Ray Harryhausen Hydra with Jason Warrior Statue by Star Ace Toys

The Hydra with Jason Warrior Statue by Star Ace Toys is up for pre-order, and it’s the newest piece in the Star Ace Ray Harryhausen Collection. It’s priced at USD 549 and is expected to ship between January and March 2027. I’ve wanted a proper Harryhausen Hydra on a shelf for a long time, so I’m going to be honest about how much I like this one.

The Hydra with Jason Warrior Statue is a polyresin diorama by Star Ace Toys Ltd. of the Hydra and Jason from Jason and the Argonauts (1963), produced with the permission of The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation. It costs USD 549, and the Hydra stands 31 cm (appx. 12.2 in) tall. It is expected to ship January to March 2027, with a purchase limit of 6 per person.

Seven Necks, Seven Personalities

The Hydra measures roughly 30 cm tall and 40 cm long (appx. 11.8 in by 15.7 in), with seven necks fanning out from a coiled body and the tail looping back over the coils. What sells it for me is that the heads aren’t copy-pasted. Each one has small differences, which is exactly how Harryhausen’s stop-motion puppet felt on screen: seven snarling heads that each seemed to have its own temper. Add the wrinkled hide and the row of spines down the back, and you get a sculpt that’s mostly texture and negative space, which is a tough balance in resin.

Paint That Chases a 1963 Puppet

The paint is done by hand to match the creature Harryhausen built and animated. That’s the right call. A Harryhausen monster should look like a beautifully made physical object under studio lights, not a slick digital creature. The bar I’d hold it to is a Prime 1 Studio museum piece, where the washes settle into every wrinkle. Prototype photos are promising, but the final production piece may differ, so I’m reserving judgment on the shading until we see more.

Jason Gets the Low Angle

Jason is set low in a fighting crouch, sword drawn and shield raised against the beast. Putting him that close to the floor sells the scale better than any extra inch of Hydra could. The pieces are sculpted separately, so you can stage the full standoff or let the Hydra take over the shelf by itself. I’d go with the standoff, because a little guy with a sword is what makes seven heads look enormous.

The Golden Fleece Set and Where This Sits in the Line

There’s also a Collectible Set that adds the Golden Fleece on a separate base, standing 18 cm (appx. 7.1 in). It’s a dead tree with the fleece slung over a branch, the ram’s head lolling over it, and thick curled wool finished in gold. For a collection built around one man’s creatures, ending this chapter on the prize Jason sailed for, past the clashing rocks and the harpies, makes a lot of sense to me.

Where to Get It

Sideshow — $549.00 · Pre-order · product page

Release dates and pre-order windows for this and every other drop we track are on our Drop Radar calendar.

The Collector’s Survival Guide: How to Justify This

The Collector Math: Everyone knows two heads are better than one, and this Hydra has seven. On the question of spending $549, it outvotes me seven to one, an 87.5 percent landslide. The Greeks invented democracy, and I respect the vote.

How to tell your wife: Babe, everybody knows the Hydra rule: get rid of one head, and two grow back. That rule covers the whole Hydra, and Sideshow lets me order up to six. Say this one has to go, and two show up.

How to tell your parents: Mom, you’ve spent years telling me to buy a decent winter fleece. This set starts shipping in January, and it comes with the Golden Fleece, the one Jason sailed across the world for. For once, I’m dressed for winter.

How to tell your kids: This is Jason, and in his movie the gods on Mount Olympus moved him around a game board like a little statue. On this shelf I’m Zeus, and only Zeus moves the pieces. Touch Jason and your next move is bedtime.

The uneven heads and Jason’s low crouch show that Star Ace understands why Harryhausen’s creatures worked, and that’s what earns this the shelf space. If the hand-painted hide holds up in production, it’ll be the centerpiece of any Harryhausen shelf, and we’ll update this when more details on the Golden Fleece set arrive.