Review > Granthan Division Rig, Mk II (Glyos)

[toc title=”Table of Contents” class=”toc-left”] When I first interviewed Matt Doughty of Onell Design, he was hard at work sculpting the Rig (you can even see it under the lamp light in this pic). While I was there, we discussed vintage toys we’d enjoyed, and I mentioned having owned the Macross 4 Part II set of vinyl toys as a kid (I believe my parents bought them at Hobby World Town at the Hanover Mall). I mentioned how fond I’d been of the yellow figure (no idea what his official name is–I’ve never actually seen an episode of Macross), and Matt, being Matt, knew exactly what I was talking about and agreed it was a great piece.

What’s interesting is that the Rig would turn out to be very similar to that Macross figure–a hollow vinyl robot who had the same smooth, chunky feel. The difference, however, is that the Rig, being a product of the Glyos world, would be more than just a bipedal robot. Through a couple of simple twists, it could be two different robots, a spaceship, a tank, or whatever you imagine it to be.

Packaging

The Rig arrives in a simple clear plastic bag–no real packaging per se.

Design & Sculpt

The Glyos aesthetic has a sort of 1980s science fiction videogame vibe-sort of a cross between the characters/spaceships in a classic Atari or NES game and the far-more-detailed art on the cover of the videogame box. This love for 8-bit sf gaming is reflected in the growing Glyos media empire, which includes games, videos and comics. Scott Pilgrim would love Glyos.

I’ll admit I haven’t been sucked into Glyos, mostly because I’ve just never had as much interest in building and swapping parts as other toy fans. I had my Legos as a kid and have had brief, passing interests in properties like Stikfas, Microman, Xevoz and Bionicle, but it’s never grown to the full-blown obsession of a Masters of the Universe, Hellboy, or Batman.

But I can tell you a number of fellow collectors whom I respect will swear by Glyos; one recently told me, “Presently I’m enjoying the Glyos stuff much more than any of the other lines I collect. Glyos seems to be the only line I actually ‘play’ with. Most everything else winds up on a display shelf after about an hour, but the Glyos stuff is always in use.”

This is the second Rig–the first came with a gray-and-green color scheme. I bought that the moment it came out, and I think I may have been one of the first to order this Rig, too. While I haven’t gotten into the smaller Glyos items, I love the Rig. The anime-videogame-robo-mech aesthetic, the big, chunky design, and the smooth vinyl feel of the toy is just really appealing to me.

Depending on how you orient the Rig, it can look like an ED-209-type robot, a cockpit-driven mech, a tank or a small spaceship. The spaceship (seen in the first pic) is one of my favorite poses, but it does require balancing the vehicle on the “robot” face. This was difficult to do for my original green Rig, but it works very well with the blue one.

The Rigs aren’t quite as versatile as other Glyos products; you can pop off the torso and swap it with an Armadoc, as seen it this ItsAllTrue review. Evidently the arms can come off too, but the sockets are very tight; whenever I’ve tried to remove them, the plastic has started to turn white as it bent, so I recommend warming the arms up with a hair dryer before trying to take them off.

Plastic & Paint

The Rig is molded in gray plastic, with what appears to be a matte coating on it to maintain the smooth look and feel. It’s highlighted in black and blue (as opposed to black and green in the first release).

I like the blue even more than the green, but that’s primarily because blue is my favorite color. My only complaint with the paint work is the black lines etched along the details; they’re a bit thick and uneven, giving the toy that homemade look and feel of most Glyos product. I understand that it’s probably a design choice and partially a limitation of Onell’s budget, but I do wish the lines were more even and a bit less toy-ish.

Articulation

The Rig moves at the waist and shoulders. I’m not really sure where else I’d want it to move, except perhaps a T-crotch for the legs.

Accessories

None.

Quality Control

The Rig is a solid hunk of plastic. So, no problems.

Overall

The Rigs cost $25 apiece, which is expensive for a toy of this size and shape, but when you take into account the limited production run, the relative small size of Onell Design as a company, and the comparative cost of many vinyl toys on the market, it’s pretty fair.

For Glyos fans, the Rig is a fantastic addition to their collection, a large foe for the Armadoc. But even for non-Glyos fans, the Rig is a great toy, one you could stick on your desk at work (like I did) or hand to any kid and watch their imagination go wild.

[raven 4]

Where to Buy:

The Rig is sold out, but there will definitely be another release (probably in a different color scheme), so keep an eye on the Onell Blog for news on the next sale date.

 

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9 Comments

  1. dwaltrip

    @ Josh:

    As a fairly new collector myself, I am sure others would have better ideas. But, some suggestions. First off, Onell's store is a little empty right now, so you might want to wait to a new drop.
    http://www.onelldesign.com/store/

    If you are looking to buy now, the Callgrim shop has a lot more at the moment. http://callgrim.com/shop/

    One suggestion I would make as a starter….maybe get a few things, but either keep them in the same color, or at least colors that work well together. That way you can mix and match them and see how you like them.

  2. This is almost COMPLETELY off topic, but…

    So weird to see a mention of Hobby World (Town)! I was just at the Hanover Mall today and was thinking what a thrill it was back in the day to wander through Child World, then Hobby Town, followed by the toy aisle at Zayre's. At Christmas time, you could also check out Star Wars stuff at Sears. Of course, I had little money of my own, so mostly I was making mental wish lists.

    All gone now, and except for Wal-Mart, the Mall is toy-free. Pity.

  3. Josh

    @ dwaltrip:

    Could you maybe recommend some starter sets and maybe the cheapest way to get them? I'm willing to dip a toe in and try it out, absolutely.

  4. PrfktTear

    Megaduce Flare wrote:

    I’m surprised by how big it is.

    THATS WHAT SHE SAID!!!!!! (sorry, I coudldn't resist…)

    This looks great, I love the versatility, its almost like getting 5 toys for the price of 1!

  5. misterbigbo

    I remember Hobby Town! That was the only place to get D&D stuff and good models. I remember going from Child World across the hall to that place, maybe stopping at Musicsmith to get one o' them new-fangled "compact disks" on the way! The good ole days!

  6. dwaltrip

    Josh wrote:

    i loved Stikfas, i really loved Xevoz, why doesn’t this line appeal to me? the designs are cool and the roar of positive opinion are hard to ignore. the pieces themselves seem too pricey to try out. any suggestions or thoughts from glyos fans?

    I was in the same boat you are in about 6 months ago. Then I finally broke down and bought a couple to see what all this hype was about. I just didn't understand it at the time.

    Since then, I have placed many orders and spent a lot of money picking these guys up. They are just fun….plain a simple. Like the quote in the review says, these are the only toys I have that I get play value out of. That is worth a lot to me these days.

    I would suggest picking up a couple, and seeing what the hype is about.

  7. Josh

    i loved Stikfas, i really loved Xevoz, why doesn't this line appeal to me? the designs are cool and the roar of positive opinion are hard to ignore. the pieces themselves seem too pricey to try out. any suggestions or thoughts from glyos fans?

  8. Megaduce Flare

    I'm surprised by how big it is. When I first saw it, I was expecting it to be more in-scale with something along the lines of the "Micro Machines: Z-Bots" figures, not nearly take up as much shelf space as a MotUC figure.

    On another note, that yellow Macross 'mech you mentioned; http://www.mahq.net/mecha/macross/sdfmacross/sdr-

  9. Nice review! I've gotten incredibly behind in my Glyos collecting. I'm definitely going to need to track one of these down. I love the blue accents!

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