One of most iconic properties of the 1980’s is Voltron, and more recently the franchise is seeing success once again thanks to the animated series on Netflix. Voltron is one of the most memorable properties of that era, just like Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. In 2016, Dreamworks and Netflix launched a new series that is a modern take on the properties, and they also just announced a third season is going to be offered.
The combinable lions are packaged individually, with the black lion being at a higher price point of roughly $29.99 and in a window box package, while the other four lions are roughly $17.99 each. The red, green, blue and yellow lions includes accessories such as missile launchers that can fit on their backs, and the black lion has the wings for Voltron in combined form on his back.
Thank you to Playmates Toys for providing their Voltron Legendary Defender Combinable Lions for review.
Availability: January 2017
In combined form, Voltron stands at 16″ tall and features light-up eyes and chest, and sounds of the Paladins that is activated by inserting each of the lions to form Voltron, and once they are connected individually and fully combined, Voltron’s paladins speak. This is a great feature considering we are big fans of the new show.
Voltron is big and bulky, and for the most part is best suited to stand upright. The articulation on him is fairly limited, and includes a hinged neck that can only look up or down (not side-to-side), hinged shoulders, hinged elbows, hinged hips, and hinged knees. The plastic used is hard and really good material. Making it strong and durable to withstand the rough play of children (at least for the most part). Most of the weight is supported by the back of his feet, which are the back paws folded up of the blue and yellow lions. The joints tend to swivel easily, causing the entire figure in combined form to fall over if the back of the paws aren’t completely flat in the back. The wings on the back of the black lion are well done, and they can fold and rotate to allow for different angles, such as flight mode, standing upright, and various other modes for general posing.
The individual lions are well made and have articulation in the head, arms, legs, tails, and of course, the mouths. The lions are made with colored plastic, with painted details in the are accents and eyes, and in a few other various places. Voltron includes his sword (which comes in two pieces with the red and green lions), and shield that plugs into the green lion.
In either individual lion mode and the combined form, Voltron has a lot of fun and detailed likeness as seen in the Netflix series. This is a cheap alternative compared to the much higher end Voltron figures out there made from Toynami and Tamashii Nations, with a $100 price point for all five lions. The quality and detail at this price point is incredible, and Playmates Toys Voltron brand team have done a remarkable job on this figure. At New York ToyFair 2017, we did a video walkthrough and interview of the Voltron booth, so make sure to take a look at this and catch up on what is coming out later this year, as well as what is in stores right now.
Purchase:
