a Crusade

Bowmarc the Good Crusader from the LJN Advanced Dungeons and Dragons line may be the best of the lot. The entirety of this line is so spectacular that it really is hard to separate the awesomeness of each individual character from the others !! Bowmarc alone makes a good case for this line of action figures being one of the best ever produced.
 
Bowmarc is the Good Crusader, released in 1984, as part of the Second Series of AD&D figures from LJN. The Battle-Matic Action was being introduced into the line at this time, so Bowmarc was given a hook on his side that holds his sword, but also doubles as his lever to twist his torso. I'm not a fan of any sort of "action" incorporated into figures, but this one doesn't interfere with the playability of the figure and doubles as a sheath so I'll let it go. Lets get to the figure:
 
 Typical of the line, the card art is spectacular and overall the package is a work of art in itself.

 
 
 
Remember opening the card and popping the figure out of the plastic ??
 
 
What a beautiful figure, detail galore on the figure and weapons.
 
 
Look at that shield !! The detail for a figure of that era is just amazing !!
 
 
WOW.
 
 
Bowmarc is equipped with a blue cape, sword, axe and shield.
 
 
The detail on the weapons is second to none !
 
 
I still remember getting Bowmarc. The CVS at the Como Mall seemed to get the coolest frikin toys around. A bit overpriced, but no one was looking for toys at a drugstore, so I found alot of stuff there. Anyway, I remember seeing him for the first time. I think I said something like "HOLY S..T!" under my breath (I was only 11) and ran to the cashier with him !
 
Bowmarc was the first figure from the second series I scored and I just fell in love with him. He's a Crusader ! What more could you want then the goodiest of Good Guys fighting the evil PVC monsters ! I made him out to be a total Galahad type, even Strongheart would would pale in comparison to this guys zeal for destroying evil of all kinds ! Bowmarc was the only figure I would let successfully destroy, with the help of Mercoin, the Evil Lich from the series.
 
These figures were so cool. I remember setting up dungeons for the figures to delve into. Getting a party of figures together and having them clear out the dungeon in search of the treasure. Bowmarc was a powerful figure to have leading the party, then eventually getting into conflict with Zarak, Zorgar or Drex. I guess I "figured" if I couldn't play D&D I could get my fix with the figures.
 
As a side note, I remember KB Toys liquidating these figures at the end of the line, the PVCs and the Monsters. Specifically Tiamat, the Five Headed Dragon. They were all like 1 to 10 bucks. Man, if I would have just convinced some adult to buy em up and stash them........go ahead, look up Tiamat Five headed Dragon on Ebay.......ugh.

8 comments:

  1. Love this- didn't know about him! Had several of these, and that freaky playset too

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    1. Thanks ! After the first series these guys got a bit tough to find, probably due to the bad publicity about D&D back then. The Fortress of Fangs was the playset, cool as heck !

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  2. I always seem to do it. I get into a line at the beginning and then I am onto something else as it continues. Never had Bowmarc. I only had first series characters. Had Fortress of Fangs that I quickly used as Cobra's base...

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    1. WOW, thats great ! I did not have the playset so I never made that jump, but that would have been AWESOME for a Cobra base ! That is one of the reasons why I do this, its sooooo cool to read how everyone used their stuff ! Its very interesting !

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  3. Still think Warduke was the best figure out of this line with Strongheart a close second but Bowmarc here is in the running too such a nice figure.

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    1. My problem with those two is that they are so common. Maybe too much exposure has blinded me to thier awesomeness.

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  4. Great article about Bowmarc...I adore these figures, I have a pretty good collection too.

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    1. Thanks ! Currently I am tracking down these guys little by little. They are worth collecting .... so well done, they display beautifully !

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