Stryder

Stryder is the second release in a series of very expensive yet highly detailed mechs from the video game Titanfall.

The folks at Threezero were kind enough to send us a pre-production sample. If you like what you see, head on over to the threezero store. and preorder one today.

This is a pre-production sample, and as such, there are still a few kinks to work out before final release. We will point out issues where we see them, but keep in mind they may be fixed for the final release.

Stryder is available for preorder NOW through threezerostore.com

Packaging was not available at the time of this sample, but rest assured it will be big and lavish. Actually, this sample came in the box for the Atlas, which we also got as a review sample. Maybe by the next sample I’ll have the box for this one.

Included with the toy is:

– Stryder Mech
– Plasma Railgun
– Pilot figure
– Car-01 rifle for figure
– variant hands for figure
– instructions

Seeing how spring has finally arrived in New England, I decided to take Stryder outside for his photoshoot.

Stryder checks in at 20″ tall and is fully poseable. Maybe too much so. Right off the bat I notice posing is tricky due to the cockpit area being very top-heavy. The joints in the hip are unusual, and the chicken-legged stance make posing challenging, but not impossible.

The top of the head sports a positionable weapon on a ball joint.

Here you can see the lights illuminated, but we’ll cover that more later.

On the other side of the head is a multiple missile launcher. The door opens, the little bar on the bottom is moveable, and the whole assembly rotates down to the side.

The arms have a full range of motion with sturdy, clicky joints. The shoulder and elbow are tight, but the swivel at the bicep is a little loose compared to the other joints.

As you would expect, the hands are great, with fully poseable fingers and a moveable guard on the outside of the hand. The hand itself is connected to the arm with a ball joint.

The cockpit section connects to the waist with a spine-like joint with multiple pistons and rubber tubes. With all the various connections, the range of motion is not great, but it’s not bad really. The two protective armor plates on the front are moveable as well.

The back of the body has a few cool features. First there’s the enormous antenna that plugs into the top. This antenna has a propensity to pop off every once in a while, but it’s better than it breaking off.

The hatch on the top has a moveable handle and is removable to reveal the weak point of the mech.

Two large booster engines can pivot on ball joints where they connect to the body, and again before the engine nozzles.

The lights in the engines (and elsewhere on the figure) are controlled with a button push to the back. The first click turns them blue, the next turns them red, and the third turns them off.

I know there’s a joke in here somewhere, but lets just leave it at that there is a light in the crotch.

The joints at the hips are interesting. They click firmly at the hips, but then there’s a hinge joint right in the middle of the bar connecting the legs, Surrounding this connection are rubber tubes. This hinge is one of the weaker points of support in the figure.

The legs have a chicken-leg thing going on with a reverse joint. The two joints in the legs are VERY tight.

The feet have numerous moving points, not all to it’s advantage. The feet (and legs) have moveable armor plates here and there, but it’s the one on the feet that pop off all the time.

Stryder has “Threezero piston syndrome” in that yet again, the pins in the pistons are not long enough, and fall out while posing. The instructions even show this, and helpfully tell to put them back in when they come out.

The large wheel-shaped thing on the back does not actually turn, it’s just for support.

The top half of the body is actually a giant cockpit, that can be opened by lifting upwards. The joint here is very tight as well. There’s also a small door on the front that opens as well.

Inside the cockpit there are no moving parts and no light-up features (like Atlas had). The included pilot can fit inside with some effort.

And then there is the big-assed gun.

Let me be clear here – I have no idea how I got this toy to hold the gun. Call it luck, call it a miracle, once I got it to hold you better believe I took shots right away. I’ve only been able to get it to hold it twice. It took me a good 15 minutes to manipulate the toy to get the gun to stay in the hand. While the gun looks cool, it’s inability to hold the weapon firmly is a huge drawback.

The gun itself is as detailed and involved as the mech it belongs to. There’s tight tampo printing that compliments the weathered finish of the gun. Every little hose and nozzle are perfectly detailed.

The barrel of the gun is removable, but there’s not much to do with it.

if you remember the Atlas review, you remember that I had some big issues with the pilot figure. This one’s a bit better, but I still have some similar issues.

The pilot has a fully articulated body with a cloth outfit. On top of that is countless bits of armor with various belts and straps. The amount of detail is staggering in a figure this size. However all that detail comes at a price.

That price is articulation. All that gear makes posing difficult. It’s not like a standard action figure with plastic-on-plastic joints. Here you have multiple layers of fabric and straps that restrain movement around the figure.

The figure comes with a set of variant hands and a shotgun.

The facial expression is sort of blank.. I can’t place what it is.

Getting the figure into the cockpit is challenging, although not as bad as it was with Atlas. He just does not look natural jammed in there.

Does he look comfortable to you?

To place the pilot, you have to remove the backpack, stretch out the legs, and then place him in.

Sadly, the peg in the boot of one foot came unglued. Nothing a little superglue can’t fix.

So yeah, Stryder has some problems, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed before release, and lets face it, it looks pretty damn cool. If you have Atlas, the two look great together.

So Threezero, if you are reading, here’s what you should fix or improve before this goes to market:

– tighten up the hip joints to reduce possibility of falling over.
– secure moveable panels on feet.
– lengthen inner part of pistons so they stay connected
– add pegs to hands and weapon to secure connection
– make sure pegs are securely fastened to boots of mini figure.

Remember, this is a pre-production sample, so they have time to make some changes, which is what they did with Atlas before it came to market. Stryder is going to be a great release, so if you want one, preorder yours at the threezero store.