Kids love
animals – real, imaginary and plastic. When I was younger I had a
barnyard playset with chickens, cows, sheep and a horse that could pull
a wagon. But that was years ago – before McFarlane Toys started
filling animals with implants. (I think CY-Gor was one of the first.)
They devoted one whole series to "enhanced" animals titled
Techno Spawn.
A
typical example of the Techno Spawn line, Gray Thunder a half
rhinoceros, half machine hybrid. It stands about 6" when on all
fours. The sculpt is very good. Just about every conceivable kind of
implant has been included and looks much like the Borg tried their hand
at assimilating animals. As expected the paint job is very good, even if
it’s unimaginative. He’s mostly gray (Surprise, surprise!) and
brown, with various metallic accents. Gray Thunder is most notable for
his three massive guns mounted on its back: a gattling gun for air
targets, a short-range three-barreled gun for close combat and swiveling
long gun. The long gun comes equipped with a spring-loaded projectile
(called a "long range cruise missile" on the package) that
makes pretty good distance. Be warned: the distance achieved also puts
it in danger of being lost. Articulation is perfectly suited for a
rhino, with an emphasis on the
legs. Each leg has three point of
articulation. It’s a simple matter to put him into a running stance.
The head turns at the neck. (The only change I would have made, would
have been a balljoint socket for the neck to allow even more posability.)
As
for playability, Gray Thunder is almost good to go right out of the
package. The only assembly required is to snap on the gattling gun and
one shoulder pad. Each are easy to take off, which means they can be
lost as well. A drop of Superglue will solve that problem. Kids will
like him because he’s a robotic rhino – something not seen every day
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and makes a great addition to that barnyard set. Those damn chickens
will never know what hit them! Overall, it’s pretty tough, the limbs
are not easily snapped off. Because of some of the small parts there is
choking hazard warning on the package. And since it lacks the gore and
blood found in the regular Spawn and Movie Maniacs lines it also sports
a label saying "Ages 5 and older" instead of the usual 13+.
(The multiple guns may make parents flinch but they can be broken or cut
off easily enough.)
Number
of days it took for me to find the "long range cruise missile"
after an intense battle with members of GI Joe: 16. (I accidentally
sucked it up with the vacuum cleaner.)