Henshing Cyborg, Microman, Neo Henshin Cyborg, Marvel Legends Jolly Rancher Vision, Crystal Boy. I have a thing for clear and colored action figures. Forget glow in the dark, give me clear plastic figures in all the colors of the rainbow. When Figma announced they were making Crystal Boy (or Crystal Bowie), I was super excited, not for the character or his part as Space Adventure Cobra’s nemesis in the manga and anime, but as a clear figure, a clear Figma figure, and one sporting a new body sculpt. What a cool figure that I can’t put down.
I referenced some older figures, like 1972’s Henshin Cyborg, which was Takara’s 12-inch line of toys, their G.I. Joe that was clear robots. This eventually evolved into Micronauts and had a revival in 1998 under Neo Henshin Cyborg. Henshin Cyborg had these add-on parts for their arms: claws and blasters and chainsaws. Exceptionally cool designs to go along with the clear bodies and the visible internal parts. You can still get the figures on eBay, and I recommend taking a look at microforever.com’s articles for Henshin Cyborg and Neo Henshin Cyborg for more information (pictures below linked from microforever.com).
Almost a year ago I posted a review of Figma’s Cobra from Space Adventure Cobra, and it is still one of my favorite action figures, so when they announced Crystal Boy, I knew he’d be a must have. Arriving last week, he’s been beyond all my expectations. The design of this figure is simply beautiful. The figure is entirely molded in clear plastic; the only painted parts are the vac-metal claw, head, and gold internal parts. It’s a beautiful figure, an amazing display piece. The channeling of Henshin Cyborg is clear in the clear body casting, the colored internal parts, and the add-on claw. I’d love to see Figma release color variations of this figure — for my own pleasure.
The figure stands 6.5 inches tall. He’s giving S.H. Monsterarts Predator a run for his money, and he towers over Cobra. The sculpt is taller than Cobra and is a new sculpt. The legs are longer, the abdomen section is long, and the arms are very long — the proportions are bit all over the place in that regard. He’s a cyborg, so he’s forgiven for not being perfect. The proportions do create a pop that wouldn’t otherwise be there; it’d just be a plain old naked figure dude, which would be OK as well. But in this case it makes Crystal Boy all the more creepy in that he’s very ectomorphic in his shape.
The figure comes with the usual hash of accessories: extra hands and some extra parts that are specific to the character. In this case, a wine glass with some clear wine for the glass — yeah two parts! Kinda cool when I think about it more. There is an extra arm for Crystal Boy; you can display him with his claw arm or a standard arm. I’ve been oscillating between the two, with the normal arm dominating the play. The arm pulls off and pushes on with no problems. I’m always worried with clear plastic parts, but there’s been no concern here. The hand pegs could be snugger. They are a bit loose and I’m worried they will fall out after a period of time. There is an additional torso piece that can be added: it’s a Cobra’s fist smashing through the abdomen piece. Finally, the figure comes with the complimentary clear stand and plastic Ziploc bag for your goodies.
The articulation is fantastic. It’s standard for Figma and is great posing fun. The knee and elbow joints do sport the Figma disk hinge, which continues to give a great range of motion. One of the improvements on this figure is the flow between the lower knee and upper knee, where the lover knee is sculpted all the way up over the joint disappearing into the upper knee, the joint being invisible from the front. The upper knee joint is also sculpted further down over the lower knee covering the knee better — a brilliantly engineered improvement. Here’s the breakdown:
Rocker ankles
Hinged ankles
Swivel ankles
Hinged Knees
Swivel thighs
Ball hips
Ball waist
Double ball ab
Ball shoulders
Hinged Shoulders
swivel bicep
Hinged elbows
Swivel wrist
Hinged wrist
swivel neck
hinged neck
swivel head
There’s a ton of swivel and hinges and balls working together to make for some beautiful poses.
The feet are a bit on the small side, and I mean really small. They could go for a sizing up or two, and they aren’t great for stability. While he doesn’t need the flipper feet of Marvel Legends of old, it would be good to have some more stable feet to rely on.
Crystal Boy is an excellent figure, one that I’d recommend to any 6-inch action figure collector, Henshin Cyborg collector, Micronaut collector, or Space Adventure Cobra collector.
You can still get him at:
