I was very much aware of Baron Dark and his cohorts from the 1990s Skeleton Warriors line, in part because it was during that glorious period where Playmates and other toymakers tried to make something for kids that also would be of a higher quality for older collectors. It worked for Star Trek, so it made sense to try it elsewhere. Well, it didn't work, but October Toys licensed the brand as a collector run again - 1:18 scale Glyos figures - and you know what? It worked nicely. We haven't seen a second character yet, but the first one is good.
At $20 it's twice as much as the Titan Skeleton, but you get more in the box - and a box. The packaging is on par with The Black Series figures from Star Wars, with a nice window and a tray and insert and all of that. Despite not having a UPC on it, there's no getting around the fact that this is another killer packaging job. Like the OMFG figures, it's nicely designed and looks good for any toy company, in particular a small one.
Articulation is on par with the Titan, but the little things make this a spectacular figure. For starters, there's paint - a lot of it. There are little shadows painted in, the teeth really pop, the eye sockets on all of the skulls come to life, and you can see how this is a $20 figure really quick - and that's not counting the multi-hued cape, the shoes, the clothing, and what can loosely be defined as hair. Oh, and there are removable wristbands - they didn't skimp on this one. Each point of articulation is a place where you can separate a piece, allowing you to customize it or do whatever it is you want to do.
The figure looks a lot like a prototype in that everything is clean and it seems like it should have gone over budget for a regular figure. The engineering is good, but I do have balance issues - getting him to stay standing is rough without putting his arms out front or hunching him over a bit. He has little problem g.shtmling his sword, which is easily the most gorgeous Glyos figure accessory to date - the same care that went into the figure went into the weapon. The skulls are painted. The blade looks like metal. It sets an unreasonably high standard as to what a good Glyos figure - or indeed any action figure on the market today - should be. The only drawback is, so far, he's all there is beyond a couple of unpainted skeletons.
At 5-inches tall, he's scaled to be a bad guy for your 3 3/4-inch action figures - he's tall, you see. The original Skeleton Warriors line had other skeletal baddies and human warriors, but so far the rate of release has been slow enough where it's possible a fan could forget the line exists before it finishes up remaking the originals. This is one of the best Glyos toys ever made, so I hope they crank out at least a few more - especially if they can keep the $20 pricetag - because it's amazing what they did here for a license that few but hardcore toy fanatics would even remember. If you liked Power Lords, Baron Dark is arguably much better. Granted, there may be more Power Lords, but these days it seems you take what you can get.
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