It’s May!! That means it’s time to review… April’s Club Eternia figure?? Yeah, guys, we know we’re a bit behind, but you’ll see why towards the end of the review. We’ve got Sy-Klone ready for today. I had mixed feelings about the figure, but a friend of mine helped put my thoughts on him into perspective.
As a child, Sy-Klone was one of my all-time favorite MOTU figures. He had bright colors, he had a simple design, and a cool lenticular sticker – I still regret not picking up the corresponding t-shirt at the Org some years ago.
I lost my original Sy-Klone in the Great Flood™. Almost all my original MOTU toys were lost on that fateful day, but Sy-Klone was one of the few I ended up replacing. It’s cool, but now Sy-Klone always looks a bit out of place with my vintage MOTU toys. When you’re a kid, you enjoy your toys differently. My flood surviving Buzz-Off is chipped, dinged, and he’s only got one wing these days. My vintage Sy-Klone, meanwhile is near flawless. I don’t mind though, because I love the bright colors, the simple design, and especially the lenticular sticker.
So when Sy-Klone was revealed via ToyFare, I saw him. I saw his bright colors. I saw his simple design. There was a lenticular sticker too and while I appreciated that, I was disappointed. The truth was that I’d become really hyper-aware of vintage-based figures being a little less detailed than other ones in the line. Figures like Bow & Vikor have more texture and intricate work than a figure like Sy-Klone here. And there were options for Mattel. As I loved the original Sy-Klone, I also loved the MO2K Sy-Klone and his red repaint. And those figures had great “anime, hyper-details”, didn’t they? There was room for classicization here and I spent a lot of the early time with this figure wishing it had been utilized. All the elements I love about Sy-Klone could’ve been wrapped into one. Sy-Klone did get his ring (or “wings” as Vault insists), but, as is often the case with Mattel, I wanted more.
When he arrived, I had some misgivings about him because I was looking at him in that light. He was a figure that wasn’t quite what I wanted. I enjoyed him enough, but I was holding on to the idea of what I wanted him to be. Then, the other day, I was at my friend’s comic shop. I don’t think we’ve ever really talked about He-Man specifically anymore, but he saw me (surely thinking about where my overdue Sy-Klone review was…) and said “Sy-Klone’s really awesome, isn’t he?”
And to my surprise, I said, “Yes.”
And that’s because he is pretty awesome. Bright colors? Check. Simple design? Check. Lenticular sticker? Check. Posable shoulders? Bonus. It was like a fog lifted.
Now, I still want more detail on my MOTU figures. Vikor & Bow are among my favorites. And when vintage figures get extra little details like the shoulders on Whiplash or the rivets and detail work on Man-E-Faces (he is so gonna rock), I’m most happy with the line overall. But I’m not going to hold Sy-Klone to that standard. Everything I loved about the vintage figure is present and, this time… this one time, I don’t know if extra detail would’ve helped his sculpt. He’s a wind generator. He should be seamless and streamlined. So, for the rest of the review, I’m going to pocket that issue. But don’t think I’m done talking about more details. I want ’em, I just don’t need ’em here.
If you’re not familiar with Sy-Klone, the truth is that there’s not much to tell. His appearance in the Filmation series were essentially cameos. There is some overseas material that has extrapolated his back story a few different ways. Most notably as a human acrobat turned into a cyborg tornado through Skeletor’s experimentations or a young man injured in a Horde invasion that was rebuilt as a cyborg to battle the Horde.
The MO2K cartoon presented him more as a samurai and the last defender of an ancient race. He protected their most powerful weapon, the Legacy Stones, from falling into the wrong hands after their empire fell. He remained there, alone, for some time, until He-Man destroyed the stones to stop Skeletor from ever getting his hands on them again. Sy-Klone joins up with Masters afterwards. The Classics version follows that faithfully – without the samurai aspect mostly, but adding in the Classics angle of the oppressed Gar race. You can check out his full bio on our Bio Page.
Sy-Klone looks so simple/classic that it’s a surprise how many new pieces he actually does have. It’s easier to just say that he reuses shoulders, hands, the lower torso, and the legs from his hips to his upper calves. Everything else is new.
The head sculpt is pretty spot-on to the original because he looks like He-Man. I always thought that about my original and it definitely applies again here. The other new pieces are similarly echoing their vintage counterparts (right down to the thumbwheel on his belt), though he’s not constructed in the same way. On the vintage figure, the red rings were softer, pliable pieces that could be removed. The rings are all sculpted on here, though the fins on the biceps are a now separate piece to retain the elbow and bicep articulation.
The one lament I do have here is the construction of the arms. This isn’t limited to Sy-Klone, but I wish that Mattel would invest in a regular upper forearm piece similar to Roboto’s, but universal. They’re going to need a piece like this for Jitsu & Fisto anyway. And if we had it now, then Sy-Klone could have had the possibility for interchangeable parts. Imagine his arm popping off at the mid-forearm/red ring and a wind attachment plugging in there! How cool would that be? I’m not going to hold it against the figure, because something like that involves logistics I’m not privy too, but remember I always want more for this line. Continue to Page 2…
first to post! as always..an excellent review Noisy! Is is just me or does Psy-KO-Klone look better than the original..
I thought Zadoc wanted to go neutral…(source : the very first weapon shop comic)
Points for remembering Zadoc! LOL
When I was a kid and sharpied my first Zodac armor it was with the intention to make him a Cosmic Tyrant: http://www.itsalltrue.net/?p=101
Wow, I like your red version! That must have taken a lot of work.
Thanks!
It was simple when it started out. I disassembled and died the yellow red and the blue slightly red to get the effects I want. It worked out well except for I looked like I had blood on my hands for days!
The gold paint though gave me trouble, the ring especially. I got it to where it looked okay in person, but in the review it seems to still have a pinkish hue.
any reason you customized a Sy-Klone to be red? Am I missing something?
There’s a red on in MO2K (he’s in the group shot above) and I was merely replicating it classics form.
two questions on the custom- did you strip the yellow off the shield before painting ot dyeing it? and second- how did you die the torso w/ the sticker? or was that painted (very carefully?)
as to the figure himself… they’re likely try to hook me later w/ a 200x syk that comes w/ the legacy stones, but they could have coaxed me into this figure if they’d have included those… instead, they cheaped out, and they lost out. whatev.
On the shield, the blue is dark, so I took a shot at dying the paint. It worked, but I did chip it here and there in the process, so now it’s red with dark blue spots showing through.
The sticker was carefully removed before the dye bath. It wasn’t too difficult to remove and replace.
I’d love to get extra little accessories like that. It’s been awhile since the Reliquary…
OK, so what IS the deal with the red version from the past? Was it just a repaint for a cash grab by Mattel or was there an actual story reason?
That line featured repaints of most of the main characters. I actually liked a lot of those repaints too…
I applaud the return of Dark Roboto.
Noisy I absolutely love the Red Sy-Klone I was wondering who would post a custom first. I might have to do that if I ever grab a Syk (I never had him as a kid so theres no huge draw for me other than making a complete set).
Thanks! I think he might be a very “nostalgia required” figure. It seems that a lot of folks who didn’t have the first one find him easy to pass on.
By the way, don’t think that your ‘Crisis of Two Earths’ homage pose got past me, I see what you did there… 🙂
I don’t know what you mean… 😛
Very nice, even-handed review, as always. And while I’m not a huge fan of repaints, that custom Red Sy-Klone of yours is making the look grow on me.
I think I’ll wait to see if they do one of these officially later down the line. Used to be, I’d spend up to two days making a “Star Wars” custom of a figure I thought they’d never redo or get around to, only to have Hasbro produce an official version as little as a year later, only with paint that doesn’t come off when you move the joints. And I DO so hate having my hard work, time, money, and raw materials be spent in vain.
Looking forward to Panthor!
Red Sy-Klone wins everybody over. 😉
He does stand a chance of seeing a regular figure though. I do hate it when my custom gets made by the company. Though it’s even worse when they outright steal your custom… LOL
wow I had several MOTU2K repaints, but never saw that red Sy-Klone! There aren’t any even in ebay
He was towards the end. He might be one of the overseas ones like Talon Attack Stratos and Snake Armor He-Man?
another excellent review.Love how you caught him spinning!
You should keep placing those story points at the end of every review. I really like those, it gives the reader something to look forward on the reviews (aside from the obvious review, and since your the only reviewer that has a story/continuity).
Keep up the good work.
Thanks! I’m glad you like the story bits. They may not be in every MOTU review, but I’ll try to add them into more.
those Evil/Mirror(?) variants look cool.
I see you pull the hair/helmets off a lot of your MOTUC figures to switch around. What do you think the best method to do this is? I have been trying to ease a snake head out of one of my royal guards all morning and am a little afraid to start cutting into him. Thanks!
It’s not always easy, but you just have to pry it off. Some are easier than others – the hair is usually easier than the helmets. I had a heck of time with Sy-Klone here and with the guard helmets, but it can be done.
The two biggest areas for error are to scratch the face paint and/or tear the hairline above the forehead (it’s thin there). But I don’t have any real tips. I use two small flat head screw drivers. I work one in until it’s wedged and holding it open then I use the second one to try and get further in, and switch back and forth until I can pull it free. Sometimes it’s easier if the head’s heated up by running it under hot water for a minute or too.
Good luck!