And now for some modern wrestling toys that you may not even be aware of. The Legends of Lucha Libre is a fast growing line produced by Masked Republic & Boss Fight Studio. The company has an eclectic group of toy licenses under it’s belt including Popeye, Sam & Max (if you know who they are, we can be friends), Umbrella Academy and even an upcoming Major League Wrestling figure line. More on the latter in a bit. Right now the company is focusing its wrestling division on lucha libre stars of both the past and present. I recently picked up two of the figures, an accessory pack and the arena playset. What’s better than a bunch of reviews in one? 
Before purchasing I recalled hearing of these figures awhile ago and, looking back, it seems that there were a few delays getting them out. The two that I picked up are part of their “Fanaticos” line which would be the equivalent to Mattel’s WWE Basic figures. There are “Elite” equivalents as well which seem to have been available a bit longer. Penta Zero M and Rey Fenix (The Lucha Bros.) are available in both styles while Juventud Guerrera and Taya Valkyrie, the two that I picked up, are thus far only available in the Fanaticos line. They’re available at various online retailers thus far, though I haven’t seen/heard of them breaking into brick and mortar stores just yet. The accessory pack, one of two, shown here seems to be available wherever the figures can be found. The arena set is more of an exclusive.
As far as graphics, design and quality the packaging for the figures and accessory set are on par with anything that we’re getting from “the bigger guys.” In fact, I’d probably go as far as to say that it’s more appealing. Through most of its run the Mattel WWE packaging has had simply too much red for me. These are a nice gray/white with a nice, large representation of the star. Nothing too difficult about removing the figures from the packaging, either. The cardstock for the card backs is nice and thick, something that another company could definitely learn from. These aren’t much different in price from those guys, so it isn’t budget we’re talking about here. The accessory set is also nicely packed and nothing’s moving, although you’re more than likely going to want to open it. As far as the figures, the packaging is nice enough that I’d considering buying extras for autograph purposes on certain wrestlers.
Some of the chatter that I have seen regarding this line were worries of the figures not being to scale with “the other leading brands.” It does appear that the Penta and Fenix figures from The Legends of Lucha Libre are a tad smaller than their Jazwares AEW counterparts, but I’m going by photos that I’ve seen on those. As far as the two figures that I picked up I really couldn’t be more pleased. Valkyrie fits in nicely with other female figures while Juvi works great with Mattel’s Rey Mysterio figures and others. Considering a lot of collectors will want will Juvi for WCW collections, I think that he’s a perfect addition. Some of the upcoming figures in this line also fit that bill. It’s WCW’s Cruiserweight Division revisited!
There’s something about these figures that, once you hold them, makes you wonder why more wrestling figures can’t be done in such high quality. I really feel like these figures have such little chance of breaking. There are other figures out there that seem as if they’ll break right out of the package. Not here. These things are seriously solid yet move nice enough for some great playability. Certainly as much as some of the other “basic” style figures out there. The accessory pack is well done, too. There’s another set which includes a breakaway table, but I really wanted this one for the dog collars and chain. I was a tad disappointed to find that apparently you need figures with removable heads in order for the accessory to work. I haven’t wanted to remove a head on a figure where it’s unremovable, so I’m unsure if this will work with these Fanaticos figures. Nonetheless for toy photography purposes a small cut in each dog collar should remedy the issue. The chair is one of the more realistic that I’ve seen for figures. The microphone in my set did not have a logo on it as shown on the packaging. You also get a nightstick, breakable block and an extra masked head which leads me to believe that head swapping is a deal somewhere in this line.
Some of you are chomping at the bit regarding the playset. I can feel it. Playsets bring out the kid in us all. This set is another production of Extreme Sets, the company which makes the arena backdrop set that you’ve seen in photography here on the blog as well as our socials not to mention a review here some years ago. Interestingly they’ve never sold this particular lucha arena set on their site itself. Instead it’s purchasable through Boss Fight Shop as well as a few other online retailers that can be found with a Google search. These Extreme Sets backdrops/playsets/environments can be costly but are a great boon to action figure photographers everywhere. This one, although not as tall as the regular arena, is a bit less in cost but still immense in its own way.
In all you get three “floor” pieces and five “walls” (two solid, two with doors, one entry way) along with two anvil cases, an row of lockers, a ramp and a stage. That’s a lot! All of is printed with high quality graphics on equally high quality and very thick cardboard. The “accessory” pieces easily fold into what they’re supposed to be and the floors and walls connect via two tabs on each. You can do a lot of customization and you don’t have to build exactly what the instructions suggest. Customization is key. As far as rings it’s BYOB, but Masked Republic/Boss Fight Studio do have one coming from the line in the near future. Really there’s enough room to hear to load the place up with all kinds of accessories that you already have.
I’ve only shown what’s included in the pictures here but I can certainly see myself adding to the set. Some small groupings of the audience/crowd from the original arena from Extreme Sets would look great here and a black mat can be added to create a larger ring/ringside area. The stage can be removed from the entry way to accommodate larger figures. The “curtain/lights” backdrop to the entry way is actually connected via velcro on both the entry way backdrop and the wall itself. This is something that I’d like to see Extreme Sets incorporate into more of their products. The arena itself is that of a older, run-down venue decorated with lucha signage. It’s a fun atmosphere and I could see most any wrestling figure in this environment. Part of it can be utilized as a locker room and you can even stuff a wrestler into one of the lockers. It honestly has a bit of a “Lucha Underground” vibe and I’m sure that’s what they were going for. The packaging says that it’s for adult collectors, but a respectful child could get a lot of play mileage out of this. Are we so far removed that we’ve forgotten that many of the original Kenner Star Wars playsets utilized cardboard? I will say that assemblage should be done by an adult and that, like with the other arena Extreme Set that I own, I’ve always wondered just how much assembly/disassembly these playsets will weather.
That’s a lot of lucha libre action! I’m excited to see what’s next for this line from Boss Fight Studio. Ultimo Dragon, Vampiro and Konnan are all announced figures in the line that I have an interest in. The MLW line should be promising as well. Figures of Hammerstone, The Von Erich Brothers and Savio Vega? I have no idea of any of the lineups, but I’d be more than pleased with any of those names. As for Extreme Sets, it’s nice to see that they’ve teamed with a figure company to produce a licensed set. It’s curious that it’s nowhere to be found on their site, but there’s probably a story behind it. I hesitate to give them too much of a plug since they refuse to ever use my figure photography on their socials, but I will say that they have an exciting new set coming next year that’s reminiscent of a small venue where a certain soon-to-be-thirty-year-old wrestling program started. Just like everything you’ve seen here, it looks really cool, folks!
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