LEGEND OF NARA, METOMORPHS Review!

LEGEND OF NARA

METOMORPHS

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venox.jpg 72.74K 11 downloads vesperus.jpg 76.47K 18 downloads

Some of you may be familiar with the Legend of Nara toys littering a quite generous sized section in your local retail stores toy aisle. Your first thought would probably be of those tiny super expensive motorized bugs. But MGA also tried their hand at expanding the line into Action Figure form with the METOMORPHS sub-line.
Now I have glanced at these guys a few times over the past few months, and thought they were pretty nifty looking. And they appealed to the nostalgia I have toward the Beast Wars Transformers line. But didn't have any reason to buy them. However a recent dry run for my preferred action figure lines led me to reconsider them. And being that I actually found a store with all Four current bugs in stock I figured why not give em a shot!

So let's get the run down shall we.

Stats
Company: Micro-Games America (MGA) Entertainment
Year: 2010
Size: (Foot to Antenna) Crytox 4 3/4", Scarbiton 3 3/4", Vesperus 5", Venox 4 1/4"
Price: $7.97 each + tax (Wal-Mart Stores)
Packaging: Carded

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Sculpts

Now the first great thing about this set is each figure is 100% unique! Being that they are all different Insect based characters it makes sense. But what pulled my eye with this line was definitely the nifty looking sculpting.

Despite the uniqueness of each figure, there isn't alot to discuss. They all have very detailed sculpting, and feature fair resemblances to real bugs in Bug Mode. Upon closer inspection of the Models featured on the packaging I did notice a few interesting discrepancies that I will note where due.

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CRYTOX appears to be a flying roach. However I'm not an expert. But 'Cry' seems to be pulled from Cryptocercus, which is a hooded cockroach and not a flying roach. Guess it just sounded nice, crud might not even be a roach.
Either way he features very nice wing details that look almost like giant fingerprints. This is the most notable detailing, as the rest of the figure is a pretty standard insect detailed character, with pits and boney design. (I think of either the Locust from A Bugs Life, or Genoshian Warriors from SWs.)
My favorite part, though it really hinders his Bug Mode are the humanoid hands and arms. His Humanoid Form has the most distinguishing face of the Four figures. And has it's own eyes and features which further strengthen the Humanoid Form.

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VESPERUS appears to be a kind of Paper Wasp, or Vespidae. He is quite nice in his Wasp form, and has all the necessary appearances of a wasp. However in his humanoid form, he is a jumbled looking mess. part of his abdomen becomes his feet...that really look stupid. And his thighs are also covered by abdomen parts which are distracting. Even his humanoid head is odd looking. It looks like a brainy organ with no distinct characteristics.
Vesperus also has some very different features when compared to the package model. For instance, the actual figure's fore limbs and feet are all completely different from the package model. I assume the change was made to help the figure's support during Wasp Mode. The feet appear solid on the package model.
Overall a very ugly Humanoid Form.

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SCARBITON is obviously a species of Beetle. possibly a Dung Beetle, but there are way too many beetles for me to distinguish him. In my opinion Scarbiton is the strongest sculpted figure in the set. And has the most 3-dimensional appearance in both of it's forms. He is probably the most life like representation of an insect from the set as well. He has a very nicely detailed armor, and under body. All of his limbs are very beetle like, and I also appreciate the inclusion of the wings. If beetles could stand upright on their hind legs, they would look like Scarbiton.
Aside from all the top notch detailing, Scar is also my favorite humanoid form. He actually reminds me of a Kaiju Monster in his design and construction. There isn't much on this figure as far as sculpt and construction that I can find flaws with.

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VENOX is your most recognizable species of the crew. Not just a spider but a Black Widow. The sculptors kept Venox very slender in her Humanoid Form. And to further accentuate the sex of the character, they made the feet look like High heeled boots. There isn't alot of super detailed sculpting in the figure, but what is sculpted is done well. Venox looks very much like a spider in her Spider Form.
My main problem is with the skirted spider tail in her Humanoid form. It doesn't look terrible, but I find it distracting. Though I guess there wasn't much else they could do with it. Her head is okay, and the mouth looks like the fuzzy mout parts of a spider.
Venox also has some notable differences from the package model and the final product. She has completely different Spider legs, Waist, and a different foot construction. I actually prefer the new legs and feet. But the slender waist of the package model looks more visually appealing on the figure.

Sculpt Scores = Crytox 2/5, Vesperus 1/5, Scarbiton 3/5, Venox 3/5

Paint Applications

Paint apps on these figures are pretty standard quality, which can be seen from the photos. And like I mention in the Sculpt section there are some noticeable Package to Product differences in the paint apps.

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CRYTOX has some Gold/Bronze colored wash around the joints and back, as well as Gold painted mouth parts and Black eyes. That's it. Nothing special. The washes were more pronounced on the package model and were a dark wash. The mouth parts were black, and the chest and tail had wash on the package model.

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VESPERUS has decent paint applications. Fortunately they managed to paint the figure adequately enough to make it look like a wasp. But it is apparent that they did the bare minimum in Bug Mode.

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SCARBITON really only has paint apps on his head and shell armor. Which is fine, and looks great. However the Package Model features more detailed paint apps, such as blue ball joints, and purple hands and feet. I really wish they would have kept these paint apps in the final product.

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VENOX is red and black. The two colors that is sufficient for the genus of spider it represents. The final product cut some corners from the package model, but since the construction of both models are quite different, the paint is changed adequately I believe. I only wish they would have painted the smaller spider eyes red as well.

Paint Scores = Crytox 1/5, Vesperus 1/5, Scarbiton 2/5, Venox 2/5

Articulation

Here is where the fun part of the toys come into play. Each character has plenty of articulation, almost all of which are ball sockets. A few Hinges appear here and there as well.

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CRYTOX has 26 Total points of Articulation! Socketed Hands, Elbows, Shoulders, Wings, Head, Waist, Thighs, Knees, Feet, and even Antennas! Hinged Head armor, and tail. All work considerably well for the figure. There is some limitations in the thigh sockets when it comes to leg spread, but isn't a big deal. I'm very fond of the socketed antennas, as you can move them out of the way when necessary.

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VESPERUS has a total of 43 Articulation points. Now you would think that would be a good thing, but really, this figure gets to a point of Articulation Gluttony, which destroys the overall strength of the figure. As I will mention in the Quality section. But as it is, everything is socketed except for 10 hinged pieces, which are more useful to morphing the figure than posing it, and the 6 Hinged Middle Fingers.

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SCARBITON maxes out at a final tally of 26 points of Articulation! Like Crytox, all of Scarbiton's articulation is very useful, and blends well into the figure. And I can't find any note worthy limitations in any of them.

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VENOX has 40 Points of Articulation. However unlike Vesperus, the large number doesn't hinder the integrity of the model. I don't know what happened with Vesperus, but Venox is quite an accomplishment when compared with the Waspy mess.
All but 4 joints are socketed. Where her package model had socketed ankles, the final product has the better looking hinged ankles.
Venox is pretty much what Vesperus would have been like if they had given him the strength of Scarbiton.

Articulation Scores = Crytox 3/5, Vesperus 1/5, Scarbiton 4/5, Venox 3/5

Accessories N/A

There are no accessories. Each figure comes with an internet code for the legendofnara site, but you have to register to use them. There aren't even any direction sheets to help you transform them! <_<

To make up for it, here are some pictures. :crazy:

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Quality

This is where these figures fall short. Each has some flaw that hurts playability. And for a few it really handicaps the toys overall playfulness. Weak socket joints and cheaper feeling plastic parts being the main culprits.

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Crytox is reasonably sturdy. Mostly in the legs, but his arms constantly like to pop off at the shoulder sockets. This is really the only annoyance I have with this figure. He is surely the most standard quality figure of the set.

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The worst has to be Vesperus! It took me forever to get him to stand up. His leg sockets are so weak that he can't stand under his own wait without some time consuming manipulation. Even in his Wasp form his six legs have difficulty holding his body up. And throughout the time you are trying to Morph him, or pose a limb, they will constantly fall off. I actually hate this figure because of it. The plastic quality is also questionable. As right out of the package some sockets show stress marks or severe looseness. His Wasp head likes to fall off as well. Warning, don't be fooled by my pictures. Vesperus took the longest of the four to photograph.

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The best as far as plastic strength and strong limbs is probably Scarbiton. He is a fairly sturdy figure with strong leg and arm sockets. His clear inner wings are the most cheap feeling pieces, and I can see the sockets eventually breaking, or the clips that hold them pulled in or out busting off with prolonged play. The only Insanely annoying piece on this figure is the small Arrowhead shaped back armor. It pegs into the back of his abdomen between the wing sockets, and when posing the outer wings it will constantly fall out. In fact it fell off when I pulled him out of the package, and it took me a while to figure out what the heck I actually dropped.

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Venox actually surprised me. I opened Vesperus first, so my impression of the line was immediately bleak, and I figured the venomous vixen would share his weak points in the sockets. However I was thrilled to find, that most of the leg and arm sockets were actually nice and sturdy. The other bug related areas were actually more annoying. The skirted butt pieces next to the hips like to pop off constantly, and the hinged Spider face likes to drop a little when in Spider form. It's also hard for the Abdomen to hold up at the waist socket, which tends to be loose under the weight of the legs and abdomen during Spider Mode. I do wish the skirted ab pieces would have clipped together though. They just sort of sit in place with little guides. Which was another similar issue shared with Vesperus.

All in all, I feel this line would have benefited with either a stronger solid plastic, or a firmer soft plastic. The overall quality of these figures fails to deliver when considering the cost. I just see these breaking and losing parts if being played with in short time.

Quality Scores = Crytox 2/5, Vesperus 0/5, Scarbiton 3/5, Venox 2/5

Cost

At over $8 bucks a pop after taxes, it is very hard to justify the purchases. I feel at the price point, and with the fact that Three of the figures have potentially useful grasping capabilities, that they deserved a few accessories. Crytox would have been cool with some swords, Scarbiton could have used a staff or something as well. But considering the designs, and the difficultly there would have been in incorporating these accessories into the transformation process, I'll let it somewhat slide.

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I have actually considered packing them back up and returning them for a refund. And I may actually do so. When you consider the quality issues and lack of accessories (or even directions) you really feel like you overpaid. I feel that these would have been much more palatable at about $5 dollars each. And that is at 90's Beast Wars Basic prices. I honestly feel like I paid $3 bucks each for the packaging alone. Take out the cost of shiny backer cards, and shrink the packaging to half the size to save you and your customers money. Maybe these should have been put in the novelties section of the store.

Cost Score = 2/5 for all

Availability

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This series seems to be readily available at most Wal-Marts. I have not seen them at other stores. However the Metomorphs don't seem to have their own pegs. All I have seen have been displayed on shelves, and even then I have seen no more than 4 figures at each store. I assume there were only a case or two per store.

Availability Score = 2/5 for all

Cool Factor

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MGA does deserve props for continually trying to create original toy lines as opposed to just jumping on the license bandwagon. It's good to see a stand alone toy line. Though the Transformation thing has been done to death for the last 30+ years, it is still a very appealing gimmick for all ages. And it's not like they are robots, but intended as fully organic morphers. Which has been done as well. But these guys stay Bug-like, and don't change from Teenagers to animals.

Having said that. The cool factor is low for me. They were cool looking enough to pick up and examine, but for the most part are not the coolest toys you can find, and especially for the price. This is an impulse buy that I actually would like to impulsively return. The Convertors are rolling in their graves right now. :lol:

But if your a fan of bug toys, and like ball sockets or transformers, you may like them better than I did. IF anything they would make nifty desk fillers in your office.

Cool Factor Score = 2/5 for all

Average Scores

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Crytox = 2.8/5 , Vesperus = 1.8/5 , Scarbiton = 3.6/5 , Venox = 3.2/5

Well, these figures are far from average at all to me. And I feel they are overall below average. Let's just say the Choking Hazard Warning suggests you keep them away from children under 3, and this reviewer suggests you keep them away from children at all, and just forget they exist. Whether a kid or collector you are bound to get more frustration out of most of these guys than fun.

But if your determined to buy one, I suggest it be either Scarbiton or Crytox. With Venox pulling a close third. I'd advise avoiding Vesperus completely.

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Edited by Universal Ruler Supreme, 07 February 2011 - 07:57 AM.