Review: Skeleflex Octoattack
It seems like Skeleflex sets just keep getting cheaper and cheaper. For whatever reason, Toys R Us just can't seem to unload these things. The prices have gotten downright ridiculous.
I've previously reviewed Skullkor, Stegosaurus, Akafly and Spinosaurus, and overall I've been really happy with the line. There are some newer figures out, too, including fantasy monsters and miniature sets. Maybe I'll get around to those when they hit clearance....
Today, I'm looking at a figure I passed over several times at six bucks. Well, apparently everyone else did as well, because I got this for substantially less. Octoattack is intended to be an alien skeleton, and, in comparison, Skullkor's name is sounding better all the time.
I've previously reviewed Skullkor, Stegosaurus, Akafly and Spinosaurus, and overall I've been really happy with the line. There are some newer figures out, too, including fantasy monsters and miniature sets. Maybe I'll get around to those when they hit clearance....
Today, I'm looking at a figure I passed over several times at six bucks. Well, apparently everyone else did as well, because I got this for substantially less. Octoattack is intended to be an alien skeleton, and, in comparison, Skullkor's name is sounding better all the time.
Appearance and Construction: 3/10
Here it is, your friendly neighborhood disclaimer: for purposes of scoring, I'm treating this as an action figure rather than a play or building set. As such, I'm considering the lack of paint as an issue. That's why the earlier Skeleflex figures got stuck with fours.
Octoattack doesn't fair quite so well.
It's hard to separate the figure's articulation and posing problems from its appearance here. Because it's hard to arrange the arms and legs in an interesting way, the figure winds up looking like a jumbled mess. We'll discuss this in more depth below. For the time being, I'm going to look at various sections of Octoattack individually.
Let's start with the head, shall we? While I appreciate that this is supposed to be an alien, I generally expect to be able to tell, at a glance, the head from the rear. In this case, that's a tad difficult. Up close, the head is kind of neat, despite the lack of a lower jaw. But, unless you're examining it closely, it just kind of fades away in a mess of pieces.
The pincers are among the best aspects of the toy, and the legs are fine... from a visual standpoint, at least. I also like the stinger, which is fairly detailed and interesting.
The construction is a little odd here. It almost seems like something was off in the design process: the pieces just don't line up right. You'll notice that most of my pictures are missing the hind legs. In part, this was because it looks better this way. There's another reason for the omission, but we'll get to that in good time.
While the pieces are fine, it just doesn't work as a whole. The other Skeleflex figures I picked up all had their share of problems, but they formed something that made some degree of sense: a skeleton of a dinosaur or alien. This alien bug thing just doesn't quite go together, so I'm dropping the appearance even further.
Octoattack doesn't fair quite so well.
It's hard to separate the figure's articulation and posing problems from its appearance here. Because it's hard to arrange the arms and legs in an interesting way, the figure winds up looking like a jumbled mess. We'll discuss this in more depth below. For the time being, I'm going to look at various sections of Octoattack individually.
Let's start with the head, shall we? While I appreciate that this is supposed to be an alien, I generally expect to be able to tell, at a glance, the head from the rear. In this case, that's a tad difficult. Up close, the head is kind of neat, despite the lack of a lower jaw. But, unless you're examining it closely, it just kind of fades away in a mess of pieces.
The pincers are among the best aspects of the toy, and the legs are fine... from a visual standpoint, at least. I also like the stinger, which is fairly detailed and interesting.
The construction is a little odd here. It almost seems like something was off in the design process: the pieces just don't line up right. You'll notice that most of my pictures are missing the hind legs. In part, this was because it looks better this way. There's another reason for the omission, but we'll get to that in good time.
While the pieces are fine, it just doesn't work as a whole. The other Skeleflex figures I picked up all had their share of problems, but they formed something that made some degree of sense: a skeleton of a dinosaur or alien. This alien bug thing just doesn't quite go together, so I'm dropping the appearance even further.
Packaging and Extras: +1
Personally, I've got more of these cases than I know what to do with. Actually, I still don't know what to do with the first. Oh well, it's still worth a bonus point:
In terms of extras, you get a small pack of flexible connectors. In previous packs, these were useless, but this time I wish I'd installed a few. More on that later....
Play and Display: ----
As you may recall, I gave previous Skeleflex sets three bonus points here; this time, it gets nothing. Why? Because several key joints don't work.
The biggest problem is in the knee joints. I don't know whether they're the wrong size or misshapen or what, but I can barely get any movement out of them. These are key joints, and it prevents the rest of the figure from striking interesting poses. As it is, they function like hinge joints... when they function at all.
In addition, the head is perpetually pointed down. This is largely due to the fact that there's an action feature. There's a button (well, more like a lever) on the back of the neck. Push it down, and the head rises a bit. Yeah, that's worth a horrible pose. On top of all that, I had some problems getting the top horns to stay in place.
The stinger, on the other hand, is far better. You can fine tune that to your heart's content.
Ultimately, the individual pieces on this are better than the whole. There are plenty of pieces with potential if you've got other Skeleflex sets, and you could probably make something decent using the parts here, but as is, there's not much you can do with this.
The biggest problem is in the knee joints. I don't know whether they're the wrong size or misshapen or what, but I can barely get any movement out of them. These are key joints, and it prevents the rest of the figure from striking interesting poses. As it is, they function like hinge joints... when they function at all.
In addition, the head is perpetually pointed down. This is largely due to the fact that there's an action feature. There's a button (well, more like a lever) on the back of the neck. Push it down, and the head rises a bit. Yeah, that's worth a horrible pose. On top of all that, I had some problems getting the top horns to stay in place.
The stinger, on the other hand, is far better. You can fine tune that to your heart's content.
Ultimately, the individual pieces on this are better than the whole. There are plenty of pieces with potential if you've got other Skeleflex sets, and you could probably make something decent using the parts here, but as is, there's not much you can do with this.
Special Deduction: Broken Peg: -2
Remember those knee joints? Well, I forgot to mention something. When I was first putting this together, I tried to get one of them to work by turning the piece. It didn't go well. Long story short, this Octoattack is now more like Heptattack.
Actually, I kind of prefer that name.
That's the real reason the pictures were taken without his hind legs, by the way. If I'd thought to install those stupid "flex" joints, it might have prevented this, but those are supposed to be optional. Plus, you'd need enough for all the legs.
At least he still has seven legs... OOPS! After I originally wrote this and before it was posted, another peg snapped while I was moving the toy. Six legs. Count down with me!
Actually, I kind of prefer that name.
That's the real reason the pictures were taken without his hind legs, by the way. If I'd thought to install those stupid "flex" joints, it might have prevented this, but those are supposed to be optional. Plus, you'd need enough for all the legs.
At least he still has seven legs... OOPS! After I originally wrote this and before it was posted, another peg snapped while I was moving the toy. Six legs. Count down with me!
Price Tag and Final Analysis: 2/10
Ouch. This wasn't a bad idea, but... they couldn't have tested it? Even without the knee problems, this still isn't much of a toy.
That said, if you already have some Skeleflex sets, this is another pile of pieces. What's it worth, though?
Certainly not the fifteen dollars plus this started out. At six, you're not getting an awful deal, but I'd still hesitate to recommend it.
But I paid a buck ninety at Toys R Us. That's a bit more like it, isn't it? I got that a while ago, and they seem to have climbed back up in price since then - I've been seeing these back at the seven dollar price point. The other sets are definitely worth that kind of money, but you might want to hold off on this one.
That said, if you already have some Skeleflex sets, this is another pile of pieces. What's it worth, though?
Certainly not the fifteen dollars plus this started out. At six, you're not getting an awful deal, but I'd still hesitate to recommend it.
But I paid a buck ninety at Toys R Us. That's a bit more like it, isn't it? I got that a while ago, and they seem to have climbed back up in price since then - I've been seeing these back at the seven dollar price point. The other sets are definitely worth that kind of money, but you might want to hold off on this one.
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