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Battlestar Galatica Cylon

Tonight King Randor checks in with a terrific review of the new Battlestar Galatic Cylon!  This isn't the sixth scale version from Majestic Studios yet, but the smaller version from Joyride - tell us all about it, King!

The year was 1978, and Star Wars was now all the rage. The franchise became SO big, that Universal Studios decided to create their OWN space tale, which is well known, today, as the classic, but sadly short-lived Battlestar Galactica series. Short-lived, WHY, you may ask? Simple- Lucas and his chronies found it too reminiscent of Star Wars, and had it pulled from the air after only one season. Regardless, to this day, the show remains with a huge cult-following, as wellas a mini-series remake. There was even a reference to the Cylons in Beverly Hills Cop III, as well as the A-Team- but you really had to pay attention, and know what you were looking for, to pick up on them. 

As for myself, I was born several years(1982, to be precise) after Battlestar Galactica was pulled from the air, and have never actually watched even one single episode of the show- and being someone who does not typically worship space-based franchises( I DO like Star Trek, but that's about the extent of it), I doubt I'd consider myself a fan, ever- but for some reason, I was always pulled RIGHT in by the Cylons- to this day, I can't get enough of 'em! For a character from the '70s, they have that PERFECT 1980s robotic design that just REELS me in. I even remember going into Sears & Roebuck's Electronics Dept, in the '80s, and they'd have these mannequins all over the place with the SAME head design as the Cylons- WITH that moving red visor thing! Those happen to be some of my fondest memories, truthfully, which should explain why I love the Cylons even more. Plus, they're villains. The perfect combination, in my book.





Now, Battlestar Galactica has had PLENTY of toys in the past. Mattel, naturally hoping to compete with Kenner's Star Wars line, did the original figure line back in 1978. Around 1997-1998, the now defunct specialty store, Hanger 18, had the exclusive rights to an updated version of the line- which consisted of Starbuck and a Stealth Cylon. though compared to current standards, looked like a sculpting improvement you'd expect to see had the updated line been released sometime in the mid-'80s. So now, Joyride Studios- famous for their Halo line, Gamepro Presents, and Nintendo Power Presents lines, have snagged the license to produce 7" figures, in hopes of making the dreams of Battlestar Galactica fans all over a reality. Majestic Studios also have a slew of 12" BG figures set for release within a few months- I know I'll be hot on the chase for those when they come out.

Anyway, the first wave of Battlestar Galactica figures from Joyride to hit consists of the Cylon( naturally), and two ships- the Cylon Raider, and the Colonial Viper. And in case you haven't already figured out- yes, this review is for the Cylon. So let's get to it- the sooner I tell ya about it, the sooner you can dash to the store, to get your own. 

Packaging - ***
Lemme just begin by saying that I LOVE the packaging- well, not the packaging ITSELF, per se, but how the figure looks standing up inside the blister AGAINST the card art- MIND-BLOWING. In fact, it looked SO good, that even though I bought two initially( one for me, and one to trade), the picture you see on this page of the carded Cylon- has remained so. I just can't bear to open it up- it just looks so perfect. It's hanging on my wall right now! I WOULD have preferred a bit of a smaller backer card though- such a humongous blister card was not needed for this figure, and I'm sure Joyride could've still done something great with it, even then. And once you take the figure out, take another look at the card art- not as exciting now, IS it? And in all honesty, it's sadly not very eye-catching either..you seriously have to walk into the store, KNOWING what you're looking for to find these, or you'll easily miss 'em. Still, the classic series title emblazoned at the top of the package, with the Cylon Raider chasing the Colonial Viper DOES look nice, and I'm sure most fans of the series will LOVE it. 

Sculpting - ****
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH YEAH! It don' get much better than this, folks! The chrome-plated design of the Cylon is captured PERFECTLY by Joyride- which IS a good thing, seeing as how pretty much everything about this figure basically depended on the sculpt, considering how few paint ops likely had to actually be put into the making of the figure. Even his sword was sculpted onto him, and it looks pretty nice- though I truthfully had no idea Cylons used swords, and have no idea WHY THEY WOULD, but anyway..

Well, I'd say this is a smash success- but from Joyride, I really wouldn't expect anything less. 

Paint - ***1/2
Truthfully, as I've already mentioned, not a lot of effort really had to be put into painting this figure the right colors- I mean, it's basically to be painted chrome, with black highlights. Granted, there is that panel on its back that features orange and yellow, but otherwise, it's basically chrome and black- and it looks PHENOMENAL. There is SOME paint wear on it.but BARELY any...so little in fact, I doubt most collectors will even NOTICE it, not even the incredibly anal ones- and if they do, like myself, they likely won't even care. Even the paint wash on the pant legs of the figure look phenomenal. 

So, with such a brilliant job, you may be asking- why only 3 ½ stars? Because unfortunately, there's ONE particular EXTREMELY noticeable area they bombed it- and it's an IMPORTANT area..the visor. No, the black paint doesn't bleed over into the chrome face-plating. no, it's something else. something that IMO could've likely been VERY easily avoided, but somehow, wasn't, and ALL of the figures wound up with this folly: the red "eyes" inside the visor. I can see what Joyride was attempting to go for when they did it- they tried to give the Cylon an intimidating and sinister look with the eye. Unfortunately, due to the way it's painted on, the choice of the "solid" red, and the fact that it bleeds over onto the faceplate, he winds up looking more like he's winking at you, and trust me when I say it looks CHEEZY like that. Luckily for Joyride though, that's the ONLY area they goofed up on, paint-wise.

And for those interested, yes, it IS due to the reflective chrome paint that I had such a difficult time taking really good shots.

Articulation - ***1/2
He's got ten points: neck, ball-jointed shoulders( HIDDEN though, and nicely to boot), biceps, wrists, waist, and knees. Truthfully I wouldn't expect, or NEED, much more than that. And yes, he IS pre-posed, so deal with it. The reason I took off half a star, however, is because he is a LIVING HELL to stand. But once ya got it.well, in all honesty, it depends on what surface you got it on, and how secure that footing is, truthfully- just the way his legs are posed really doesn't help.I'm not gonna lie.

Accessories - *1/2
He comes with his laser gun, and it fits nicely in his hand. So you're probably wondering why only 1 ½ stars; simple really- they used REALLY shoddy plastic for the accessories, and part of his gun broke off only a few hours after I took these pictures. I can fix it with Krazy Glue, but it's a pathetic inconvenience that could've been easily avoided. Then again, Joyride isn't known for making the sturdiest of accessories. Then again, I really don't care- shoddy accessories are unacceptable, as far as I'm concerned.

Value - **1/2
I paid $16.99 for this figure- no, not for the SET of both of them, $16.99 EACH. For those of us who absolutely, no questions asked, MUST have this Cylon figure, just grin and bear it- all of Joyride's figures are about this price. And truthfully, most of them AREN'T at this level of quality. so I give them that. Also, considering how so few retailers actually carry Joyride's lines, it's to be expected. See, now aren't you happy you're old enough to have a job, and to be able to buy your OWN toys? 

Overall - ***
Despite the price, the "evil" eye, and the shoddily made accessory, I LOVE my Cylon figure, and it's quickly becoming one of the favorites of my collection- my VAST, VAST collection. I'm so glad I purchased it.yes, EVEN AT $17/EACH, and I'm proud to have one of them hanging so beautifully on my wall. I can rest easy, tonight, knowing I did that- and did this review telling YOU ALL how great the figure is. 

SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - *1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy - 
I purchased mine at Suncoast. I heard some of the other figures have been spotted at the other Musicland stores, like Media Play and Sam Goody, so keep your eyes peeled. Cornerstorecomics.com has them available individually for $13.99 each, or as a whole set for $39.99, as well as the option of pre-ordering the upcoming waves. And of course, should it come to that, there's always eBay.


Figure from the collection of King Randor.

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