Friday, June 26, 2015

Action Figure Review: Cyclops from Imaginext Collectible Figures Series 5 by Fisher-Price


     The fourth series of Imaginext Collectible Figures just came out in the spring and now we've already got series 5! That's crazy and it feels like these figures came out of nowhere as we didn't hear anything about them; they just started showing up!. Imaginext must really be doing well for Mattel, particularly these blind-bagged individually packaged figures. These are some incredibly fun and durable toys and I'm always excited to see the line expand. Today I'm beginning my look at series 5 with the Cyclops, the one-eyed monster of Greek mythology and legend! Interestingly, it seems that the blind bagged Lego Minifigures, Playmobil Mysterys Figures, and Imaginext Collectible Figures share many similar characters. While I haven't seen a Playmobil Cyclops yet, Lego did feature one in their 9th series of minifigures. While Lego pretty much started this whole trend, Playmobil and Imaginext have added their own unique take and are running with it! Ready for a closer look at the Cyclops? Then join me after the break...




The Facts:
Height: 2 7/8ths inches

Articulation: Hinged hips, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel wrists, and a swivel neck.

Accessories: Axe and battle armor

Non-Scalper Price: $3-$4 dollars








The Positives:

*You'll get tired of me saying this as I review eight of these figures in a row, but I just love the build and style of Imaginext figures. The enlarged hands and feet help them to stand better and give them a unique, cohesive look while the articulation strikes the right balance between keeping these fun to play with and durable for the younger set. And believe me, these little guys are meant to be played with!







*One of the coolest things about the Imaginext figures that separates them from the Lego or Playmobil figures is that they typically all feature unique sculpts. The Cyclops' outfit is pretty basic (just a brown tunic and vest) but he's adorned himself with a variety of bracers, armbands, and unique greaves.  His armor is asymmetrical as if he's collected it a little at a time over the years!His belt is also wicked and features a large skull to intimidate his opponents. Interestingly, on the back of his vest there are some symbols etched into the plastic: Two shields and what looks like a griffin's head. Anyone know what that's about?





*For a figure under 3 inches, the paintwork is neat and clean. The various pieces of armor on his arms and legs are painted with various shades of copper and bronze paint that even have a bit of a weathered look to them. The work on his face is excellent as he has a great expression with his eye squinting and a snaggletooth popping up above his upper lip.

*Cyclops comes with two accessories: An double bladed battle ax and an armor piece that fits over his head and chest. The ax is really cool, extremely detailed, and fits snugly into the Cyclops' left or right hand. The body armor is also excellent and features lots of great sculpting. Check out the bottom of the armor: Doesn't that look like some furry briefs from Masters of the Universe? yet another MOTU aspect in Imaginext!


The Negatives:

*I don't really have any. This is an excellent figure!

     This guy is awesome. I already think that this series could be the strongest series yet and the Cyclops reinforces that belief for me. Look at this guy! He's incredible! He looks awesome with or without his armor, his paintwork is excellent, there's plenty of sculpted detail, and he's tons of fun! How could you not like him? So far as Imaginext figures go, this guy gets an Epic. He's definitely one of the best Imaginext figures that Fisher-Price has released and is worth buying for any fan of Imaginext or cyclopes in general. Heck, even if you're an X-Men fan you ought to pick this guy up, just because. Epic, indeed sir. Let's hope we get a Medusa at some point in this line. Playmobil has one coming up and Lego has already released one so Imaginext needs to follow suit.

I've reviewed quite a few other Imaginext Collectible Figures, including:
Imaginext: Collectible Figures Series 2 by Fisher-Price
"Bigfoot"
Frankenstein's Monster

Imaginext: Collectible Figures Series 3 by Fisher-Price
Gillman
Zombie

Imaginext: Collectible Figures Series 4 by Fisher-Price
Basketball Player
Boxer
Clown
Evil Robot
Mad Scientist
Snowboarder
Space Gorilla
Witch

I've also reviewed other Imaginext lines:
DC Superfriends Imaginext by Fisher Price
Clayface
The Joker
The Joker & Harley Quinn

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Imaginext by Fisher-Price
Putty Patrol Pack


8 comments:

  1. Noooo, another series is out already?! Agh, I gotta start looking! The cyclops is fantastic!

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    1. I know, right? These guys just came out nowhere. Kind of like an RKO.

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  2. Wow his armor just SCREAMS Masters of the Universe!

    I finally found series 4 (on an out-of-town excursion), so I have all my 'must-haves' from that wave. I hope series five shows up around me someday!

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    Replies
    1. I know, right? Those furry briefs with the ovals on them are absolutely, positively, without a doubt, MOTU inspired.

      I wish Imaginext would stop teasing us and just start working in MOTU characters.

      Delete
  3. Okay, here's the deal with the symbols on his back.

    Back in 2011-2012 Target had an exclusive Imaginext line called "Battle Arena". In it was an actual arena that came with two exclusive figures and 6 single-carded figures: a Tribal hunter, pirate, roman warrior, Viking, samurai & knight each with a melee weapon, shield, armor piece and an armor piece attached to some sort action featured weapon.

    The line did ok, and even had another assortment of 2 figures (an astronaut and a skeleton) come out after that. The 3rd single carded figure assortment was going to include two new figures, a Cyclops and a Mummy. The mummy was mentioned in the bio for Bones, the Skeleton but if the Cyclops had one it's been lost to time. Now, a lot of Imaginext collectors theorized Fisher-Price spet money to make a mold of the figure as Targdt had these display tubes along their Imaginext shelves and in them was this cyclops wearing his armor. We got a mummy in series 1 of the blind bags but with an all new torso that does not feature the Battle Arena symbols (actually for a while any Skeleton from Imaginext was really Bones the Skeleton re-painted as you can see the symbols on their backs too). When this figure came out a lot of us we really excited as it allowed us to have a rare un-produced Battle Arena figure for the first time.

    So there is your answer! :-D

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    Replies
    1. That's really cool! I appreciate you sharing that. I wasn't paying much attention ti Imaginext back then other than the occasional Batman figure, so I'm glad to have this mystery solved. How did the symbols affect the game?

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  4. I know this is kind of late posting to this, but I recently read somewhere if you take the Axe from the Cyclops, and turn it upside down, the hilt part resembles Man-At-Arms club weapon from MOTU. They are really teasing everyone.

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    Replies
    1. Huh. You're absolutely right. Generally I would consider that to be a coincidence but with all of the other MOTU references in this line I'm definitely willing to believe this is intentional.

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