Bandai 6" Modern CHEETARA

ThunderCats (Cartoon Network) - 6" Series Two - Cheetara - Bandai 2011

80's Toy Nostalgia is a force to be reckoned with.  So many different properties have resurfaced over the past few years that it's hard to keep them all straight.  One of the key franchises that fans have been wishing and begging for has been ThunderCats.  Staying suspiciously out of the limelight since their first incarnation, these powerful felines have recently burst onto the scene with an amazing new cartoon on the Cartoon Network and a great line of toys made by Bandai.  I was hesitant when I first heard the news that Bandai had the toy license.  Most of what we see from them on US shelves is Power Rangers and Ben10, and as far as the female figures go, their track record is hit-or-miss.  Luckily the most recent figures have been fantastic, and the ThunderCats have been no exception.

The 6" Cheetara figure is part of the second wave of 6" Modern figures releases (I specify "Modern" because Bandai is also taking this recent popularity as an opportunity to release a separate line of Classic ThunderCats in both an 8" and 6" scale).  Cheetara already had  4" figure released in 2011 which I will be comparing with this new version further down.  I found her at Wal-Mart just outside of Philadelphia last week (same day I found Legacy Catwoman).

Her Packaging is pretty standard.  It looks great, but I open all my toys so my interest is limited.  There is an interesting barcode-type image on the side of the packaging that is apparently a link to a 3-D moveable/poseable digital version of your action figure.  I haven't tried it yet, but if it works like how i've heard it described it could be pretty cool.  (Although I remember a similar gimmick with the Avatar toys last year and I was never able to get them to work)

On to the figure::  She is pretty amazing!  Kudos to Bandai for making such a sturdy, playable, poseable, well-sculpted figure.  This may well be one of the best female bucks I've seen.  The body is sleek and feminine but still boasts 18 points of articulation (although I honestly count 22).  And we all know how added articulation tends to make female characters look all blocky and robotic.  The rib cage and upper thigh joints are completely hidden.  The head has very minimal movement because of the hair.  The black joint pegs are an eyesore for some, but the costume design is so busy on this character that I barely notice them.

Did I mention she can stand on her own?  That scores her major points in my book.

Here are some pictures of her alongside her 4" version mentioned before.  The 4" version is a pretty awesome version, but she has limited poseability and articulation compared to the 6" version.  I personally think the face in the 4" version looks better and more cartoon-accurate than the 6", but I truly do like them both.  The only oddity I really see in the 6" version is that her hands seem too large for her body.  But the fact that she can easily hold and pose with her staff (unlike the 4" version) can get me to overlook the man-hand thing anyday.

There's supposedly an 8" Classics style Cheetara coming out in 2012 as the last of the 8" Classics.  I hope this is true because I have a lot of love for this character and now I know Bandai can do her justice.

Now that's a lot of animal print..