Hey everyone, new guy here. I posted these a few places, and someone on He-man.org suggested I post them here as you might like to see them.
I got my Thundercats order yesterday and I thought I’d share some pics and thoughts. First of all, I must admit that I approached this line with some trepidation. For one thing, depending on the pics I either got excited about the Classic line or fearful of it. Plus, to be honest I almost didn’t WANT to like them. I hardly need another line to collect.
First up, Lion-o (you can access larger versions of the pictures here):
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5956208229_e5f961d49a_z.jpg
The thing that most impressed me about the figure first is the sculpt. It’s funny, but it’s a lot more sharp and crisp then some of the pictures I’ve seen had me believing. The face sculpt captures the character very well, and I like the crisp, almost angular muscularity of the figure.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6023/5956208305_09538fef52_z.jpg
The next remarkable thing is how well constructed these figures are. They feel nice and heavy and solid. And their joints are very tight. This, added with a lot of articulation means they can be posed in all sorts of poses and they ACTUALLY STAY there. Not one of the pictures I’ve taken here involve any sort of artificial support. The figure kept all these poses on it’s own. LIon-o comes with three different hands (four if you count the claw shield) and this is very useful for trying out different poses for him.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6127/5956768094_c0b1062975_z.jpg
The claw shield looks so incredible. I remember being fairly unimpressed with it as a kid because it was just a vague chunk of orange plastic to me. But this one is beautifully painted in metallic gold. The fact the Sword of Omens fits into it is a great plus.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6142/5956208475_99d30b853e_z.jpg
A shot to show off the great range of movement and balance.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6140/5956208789_7090200d31_z.jpg
As you can see, you can take off the blue piece that hangs off his thigh that holds the claw shield (as shown in the first pic above.) Even though this leaves a hole, I actually like this look when the claw shield isn’t holstered rather than have the blue bit dangling off his thigh. The way it attaches is pretty clever, as at the end of it is a ball-joint that attaches to the claw shield the same way the wrist joint does.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6022/5956208709_53d9365ff9_z.jpg
One of the extra hands is a gripping hand, and it holds the sword (both the short and long versions) well.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6130/5956208629_c21945377e_z.jpg
How cool is it to finally have a Lion-O that can do this pose? It should be noted that the Sword of Omens is wonderfully detailed.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6014/5956208939_4e49110dcc_z.jpg
The sword of omens IS made of a very soft material, which will annoy some. But it must be said it was packed well and didn’t arrive warped, and it seems to be holding it’s form well so far. I also want to point out the great metallic paint on his belt. I am wondering if the chromed version of the Sword of Omens will be made of a harder plastic. I might still be tempted because of that to get the set, but after getting the regular edition I don’t think the SDCC version is that essential to be honest. This is so nice as it is.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6012/5956208559_37a74d29c2_z.jpg
I have to say, again, that as far as construction goes these Thundercats Classic figures have my beloved MOTUC figures beat. There are very few He-man figures that could do this because of the occasional loose joint here and there.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/5956208861_0022959fee_z.jpg
The parting shot…
All in all I’m VERY happy with this figure… so I guess I WILL be buying this line. It isn’t perfect, mind you. The lower neck joint that allows the forward and backward movement was wobbly on mine, creating a slight bobble-head effect. But you could still make him hold his head position. And the left to right movement wasn’t wobbly at all. The paint apps on his skin color on his abs and chest don’t match the plastic skin tone on his arms and legs. It has a bluish cast from the plastic underneath. But even taking these things into consideration, I must admit I’m very happy with this figure.
I’ll try to get a review of Tygra and the 6’’ New Series Lion-O up soon.
Merged Post:
Next up is Tygra. I won’t go into as much detail on this one because a lot of the same things apply to Tygra that applied to Lion-O as far as solid construction.
Larger pics here
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6008/5956867904_85cc547ec9_z.jpg
Tygra has a particular place in my childhood memory because he’s the only Tcats figure I had for a very long time. I had all of the main cast (Lion-O, Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra and the kids) but none of the villains and none of the secondary characters. I’m not sure why, really. I know I wanted a lot more! But most of them met with various sad fates due to breakage. But Tygra outlasted them all. When I first saw packaged pics of Tygra I was worried because the face seemed a little off and his chest area seemed odd…
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/5956308687_a5697c9625_z.jpg
But, having him in hand, I have to say the face is actually pretty good. I’m not sure they have totally captured the character as perfectly as Lion-O, but it’s close.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6141/5956308767_6fef0b6307_z.jpg
I do wish his chest area had been treated like Lion-O’s and wasn’t one solid piece. I feel like it adds a bit more bulk to him than there should be. But overall it’s not bad, and I don’t know that Lion-O has a ton more poseability than Tygra because of the difference. Tygra’s whip comes in two sections. It’s nice because the whip isn’t too floppy and holds it’s shape well, but the connection point of the two halves becomes an articulation point that allows you to have some control over the whip for posing.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5956308807_1e80404800_z.jpg
Tygra again has the same incredibly solid construction. He was a little harder to balance in extreme poses than Lion-O but it was possible and he held them!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6006/5956308957_c2697514a3_z.jpg
The interchangeable right hand is really nice for giving a good variety of poses. I should mention, the replaceable hands are really well done on these figures. They pop right off with not too much force but also stay on really well. They are pretty much perfect in that regard. Sadly, the hands of Lion-O and Tygra are different shades so they aren’t really interchangeable. I haven’t tried to put the claw shield on Tygra though… that might be cool to attempt.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/5956309045_366b386979_z.jpg
All in all, though Tygra isn’t the slam-dunk that Lion-O is, he’s still a very solid and fun figure. There are some issues I have. As some have pointed out, having the pegs in the foot area be different colors is distracting (though nothing compared to the new series figures… but more on that next time) and I wish they’d been more careful about that.
Also, the paint job around Tygra’s collar area is really bad on my figure. The orange of his skin does not go all the way up to his outfit and it does not go all the way up towards his neck-joint. Which means there’s an odd blue halo around this area.
To be honest though, I was able to put those flaws aside and really enjoy this figure. I did get a new series Lion-O (6’’ figure) if anyone is interested, I can post those pics as well.
