Series: Gladius, 1

Craftsmanship: 8.6 / 10

- Great stability and poseability

- Good sculpt and paint captures the game likeness

- Accessories fit in either hand

- Cool bone armor

Playability: 8.3 / 10

- Monkey figures get played with

- Arms are on the spindly side for rough play

- Accessories can be lost

Related Links:

- Review: Master Chief (Halo)

- Review: Soul Calibur II Set

- Review: Kimahri (Final Fantasy X)

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Mongrel Man (Gladius)

by Workshop Toys

mongrel man

It’s not often I get my hands on an action figure based on a videogame that hasn’t been released yet. Gladius is scheduled to ship soon and Workshop Toys has the

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action figures at the ready to launch at the same time. If Mongrel Man is typical of the series, it bodes well for gamers that like their action figures based on game properties.

Mongrel Man stands just shy of 6” tall and sports that “2001: A Space Odyssey’s really mad monkey” look, with a bit of war paint and bone armor thrown in.

With videogames action

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figures it’s usually easy to make direct comparisons, but Gladius isn’t even out yet, so I’ve studied screenshots and character sketches to see just how accurate Mongrel Man (MM) is to his game counterpart. Even if he weren’t based on a game likeness, MM has good detail and paint application. Points of note of the sculpt: the bone armor held in place by rough rope, the rough fur, the bandaged ankles, and the head. It’s a very good presentation, and the joints are integrated so well that you’ll hardly notice them.

MM’s legs are devoid of articulation, which was good choice since it makes him more stable. His ankles could have been seamed to provide even more stability as he does put his weight forward. MM’s upper half is completely mobile with 10 points of articulation. Each arm has 4 points: seamed wrist, bicep, shoulder and hinged elbow. The hinge joint of the left arm doesn’t have much movement thanks to the bone armor and I would have preferred ball-jointed shoulders, but otherwise you can put MM into all sorts of “Monkeys that ATTACK!” poses. Install his bladed stone weapons – they fit in either hand – and you have a recipe for some serious monkey menace.

MM’s monkey-esque appearance almost ensures he’ll be played with but you run the risk of snapping his arms at the bicep. I’ve pretty much given up on running action figures through standard play tests – I have too many walking wounded on my shelves – so it’s basically speculation on my part when I say his arms could snap. But experience tells me that it could happen.

Unfortunately, for this review, I wasn’t able to see how compatible MM is with the other Gladius figures, but I’d assume they are compatible. Even so, he’s of comparable size with other 6” figures (which is quickly becoming an industry minimum) so you shouldn’t have any shortage of play options available.

Do the Gladius action figures have what it takes to stand on their own if the game’s a miss? Based on Mongrel Man, the action figures could be a winner even if the game isn’t. There’s good detail and articulation making him a solid display and play figure.

- Omni
(October 5, 2003)