Lion-O has a pretty nice sculpt. Much nicer than the initial pictures had led me to believe. Holding him in my hands, i also now notice how similar this new costume is to the original version. It really does look like an update of that design, where i had originally thought it was a totally new design. The paint is nice and clean, with his armor parts being metallic paint. It gives a nice contrast to what looks like a plain dark blue body suit that he is wearing under the armor, and the silver edges to the armor really make the figure pop.
Now, right away i need to address some bad marks about this figure. This figure has the same problem that the Classic Lion-O figure had, the fact that the details of the sculpt blend together, especially on his hair and face. A little detailing work would really bring out how great the figure looks. As it stands, however, the entire head looks under detailed by comparison to the rest of the figure.
Also, the fur on the back of his calves is highly detailed and has a shaggy appearance to it. None of the other fur on his body has this amount of detail, and it looks strange by comparison. The straps on his leg armor have also been left unpainted, which isnt a hard fix with a steady hand, but people shouldnt have to take care of simple details that should have been painted in the first place.
Articulation:
*hinged neck (forward/back)
*disk/post shoulders
*bicep cut
*double hinged elbow
*forearm cut
*hinged wrist
*limited mid-torso (side to side only)
*ball joint waist (limited 360)
*disk/post hips
*thigh cut
*double hinged knee
*hinged ankle
*foot tilt
Lion-O again comes with the Sword of Omens in both extended and dagger versions, both including well painted Thundercat and Eye of Thundera emblems, respectively. The material used for the sword feels the same as the swords that came with Classic Lion-O, but i havent had as much warping so far.
He comes with 2 versions of the Claw Shield, with fingers extended and fingers retracted. The extended version is meant to replace the left hand, while the retracted version is to be hung from a strap similar to the one on Classic Lion-O. The strap is secured much better this time, and easily swings out of the way when posing. The retracted version is also slightly thinner, so it doesnt take up as much space hanging from the strap, which also means you can't put it on his arm with much success (although you can just squeeze it on if you want). There is a small bit of sculpted detail going from the strap to Lion-O's belt, giving the impression that he is actually wearing the strap, as opposed to having it just randomly floating there.
The extended claw shield doesnt work quite as well in practice this time around. First, while the Claw Shield accepts a small ball joint, the wrist joint on Lion-O actually uses a standard looking peg, which doesnt lend itself very well to popping off limbs, especially if you plan to swap them out on a regular basis. The Claw Shield is also pretty big, sitting almost to the elbow, which makes any articulation pointless. And to be perfectly honest, it doesnt look good on his arm. This is one normally vital accessory that is quickly going to find its way into my accessories bin, unfortunately.
I guess you can count this next bit as an accessory. From the moment i first starting seeing pictures of the new cartoon, i noticed the rather bulky pauldron he wears (the shoulder armor), and when the figures started getting announced, I noted that the pauldron looked even worse on the figures. Luckily, the pauldron on this version of the figure (dont know about the 3 3/4 figure) is simply pegged into the shoulder strap of his armor. It leaves a decent sized hole, but it is totally removable, and i fully plan to display him without it.
Now, this line of figures is billed as a 6in line. Of course that could mean the figures are anywhere from 5in-7in or more, depending on the line. Lion-O here appears to fit pretty well with pretty much everything i stood him next to. Considering this is supposed to be a teenage Lion-O, he looks very appropriate at about a head shorter than most of the average size figures. This will make displaying him very easy, as he will match up well with any fantasy based or anime figures that you have.
For one last down note, and probably the biggest complaint i've heard about these figures. All of his joints use big black pegs. I've seen clear pegs, i've seen pegs that are the color of whatever body part they are attached to, but this is the first time ive seen black pegs used throughout the whole body regardless of what color is needed. Also, there are 4 big exposed screws in his back, apparently holding his torso together. There is another in the back of his lower torso, and one in the hip joint of each leg. Honestly, i cant think of a single time i have seen some Frankenstein looking garbage like this. He seriously looks like they never finished him.
Truth be told, this still really isnt a deal breaker for me. He is a good figure overall.
If you can overlook black pegs in the joints and visible screws in his back, then this is definitely a figure you should look into getting. This figure only secures my desire for a new Tygra figure in this scale, and i look forward to getting the Panthro as well.
