ItsAllTrue Review:
Onell Design’s Glyos

Create

As I mentioned above, I had to learn the organic building process. Even though I was making things I really liked, I was still thinking structurally. My fiancée, impressed with the Gobon, had picked him up and started playing with him. She discovered that he came apart, that he could be other things. Before long, she’d disassembled my Buildman to make use of his pieces. My newly-constructed cannon arm came apart and the pieces started turning into crazy things.

With my Glyos, I had been making new humanoid robots; my fiancée was not similarly limited. These pictures are just a sample of things she was able to create one after the other. What I had taken some effort to learn, she picked up easily. She built all sorts of things and is still building new ones a couple weeks later. She’s completely unafflicted by the “collect” aspect and easily tears up her latest design to see what she can build next. We’ve got a few more Glowbons (GITD Gobons) in red & green on the way to us now at her behest.

I think this is one of the greatest areas for potential for Glyos and it’s one I’m still learning. They can be built into anything. On the Onell Blog, you can see more fantastic creations like this Marvel homage or some really elaborate designs like the one below.


Customize

Finally, there exists a greater area for customization then simply building with the available parts. This is an area that I’ve yet to venture into, but I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen since joining the October Toys forums and seeing the amazing customs that are possible – some by painting or casting the existing pieces into new colors while others sculpt and create entirely new, but compatible pieces. Among the work I’ve seen, there’s plenty to be impressed with, but I don’t want to overload you with links. To name just a few…

This is a world I’m just getting into, so I can’t speak to the quality of the products these guys produce, but word of mouth is good on all of them. I can personally vouch for Spymonkey – I’ve picked up a few MOTU weapons from them and I’m a big fan of their stuff.

Review

Since this was supposed to be a review and not just “How Noisy learned to stop worrying and love Glyos”, I should spend some time talking about the quality of the products too. All of my Glyos are built out of a sturdy PVC plastic that’s held up to play and the constant switching out of parts. The joints are similarly sturdy and can hold some decent weight when you add-on extra pieces to make cannon arms, etc. One thing I did notice between the releases is that I originally had a harder time popping the parts apart on my older Glyos, but the new silver pieces were easier to switch around. That made everything a lot more fun and less hard on my fingers.

The paint apps have been sharp on all my Glyos. The eyes and visors really bring the sculpts alive and the black wash has really added definition to my silver figures.

Then, there’s articulation. As a big fan of Marvel Legends and DC Classics, I could be called an articulation junkie and not be able to protest. And I won’t lie – I’d like to get elbows and knees on these figures (the Outer Space Men include a second, bent arm to simulate an elbow joint). But, the truth is, that turns out to be a minor complaint. Each time you put two pieces together you create a swivel joint. The basic Buildman has 12 swivel points and the Gobon has 11 swivel points. There is plenty of versatility built in and it overcomes any perceived deficiencies. If it still bothers you, there are plenty of designs where the Buildman’s fist can be turned around to be a bent elbow. And if you think about how many points of articulation that yellow creation from the Glyos blog has, your head might explode.

There is a backstory to these guys that I haven’t learned yet, but I will with the knowledge that it will enrich my experience with these figures and enhance the ‘collect’ aspect. And as I keep adding to my collection, my ability to configure and create will continue to grow as my roster and my parts list expands. That’s a big thing about Glyos – you can think of them as figures and as pieces. A sharp eye might notice that my last image there has some pieces from a different offering, the Callgrim. More on him soon. Finally, I’m not sure how deep I’ll venture into customization. I’m still a bit intimidated by that aspect, but maybe someday.

Overall, if you’re the slightest bit interested in Glyos, then I encourage you to pick one up. I can talk about them and show pictures of them all day and nothing will be as convincing as having them in hand and being able to build something out of them for yourself. If you’re a toy collector that only looks to buy updated versions of Snowjob, Bumblebee, Aqauman, or Whiplash then Glyos might not be for you. But if you love a good toy? If you long to pick up something with creative freedom, easy customization, and have some fun? Try Glyos. You’ll have a blast.

36 thoughts on “ItsAllTrue Review:
Onell Design’s Glyos

  1. I love Glyos. I really, truly do. Maybe it’s because I teach Kindergarten and coming up with funky creations happens in Kindergarten on a daily basis. Whatever the reason, these toys are awesome and something I’d actually- Dare I say it?- collect.

    Heaven help me when the glow-in-the-dark ones come…

    Your review was well written too! I loved the “C” categories with the review at the end. It was a structured, simple and organized read. You add cute personal touches to your articles too. While I don’t always comment as much as I should, it’s something I appreciate about your reviews. Your personal flow is always something I look forward to.

    *Gold star* 😉

  2. That was a great read! I’ve enjoyed teh few Onell pieces that I’ve bought, but I never have enough money after trying to keep up with Mattel & Hasbro.

    1. Money is a big factor for me too. I think the Glyos prices are reasonable, but Mattel is pretty adamant about getting all my money.

  3. I’ve yet to disassemble my Junkshop figures that I have, they are each their own unique individual with their generally(not all though!) mismatched parts. It is fun giving them weapons from other toys like G.I.Joes or Star Wars.

    1. Of course, I glossed over that ‘collect’ aspect! LOL

      I haven’t tried cross-pollinating weapons yet. I’ll have to check that out.

    2. My only problem with tearing mine apart is I don’t always remember what goes with which figure… I never thought about giving them outsider toy props!!! Great idea!!!

  4. These look like fun little guys. Are they rugged enough for grandkids? Ones that know not to eat the little pieces of course.

  5. it’s nice to see people remembering that toys are about PLAY first and foremost, not collectibility, not exclusivity, not packaging, good old imagination inspiring PLAY! it seems like in the last couple decades, we lost the idea of play. i blame mcfarlane. but play is the ultimate service a toy can provide and that needs to be protected and cherished whenever possible.

    1. Collect ’em all is an overriding concept in so many ways. I’m interested to see how non-Glyos OSM fans confront the number of colorways.

  6. I’m not a Glyos fan, but this was a great article in-it-of-itself. I loved how you ‘didnt get it’, it made for a very personal story!

    1. Yeah, I had to come clean to start off! I really was kinda unsure about them and put them away. I’m glad I gave them a second chance.

  7. Fun blog. On a few different occasions I have loaded up a bunch of these in my shopping cart at Onell and then decided not to get them. I was hoping to get to see them in hand at Onell’s SDCC booth, but each time I went there was some sort of event going on and there wasn’t anything on sale to grab/hold/look at. Your blog is helpful as a tutorial in that regard. Now I’m leaning toward grabbing some, but I can’t seem to find the colors I really want…I want those silver ones you have. 🙂

    1. Thanks! I think they’re worth it if you do pick some up, but color is very important! I know I’m a bit crazy in that regard, but the all silver ones – including my Silver Callgrim – really helped me out. And you can’t have my silver ones! 😉

      I’m tempted by the GITD red offerings right now. Sil just got the red Glowbon today, and it makes me want to grab the Echomorph, the Buildman, and the Callgrim to match…

      1. Well, you pushed me over the edge. 🙂 I finally submitted an order, on my 4th or 5th attempt at pulling the trigger. Part of me wanted to just wait until they release some colors I’m really jazzed about, but the part of me that won was the part that just wanted to crack some of these open. I’ll let you know how it goes.

        1. Did you get the GITD ones!? The red is SUPER AWESOME!!!! It’s so, so red when it glows!!!!

    1. Phil! I’m a dolt! I completely forgot to add you into the customize section. My bad – I’m adding a link to Battlegrip and to your Flickr account now!

  8. I really enjoyed this one, as I’ve been kinda admiring these at arm’s length since the OSM were announced. The Glyos line is so expansive, it’s a bit intimidating. I have a few picked out that I want to start with, partially to help ease myself into these things for when the OSM are released. It’s a matter of being able to spare the money at this point, though.

    1. That’s why I wrote it. I’ve been a bit standoffish and I was missing out. They may not win over everybody, but they’re fun and I wanted to say so!

      Money is part of it for me too. Mattel bleeds me dry with just MOTU & DC…

  9. Glyos are pretty cool, but they need (or at least I want) an option to buy a big bag of random parts. Sort of like buying a bucket of legos from garage sale. They’re nothing but a bunch of bricks until you apply a little imagination to them

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