ThunderCats 6" Modern Lion-O Figure

ThunderCats are back and in a big way. Not only is there a hit new cartoon airing Friday nights on Cartoon Network, but there is also a very cool new toy line from Bandai hitting shelves now. Based on the new show, Bandai has a line of 4” figures and vehicles as well as a line of 6” figures. It is the 6” scale figures we are taking a look at today and in particular the 6” Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats figure.

Packaged on standard blister card with individual character art in the bottom left corner, the figure contains 18 points of articulation and a number of accessories.

For articulation, the figure has ankle joints, wrist joints, Ball-jointed neck, swivel waist and thighs, double-jointed knees and elbows and can even do the splits if you want him to. The figure has a nice range of movements and, so far at least, the joints have remained pretty tight while I’ve been posing it for this review.

For accessories, the figure comes with a fully extended Sword of Omens, a short Sword of Omens, Claw Shield with the claws out, and Claw Shield with the claws in. The figure also comes with a shoulder pad that can be removed from the figure. You can attach either Claw Shield to the right side of the figure’s belt or you can remove either of the figure’s hands and put the glove on in its place. You can also place the shortened Sword of Omens in the side of either Claw Shield and use it like a holster. You can do this while the Claw is on the belt or being worn on the figure’s arm.

The paint job on the figure and the accessories is pretty decent although it is that shiny, glossy paint you often find on Bandai figures. Certainly there are some more collector-oriented lines that have more detailed paint apps but when you consider these figures are made for kids as much as they are for adult collectors, I can’t find a lot of fault with it. The ThunderCats logo on the figure’s belt and extended Sword of Omens are crisp and detailed; even the smaller shortened sword has a nice-looking Eye of Thundera on the sword’s hilt. Joints also are painted nicely, and some nice texturing on the back of Lion-O’s legs is made to look like fur.

The scale for this figure seems to be pretty true to its appearance in the cartoon. Lion-O is smaller than other larger characters like Panthro and Mumm-Ra. Even when you compare him to other 6” scale figure lines like He-Man in Mattel’s Masters of The Universe Classics line, he seems to be the appropriate size. Standing next to He-Man he is shorter, but when you consider that this version of the character is a very young Lion-O that seems to be an appropriate size to me.

The plastic of the figure is very sturdy, and the hands seem to hold their shape quite well allowing the figure to hold its weapons tightly. The extended Sword of Omens does have that softer rubbery-type material so you do have to be careful not to bend it out of shape; otherwise this figure seems to be made well and will hold up nicely for collectors and kids alike.

Bandai has done a nice job combining a nice-looking figure that contains a fair amount of playability and pose-ability keeping both kids and collectors happy. These figures also seem to be retailing for about $15.00 each which in today’s market is a nice price.

Check out our GALLERY of images for this set below.

Appearance 8/10
Features 10/10
Playability 9/10
Articulation 9/10
Final Judgment 36/40