So as Toy Story 3 was approaching, Disney/Pixar unveiled various new characters and one in
particular caught my eye: The Insectaloid Warrior Twitch!
So does MAN + INSECT indeed equal AWESOME? Read on!
I’ll be looking at the 3 currently available versions of Twitch:
- 6" Twitch Figure
- 3" Deluxe Figurine Set Twitch (Disney Store)
- 2" Buddy Pack Twitch
First let’s take a look at the official CG Model and Bio:
Meet Twitch, the insectaloid warrior, where MAN + INSECT = AWESOME! This sturdy action
figure stands over five inches tall, with more than 15 points of articulation, including ferocious
chomping mandibles. Use his powerful wings and impenetrable exoskeleton to evade capture!
Twitch is meticulously detailed and includes his signature magical battle staff and removable
chest armor. For children ages 4 and up. Other insectaloid figures sold separately.
Sadly, none of these 3 real toy versions have the 15+ points of articulation, meticulous detail or
accessories mentioned in the faux description. But all are fun and each still has its pros and cons.
Paint and Sculpt Detail:
- 6" Twitch Figure – Ironically the largest of the figures has the most basic paint ops.
Simple solid colors with no gradients, airbrushing or iridescence. He wins on sculpt though,
as he has nicely textured arms and eyes as well as nice veining on the wings that really
make them look sharp.
- 3" Deluxe Figurine Set Twitch -Arguably the best paint work here; metallic eyes,
airbrushed antennae, chest detail and staff tip. Downside is the veins on his wings are
painted rather than sculpted. Eyes also lack texture.
- 2" Buddy Pack Twitch – Paintwork is similar to the big buy but the little buddy gets
points for the best iridescent paint on the eyes out of all 3 figures. Sculpt detail is clean and
stylized. Wings are totally smooth with neither painted nor sculpted veins.
Articulation:
- 6" Twitch Figure - Sadly articulation is pretty limited. 7 points: Swivel neck, shoulders,
v-crotch and wings. The articulation is VERY solid however with strong smooth joints firmly
attached.
- 3" Deluxe Figurine Set Twitch – no articulation.
- 2" Buddy Pack Twitch - 3 points: Neck and shoulders. Quite good for such a small figure.
Accessories:
NONE of these figures include removable accessories. This is most disappointing in the case of
the 6" figure as he would really benefit from at least having his magical battle staff if not his removable
chest armor. Both smaller versions have a non-removable staff. The Figurine Set figure has an
on-model staff, while the Buddy Pack figure has a classic mace style staff.
Overall:
All 3 figures are fun in their own right, though none really offer the gimmicks the movie bio touts;
chomping mandibles action feature, 15+ points of articulation or meticulous detail. The 6" figure is a fun,
chunky and solid toy, the Figurine is a nice mini-maquette and the Buddy is just a fun cute little guy.
Much of the appeal of the character for me is that it is clearly a nod to classic action figure lines of
the past. There’s an obvious nod to Masters of the Universe in the body proportions of Twitch, and
the 6" Twitch works rather well with both MOTU and MOTUC:
In terms of size he’s right in the MOTU range:
But his style and detail lets him work fairly well with MOTUC:
Many collectors will no doubt compare Twitch to Sectaurs, but I think Twitch is more a descendant of
one of my favorite obscure vintage toy lines: Multi-Toys Corp’s Bugmen of Insecta from 1983.
All in all I’m pretty excited about this newest addition to Toy Story cast, and whether he’s an
important new character or a bit player, I’m glad to add him in his various incarnations to my collection!
Of course, I’d LOVE to see a full line of Insectaloid Warriors gracing store shelves, but that’s probably not going to happen… But hopefully Mattel will include a version of Twitch in one of the higher end or movie accurate product
categories!
(UPDATE: Based on listings that are/were up on toysrus.com and amazon.com it looks like we’ll be getting at least 3 more versions: a large TS3 Collection version, a smaller articulated movie collection version and a deluxe version with some sort of wing gimmick. If/when I get these, I’ll be sure to update this blog!)
Spy
Reminds me of Parademons.
Who knows, Buzz got his own ‘toon and a whole line dedicated to him and the Space Rangers. Twitch’s buddies could eventually happen, especially with Pixar’s new Vancouver studio making shorts about the characters in the Toy Story and Cars films.
Shame that they just don’t seem to be trying with these toys. When Hasbro had the Toy Story license, they really put out some decent toys. Outside of the Thinkway stuff, it seems like people (namely Mattel) are just slapping the Toy Story name and logo on some junk figures and calling it a day.
The original Thinkway 5 inch figures have better articulation that the current 5 inch Mattel offerings. It irks me to no end, because I like these characters and want to invest in some Toy Story stuff, but these guys are just so bad it’s not worth it. Twitch’s big version seems decent but the lack of a weapon hurts.
I was actually just looking at the upcoming Revoltech Buzz and Woody.
http://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?s=3665d982d7597be99632ee8cb7008762&t=73059
These may be your best bet for well articulated TS guys, if you don’t mind the Revoltech style of joints…
Thanks for the review, J! Cool character. I’m tempted to pick up that 6″ version. Wish he had ball joint shoulders, though! Gah, shouldn’t that just be a given now-a-days?
And, man oh man, I kinda forgot about the Bugmen of Insecta! They are every kind of awesome. That pic is GREAT. Gah, from your blog to eBay for me…
Dan!
Yup, I love those Bugmen! A word of caution though, the ones I have are still intact and displayable but some of the plastic, particularly the yellow parts have discolored and have patchy brown blotches. No tackiness or melting, but just be careful before paying top dollar that the condition on them is worth the asking price!
Sigh. SO CLOSE . . . but yet so far from being on my MOTUC shelf.
Ah! Bugmen of Insecta! I remember seeing them at TRU back in the day. Never had any, though.
As for the MOTU scale with Twitch, it makes you wonder why Mattel didn’t try to sneak in an actual He-Man in the film. I mean, they have Barbie and Ken and all other sorts of Mattel toys.