Bandai's Classic ThunderCats - TYGRA

**JeffSaylor** · 08-17-2011, 09:52 AM

Never before have there been classic ThunderCats figures this good...

To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with Collectibles Insurance. Say figures.com to get 5% off your first term premiums.

To get your figures graded, go to ActionFigureAuthority.com.

To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, SmallJoes.com, MonkeyDepot.com, and Urban-Collector.com.

For statues and sculptures, go to CSMooreStudio.com.

For t-shirts, take a look at 80sTees.com.

With a brand new animated series, the popularity of the ThunderCats has reached a new high. Bandai, who has released action figures based on the new 'toon, is also offering collectors 8-inch figures from the classic 80's original. So far this assortment includes Lion-O and Tygra. Last week we took a look at the SDCC exclusive release of Lion-O (see our review HERE) and today we examine the retail release of Tygra.

For those 'fraidy cat collectors scared of getting completely wet with the new "Classics" line, Lion-O would be a strong place to stop as he's iconic enough to stand alone on display. But if you truly want to support the ThunderCats Classics in hopes that Bandai builds the entire team, go on and get Tygra. There are aspects about him that are, let's face it, not Lion-O. He's not as strong of a figure. But standing alongside him, Tygra is difficult not to like.

Tygra (and Lion-O) are now hitting retail stores and can be found for about $17.99-19.99 each. I was lucky and scored mine early through Amazon for $16.99. The packaging is an attractive box with hanger and the figure and accessories in plain view. There's no crazy action poses to tempt buyers; this is a very straightforward presentation and I appreciate that tremendously. The ThunderCats logo is big and bold and the back of the box offers some description on the character.

I'll be honest and say that the sculpt on Tygra isn't as strong as the 'toon-accurate Lion-O, but it doesn't stray too far off from the source material. If you're judging the Tygra figure without the cartoon in clear mind, this is a very above-average take on the character. There's a lot of fine-line details within the headsculpt making the fur look very realistic. The rest of the figure, however, is as plastic and flat as one could possibly imagine. The ThunderCats Classic figures scream "action figure" and if that was Bandai's intent, job well done.

Being that Tygra is a true action figure in a sense, there isn't too much paint work going on as many of the pieces are built in the appropriate color. Where there IS paint, it's clean and well done, but very flat. There isn't a lot of depth to the color palette and it has a very cartoon feel to it. The one area that is a bit off for me are the eyes, which don’t exactly line up with the sculpt. It takes a very close look to see this but it's a quip nonetheless. The ThunderCats logo is done good and clean as one would hope.

On the front of the package it boasts that Tygra has 18 points of articulation, but if you want to count each individual joint, it quickly adds up to 31, which is pretty impressive. A crucial point that is missing, however, is an upper torso joint which prevents Tygra from doing any heavy crunches or stances that are more compact. It's truly an unfortunate thing as even Lion-O has this point of articulation. Regardless, Tygra still has a great deal of other points of articulation that should keep kids and collectors busy. The joints are tight and I've had no quality control problems as Bandai seems to be using a tougher plastic than Mattel or Hasbro. These figures are certainly sturdier and less likely to warp.

On the accessory front, Tygra comes with two different interchangeable right hands: one that is open/relaxed and one that can hold his whip accessory. The whip comes in both shortened and elongated forms. The longer whip comes in two pieces that can connect together and while it does seem pre-formed, with enough warping, you can mold the whip to however you want it to go.

I was initially on the fence over getting Tygra, but after picking this figure up, there's no denying what fun action figures Bandai has created. Never before have there been classic ThunderCats figures this good and I really do applaud their efforts. For the price, these are pretty similar to DC Universe Classics and you get a whole lot more figure and a whole lot less warped limbs and stuck joints. If Tygra had an ab joint, he'd be pretty much near perfect. And if these figures were in a smaller scale, I'd love them even more. But even in all of their eight inch glory, these are some seriously fun figures.

Review and Photography by David Yeh

Figure Purchased by Reviewer