Thundercats Classics

Well as title says this is another slice of my childhood "Thundercats" classics" the figure line by Bandai, 
Something that gos in and out of fashion Thundercats is a solid cool cartoon,nostalgia box ticked but has been on back burner for a long time now Bandai have a license of figures new and old and with other company's doing various statues seems Thundercats are back in fashion and slowly getting some new stuff 
Im not into huge polystone statues nice as they are there bit pointless to me and pricey, very very pricey ,
then the big plastic statues, nice but HUGE by Mezco 14"  about 7 points of articulation and fifty quid ,personally to big to expensive ,and 6" Staticon Figures Coming From Icon Heroes but will retail at £30 and be again out of scale to He Man and everything else ,so to small to expensive 
Im starting to be reminded of goldy locks this ones to big this ones to small etc

so Bandai gave us some classic figures with lots and lots of articulation true to cartoon look  and affordable ......read on

pre production prtotype

Where to begin ,well i had heard of these last year 2011 starting as always with SDCC exclusive  ,then saw them in my local supermarket (Tesco)2012  for fifteen pound my good lady did much earlier in the year purchase me the king Lion - O great
There was also the Architect and scientist Tygra ( same figure made in same factory so this review reflects both figures as both the  same )
Now the last choice tygra  is a wierd choice you would of thought that main good guy main bad guy so Mumm-Ra

SDCC Lion-O

  This did cause some questions to be raised in fan circles,and i to think odd choice Cheetara Panthro are more popular characters, 
But surely a main Bad guy would make sense, kids today wont know these and yes it is a collectors line (I start wincing at that  ) so display purposes make more sense 

two classics two scales

Then early in the year after release of the two figures, Bandai announced changes ,scale being reduced to 6 inches
so effectively this line is dead before it has begun ,
Promises of continuing in a special one off's capacity Cheetara was rumored  to be next ,hmmmm no way there going to have costs of two scales of the same figures makes no sense what so ever,id be amazed if they did but then  there is the comic conventions so who knows

STGCC Exclusive ThunderCats Lion-O/Mumm_Ra

So sticking to the bigger figures for a moment 

there you have it in box nice window packaging so if want to leave as is fine and unlike the SDCC variant no chrome paint work and no slop of black paint all over not here either is the stand for the weapons sadly

Packaging There appear to be some differences to the packaging i don't know why but the hanger and bottom front are different on some and the name on the window,sizes one cm other in Inches, Europe US Packs?
And it is collector friendly and reusable
So on to opening and first impression weighty , solid but something feels off ,smooth plastic no detailing at all and when tap the plastic it just seems cheap somehow for the buck/ body
HUGE articulation for these acrobats perfect 
but feel a bit of detail in paint app could be done ,better sculpt, it has been done on other figures He Man for one very successfully 
and the imagining seems, i don't know very cartoon?, just unsure if works in 3D ? that's the problem with this its not be realized for 3D ,just taken direct from 2D Cells and not sure works very well again He Man line shows how the four horsemen did the imagining of the classic figures true to cartoon and original figure line all most identical but up dated

so that's the weird "something is off  and i am not sure what? moment 


 ARTICULATION  wow BIGGEST best thing here ,name it h can do he can move in poses you cant shoulders have all the moves this is spot on ,
18 points of articulation. The head rotates as well as moves up and down. There is full rotation at the shoulder, as well as an additional (and rarely-seen) full rotation point just above the bicep. There is a single hinge at the elbow, and a ball joint at the wrist. The torso has articulation points just below the chest and at the waist. No ball joints at the hips, but hinged joints do allow for a full range of motion. There is a second joint allowing for rotation at the upper leg (similar to those described for the bicep area). The knees are double-hinge joints, and my favourite of all, are hinge joints located at the ankles,wow you name he can do it in a pose and that's brilliant for this you have a look in mind from a scene or comic no problem to recreate it

nice neutral face so looks the part and fits well on the shelf standing generic 
but boy is it shiny in fact whole figure is,now yes i know it is plastic but really? and remember the line "Collectors series of figures"
It is very very high gloss I'm sure the plastic must be the colour of the skin (Pelt) its like it has had a gloss coat applied allover it and also the head neck different colour to rest of it the paint job is ok no slopping or over spray 
just some variants in tone here and there and that damn gloss 

-Accessories: The figure comes with two alternate hands, the semi-fist (ideal for sword-wielding) and the matching right hand open palm. This makes the left hand open palm and the right claw shield the standard out of box hands. The claw shield doubles as a holster, just like in the cartoon. Sadly the peg on mine that attaches claw shield  to the hip docent like to stay in to well not exactly a tight fit
 the Sword of Omens accompanies Lion-O and comes in both short and long form. but is made of a really really soft rubber and i do mean soft it eventually will droop under gravity  Ive never seen this sort of rubber used on anything other than capes skirts etc, on a sword bad ideal harder plastic be a better idea 

And now the bad point ,the paint seems to be missing in some areas namely the joints i have no idea why another mystery to add to the figure 
the hands pop off and the ball joint is flesh colour so are the ankles and it does stand out a lot sadly and lets whole thing down its a eye sore detracting from the figure your eye gos to it 

 

 This is only real major flaw ,excellent figure it is big it is poseable and it looks good the down side to it the paint job it screams cheap quality that and the accessories for the price point can and should be better 

If it was identical to the pre production figure (see pic above) it would be great

This line is i think over with sadly but with a bit of effort and if it does concern you these faults are very easy to fix ill repaint the joints and spray matt varnish mine

six inch figures

in a word ,identical, just scaled down 
 Been out for a year in USA when i find them i hope there cheaper for the size difference so be more affordable i hope.and would of thought, and better choice of character this time they got it right Mumm Ra and Lion O

Weird screaming sort of facial expression for Lion O i dont like, prefer Neutral sits better when on your shelf limits what you can do an just looks weird,
Theres now something for the customizer,(I will take one apart to paint red Mumm-ra version)  It does make it easier to take the figure apart for painting and parts swapping, but since most people aren’t customizers it  is sloppy and well a eye sore ,worse than unpainted joints ,why are these uncovered screw holes  there?
Again same plastic same paint same problems and well the same ,again why didn't they paint the joints ?,Why High Gloss finish ? and that head sculpt is causing a few complaints again a divisive figure that is not overall enthused and coveted instantly but instead you go "er hmmm ?" and if your questioning a purchase and it fails to say, buy me now, chances are you wont buy it in my experience 

Again accessories limited and Mumm _Ra comes out worst 

Thats it all you get some hands and bandages that apparently plug in the screw holes but are fidly to do so and no cape ? why?,this is starting to get very cheap generic toy land im not bothered about passing on these yeah nice to have mumm ra but there poor and apparently not selling stateside either if cheap enough id get them but not to fussed ,Meh in a word

with statues and huge figures with limited articulation at fifty pound plus mark Thundercats are retro kitsch, but they have to be as they say Collector aimed and that means getting it right

wow factor Bandai its not there and stop making crazy choices
Apparently if there is a continuation of the six inch line Tygra is next on list WHY ? who in the office has a thing for Tygra ? 
Cheetara Panthro and with  Slithe and Monkian ,,Thats your next line ,wave 3 Tygra and Wilykat and Wily Kit and Jackleman wave 4 Bengahli Pumyra Vultureman and reptillian soldier double pack SDCC Mumm-Ra mummy form  then do another wave of Linx O Hacheman and BIG box set of Snow man and Snow meow one off Tank in scale to 7 inch figures OMG How epic ,etc etc
  and get the paint job done properly,im  sure will be snapped up

So far Bandai made a right mess of this license  changing minds at start of launch  which is unfortunate i would like some classic T Cats and see line be long like Mattel and He Man and get a Thundertank and go on to expanded universe comics un produced figures etc sadly this is wrong company for the job no enthusiasm going off reports from the comic con 

oh to compound the mysery 8 inch in scale of there own and so is 6 inch,He man  masters are a nice 7 inches like necca stuff and Mcfarlane and DC comics figures,oh and like original LJN T Cats figures 7" so why these 6?

He Man Lion-O team up not hapening

Paint Touch up & Matt coat

So took my two figures painted the joints and TYGRA's bands on his arm ,gave both a good Matt coat 2 solid coats and there you go looks the mutts nuts, shame there will not be anymore all core Cats in this 20cm line would be  nice if big and take up lots of room  they do look good and no shine anywhere ,another note TYGRA has sculpted eyebrows and then painted and appears on mine the paint missed so needed touch up 
Nice figures gonna look good on DVD shelf 

Finished cats heads

conclusion
Lion-O is a great figure. If you’re a Thundercats fan, 80s Child or a collector, you’ll love it. The sculpt, the super posability, and the accessories and weapons make this figure completely worth the money. Everything about the figure lends itself to some great posing ,stick it on the DVD book shelf would look good 
.incorrectly colored ankle joints are really disappointing to see on such a collector marketed toy (especially since Bandai has stated that they almost certainly won’t change this in the future), and while they do detract from the overall aesthetic of the figure, not as much as the gloss ,that just makes the whole thing look cheap and rubbish 

it still turns out to be available in generic stores ,MEGA points, not tied to specialist store or worse a web site that costs three times more than the figure to import one figure
a fun toy that I would gladly recommend to any Thundercats fan.
With the end of the new series cartoon last year nothing in 2012  and New York Comic con 2012 coming going and not a whiff of anything new for Thundercats, by Bandai i think the entire line with them is over ,and that is the rumour ,certainly six inch replaced the 8 but looks like even the new scale are dead in the water

You can not chop change minds before you even really begun ,changing scales you ask people to commit to your line give them something they cant say no to get it right and they will,
 and you really do have to get your choices right i have seen a few lines die due to wrong choices made you have to be aware and know your product ,yes being a fan helps but know what else is out there


This needed commitment a line of figures not two a line 4 at least 2 bad 2 good 

EG laboring a point here, but THUNDERCATS 80s cult show like He Man ok there a big success being modernized look at that as a yard stick ,then look at other "Collector" figures oh all seven inch then make yours that scale look how there made the joints body's etc be definitive in style based on classic look ,really it is not hard and i don't work in toy industry and i get it

Now xmas 2012 Home Bargins discount store has every single Bandai Thundercats product new and classic, play sets figures  all ranges 4/ 6/ 8 inch (NO 6 inch classics sadly) for ridiculous prices 
 i just bought Big Classic figures  Lion-O Tygra 8 inch for £6 ($ 9.70 ) the pair, the 4inch new are a pound ($1.62) got bandages Mumm-Ra that fits with others very well sadly no bigger scales of him like that just weird thing with wings,every new playset and the new tank 
None of which i liked to Manga to ben ten etc, to generic nothing cool or noble or Warrior and certainly zero cool factor even new music paled in comparison to the rock riffs of old 

The new series, a bunch of mangy looking cat people treasure scavenge hunting boring dull personalities,
wonder who gets license next and if we have to wait over twenty years again? 


The dream is over