Monday, August 15, 2011

Lion-O, Bandai Thundercats Classic action figure review

Thunder, thunder, and you know the rest. Bandai has delivered us a slew of new Thundercats merchandise and Lion-O is part of the 8" line. You can find Tygra as well and I picked Lion-O up at Toys R Us for $20. First thing you notice is the classic feel to him. He looks as if he stepped out of the 80's cartoon and comes with two Swords of Omens, claw gauntlet, and an extra pair of hands.

The gauntlet snaps on to his left wrist or you can attach it to a strip that hangs from his belt. The smaller sword fits inside the glove even while he's wearing it which is a cool touch. The larger Sword of Omens is sculpted great but is made of soft rubber instead of plastic. What Bandai? Really? This means it droops if you try to have Lion-O hold it up.

Lion-O's sculpt is spot on and he feels pretty heavy standing at 8". This means he can battle your GI Joe Sigma 6 figures but not much else. The paint work while basic solid colors is sharp with very little slop. The Thundercats symbols are perfect and the belt looks quite nice. His eyes are great as well.

So how is the articulation? Pretty near perfect. He has ball joints for his neck, shoulders, hips, waist, and wrists. Single elbows but double knees allows for plenty of posing and he does indeed have rocker ankles. If my original Thundercats had this kind of articulation maybe I wouldn't have buried them in the back yard. He can hold the Sword of Omens in both hands which is a plus.
Expect to pay $20 retail or more if you have to order him from online retailers. Also expect the Sword of Flexible Material to droop and bend with him just standing there. But if Thundercats is part of your childhood and Lion-O was your hero, this is the best year for collectors of the genre and this is the best Lion-O figure out there. THUNDERCATS HO!

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