Yellow Lion (with Hunk figure)

I want to set some expectations here up front. Mattel’s Voltron Classics line is not in any way aimed at high-end gokin collectors. What Matty Collector is selling here is an overpriced “child’s toy”, not a high-end collectible. If that does not sit with you, you will want to hit the back button and look at previous diecast metal offerings.

This is the second release in Mattel’s 2012 Voltron® Club Lion Force Subscription. For all the nitty gritty on the club, feel free to read my previous review of the Red Lion. Good news, this time around it seems most folks have gotten sets with everything and far less reports of missing pieces and broken springs.

The box is a bit larger to accommodate the bigger Lion and features a desert backdrop this time around. The Hunk figure is packaged the same way as the previous Lance.

At least they corrected the image of Voltron on the back of the box. His legs are no longer reversed.

The Yellow Lion is big and heavy. Right off the bat it feels like a nice solid toy and for the most part it is. It feels good in the hands and has been fun to tinker with. Construction-wise it’s pretty good, but there are noticeable seams down the middle of the body on the top and bottom.

This time around the one touch transformation doesn’t hamper posability. There is a much better range of tight clicking joints in both the shoulder and knees as well as the mouth and neck. The tail is articulated to fold in but is held in place with friction.

The sculpt detail seems a bit sparser this time around but that may just be magnified by its sheer size. Again going for a cartoon look overall can seem spartan when broken down to its individual components.

The paint applications are neat and straight, but the black they used on the sides of the head and middle of the torso seem very “thin” and are already showing signs of wear from being handled and this is hands down my biggest complaint about the line. I mean, what are they really saving by cheaping out on the quality of the paint? A few cents?
€80

The yellow is not the same caliber of “rich color” that the red was on the previous Lion. It is noticeably paler, almost creamy. The Red Lion was much more rich and deep in tone.

Good news! The cockpit for the Yellow Lion is much larger than the Red Lion so accommodating larger variations of 3 3/4″ scale figures.

Even Darth Vader and some Outer Space Men fit.

The Bad News! My cockpit features a crooked front console sticker, a sloppy coat of paint on the seat, and just a big ugly gap of blank yellow on the uninspired cockpit “lid.” I knew this is what they were doing when we first saw pictures but it just seems so dorky looking. A sticker with some engine or mechanical detail would have been nice.

The other bad thing? You have to use the key to open this one. The gap this time is far narrower than the mechanism on the Red Lion, so no fitting your finger tip in to activate it.

Included with the Lion is the mouth blade and like the Red Lion’s version, it features the “made In China” stamp on the part of the blade that is supposed to face out.

Also included is the next piece of the “Not-So-Light-Up” Collect-And-Connect Blazing Sword, the hilt shield. Once put on to the hilt it’s pretty much on there for good, it looks like trying to remove it will stress the clips that snap in to hold it securely.

Transforming the Yellow Lion into Voltron’s left leg is very straightforward. The legs fold up and lock in very much like the original except the feet positions. The rear paws fold back to wrap around the back of the upper thigh.

The front paws fold down that form a “heel” for Voltron’s foot. This is reinforced by a panel that folds down from the underside of the body. A nice touch and one that should make posing this guy assembled easier. Time will tell…

I have concerns over how well this is going to attach to the Black Lion. When you push in the hatch on the rear you can see inside.

There’s a tiny little lip that moves in when you press this smaller button on the underside of lion. Apparently this is meant to hold the Yellow Lion to the lower leg of the Black Lion right above its rear-paw and “lock.” We will see but I am not hopeful the leg’s are going to actually stay on the finished Voltron.

Pressing the “Auto transformation” button unlocks the head and legs. Other than the head dropping down to the lion position you will still have to manually align the legs to stand.

The less said about the Hunk figure the better. The actual figures for this subscription are cheap and sloppily painted. At least mine have been.

At least this time I didn’t two right thighs.

Instead, I got a fairly derpy-looking helmeted head with either excess glue or paint under the visor. It’s hard to tell. I’ve resigned myself to these action figures sucking and stopped caring.

If you are not already subscribed to the line do not pay the outrageous aftermarket prices for these. They are not worth it. We who did suscribe are already paying too much. If these went for 30 bucks I wouldn’t be complaining as much. For more than twice that at $70 after tax and shipping, it’s outrageous. Wait for the inevitible gift set cleared out at half off in some future sale.

To be continued.