I saw these things a while back, and they really struck my interest. So I finally broke down and got one.
The entire concept behind these figures is pretty simple. The characters aren't based on any anime, manga, video game, or anything else. Pure and simple, this is a figure and you get what you get.
The beauty of these figures is in their customization. There are 6 main characters in the lineup, and each of them come with several accessories that I'l get to later. The main accessories are "assemble parts", which are special pieces that you can attach to the figure to customize him- as in, like bionic/prosthetic customization.
The weapons that these figures come with are prety sweet. The good guys come with a sword, knife, a heavy laser cannon thingy, an assault rifle, a SMG, and a pistol. The bad guys come with an alien rifle with a bayonet, a wierd long rifle, a laser pistol, an axe, a sword, and a punching spike... I guess (they're pretty odd).
I woke up this morning and found it at my doorstep. The packaging was pretty simple, considering that it has Japanese writing all over it (which makes no sense) and a few english phrases (which make only a little more sense). It was an easy blister package to open, and there were no annoying rubber bands or wire-ties restraining the figure. Layers of plastic blister held it intact.
Once I cracked the thing open, I found that despite its Microman-esque simplicty, it was still pretty awesome. The revolver joints allow the figure to be posed in ridiculous ways, without wearing out (and, in case they do, there are extra revolver joints in the package).
The figure is about 6 inches tall, and is made of an odd grayish transparent plastic, but in certain light it gets a purple color to it. The overall sculpt is not very detailed, but that's part of the motivation to customize the figures even more.
The head sculpt has this knight/snake eyes visor look to it, which is the actual reason I chose this character rather than the others. The head pops off, revealing a chrome "brain stem" thing beneath it. Beneath the transparent plastic, it gives it a cool appearance.
The accessories are all a silver-grey. They're quite brittle, as I've already broken a small piece from the large cannon thingy. As the weapons go, this is my only complaint.
The extra pieces are base-painted black with a silver overcoat, which gives them a badass "metal" look. The pieces are pretty cool, as they can be used in a few ways to enhance the "fun" of this character.
After tinkering with it a few minutes, I went online to see what others have done with their particular figures (
ASSEMBLE BORG LABORATORY ). I realized then that this is probably going to be the end of me, as I can hardly wait to get my hands on the extra parts kits and start building. They're like Legos, but they'll kick your ass and swear in front of your mother.
On the downside, this thing was expensive. I understand that the figure is hard to get over here Stateside, but it still seemed a bit steep for a small figure.
I can't say I'd suggest this figure, simply based on the price. However, if you are willing to spend the cash, I can't say it's a bad buy. I look forward to buying more kits and playing around with this thing. It's an addictive toy, hard to put down.
