Cast in grey plastic, the Slate Zone Power Soldier
is - as are his siblings - a wonderfully engineered figure. The Glyos
system was adapted to a so-called "Glybrid" joint system in which we
got the functionality of Glyos and Hasbro's ball joints in a 3 3/4-inch
humanoid figure. So no matter what, this is a good figure with a great
range of motion. When placed in context of its line, it becomes a bit
of a bore being one of only two body types during the line's first year
and a half, give or take. Endless repaints are a bitter pill to
swallow, with other Glyos-compatible lines usually cranking out an
all-new figure ever year or so with more customization options. It
seems almost unfair to judge this figure for things outside its control,
because the plastic person presently performs pretty admirably.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
I think I mentioned before when Power Lords was first told to me as under consideration for a revival, I wasn't quite sure I remembered what it was. Adam Power
and his friends were not in my childhood toybox, and I checked with
some old friends who had some - but had no idea who or what they were.
I was a huge fan of the Outer Space Men as a concept - and the
revival - plus Glyos and the Four Horsemen usually bring great things.
And this is a pretty great thing - but the level of momentum and the
value of the club memebership left me wanting. These are all very good
figures, and I think that fans collecting them in the future (that is,
picking them up on eBay or in trades) are in for a big treat. But for
those of us in the present? The level of non-communication, the lack of
any idea when the third new sculpted body for this line will happen, and
the relatively weak roll-out over the last year makes me think that I
need to rescind my all-in attitude and cut back to just the full-painted
updates of vintage guys.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
After the first year of Power Lords I've wound up with 5 different "pre-paints" of the Ggripptogg
mold, plus the orange and blue flavors for 8 total. And here's the
kicker - this red version actually had more changes that surprised me.
Which is to say, any. The Four Horsemen gave us an all-new head,
all-new forearms, and the variant skirt/loincloth piece we first saw
debut on the Barlowe Concept Ggripptogg back in February.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
Originally
teased to fans as "Ultimate Edition Barlowe Tribute Ggripptogg figure"
in a solicitation for the $100 Volcan Rock level of the Power Lords Fan
Club, the plussed-up signed figure turned out to be the blue Ggrapptikk.
He's a very low run painted figure, exclusive to club members. He
was $40 alone, or part of the $100 level - which was about $40 above the
next membership level, but signatures were exclusive to the higher club
level. He's twice the price of the regular red Ggripptogg, but you
get three extra heads, four extra arms, an extra skirt, and an extra
stick. Do you need these parts? Well, no, but it's a nice option to
have. The biggest complaint about this figure that I have is that he's a
"trooper" and yet army-building him is prohibitive due to price and the
low edition size. Ah well. At least it's pretty spectacular!
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I laughed out loud when I saw the headline under Lord Power's
name was "The Power Lord," but that's really the only part of this
figure that feels like it's joking around. From the waist on down, the
figure is the same as six previously-released Power Soldiers. The
torso, arms, and head are all new - plus there's a bonus head, which I
admit I don't think adds much to the set. The default head, Power
Staff, and rifle are a delight.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
Red is a weird color - it's seemingly difficult to match, and at first glance I thought this red Ophidian Squad Elite Power Soldier
looked like a new shade. It's not all that far off from Venjorun
Armorvor, the Red Army Banimon figures, or the very first red Weaponeers
of Monkaa Empyreus. It's a tiny bit different - so at first glance it
seemed like a new hue to Glyos. I suppose that it technically is.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
Every few months the Four Horsemen prepare a new release of figures, and the Ggrapptikk Sergeant took a while to reach mailboxes after it was paid for - but on the bright side, it's quite good. The previous versions
were basically unpainted test shots with a splash of black painted
highlights, and this release adds a little more paint and is dozens of
times better for it. The price went up $2, but you get painted claws,
painted spikes, painted pants, little computer elements, more paint
around the face, and even a new head sculpt and a new "skirt" piece -
that's a new codpiece on this fellow. If you compare it to similarly
sized figures from The Outer Space Men like Cyclops, Colossus
Rex, or Gamma X, even at the increased price it's unquestionably a
better deal providing more bang for your buck.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
While fundamentally similar to the pink version I reviewed last year, the Ggrapptikk Grunt (Purple)
its sibling and now that we've had a few of these guys, it's worth
looking at him again. I'm writing this just days after the
fully-painted figures Ggrabbtargg, Ggripptogg, and Ggrapptikk went on
sale giving us a grand total of 8 flavors of this mold with multiple
heads so far. In short, this is a mold that mere weeks from now, a lot
of fans are probably going to be ready to never ever want to buy again,
but it's still a good mold - this wasn't the best version in terms of
paint, but it's still charming. It just feels so, so much older than it
is given the advancements in deco we've had since February.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
The Four Horsemen are smart - they have a small loyal audience that usually doesn't complain, and are generally cool buying the same figure repainted a few times over. Given the limited edition nature of these figures, it's a necessity. The Ophidian Squad Soldier is one of six (so far) versions of this mold - and the fully-painted main characters, the updates of the original Adam Power/Lord Power, finally go on sale today.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
Another year, another premium-priced exclusive! No doubt due to Toy Tokyo needing to make a few bucks on the item, 2014's Power Lords exclusive Ggripptogg (Grey and Black)
costs nearly twice as much as a normal Ggripptogg - even the ones with
added deco were only $15 each. It's a shame - not as bad as the Outer Space Men
of 2012, but what are you gonna do? I bought it, and curse me kilts,
it's good. This figure - and indeed everything Glyos always ever - can
benefit greatly from a color change, and it turns out that the
Ggripptogg body looks better with a) added paint and b) less pink. Who
knew?
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
This
is the brown/tan one! While the first two Power Soldiers in black and
white sold out in minutes and required an additional run, the Slate Zone Elite Power Soldier stuck around for a while - the normal grey Slate Zone figure sold quickly, but this one was the first Power Lords figure to be available for several weeks. It's a shame, it's a nice figure!
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
Technically a new character in the Power Lords canon, this Ggrapptikk Grunt (Pink)
is one of two figures at New York Comic Con - the reverse color was
sold there as well, with spare heads as of yet undistributed. Each
figure is made of 17 pieces, with a two-piece staff. While larger than
the Power Soldiers, they are slightly simpler with no ankle joints but
instead four wrist joints.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
Technically a new character in the Power Lords canon, this Ggrapptikk Grunt (Pink)
is one of two figures at New York Comic Con - the reverse color was
sold there as well, with spare heads as of yet undistributed. Each
figure is made of 17 pieces, with a two-piece staff. While larger than
the Power Soldiers, they are slightly simpler with no ankle joints but
instead four wrist joints.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
This is the white one! Despite being from Power Lords in 2013, this white Elite Power Soldier looks more like it fell out of a Star Wars
concept sketch from 1975. The helmet, coloring, and unique chest
sculpting reek of McQuarrie's early trooper concepts as well as one of
the various female "Luke"s, so I think most older action figure fans
will see this in person and be immediately drawn to it. The fact that
it's a well-engineered figure is just a lovely bonus.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
The Power Lords
was one of those old sci-fi lines with a fascinating backstory and few
loyal fans - it was born out of a catch-all sci-fi line based on the
works of Wayne Barlowe back in the 1980s, but mutated into a line of
more or less totally original designs between Barlowe and Revell, the
manufacturer. This line has been in varying stages of development for
years, and the Power Soldier was a surprise debut piece - rather than a clear figure like in Outer Space Men,
the Four Horsemen took this license and instead opted to generate new,
original "troopers" based on the original character Adam Power. There
will be more - at least a blue and a red Power Soldier have been
revealed in addition to the black Power Soldier and the white Elite
Power Soldier.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
