Thundercats Cheetara by Bandai figure review

Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats ho! You all saw that coming. And what's already arrived in stores is the newest assortment of Thundercats featuring some of the current animated characters. Cheetara is the focus of this review. She's Marvel Legends scaled at six inches (a bit shorter as most women in the line are) and can be found alongside a new 6" classics Mum Ra and Lion-O. I believe the current Tigra is in this assortment too but didn't see him in the case. He is pictured on the back of the package.

Cheetara's sculpt is great with a very athletic look to her. The collar, torn shoulder sleeves, and bangles really make her look unique. The hair is nicely sculpted and her clawed toes look like they could do some damage. Then you get to the big black pins and shoulder discs. Bandai said they were looking into changing these but I guess that didn't happen yet. They really detract from the overall look but I guess we should be thankful they're not shiny metal rivets anymore.

The paint apps on the figure are spot on with hardly any slop. Speaking of spots she has darker colored ones on her shoulders and hair which are accurately placed but could be a lot darker as they get lost against her skin color. The gold on her bangles is shiny and the Thundercats emblem under her breasts is crisp. The pouch behind her back is even colored and so are her little kneecap decorations.

Now for the problem. While the facial paint is applied great the eye tampograph was set too small. There's extra space on her pink eyeliner-mask where the black edges should be but were squeezed to fit inside the actual eye sculpt, not around it. This makes her head look tiny and after matching it up against the picture on the back and the show art I can see ta huge difference. This could be a make-or-break thing for some as the eyes are the window to the soul and all.

Articulation is a mixed bag this time around. First the good, she has excellent ankle rockers and range of movement there. Her wrists are ball jointed and while they pop off easily are very good for holding her staff. That being said SHE IS MISSING BICEP CUTS. The other figures have them. She simply can't wield her staff in that may ways due to this. Her collar and hair sculpt have her neck joint reduced to a swivel and she's looking down at an angle because of this. You'll need to heat the hair up and bend it back a bit, freezing it in place with cold water to fix this.

Cheetara's hips also bump against her waist and don't get into a 90 deg angle, her waist joint only being a cut when it could have easily been a ball joint and given her so much more range of motion. The lack of double joints like the other figures have is also puzzling but doesn't affect her range, what's there anyway. She comes with one accessory, her staff. It's nicely detailed and even has the magic emblem on it, tho very hard to see as there's no paint to bring it out.

The verdict here? Eh...for $15 you could do a lot better but could also do a lot worse. I know many people are looking forward to this figure and with some customizing work she could be nearly perfect. But at the price you're paying Bandai really needs to ramp up their articulation and get rid of those terrible black pegs. Our Sponsors Past Generation Toys should have her soon and so should Big Bad Toy Store. You can always hunt her down at retail but be prepared to pay a dollar or two more at Toys R Us.

Bandai Ultraman Ultra-Act: Glenfire figure review

I'll admit I don't know a lot about Glenfire or the Ultraman Zero movie from which he hails but I am familiar with Ultraman. This character shares similarities in costume color/design and combined with a bunch of flames was enough to win me over. The Ultra-Act series are similar to Figuarts in design and articulation. They're like the Marvel Legends of Japan. Right off the bat the figure looks great in packaging and inside shows off his multiple hands and accessories. Open the tray carefully because the hands will spill out.

Glenfire stands 6" tall and has some really nice sculpting. From the fire crest (which can be replaced by a larger one) to his costume tech, it's finely detailed. His accessories are also wonderfully sculpted with a real flame-look to them that's often difficult to capture in plastic. The hands swap out with some practice. They're hard to pull off and you have a moving ball joint that adds to the difficulty of putting them back on. Articulated fingers may have helped here. His toes are articulated but unfortunately cause stability problems since they're rounded on the bottom.

Articulation is a mixed bag. While he sports more articulation points than a Hasbro Marvel legends not all of it is useful. Mainly because the internal hinges in the shoulders/hips can pop free easily when you pose him. Solid ML style ball hips/shoulders would have helped here but careful posing and he shouldn't give you too much trouble. His double jointed limbs give some great range of motion too.

The clear suspended orb in the middle of Glenfire's chest is really neat looking, as are his fire attachments. One is the fire-fist that replaces his hand and he also comes with two fire-staves. The larger one is unfortunately very heavy and falls out of his hands rather easily. Find your balance point. The other one is easy to wield and looks cool as well. Detach his smaller crest for the larger one and he looks like he's ready to do some damage.

Back to articulation, Glendfire and his double-ball-jointed-everything can strike up just about any pose you need but the balance issue with the feet may limit that. He has a plug in his back that can be removed, I'm guessing for a stand (not included) which could help with holding a pose. His paint work is basic solid colors with some very subtle dark shading on the red. You may want to apply a light gunmetal wash to his tech sections to get that great detail standing out.

So what's this guy going to run you? About 2,320 yen at Ami-Ami if you act now which is about $31 with the current high exchange rate. But if you want a 6" scaled flaming superhero with a bunch of neat fire effects this guy is pretty awesome. I've heard about issues with the first series of Ultra Act figures but this one seems to have cleared up any issues. Snag him and battle some baddies.

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!