Post by cybernaut on May 6, 2012 20:36:33 GMT 8
Bandai Thundercats 4” Cheetara (Thunder Lynx series) Review
Thundercats was never part of my “childhood”, as compared Transformers, Voltes V, My Little Pony and all the other 80’s shows, simply because, living far into the province apparently resulted poor reception of the channels that aired them. Hence, when the Thundercats slowly came back , I had none of the nostalgia that gripped fans of the show, nor did any of the classic-styled figures screamed “buy me!” In truth, Cheetara was more of an impulse buy, out of curiosity and partly to add more females to the all-male (a common result of being an solid Transformers collector) lineup of my collection.
“Cheetara is an expert fighter whose duty is to protect Lion-O and the Sword of Omens at any cost.”
When the 80’s Thundercats cartoon was revived / remade, action figures of the characters were of course announced as part of the promotion of the show, with Bandai offering up a 6” scale line and a smaller, 4” line, albeit with more character, vehicles and playsets.
It’s the Cheetara figure from the 4” line that’s being reviewed here.
Cheetara, Packaging (reference pic from the net)
The packaging is definitely very dynamic albeit very similar to Hasbro’s Marvel Universe packaging , with large character artwork on the upper left, and the figure and it’s accessories in full view encased in a plastic bubble. Typical of Bandai packaging, the card back features very little about the specific character you’re buying, just lots of co-sell pictures and disclaimers. In all honesty, I preferred how Bandai did the packaging for their 4” Power Rangers Samurai toys, with only tape holding the card to the bubble, instead of being glued in places.
Cheetara, Out of the box
Cheetara comes packaged with her staff and an instruction sheet. It’s very light on included accessories and inserts, if you ask me, considering the PhP 600 price tag.
Cheetara, Instructions (scanned graphic from the net)
As a side note, Cheetara comes with one of the most wasteful uses of paper instructions I have ever seen on an action figure. I mean, I get the cross-sells explaining how to use the “Thunder-Lynx” gimmick, but really, Bandai, do we really need to waste SO MUCH paper just to explain how to put the included staff accessory on the figure’s hands? Not to mention it REPEATS for the opposite hand! Geez!
The Figure
The figure is made of Bandai rubbery plastic, with a more shiny, toy-like finish consistent with Banadi’s more mass-market offerings. I actually prefer this to the plastic Hasbro uses on its Marvel Universe figures as it feels sturdier. I’m after the durability of the fig after all.
Visually, the figure looks good. The sculpt is fairly spot on to the show, with majority of the details not only painted on but are actual sculpted on details, such as her spots. Paint is good, with minimal bleeds between colors.
My gripes include the rather unsightly brown block on her back which houses the “Thunder-Lynx” magnet gimmick (yes, there’s a real magnet in there, so metal objects actually stick to her back…). It disrupts the hair and removes a rather important point of articulation. That and in the show, her color palette skews more towards orange than brown.
Cheetara, Details
Cheetara, size comparison with Hasbro Iron Man Drones
Fun Factor
For such a nicely sculpted toy, you’d expect Cheetara to at least move quite as well, right? Unfortunately, in this case, the opposite is true. The articulation on this toy is frustrating, with a joint setup that result in hardly convincing poses, which isn’t helped by the fact that the “Thunder Lynx” magnet on her back makes her back-heavy and difficult to balance without proper joint support.
Cheetara, Arm and leg articulation details
Articulation:
Head / Neck - None (limited by hair and “Thunder Lynx” magnet gimmick)
Arms - Combination Swivel / hinge joint shoulders (partially limited by shoulder sculpt), bicep
Swivels and hinge elbows. No wrist articulation
Torso - No torso or waist articulation
Legs - V-cut hips with two(!) thigh swivels, one above the other, and hinge knees. No ankle
Articulation
I cannot stress how much this joint setup makes the figure look awkward and stiff when posed, especially with no head or torso articulation. The articulation on the legs are disappointing as well, with only v-cut swivel hips which rules out any forward or backward hip movements. The double thigh swivel is supposed to counteract the effect of the v-hips but the end result is far from impressive and still doesn’t work as well as ball joint / universal joint hips.
Cheetara, Action poses
As far as accessories go, all you get is staff, made out of VERY rubbery, warp-prone plastic. While it does make it easy to slip it on and out of her hands, it’s ALWAYS crooked no matter what you do. The lack of any head and torso articulation also limits any creative poses you can do with it. With no wrist articulation, many dynamic poses with her staff aren’t possible, and due to the awkward hips and legs, even running poses look stiff and unrealistic, which makes playing with her () very frustrating.
Conclusion
Mediocre at best, this figure is disappointment. Given the price you pay for it, the fun factor is severely lacking, especially as a standalone toy. While the sculpting and likeness is good, the limited articulation and lackluster accessories hold this toy back considerably.
Bandai has definitely better offerings, but given that Cheetara is needed to complete the 4” Thundercats lineup, I guess she’ll end up getting bought anyway. I just wish the toy was at least at par with Bandai’s Power Rangers Samurai 4” figures, which are cheaper, yet offer better fun factor.
Score:
2.5 / 5
Thundercats was never part of my “childhood”, as compared Transformers, Voltes V, My Little Pony and all the other 80’s shows, simply because, living far into the province apparently resulted poor reception of the channels that aired them. Hence, when the Thundercats slowly came back , I had none of the nostalgia that gripped fans of the show, nor did any of the classic-styled figures screamed “buy me!” In truth, Cheetara was more of an impulse buy, out of curiosity and partly to add more females to the all-male (a common result of being an solid Transformers collector) lineup of my collection.
“Cheetara is an expert fighter whose duty is to protect Lion-O and the Sword of Omens at any cost.”
When the 80’s Thundercats cartoon was revived / remade, action figures of the characters were of course announced as part of the promotion of the show, with Bandai offering up a 6” scale line and a smaller, 4” line, albeit with more character, vehicles and playsets.
It’s the Cheetara figure from the 4” line that’s being reviewed here.
Cheetara, Packaging (reference pic from the net)
The packaging is definitely very dynamic albeit very similar to Hasbro’s Marvel Universe packaging , with large character artwork on the upper left, and the figure and it’s accessories in full view encased in a plastic bubble. Typical of Bandai packaging, the card back features very little about the specific character you’re buying, just lots of co-sell pictures and disclaimers. In all honesty, I preferred how Bandai did the packaging for their 4” Power Rangers Samurai toys, with only tape holding the card to the bubble, instead of being glued in places.
Cheetara, Out of the box
Cheetara comes packaged with her staff and an instruction sheet. It’s very light on included accessories and inserts, if you ask me, considering the PhP 600 price tag.
Cheetara, Instructions (scanned graphic from the net)
As a side note, Cheetara comes with one of the most wasteful uses of paper instructions I have ever seen on an action figure. I mean, I get the cross-sells explaining how to use the “Thunder-Lynx” gimmick, but really, Bandai, do we really need to waste SO MUCH paper just to explain how to put the included staff accessory on the figure’s hands? Not to mention it REPEATS for the opposite hand! Geez!
The Figure
The figure is made of Bandai rubbery plastic, with a more shiny, toy-like finish consistent with Banadi’s more mass-market offerings. I actually prefer this to the plastic Hasbro uses on its Marvel Universe figures as it feels sturdier. I’m after the durability of the fig after all.
Visually, the figure looks good. The sculpt is fairly spot on to the show, with majority of the details not only painted on but are actual sculpted on details, such as her spots. Paint is good, with minimal bleeds between colors.
My gripes include the rather unsightly brown block on her back which houses the “Thunder-Lynx” magnet gimmick (yes, there’s a real magnet in there, so metal objects actually stick to her back…). It disrupts the hair and removes a rather important point of articulation. That and in the show, her color palette skews more towards orange than brown.
Cheetara, Details
Cheetara, size comparison with Hasbro Iron Man Drones
Fun Factor
For such a nicely sculpted toy, you’d expect Cheetara to at least move quite as well, right? Unfortunately, in this case, the opposite is true. The articulation on this toy is frustrating, with a joint setup that result in hardly convincing poses, which isn’t helped by the fact that the “Thunder Lynx” magnet on her back makes her back-heavy and difficult to balance without proper joint support.
Cheetara, Arm and leg articulation details
Articulation:
Head / Neck - None (limited by hair and “Thunder Lynx” magnet gimmick)
Arms - Combination Swivel / hinge joint shoulders (partially limited by shoulder sculpt), bicep
Swivels and hinge elbows. No wrist articulation
Torso - No torso or waist articulation
Legs - V-cut hips with two(!) thigh swivels, one above the other, and hinge knees. No ankle
Articulation
I cannot stress how much this joint setup makes the figure look awkward and stiff when posed, especially with no head or torso articulation. The articulation on the legs are disappointing as well, with only v-cut swivel hips which rules out any forward or backward hip movements. The double thigh swivel is supposed to counteract the effect of the v-hips but the end result is far from impressive and still doesn’t work as well as ball joint / universal joint hips.
Cheetara, Action poses
As far as accessories go, all you get is staff, made out of VERY rubbery, warp-prone plastic. While it does make it easy to slip it on and out of her hands, it’s ALWAYS crooked no matter what you do. The lack of any head and torso articulation also limits any creative poses you can do with it. With no wrist articulation, many dynamic poses with her staff aren’t possible, and due to the awkward hips and legs, even running poses look stiff and unrealistic, which makes playing with her () very frustrating.
Conclusion
Mediocre at best, this figure is disappointment. Given the price you pay for it, the fun factor is severely lacking, especially as a standalone toy. While the sculpting and likeness is good, the limited articulation and lackluster accessories hold this toy back considerably.
Bandai has definitely better offerings, but given that Cheetara is needed to complete the 4” Thundercats lineup, I guess she’ll end up getting bought anyway. I just wish the toy was at least at par with Bandai’s Power Rangers Samurai 4” figures, which are cheaper, yet offer better fun factor.
Score:
2.5 / 5
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