I’m old enough to have been a fan of the original Battlestar Galactica and for the first three seasons of the new series, I thought it was a one of the best sci-fi series of all time. After that it went into the crapper faster than shit through a daggit. I’m not going to go into the tortured mess that the show finished as, but suffice it to say I barely made it to the end, and I shouldn’t have bothered. But none of that really has anything to do with today’s post. The fact of the matter is, I loved the Cylons from the original series, and I really liked the retro-style Cylons that were briefly seen from time to time in the new series.
The packaging is serviceable, but nothing special. Its a bland card with a huge bubble. As big as the figure is, there’s still a fair amount of unused space in the bubble. The Battlestar Galactica logo and the figure’s name are both printed inserts. There’s an embossed sticker on the bubble to show its a TRU exclusive. Nothing terribly exciting about the presentation here.
The retro-style of this figure comes from the use of what is essentially the old style Cylon head from the original series. The body is redesigned to be bulkier and less streamlined than the Centurians from the new series, but still a lot more machine like than the suits of armor used for the original series Cylons. Portions of his arms and legs are little more than robotic framework and he’s got all sorts of exposed hoses and hydraulics. His backpack is a nod back to the original Cylons and I really dig the array of ammo clips he has circling his waist. The result is a retconned predecessor to the new Centurians from a pretty cool mix of old and new, all of which is executed really well through an amazing sculpt.
The Cylon’s articulation is exceptionally well done as it makes not only for great poseability but really accentuates the overall design. The head moves from side to side, the arms feature balljoints in the shoulders, hinged elbows and swivel cuts both right above the elbow and at the wrists. The legs have hinges in the hips, double hinges in the knees to give his legs a chicken-like appearance, and hinges in the ankles. There are simulated functional hydraulics in both his biceps and the back of his lower legs.
The figure comes with only one accessory, an old style machine gun. I’m still kind of iffy on the choice to have the Cylons use conventional firearms in the series, rather than the lasers. I realize it was by design to add more realism to the show, and I suppose its really just a matter of taste. Either way, the machine gun is nicely detailed, but there’s a bit of a disconnect in its design, since it obviously wouldn’t fit any of the ammo clips hanging around the Cylon’s waist. It makes me think he was intended to come with a second, larger weapon.
Mr. Stealth Warrior Cylon cost $13.99, which is a pretty good price considering he’s pretty big and has loads of detail. I’m not one to usually just buy one or two pieces from a figure line, but in this case, I just love the figure’s design so much that I couldn’t resist. Eventually I’d like to pick this guy up in the regular chromed variety as well as the gold version too. Ah, now if only Diamond made some that were to scale with my Doctor Who figures. I guess I’ll just have to settle for a Star Trek crossover.
FigureFan Zero 
Heh. I was also looking for a regular one, but was only able to get hold of a gold command version. Some of the joints on mine are very stiff though, and I’m afraid of breaking something.