When Thundercats was relaunched in 2011, many companies jumped in to produce numerous collectibles for fans. One of those companies was Mezco, who acquired a license to produce 14″ tall figures based on the original Thundercats cartoon. Unfortunately, fan interest in Thundercats simply wasn’t there, and many companies dropped their support for the brand. Companies such as Bandai, Hard Heroes, Pop Culture Shock and Icon Heroes abandoned the brand and let their licenses expire. Mezco, however, continued to press on.
In 2011, when the Thundercats boom began, they released their first figure in Lion-O. Then in 2012, they released Mumm-Ra, a SDCC exclusive Mumm-Ra with Ma-Mutt and then a Panthro. At that point, most fans figured Mezc would drop the line. But at Toy Fair 2013, Mezco revealed a Cheetara figure, and they also had a SDCC exclusive version of Cheetara with Snarf. After that release, Mezco’s Thundercats line seemed to end, and they went silent for a few years. At a Mezco Pre-Toy Fair event in 2015, we were shocked to see flyer announcing a Tygra Mega Scale Figure. After numerous teases and con appearances, Tygra was released earlier this month!
We have over 40 high resolution images and a full review of Tygra. The figure was supplied by sponsor Entertainment Earth.
Releated Entertainment Earth links: Mega Scale Tygra, All Thundercats Items
Mezco Thundercats Mega Scale Tygra
Pros
- Excellent sculpt
- Great paint work
- Bendable Bolo-whip
- Looks great with other releases
Cons
- Articulation is very limited
Overall
Tygra comes packaged in a collector friendly window box. The packaging is the same style as the previous releases, allowing for a consistent display across the line. The figure sits on a plastic tray, held in by a few twist ties. It’s easy enough to remove and place back in the packaging for storage or display.
Like the previous releases, Tygra stands roughly 14″ tall. It’s made of, mostly, thick vinyl. The figure has nine points of articulation, which has been the norm for this line. Tygra can swivel his neck, has ball socket shoulders, rotating wrists, some hip movement and rotating shins. The arm articulatio is more useful, allowign for some great looking dynamic action poses. The leg articulation, on the other hand, doesn’t feel very natural or useful. Once you find leg positions that allow Tygra to stand, there’s little reason to ever adjust them again. It’s not much, by Mezco was going more for an overall cartoon quality look, than a fully articulated action figure. Construction is handled well. There were no issues that jumped out, which isn’t surprising as the use of vinyl helps to ensure joints will remain tight and limits major quality control issues.
The real draw of the figure is the sculpt. It’s what fans have enjoyed about the entire line so far, and the main reason I’ll support these as long as they keep making them. Tygra looks absolutely fantastic in hand. He has a strong likeness to his 80’s cartoon version, much more so than, say, Lion-O. Paint work is top notch as well, with clean lines, bright colors that pop and no noticeable paint bleed.The included bolo-whip is a great display accessory. The entire whip is bendable, allowing for very natural looking poses whether you have Tygra winding his arm back, or standing in a more relaxed pose.
Tygra is right up there with Panthro as the best of the line. The strong sculpt and great paint work more than make up for the limited poseability. The figure looks fantastic when displayed with other Mag Scale Thundercats. If you’ve already invested in the previous Mezco releaases, there’s nothing that should keep you from grabbing Tygra as well.
CompaniesMezcoEntertainment Earth
CharactersTygra