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Review of Monkaarian Lord of War
Weaponeers of Monkaa action figure
Spy Monkey
Date Published: 2013-08-09
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5
out of 4
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Introduction
As I said earlier this week, one of my favorite aspects of San Diego Comic Con is all the cool little companies that are
there. I've covered a few of the products from the small start up Spy Monkey before, but it was great to meet them in person
and see some of their upcoming plans.
They had a cool figure there in their Weaponeers of Monkaa series, a dude in tightie whities and an animal skin cape. Around
my house we call that Saturday night.
This is the Monkaarian Lord of War, and like other Weaponeers he comes with a variety of plug and play accessories that can
be used as heads, hands, weapons, decorations, etc. This set came as a bagged figure, plus a baggie of extras that makes him
the most dangerous Lord of War.
Click on the image below for a Life Size version
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Packaging - **1/2
These are simply bags, although they are very sturdy, and very thick. No worries about them breaking open and losing
anything, and they did include an nifty card insert with the cape and extras.
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Sculpting - ***
Like the first wave of Weaponeers, the overall
design is very creative, very interesting, and very functional with lots of play value.
My favorite aspect is the swappable parts. Everything you see is swappable - the figure can be broken down into its
components, and others put in. You can get as creative - or not - as you'd like, making these figures really your own.
For example, this figure includes several white 'heads' that also can be used as hands, or weapons, or...whatever you might
come up with!
The smaller parts can be swapped too, like the center chest piece, with pieces from other Weaponeers figures.
The figure stands about 4" tall, but he's much bulkier than the usual 4" figure, taking up a lot more volume. He stands
great on his own, although the limited articulation doesn't allow for too crazy of stances.
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Paint - ***
The paint work isn't sloppy, but there are some choices here that don't work for me aesthetically.
While white is often the color of good guys - just ask the Lone Ranger - it doesn't do a lot for me in this context. The
work on the heads is clean, and the white silver combination isn't terrible, but I think other colors would look that would
work better.
That's particularly true with the shorts, which really do look like underwear. He also has chest hair (at least that's what
it looks like to me), further cementing the overall appearance of hanging out in his skivvies.
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Articulation - ***1/2
There are cut joints everywhere, where every piece connects. For example, each leg has four cut joints alone! While a cut
isn't the best joint for a wide range of movement, they do work with the assembly/ dis-assembly process quite well.
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Accessories - ***
The base figure comes with a wide range of extras that can be swapped for various parts, including heads, and the extra pack
includes more weapons and the very cool animal print cloth cape.
The cape looks terrific, and fits over the neck post cleanly. The post isn't super long though, so take a little care when
swapping the heads.
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Fun Factor - ****
With a cool building feature and a terrific design, these are excellent toys. Give these to some kids and you'll see just
how foolish the concept is that a toy must be licensed from a television show, movie or video game to have any chance.
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Value - **1/2
While the Weaponeers aren't cheap by any means, around twelve bucks is a pretty decent deal these days for your average
Weaponeer. There's a lot of re-use of course, but there's enough extra here to make it worthwhile.
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Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!
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Overall - ***1/2
I'm a sucker for creative unlicensed figures like these. But stay tuned - that 'unlicensed' thing might not last forever.
When cool toys with a transformers/robot feel to them come along, television and books are rarely far behind.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2
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Where to Buy
This guy was available at SDCC, and they don't seem to have him available on their website right now. You can always search ebay
for one.
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Related Links -
I looked at the first wave of Weaponeers as well.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case
any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
Discussion:
Want to chat about this review? Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be
discussing it!
Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!
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Please share with your friends!
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This product was provided for the review by the manufacturer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
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