I had no real reason to buy the Imaginext Ion Crab
other than it looks neat. It's amazing to me that one of the more
interesting toys in recent memory is a vehicle with a cool, nameless
alien figure aimed at toddlers. It's a durable little set and feels
like it could withstand some abuse in sandboxes, tubs, and with actual
children - which is something I don't think I can say about most toys
examined here.
The 3-inch green figure has blue claws and red hair like Blanka from Street Fighter II.
His legs are bony, but by and large he could pass as an alien crab.
Sure, he's got a little red tail on his butt but who am I to judge?
Sculpting is on par with or better than most Imaginext figures (in that
it has original sculpting) and he's got a little "i" branded on his
ankle. Compared to the creatures in the blind-bags or previous years
of Space figures, this is pretty amazing. The detail is positively
toylike and the bright, neon colors are sure to blind collectors from
its greatness. It wouldn't stun me to see this mold redecorated in the
future, warts and all. (It has warts.)
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I
like toys. I like characters, but toys I like more - mostly because a
new toy line could birth a whole new generation of characters and, yes,
more toys. The Imaginext Ion Scorpion comes from a space line
that feels fresh and also pays tribute to a couple of decades of space
toys. The figure looks like it could be the grandson of Repto or
Kronos, and the colors are bright and inviting - like most action
figures aren't. Were it not for super hero toys, the toy aisle would
be an increasingly muted and largely dreary. The 3-inch aisles are
where it gets the most interesting with Imaginext and to a lesser
extent, Hasbro/Playskool's Robot Heroes and Super Hero Adventures lines.
(Jedi Force is effectively dead, so let's keep moving along.) I
snagged this set on a tip from the one and only Matt Doughty that they
started hitting Kohl's last month, and as an added bonus I found that
they were 50% off when I was there. I couldn't say no at that price -
Imaginext single blind-bag figures are usually $3. $5 for a figure with
a vehicle? I'm sold!
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There's more coming, or so I hear! The Mummy
is another good Imaginext figure, in that it's another fine figure that
actually adds new sculpted elements rather than slapping paint on the
same basic male buck we've seen for years. And yes, I realize the
absurdity in nitpicking a toy that's labeled "collectible" and sold to
people who aren't tall enough to pour themselves a glass of water yet.
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