Review – Future Nibbler
The Tarantulas (blog, Twitter) is at SDCC with a ton of Glyos System (Onell Design) customs and today’s the day these will all be available for sale. I got really lucky last night when I happened to reach the booth just in time to get a look at the toys . . . and by the end of the conversation I’d managed to buy one of these Future Nibbler toys before the official release. And since it’s no fun to sit on cool toys I sat down this morning and shot these pics so that those of you not at the con can get a look at this guy.
Packaging
Future Nibbler comes in a bag with a beautifully-illustrated header card that shows our new friend in his Dalek-like contraption. The artwork shows the toy with arms, but I got one early enough that he doesn’t have arms. Not a huge concern — I have lots of Glyos arms — but please keep in mind that the toy was designed to use arms. I like how he looks without the arms, though, so I may never snap arms into the hover device.
Resin?
Tarantulas and I chatted a little last night about the toy and how it was created. Unbelievably, this is a work of resin; trust me when I say it doesn’t feel at all like resin. Described as “slush molded” resin, there’s obviously a resin casting trick out there I should take a little time to learn about. Light, most likely hollow, and with a smooth, matte-like finish this doesn’t feel anything like the resin toys in my collection. Impressive!
Sculpt
This companion to the Winter Nibbler (review here) is smooth and sharp, with deep sculpt lines in the face and an almost-machined appearance to the hover device. The sculpt is remarkably smooth — I’m still amazed at the patience it takes to sand these things to this fine a finish — and everything about the work screams professionalism. It certainly doesn’t feel like the work of a garage operation that produced a dozen pieces. And the sculpt is even more impressive when you realize that the toy has a secret.
The Head is Removable!
Take a look at the below photos that show the Future Nibbler combined with Callgrim parts. The head fits snug and tight into the hover device, but pops out to reveal Glyos-compatible sockets where you can plug in parts to give the Future Nibbler a body. And there’s even a piece hiding behind the header card; those wings on the toy snap into the same slot that connects to the hover device. So the Future Nibbler can either fly around on his hover device or he can leave the machine and fly on his own. Neat!
At SDCC Today?
After buying one of the dozen there are now eleven Future Nibbler’s scheduled for release today at SDCC. $50 is a bit high for a small toy, but between the Glyos fanbase and the sheer fun of the Dalek-like machine I doubt these will last long today. If you’re at the show then I recommend getting over to the Onell booth for a peek at this. Once you hold one you’ll love it.
I’m not sure what future plans are, but I can’t see how some of these won’t eventually pop up online for sale. If I hear about any future releases I’ll try to post here at battlegrip.com to share the news.
Philip Reed kinda feels guilty that he got a Future Nibbler before anyone else, but playing with the toy is making him feel better.
I had only photos showing him with arms – so i’m a tad sorry for the confusement with the header card art. I think Chris used the regular pair of traveller hands plus a pair of Gobon legs for creating the arms which looks great. I recommend trying out a load of solid red parts on it(just like in the art) – it really pops! Colorwise. I wish i could play with one now, too…
Phil, does Future Nibbler sport a glow-in-the-dark head?
@Cappy – I just checked and the head doesn’t glow.