One of the greatest tragedies in the recent history of action figure lines was the sudden killing off of the amazing Mattel ThunderCats line. Say what you will about Matty Collector, it afforded us some pretty amazing toys and nostalgia lines that we would have likely never gotten any other way. But when Mattel management decided to kill it off, so went our best shot at getting a robust line of updated ThunderCats toys.
I could talk all day about how much I love that TCats Classics line, and the potential it had. I could also talk about how it still stings to talk about the fact that the line was taken from us far too early. However… I am not going to do that. Instead, I am going to focus on the fact that guys like Joe Amaro are still trying to get us some add-ons and characters we never had a chance to officially collect. Joe has been a part of the toy industry and the collecting community for a long time, and he has worked on many things that you probably have in your collection right now. A consummate artist and craftsman, I have been lucky to own several of Joe’s self-produced pieces as well, and everything from his hover discs to his Dark Soldiers to his Robear Berbils are high-water marks of skill and quality.
However, nothing previously offered comes close to being as important to its respective property as Snarf, and along with Tygra and Cheetara, he ranks as one of the most painful “never was” characters from the ThunderCats Classics. However, Joe has swooped in to save the day, and this new Snarf figure is absolutely stunning. This piece is handmade, so it is not a factory-produced action figure made of plastic, and not a toy. It is made out of high-quality resin with insanely crisp and (literally) sharp details (see the claws and toes), with six points of articulation. So, with care, Snarf can be posed for pictures and displayed perfectly with the (small) line-up of the Classics figures.
Every detail is rendered perfectly, and so many of the pieces are cast in the appropriate color of resin, so there is little to no concern over things like paint rub. As with any figure, the head sculpt and likeness are the most important parts, and everything from the form to the expression is perfect for Snarf. Let’s face it, he is essentially Lion-o’s over-protective and nervous nursemaid, and his looks is wonderfully appropriate. The eyes especially show a lot of emotion and illustrate Snarf’s less than brave persona. I can hear his voice warble in my head just looking at this figure, so the likeness is absolutely getting it done.
I also REALLY love the vibrant colors used for this piece. Bright and audacious colors are some of my favorite parts of old toy lines like MOTU and TCats, and I am quite glad Snarf is keeping that tradition alive. Frankly, this makes Lion-O seem drab by comparison (I liked the original toy deco that was shown for that figure way back when a lot more), but it is definitely appropriate for Snarf here. Honestly, I don’t know if I have anything on my shelf that matches the unique red used for this figure, so I find it eye-catching, even in a landscape as diverse as my action figure collection.
As you can probably tell, I am quite smitten with this little kitten, and I would love it if Joe could fill up with corner with all of the essentials from ThunderCats that we never had the chance to collect. The initial sale for this piece is over now, but he WILL be back, so keep an eye on Joe’s website and Facebook page to stay in the loop. Or if you are fortunate enough to be headed to Power-Con on August 25-26, Joe will have some for sale there. I would imagine they will go fast, so don’t sleep on it.
I can’t wait to see what is up next, because after Snarf, I am ready to take the plunge on anything Joe has to offer.
