Review – Armorvor, Hades Mimic

After far too long I am finally reviewing the Glyos System Armorvor production version. I posted photos and a review of the prototype — prototype review here — way back in 2011, but even though the production edition came out last year I haven’t shared with all of you. Fortunately, other sites have been posting pics and reviews of the various Armorvor releases so you’ve had plenty of info . . . but now it’s my turn to share my thoughts on the final version of the action figure.

18 Separate Parts

The Armorvor, like other Glyos System action figures, is constructed from 18 pieces that can snap apart easily and be swapped around with this toy or any other Glyos System toy. And as the Glyos System line matures, and the crew at Onell Design improve on their work with the factory, I find the plastic used in the construction of Glyos toys to get a more toy-like feel that’s just soft enough to make parts swapping easy yet still quite durable. The Armorvor, since the first production run, has benefited from this experience with plastics and the toy’s very easy to customize by moving parts around.

In fact, there’s an entire thread at the October Toys forum loaded with photos and info on the Armorvor where you can see just how easy it is to customize the toy through parts swapping. Actual painting and kitbashing also finds its way into some of the posts on the forum, but if you’re at all interested in the design of the toy, and what others have done with it, then I think you’ll love this thread.

Slightly Smaller

One bit of manufacturing that you may not know about is that there’s a slight bit of reduction that naturally happens when a sculpt is transferred to a steel mold for full-scale manufacturing. And above you can see the mass-produced version of the toy next to the prototype (prototype review here) and if you stare closely you may be able to see the minor difference in sizes between the two toys. It’s really a very small change as the mass-production piece comes from the new steel mold, but having both toys in my hands was my first chance to really see just how the manufacturing process affects the size of the toy. Kinda neat . . . in a geeky sort of way.

The New Head

The one completely new addition to the Armorvor was the addition of a two-sided armored head, shown above. This was not a part of the prototype toy and was kept a secret as long as possible; I only learned about the new head shortly before I started work on the After Action comic which I was lucky enough to contribute to the Armorvor’s launch last summer. And as a robot and spacesuit fan I really think the new armored head is my favorite of the three heads included with the toy.

Tough to Find

The Armorvor has been a huge success with fans, selling out within moments each time a new design is released. The great design — fans of the eighties Battle Beasts toys love the armored animal look of the toy — has made this a hot item and I’ve been lucky enough to get almost every color released so far. And there’s even a new color coming soon — watch the Glyos Transmission Web Log on Friday, February 1 (2013) — so everyone will have another chance at scoring one of the toys for their collection.

Closing Thoughts

The Armorvor has been an incredible addition to the Glyos System toy line and it has been great to get the new design on my shelf with other Glyos releases. I love the thick, bulky look of the armored action figure and I can happily recommend that anyone who is unfamiliar with the Glyos toys could use this as an introduction to the feel of the toys and the workings of the peg/socket construction that allows for easy customization.

A fun toy and I’m sure I’ll be grabbing more of them as they are released.