Yes, I’m back with another non-Thundercats fan Thundercats Classics review! While I ordered SDCC Lion-O first, Tygra was technically my first figure as I bought him while the other was in transit. That meant it was really Tygra who had the job of selling me on this line. Luckily, he did.
If you read my Lion-O review (you did, didn’t you?) then you already know that I know next to nothing about Thundercats. Normally, that prevents me from buying a toy. I mean, I do buy some cool toys for the sake of coolness, but not that often. Usually, I’m content with little plastic totems of my favorite things…
Anyway, as I said last week, I wasn’t terribly interested when Thundercats was announced. When the figures were shown, I wasn’t terribly impressed. Then, after some cajoling from you guys via emails, messages, and tweets, I started to wonder too – what did I think about Thundercats Classics? So – purely for work purposes – I picked up the Thundercats Classics that were available much to my wife’s chagrin. “I thought you didn’t like Thundercats…” Well…
I didn’t know anything about Tygra, so it’s probably folly for me to speak too much about the character, but I did learn a few interesting facts. He’s essentially the second-in-command after Lion-O, he’s a builder or tinkerer in the vein of Man-At-Arms (though he tends to build buildings instead of weapons/vehicles), and he has the ability to turn invisible (anybody up for a clear variant? I don’t about you, but I can never have enough clear figures…)
Once you free Tygra from his box (and some annoying plastic restraints), the size will still be the first thing that gets ya. These guys are massive – bigger than DST’s Trek line, think Mezco’s Hellboy line. If you have a healthy 6″ collection and deal with MOTU figures being a little bigger (Mattel is funny – they insist Ghostbusters, DCUC, & MOTUC are all in the same scale), you might not mind the Thundercats being bigger. I subscribe to the notion that they were bigger when we were kids, they’re bigger now – so they must just be big dudes, a race of 8ft tall cat-people palling around with my normal-sized figures.
Like Lion-O, we’ve got a relatively simple sculpt – basic musculature and a handful of layered clothing details, but Tygra does pack a little more detail on his head. Yep, the line actually ended up with some sculpted fur. Tygra’s head is easily my favorite part of the figure. The sculpted fur is still relatively clean and simple, but I appreciate the added detail and like it alot more than Lion-O’s hair. From the neck down, Tygra does share a lot of Lion-O parts: the neck, shoulders, biceps, hands, and the legs froms the hips to the upper calves. That said, there’s plenty new too, like the open-toed boots, the forearms, the left shoulder pad, and the main torso. Some have said that the Tygra torso makes him look fat, but he looks fine to me. He is missing the ab crunch that I was hoping would be standard for the line and I think that, more than anything, helps to give him a little bit of a portly appearance.
On the shoulder pad, I’m not sure if I caused it to stick out from the body like that or if he came that way. The piece is connected to the torso by a small tab. I’m not sure how much wear and tear that piece is supposed to have, but I’m going to try and keep Tygra’s left arm down more often that not.
Paint is the one area where I wish the line was a little better, particularly Tygra. I’m actually okay with most of the colors being molded and the paint apps being few and far between, but the exposed skin on the torso might be a problem for the line. It worked well enough on Lion-O (though some of the blue plastic is visible around the articulation_. On Tygra, the paint on his neck is just too thin and it doesn’t cover the area. It’s odd because the same effect is used on the arms and it works there, so I’m not sure why the paint app on the neck area is so weak. Continue to Page 2…
Fat? With those abs? The guy’s ripped! Tho his head does seem a little small, which probably doesn’t help…
And poor, dirty SDCC Lion-O. He looks so sad…
I like this new 8″figures of ThunderCats. Cool pics as always. Can’t wait for them to release more of them!
I Like these. 8 foot tall cat people? Sounds Logical to me! I think that when i get these guys I shall put them with my tiny MOTUC collection. I need to start getting some of of those Heroic Warriors and Skeletor Baddies….
SDCC Lion-O looks so…dejected. Love what you can do with simple posing. 🙂
Yeah, Tygra’s weapon has long been a subject of disquiet, and that’s all need be said.
Clear Tygra needs to happen. With any luck Bandai America won’t go all Matty and keel da lein after two figures. Panthro will need a new sculpt, Cheetara will need a new sculpt. Not a whole lot of re-use possible with either, unless the line goes long.
And there must be a huge, awesome, insane Mumm-Ra the Ever Living. Oh yes there must.
with any luck, Bandai America won’t keel da lein as they do with *most* lines in this same fashion.
I have to confess they seem to have done well with Ben 10 but yeah, I remember the debacle with the The Tick toys. And the AMAZING screw-ups with the ill-planned poorly executed ‘Gundam Invasion’ of 2001.
How’s the neck joint (where the neck sits inside the torso, not where the head plugs onto the neck) on your retail Lion-O? Mine is frustratingly loose–if I pose him leaning too far forward his head suddenly drops forward like he’s being berated by Snarf for acting like an idiot; if I lean him too far back his gaze shoots upward like he just saw a butterfly he finds more interesting than anything else in the world.
Tygra in the store looked extremely off to me and cheap when i first saw him. about a month later when i saw lion-o on the shelves the difference between the two was HUGE, and i got a lion-o figure, i love him, and when i get some extra cash i’ll probably pick up tygra. I read somewhere that bandais plan for the 8″ figures is 2 figures a quarter, and in early 2012 the next two figures will be released. Don;t know how much validity there was to that tho, I am sure we’ll hear some info from powercon/thundercon, maybe
I hear the same thing, jacktastic. The display Bandai had the entire original team toys and made me think they were hinting that the rest were coming. I also read that we will see 2 per quarter so I hope Panthro and Cheetara (no V crotch PLEASE!!) are next!
no Mumm-Ra?
The joint I miss on Tygra isn’t so much the ab crunch, which probably works better with Lion-O’s costume design, but the way Lion-O’s waist rocks from side to side. It’s a great joint that I don’t remember seeing done quite this way in any other line.
I definitely got used to the look of the plastic paint after posing them for a while.
The biggest problem on all Tygras seems to be the placement of the tampo stamped eyes. On the pegs you’ve got to look hard to find one whose left eye in particular isn’t trying to creep off of his face.
I’ve seen at least a half a dozen Tygras and each one has had some sort of paint blemish. They’re passable, I guess, but to an anal retentive me its enough to notice. The one I bought has a blemish on his shirt but I just have to live with it.
I love his whip though, its a great accessory… he apparently suffers from polyorchidism…
Great review and captioned pics as always. Tygra looks awesome. I hope and pray to the Toy Gods that the line endures long enough for the arrival of Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Ben-Gali!
you know, those odd colored inserts kind of make me laugh. remember when some folks were complaining about the inserts for scarabus? these are, to my eye at least, about 300% more visible than the inserted joints on scarabus. we certainly paid more for scarabus, but i can’t help but think that looking at these, i know where the extra expenditure went.
I think we should all recognize the hilariously hug instruction sheet that rivals the size of those packed with most transformers.
I want thundercats toys,I live in Mexico….:(
I would’ve liked a Ssslithe and perhaps some Berserkers in 4″ scale, too. But Bandai America won’t let any company ship their Tundercats toys outside the USA, apparently. I call racism on Bandai America!
i really don’t understand that attitude… why limit your profits? mexico has action figures too, are they afraid that t-cats would get in the way of max steel? i really fail to believe that it’s a safety issue or something, so once the toys are on this land mass, why not distribute to the big 3 countries?
I agree of course.
Problem is, licensing is a very complicated mess. It could be the owners of the Thundercats license (may or may not be Warner Bros, I *think* it is) has only licensed Bandai America for the North American toy rights and they hope that if the show goes worldwide other companies will put in bids, a ‘major’ like Mattel or Hasbro. Or Bandai Japan will step up and pay more money for more regions. Bandai has a U.K. branch that has had some better success in the past.
But vendors actually barring specific product from ‘grey market’ sales outside the U.S.? I’ve never heard that before, only Japanese companies and Amazon in the U.K. and Japan have done that in my own experience.
(seriously. I was pining for some Action Man anniversary stuff without the insane markup that was going on here and Amazon U.K….never mind. It was wishful thinking anyway 🙂 )
So, I don’t know. I didn’t think Bandai America had anywhere near enough juice to intimidate retailers into not selling outside the U.S.
I know, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Alienate people who want to give you money for your products. And also, once the e-tailers take delivery of a shipment, how can Bandai America legally stop them from selling to anyone who can pay?
See if I ever buy anything from any division of Bandai ever again. Gits.
can you do a review on the new thundercats 6′ inch line? the lion-o and panthro figures are really good!