The packaging is the same as the kind used for the Sam Flynn figure we looked at a little while ago. The card is pretty generic, but I love the deco and the huge Tron logo on the side. There’s an insert in the bubble that identifies the character. The bubble is pretty big and shows off the figure and his large array of accessories. Once again, there’s a Try Me hole cut out in the bubble so you can reach in and activate Rinzler’s electronic light feature. The back of the card shows a close up of the figure and his accessories and there’s a little blurb about the character, which is understandably vague so as not to contain spoilers.

There’s a good deal of sculpted detail in the figure, but since he’s virtually all black it isn’t all that easy to make it out, except under close inspection. The only paint apps include a few orange circles on his chest and a little bit of orange on his helmet and again on his gloves. Still, the figure is a pretty good match for the character’s design.

Rinzler’s articulation is the same as the Deluxe Sam Flynn figure, with one addition: His head has a ball joint. Obviously neck articulation had to be sacrificed for Sam (and Clu’s) impulse projection tech in the head, but Rinzler doesn’t have that so he can move his head around just fine. Other articulation includes ball joints in the shoulders and hips, swivels in the wrists and ankles, and hinges in the elbows and knees. Most of the expected points are certainly here, although the range of motion in the shoulders seems a tad limited, making it difficult to hold his Katana in both hands.

After looking at the Deluxe Sam figure, Rinzler’s electronics certainly seem sparse by comparison. There’s no impulse projected face and there’s no voice chip. In this case, it’s pretty understandable, though, since Rinzler hardly said anything through the entire film and you didn’t see his face until the very end. I suppose Spin Master could have had the figure make that creepy sound Rinzler made in he film, but it’s not here. What you do get are an array of small orange lights down the front of his torso. The lights are bright enough, but the whole effect is a little underwhelming and for some reason the lights reaked havoc with my shitty old camera.

As the biggest badass warrior on The Grid, RInzler comes with a lot of accessories. He has two identity discs, one of which can clip to his back. He has a fighting staff, a light katana, a set of light-chucks, and two batons, which attach to pegs on either leg. His hands are sculpted so he can hold pretty much any of these items in either hand.

I think Spin Master did a nice job with Rinzler. The sound chip I suggested would have been a nice addition, especially since he feels a little lacking in the electronics department when compared to Sam Flynn. Both figures are at the same price point, and yet there’s a lot less tech involved in this one. Still, he comes with a lot of goodies and the added neck articulation really helps. He’s a fun figure to play around with and he sure does look nice on the shelf.

I can’t say enough good things about the packaging for the Tron: Legacy toys. The logo and art deco on the box captures the movie motif really well, and the window shows off the toy nicely. There’s a hole cut into the window, which allows you to hit the Try Me button and see the lights. The back shows photos of the 3 3/4″ figures in the line and illustrates that the cockpit opens and you can cram one of those figures into here. The packaging isn’t quite so elaborate as the one that houses Sam Flynn’s Lightcycle. You remember, the one I looked at a while ago, with the viewmaster-style gimmick in it? But this one looks just as good and certainly makes use of a better economy of space. The box is sort of collector friendly, although it’s easy to mangle when opening, because I sure did. If these things ever hit clearance, I could see myself buying another just to keep it in the box.

Once out of the package, the toy looks very close to the Lightcycle seen in the movie. It was designed by Kevin Flynn to be the “fastest thing on the grid,” despite its old age. I’m a little iffy on how he can keep this thing as a musem piece, parked in his living room like a common motorcycle, when the rest of the time they summon them forth when they use them and dispell them when finished, but I digress. Besides, I so wanted to see a Tron sequel on the big screen, I was willing to look past a lot of stuff to favor my enjoyment of the film and I’m prepared to do the same here as well. There isn’t a whole lot else to say about the toy. It stands up fine on its own and rolls along really well. It does feel a little small and insubstatial for the price, so, do any of the gimmicks save the day?

Well, the cockpit does open and theoretically you can put a figure in it. I don’t yet own the Kevin Flynn 3 3/4″ figure, but from what I hear he doesn’t fit in the cockpit very well because of his sculpted robe. Sam Flynn, on the other hand, does fit, but you really need to contort and mash him in there if you’re going to get the cockpit to close, and even then he doesn’t look like he’s piloting it, but rather like he was knocked unconcious and stuffed inside. The older Tomy Lightcycles held those figures much better than this one, and they only had five points of articulation.

How about them electronics? Unfortunately, I’m not all that impressed, especially when compared to Sam Flynn’s Lightcycle. First off, there’s no sound, which was pretty disappointing. Couldn’t they have just stuffed the other Lightcycle sound chip into this one? Secondly, the lights are confined to just the small area by the front wheel and it doesn’t stay lit for long. There’s a peg inside the cockpit, which is supposed to activate the lights when you put the figure in, but it’s hard to get him to keep contact with the peg, and even when he does, the lights just flicker on for a little while and go out. Sam Flynn’s Lightcycle lights up when you push it along a surface, this one doesn’t do that either.

If it sounds like I hate this toy, I really don’t. It’s a fine representation of what was in the film and it looks great on display, especially with one of the figures standing next to it. As a toy, however, most of the play gimmicks are iffy or broken, especially compared to how well the Sam Flynn Lightcycle toy performs. I thought both toys were in the same price point, but I could be mistaken. I did pay about ten dollars more for my Sam Flynn Lightcycle, but I think it’s because this one was on sale and pretty deeply discounted at $9.99. By the way, Spin Master, if you repaint this thing a couple three times in red, yellow and blue, I’ll buy all three of them. Just saying, is all.

I love the packaging here, but it’s definitely more nostalgia tugging at my heart strings than anything really super special about the simple blister card. It’s the neon Tron logo and the awesome card art of the lightcycle racing in action that really appeals to me. In fact, I actually considered keeping this thing unopened because I really have no intention of displaying it loose and it would have looked so nice hanging on my wall. Maybe if I get enough of these things, I’ll actually pick up one of those Recognizer collector cases. The package proudly and optimistically boasts this as part of, Series 1, hoping that enough of these things sell to keep the line going. A couple of months ago, I would have doubted it, but with images of the new figures and even the Light Jet toys, I think Spin Masters isn’t going to abandon this property so quickly.

Out of the package, this little lightcycle doesn’t hold too many surprises. It’ s very well sculpted, the paint apps are nice and it rolls along beautifully. The diecast also makes it satisfyingly heavy. Naturally, this is the same sculpt that has been repainted and released as Sam’s Lightcycle and Clu’s Sentry’s Lightcycle. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, you really do need a bunch of these to slam into each other’s imaginary light walls. It also stands up really well on its own.

This tiny little lightcycle costs about four bucks. It’s honestly not that bad, considering the price of some of those little Star Wars Titaniums. This thing is much beefier and heftier then any of those. I don’t know that you absolutely need this in your Tron collection, but if you’re a more casual fan that doesn’t want to invest in the larger Lightcycle and the figures, than you could do worse than picking up some of these to sit amongst your desk toys.

Overall, I like the packaging for this line. Although, I’ll admit it is kind of bizarre with all the meaningless text on the back about warnings and care of the toy. I guess it has a lot to do with the electronics, but honestly, I’ve bought plenty of toys with electronics in the past and I didn’t feel like I was getting a 20-page legal brief printed on the package. Nonetheless, the card displays the Tron logo nicely and the bubble shows off the figure well. There’s a hole cut in the bubble so you can reach a finger in and hit the button under Sam’s left armpit and activate the lights and projection gimmick. That gimmick is a huge part of these figures, so the Try Me feature at least shows Spin Master’s confidence in its ability to sell the toys, and rightly so, I think.

All things considered, I think the sculpt here is well done. Granted, most of the characters in Tron Legacy are wearing fairly bland full body suits, so there isn’t a whole lot of sculpted detail to show off here. Nontheless, there’s some good texturing on the figure and the paint apps show off the light patterns on the extremities, whereas the two translucent strips on the torso are detailed with actual LEDs, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Sam is also a really sturdy figure, with the limbs being cast in heavy, hard rubbery plastic, giving the figure a fair amount of heft. Overall, I think this is a pretty nice looking display piece.

A lot of collectors have made hay over the limited articulation on these Deluxe figures, but I’m not going to be one of them. The most obvious missing points are in the neck and the torso, and we all know why they aren’t there, right? It’s because of the electronic gimmick. And let’s face it, most of the Tron Legacy character designs are basically just dudes in black bodysuits, so I’d much rather have the electronics and sacrifice a little articulation. What is here includes ball joints in the shoulders and hips, swivels in the biceps and wrists, hinges in elbows, and ball joints the knees and ankles. There’s still a good deal of poseability here.

So how’s about them electronics? Well, they consist of the two light up strips running up the figure’s torso and the image projected face. Press the button and the lights come on, Sam’s face flickers on, says something and then flickers off. What’s here works really well and the sound chip is loud and speaks clearly. There are six phrases total, which are:

• My name is Sam Flynn
• Some things are worth the risk
• This is it, come on!
• Where am I? Am I on the grid?
• We gotta work together, it’s the only way!
• I’m not a program!

I think my only complaint with the electronics is that the lights don’t stay on long at all, you have to keep pressing the button. I’m guessing this was done to conserve battery life, but I still would have liked an option like on the Lightcycle where the toy stayed lit a little longer. It’s also worth mentioning that the lights in the torso are about on par with the smaller figure. It looks nice, but I expected some enhancements for the larger, “deluxe” figure.

Sam comes with his Ident Disc, which unlike the 3 3/4″ figures can actually clip onto his back. He also comes with a Lightcycle baton that pegs onto his leg. I really think a figure stand would have been in order here. I mean, if you get a figure stand with the 3 3/4″ figures, doesn’t it seem like we should get one with the so-called “deluxe figures?” Ah, but no such luck.

Sam retails at $14.99, which I think is a pretty fair deal, considering right across the aisle (at TRU anyway), Mattel is hawking their Green Lantern Classics for $17.99. Granted, a lot more sculpting, paint apps, and articulation go into those Mattel figures, but then they don’t have LED’s, voice chips and batteries, so I don’t think there’s a lot of room to quibble on the price here. In the end, Spin Master tried something new and innovative with these figures and I think it worked and I’m anxious to take a look at how it played out on the other “deluxe” figures later on in the week.

Ok, I’ll get the worst thing about Sam out of the way first… I hate his head. I have no idea what the bulbous plastic shield is all about over his head, but I haven’t seen him wearing that in any of the film clips. I’ll write that off to not seeing the movie yet, but I really wish it came off. I mean, I’ve spent time trying to pry it off the goddamn figure. I hate the way it looks and the way it distorts the head sculpt underneith. There’s also a horrible bit of paint slop right on the front of this face shield, which I’m amazed I didn’t notice when I grabbed him off the peg.
The good news is, almost everything else about this figure is quite good. The sculpt seems fine from what I’ve seen in the film clips. Most of the light bars on his suit are executed with paint apps, except for the two middle ones in his torso, which light up when you press the button on his back. I didn’t think this feature would be at all impressive in the small 3 3/4″ figures, but I was wrong. It’s very bright, and very cool looking.

The figure comes with three accessories. He has a figure stand, a Lightcycle baton, and his Ident Disc. The figure stand is a nice bonus and is designed to look similar to the Ident Disc. The Lightcycle baton is just a small plastic rod that is supposed to clip onto his leg, but my baton is so warped it won’t go on. I’m not going to fault Spin Master on this one since the piece is required to be so ridculously small. The Ident Disc is decent and he can hold it fine in either or both hands, but sadly it can’t be clipped onto his back. I would have liked the katana that is included with the larger scale figure, but no biggie.

Sam is very well articulated. He has a ball jointed head, which easily pops off (more on that later). His arms have ball jointed shoulders, elbows with hinges and swivels, and swivel wrists. His legs have ball joints in the hips, hinges and swivels in the knees, and hinges and swivels in the ankles. There’s no articulation in his torso, but that’s obviously because of the lighting effects. So, yeah, his articulation is fine.

Ultimately, Sam’s head is the only issue I have with this figure, and part of that is just quality control on my particular figure, which I should have noticed before I bought him. Silly me, when I buy a brand new toy, I expect it to be perfect. But with solid articulation and a great lighting effect, I would have no qualms about picking up the rest of the figures in this line.

On to the lightcycle. The packaging on this piece is really nice and at the risk of repeating myself, I love seeing the neon Tron logo branded on a toy package again. The box is far bigger than it needs to be, but that’s in order to accomodate a viewmaster-type hologram gimmick. It was almost cool enough to get me to keep the package, but the jagged edges made it too frustrating for me to open it carefully and I wound up shredding it to pieces to get at my toy. But seriously, look at the picture and realize that everything in the package is in that little window area, which only takes up like 30 percent of the entire package. Why am I going on about this? I don’t know. Spin Master either really cares about presentation or isn’t very savvy when it comes to curtailing production costs.

One of the confusing things about this toy is the figure. It looks like it’s sculpted onto the Lightcycle and yet the package proclaims that the Cycle works with the 3 3/4″ Core Figures. The answer is that the figure on the Cycle is a pre-posed stand-in, which is a really nice bonus, because you don’t really have to buy the separate Sam figure if you aren’t commiting yourself to the line and just want the Lightcycle. The figure doesn’t have the same sculpted details or paint apps as the carded figure, but he looks fine on the Cycle. He also has the Cycle helmet head that you’ll need to swap out with your Core Sam Flynn if you want to put him on the vehicle.

The Cycle itself is really awesome. I love the new design and the toy captures it perfectly. It features three articulated airbrakes on the back and it rolls along nicely and turns the little engine piece in the center of the bike as it rolls. The figure is tough to get out, but once you do, you can pop off his head and swap it with your Sam Flynn head and than put him on the bike for an even better looking setup. Like I said earlier, it’s not necessary to display the piece, but the Core figure does look marginally better on the bike than the included figure. Plus it gives me an opportunity to get rid of my Sam figure’s shitty head.

The lighting and sound effects on the Cycle are extremely well done. The lighting is around the edge of both wheels and the center engine window. You can activate the lights and sound by pressing in the button on the side, or by rolling it along a smooth surface. I believe the design of the cycle is supposed to activate the Core figure’s lights when you plug him in, but this feature doesn’t really work well, but that’s ok, since his chest lights are hard to see when he’s on the Lightcycle anyway.

I picked up the Sam figure for $7.99 and the Lightcycle was $19.99. I think both are pretty fairly priced. Eight bucks is about what most 3 3/4″ figures sell for these days, and these have added lights, so it’s hard to complain about the cost of the figures. The fact that the Lightcycle comes with a stand-in figure and excellent lights and sound also makes it seem like a pretty good deal, especially with the flashy presentation of the packaging. Ultimately, I was concerned about the quality control of these toys, but now that I have them, I’m overall pretty impressed, Sam Flynn’s head notwithstanding. I’ll definitely be picking up some more toys in this line. I’m really hoping this line sells well enough to produce another wave of figures so I can get my hands on Olivia Wilde more great Tron figures!