Xevoz Battle Booster Figures
Item No.: Asst. 85500 No. 85524 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Sticker sheet, rooster head, and a ton of parts Action Feature:n/a Retail:$6.99 Availability: September 2004 Other: Never repainted and somewhat hard to get
As Xevoz started to wind down, the toys were harder to get. Series 3 received poor distribution in the USA, appearing only at some Target stores-- the bigger ones continued to carry the line into Fall 2004, while the others called it quits. Storm Wing was one of the more impressive creatures in the wave, with a nearly 12-inch wingspan on a figure just under 6-inches tall. Most of the animal figures have multiple heads so you can change their species-- this one has an eagle, a screaming eagle, and a rooster.
Measuring about 6-inches and change, this nifty feathered warrior had talons on his hands and feet, plus hands which could actually open-- not bad for gripping a staff or two smaller blade weapons. His blue armor is totally removable, as are his wings and pretty much every part of his person. As always, you can swap parts with other figures to add flame, electricity, or whatever other kind of pieces you've got in your Xevoz toy box. This construction lends itself to amazing articulation, and Hasbro designed the heads and neck so the figure could "fly" with the head looking straight ahead while suspended from the ceiling or being whooshed around by a young child. Good job, on their part.
Molded in grey, yellow, and blue plastic, the figure doesn't need a lot of paint-- although there's some to bring out the feather detail, the claws, and a few other bits and pieces. A wrist-mounted "Drain Attack" arrow piece adds to his arms nicely, plus the rooster head is basically funny. I mean, it's a vicious winged beast of doom with a rooster head. That's gotta be worth something, right? The sculpted detail is toned down for a more stylized appearance, as the eagles don't even have painted eyes-- the same can be said for most characters in the line, as the stickers often included variations on the ocular region. It is worth noting that his hands and feet have quite a bit of detail, especially when compared to the rest of the figure. They won't out-detail any McFarlane or NECA figures, but the construction and style are hard to beat.
You probably won't find this figure easily-- he's not on eBay all too often and doesn't show up in lots much. What's more, he was shortpacked in wave 3 at 1 per case and did not ship with wave 4 when it hit in 2005. Treasure this figure if you have it. Covet it if you don't. Of the entire line, despite it being part of the "basic" (Battle Booster) assortment, it's easily one of the most visually impressive and a great example of a line which ended a little too soon. Hasbro never had the chance to repaint it as another species, and seems to have no interest in revisiting it or any IP that isn't Star Wars, Marvel, or from one of the properties it owns and decides will be a major motion picture starring Liam Neeson or something.
If you never experienced it, Xevoz feels a lot like the thought process of the 1980s action figure world was melded on an ahead-of-its-time design meshing together ball joints and constructable elements. It feels like it was designed as a competition for Bionicle and if you ask me is a far more interesting line, but without the right web presence or media tie-in (and a real lack of advertising) kids didn't exactly flock to it. It's great though, and you can still find them if you look on the secondary market. Figures like Storm Wing would be a bargain at twice the price-- if this were sold alongside a DC Universe or Marvel Univere figure today for $15, it would still look and feel impressive.
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