Review – Glyos System Glyans

Line: Glyos * Manufacturer: Onell Design * Year: 2011

The latest action figure design to appear in the Glyos System (Onell Design), the Glyan has only been released a few times and is still a bit tough to find. But an important note as of this writing: a few Glyans are still available at the Onell Design store. So if you see what you like act fast; these will likely be gone soon and I don’t expect we’ll see more for another month or so.

25 Parts Ready for Duty!

Even though it is only 2.75-inches tall, the Glyan is constructed out of a total of 25 parts; this drastically opens up the door to customization with just a single figure . . . and if you’ve got two then things can start to get really crazy. If you check this thread at the October Toys forum then you can start to see some builds, but nothing replaces actually sitting down and playing with the toys to get a feel for how they work.

Below you can see one Glyan broken down into its individual parts and ready to be turned into something new. It’s a great addition to the Glyos System toy series because it takes everything that Onell Design has learned while creating these toys and gives us their most playable action figure yet. And all still compatible with the other releases in the line.

Two Heads, Three Faces

One feature of Glyos System action figures over the last few years — especially Buildman and Jesse Moore’s Callgrim (www.callgrim.com/) is the idea of hidden faces/heads on the toy. And the Glyan continues this, with one head having a face-like design on each side and the second head having a Sincroid — a Glyos System AI being — face. Look through the various photos here and you’ll see all three faces . . . and you’ll see why the head with two faces can work as a helmet so that when you’re playing you can say the Sincroid is wearing his battle helmet when that head is on.

Slightly Thinner Build

Below you can see two Glyans next to earlier Glyos System action figures, which demonstrates how the new figures have a leaner, thinner build than the older figures. The parts are completely compatible, but when you pop that new Sincroid head on an older torso it looks like the figure is wearing a heavy suit of armor. This can be a great thing for someone looking to build some sort of heavy weapons or SWAT soldiers. The older heads don’t look quite as good on the new torsos, but that doesn’t keep all of the other new parts from being useful when constructing weapons, creatures, or massive combat suits.

Two Figures Turned into Two Figures

When you buy one Glyan you get a figure constructed out of two colors of plastic. But if you buy the opposite number then you can pop the two toys apart and reassemble them into two solid-colored figures. Below you can see the Desert and Hostile Environment Glyans turned into their solid color versions. It’s a simple trick, but it’s one example of what I’ve seen a lot of collectors do with their Glyos figures . . . and it’s a great way for someone new to the line to get a feel for how the joints work.

So Who Would Enjoy These?

Let’s say that you don’t own any Glyos System action figures and you’re not sure whether or not these are for you. Well, I can see two groups of toy collectors who would really love the toys:

• Builders: Fans of LEGO and similar construction systems who are looking for a new challenge will find one in the Glyos System toys. With lots of parts, a simple peg/socket system, and fairly inexpensive figures building with the Glyos System is as easy as buying five or six different figures and then opening your imagination.
  
• Eighties Toy Fans: While the joints on the Glyos System series are not what you expect from mass-produced collector action figures, the look and feel of the toys screams eighties fun at you as you play with them. And the small size means that it’s easy to display lots of them on a shelf, so anyone who loves the look and feel of various eighties toy lines — not just Starcom and Air Raiders that I mentioned earlier this week, but also lines like Spiral Zone, M.A.S.K., Micronauts, and Kenner Star Wars toys — can build an army to show off.

But I’m sure it doesn’t end there, so I’m asking existing Glyos System fans to share with us what got them into the line and what keeps them collecting. Comment here, please, if you can put into words what it is that you love about the toys and who you feel would enjoy collecting these.

Closing Thoughts

I first got a look at the early prototype Glyan months and months ago, and at the time it looked neat but it took the mass-release in PVC — and time to play with the figures — to get me to really understand the evolutionary step that we’re seeing with the Glyans. The addition of the human-like Sincroid face was a great idea, and I love that he comes with extra parts to build a gun, but now it’s time to see what comes next. I’ll grab more Glyans in new colors as they’re released, but I’m anxious to see if next year we get a new action figure in the series that pushes things just a little bit more.

The Glyan is a great addition to any existing Glyos System collection and its look and play possibilities makes it a good introduction to the line if you like what you see. A fun toy and one I plan to break down and rebuild again and again.

Philip Reed now wants to use Glyan parts in custom projects; that Sincroid head lends itself to some great Transformers and G.I. Joe-inspired customs and it’s time to explore ideas.