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Cy Girl Blaze

This week we have another great guest review!  This time, Larry Jones treats us to another of the Cy Girls - Blaze!  Thanks to Larry for the review - and now on with the show!

Based on Michael's reviews from several weeks ago (4/27 & 4/9), I picked up a few of the Cy Girls from Blue Box.  All of them are well done, but Blaze is head & shoulders above the rest.




Packaging - ***1/2
The packaging design is great:  The face is visible through a window in the front flap.  Open the flap and there's your Girl, with additional weapons on a bubble inside the front flap.  If you plan on keeping the box, the figure is easily removable & replaceable.  The accessories on the inside flap are not easily removable, but it's possible if you're careful.  I've always been an advocate of cutting bubbles off of packaging, this is the simplest solution here unless you want an absolutely mint package.

Paint - ****
I'm not a makeup expert, but I will say this:  The lipstick on the blaze and the rest of the Series 2 Cy Girls is a significant improvement over Series 1.  The Series 1 Girls are all smiling & showing their pearly whites, which makes them look like knockoffs of Charlie's Angels--Rough and tumble perhaps, but also a little silly. The Series 2 Girls, on the other hand, keep there mouths closed and it gives them a much more business-like look--You definitely take the second trio of Cy Girls a lot more seriously.

Articulation - ***
I have a minor complaint here--Loose hands. Each of the Girls comes with 3 pairs of hands in different poses.  For Blaze, I chose the partially gloved look.  She does a pretty good job of holding her shotgun, but on several occasions while posing her, I have pulled her hand out of its socket.  And while her hands leave a bit to be desired, none of the other joints are that loose.  For example, she can stand on her own with the aid of official Cy Girl stand. Overall, though, the articulation is well above average. 

Accessories - ***1/2
If you don't know already, all of the Cy Girls come with essentially the same set of accessories, with some slight variation depending on the character.  That works great for Blaze, who is listed as a "Weapons expert."  What I want to know is:  If one of the Series 1
girls (Kat) is a sniper, how good a sharpshooter is she with her assault shotgun?!?  As if Blue Box doesn't make sniper rifles for their male figures?

But Blaze looks great holding a shotgun.  The stock folds, but doesn't quite fit against her arm to my like.  And rather than fold it on top of the weapon, I removed it entirely.  She comes with 3 shotgun shells but I do play favorites:  I swiped 3 more shells from AJ to make Blaze look that much tougher.  The leg holster that comes with the accessories is actually intended for her Walther P7, but give her the Desert Eagle as a sidearm and slide the smaller P7 into her boot for an emergency. 
Outfit - ****+
Her outfit is just, well, awesome.  She wears an imitation leather jumpsuit that is low-cut and skin-tight.  Many female figures have skin-tight outfits that just don't work--This one does!  And the little touches, like an ammo strap around her thigh really accentuate her outfit.  Also comes with jacket, black beret and mirror shades, which go great together.

Overall - ****
I admit, it's the outfit that really does it for me.  She's extremely easy on the eyes.  In my opinion, she's not only the best (and cutest) of the Cy Girls, she has already earned a spot as one of my top ten favorite action figures ever.  Really, really good job.

Where to Buy - 
There are plenty of on-line options for Cy Girls, but if you're interested I'd pick them up soon.  They've been out for awhile now, and the supply might start drying up.  The best deals I know of:

- Small Blue Planet has quite a few, including Blaze, available for $22.99 each plus shipping.

- Hero Central has Blaze and several others for $24.99 plus shipping.

- Toy Maniacs has them for $25.99 plus shipping.

- Entertainment Earth has them by the case, at about $26 each plus shipping.  But you'll need to have some folks to go in with! (MROTW Affiliate)


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford

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