Does the name Toyfinity ring a bell? It should, because it’s the same company that resurrected those delightfully horrid little creatures called The Mordles, which have infected FFZ from time to time. Toyfinity has also resurrected another toy line from the 80’s called Robo Force. You remember those right? The robots with the bendy arms and suction cups on their bottoms? Well, resurrected perhaps isn’t the right word, they actually re-invented them with an amazing new series of kits inspired by the Glyos build system that allows you to build updated versions of those great 80’s designs or anything else you can think up. If you aren’t hip to the whole Glyos thang, that’s OK, because by the time I’m done talking about Battlestar the Guardian, you’ll have a good idea of what we’re dealing with.

There’s no packaging to speak of, as Battlestar arrives in a plastic baggie just begging to be ripped open. The figure comes assembled, but let’s start from scratch with the pieces. This kit contains 41 pieces, which you see laid out above. It’s enough to build the Battlestar figure and still have some parts left over.

The pieces are molded in black, durable plastic with a limited number of paint hits scattered around some of them. You get some glossy black, for example, on the treads, some silver panels, some red, and a crisp little emblem tampo’ed on one piece. All of the pieces interact with each other using a simple peg and socket system, which allows for a ridiculous number of combinations. The pieces connect very securely, which also means the smaller ones can be a pain (literally) to separate. It helps to have a LEGO tool nearby. Because most of the kits consist of the same basic pieces, this Battlestar kit is unique mainly because of the color scheme, but you can in fact construct any of the basic figures in the line using these pieces. In a sense, and color not withstanding, once you own one kit, you own the power to create any of the figures molds.

Of course, you also have the power to tweak them in any way you like, or just start from scratch and build your own creations. Purchasing different kits not only gives you more pieces to work with, but it also gives you different color pieces to design your own decos. As you can imagine, much like LEGO, Robo Force can become an addicting habit.

How did these guys came up with the idea of combining the old Robo Force franchise with this type of building system? I don’t know, but it was an absolutely brilliant idea. So much so, that I think it’s a crying shame these kits aren’t available for purchase in every Toys R Us across the country. I have to confess, I thought this was a neat idea from the very beginning, but it wasn’t until I had this kit in my hand that I truly realized how much fun it is. The night I got Battlestar, I sat down at my desk and started playing around with the figure, just to see what he was all about. Before long I was pulling him apart, and experimenting. It wasn’t until almost AN HOUR AN A HALF LATER, I realized I had become totally enraptured in this little kit and building all sorts of fun mechanical terrors.

It took me a while to finally get in on these because the initial Robo Force drops were wildly successful and sold out with lightning speed. It’s only recently that Toyfinity has had some kits in regular stock at their store and I was able to get in on the action. Battlestar was my first, but after playing around with him for just a bit, I promptly ordered two more kits. The prices vary depending on the size of the kit and the number of paint apps, but Battlestar the Guardian was only $16.50 and he is indeed still available at the time I’m writing this. I can’t recommend this Robo Force line strongly enough, especially if you’re curious about playing around with this inventive application of the Glyos system.