The packaging here is identical to Sam’s Lightcycle, but it’s been a long time since I looked at that toy, so let’s check out the packaging again. The box gets the least efficient design award as it’s about twice the size it needs to be, but then it gets the fairly cool and innovative packaging award for having a viewmaster like gimmick built right into it. Look inside the eyeholes and you’ll see a 3D image of a couple of Lightcycles battling it out on The Grid. Cool! You’ll also note that somehow this package escaped the ridiculously permanent Ross pricetag sticker that shows up on just about everything I buy there. Not that it mattered in this case, as I shredded the packaging to get at my toy. There’s nothing to see on the back, apart from a hideous wall of tri-lingual warnings and copyright information. I’m getting a little misty thinking this may be the last time I get to see the Tron logo on a toy package, but maybe we’ll get some toys based on the upcoming TV series or next film.

Now, I bought this toy expecting it to be a direct repaint of Sam’s Lightcycle only with orange painted light piping, orange lights, and a slightly retooled driver figure. As it turns out, this is a completely retooled Lightcycle. It still has all the same features, including the spinning engine core when you roll it along, and the articulated air brakes, but there are plenty of differences between the two bikes, which was certainly a welcome surprise. I’ve seen the movie plenty of times, but I never really noticed that they were different.

As with Sam’s Lightcycle, this one comes wtih a mock up 3 3/4″ figure of Clu. It’s a nice little placeholder for collectors who want the Lightcycle but don’t want to spend extra money on the figure. The Clu figure is not articulated, but you can take him off and substitute him for the 3 3/4″ Core Figure if you want to get the full effect. You can also pop the head off this figure and pop it onto the regular Core Clu for the most accurate looking setup. Getting the Clu figure off the Cycle, though, is a chore and a half.

Unfortunately, this thing must have been hanging around the Ross Graveyard for quite a while because the batteries in mine are dead and I haven’t had a chance to replace them. The lighting gimmicks are identical to the other Lightcycle, only with orange tint, so I’ve already got a pretty good idea of what the light effects should look like and if you go back and read my look at the previous toy, you’ll know what to expect.

Any normal and sane fan could probably make do with just the one version, but I could never pass by the Tron displays in the toy aisle without rifling through the stack of Lightcycles hoping to find Clu’s, only to get skunked every time. This thing was just impossible to find.  I’ve got to admit I’m thrilled to finally be able to display the pair of rival Lightcycles together on my shelf. The ten dollar price tag was just the icing on the cake, as I’m not proud to admit, I would have happily paid the original $20 retail price if I had to in order to get this one in my collection.