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Series: MechWarrior – Dark Age Craftsmanship: 9.5 / 10 - Metal, baby! - Good poseability - Great paint application but needs “battle damage” - Bristles with weaponry Playability: 7.0 / 10 - Metal makes him heavy – and dangerous - Needs a gun to hold - Small pilot figure will vanish - Big robots are cool!
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Jupiter (MechWarrior)
When Resaurus vanished they took with them a promising line of MechWarrior figures. Joyride Studios has taken up the gauntlet of the MechWarrior license and has produced some solid results using a mixture of die-cast metal, plastic, and good articulation. And since every series needs a starting point we’ll be looking at Jupiter (and my favorite figure). Jupiter stands about 7 ½” tall, and its bristling armory and angry red color just oozes menace. Joyride’s decision to incorporate die-cast metal parts is a welcome one. It adds a level of credibility to a figure that supposed to come in at 100 tons. Jupiter’s not totally metal – that would make it super heavy. Incorporated with the metal is lighter plastic material, mostly with the arms, which are completely hard plastic.
Although it looks unwieldy, Jupiter is quite mobile and poseable. It doesn’t approach the articulation of Kaiyodo’s Evangelion line, but Jupiter has 6 points of articulation in each arm (including articulated hands), 3 points in each leg, and at the waist for a total of 19 points of |
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articulation. (I’m not counting the swivel guns on either side of cockpit and the cockpit hatch.) It’s a good mix of seam, ball and hinge joints and it allows a wide range of poses. The articulated hands make me think there were plans for other accessories – like Jupiter needs any extra armament! – but in their absence using him as a paperweight/pen holder is a good option. Of course, his hands can be used to hold other action figure accessories. All the poseability is means some really dynamic dioramas – especially with office equipment involved. |
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The detail and paint is top notch, but I would have liked some “battle damage” such as scorch marks, laser hits, etc. For the adventurous, detailing some on using appropriate paint and a dose of creativity can take Jupiter from “fresh off the production line” to “battle-hardened veteran.” This is not recommended if you don’t have some experience. Playability is mixed. Jupiter is heavy and becomes a dangerous projectile when thrown across rooms – but used in self-defense I’m sure it could knock someone out. Rough play puts some joints at risk of snapping, most notably the hands and the seam joint that joins the arm to the shoulder. The cockpit hatch can also be snapped off easily because the hinge isn’t that big. This fact also makes it difficult to get the small rubber pilot into the cockpit – the only safe place for the pilot. He’s so damn tiny that you’ll lose him otherwise. It begs the question as to why a pilot was even included (even though it is a nice touch). Overall high marks, even though the playability doesn’t quite match Jupiter’s presentation. And if you’re a MechWarrior fan, get ‘em while they’re hot! - Omni (April 5, 2003)
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