There used to be a pretty steady stream of new versions of this mold, but the Argen MK XVII Electric Revenant continues the line nicely - and slowly. A ton of Buildman figures are out there, but in the last couple of years we've seen new heads introduced and now we're seeing more deluxe versions bundles with Axis Joints right off the bat. During the launch Onell Design also made matching Dark Teal Axis Joints sets alone, plus Swing Joints and Phase Arms. You've got plenty of room to upgrade this figure, and the set has enough extra pieces to keep it interesting as a $12 packet.
This time around, you get 33 pieces. That means you get a full classic Buildman, the new head that came up a couple years back, and a full set of Axis Joints plus that disc which is in there for some reason.
The numerous flavors of the Buildman mold have been in circulation since 2009. Unpainted versions, clear versions, and versions with panel lines were all around as asymmetrical creatures from beyond the stars. Each hand looks different, as do the feet, and the kneecaps. The inimitable sculpting talents of Matt Doughty are on display with lots of round lines and a fairly flat sculpt which encourages customization and lends itself to new paint decoration. I don't doubt the Onell crew could probably keep the same color of figure and do multiple new paint jobs on it, but that could get tedius too. As it is, it's great - ghostly, like some weird alien energy has taken over our pal Argen. Argen appears in the Onell Design comics, and after reading them for over 5 years I don't think there's any way to define him without being somewhat versed on this mythos. He's just this guy, you know?
What's surprising about this figure is how they manage to juice it for new configurations on a regular basis. The original release had two heads, this one has three. If you don't like those, there's also a scarf which he can wear with one of the original heads... and if you don't like that, you can swap it out with almost any other Glyos-compatible noggin. The color won't match, but at least you've got options. A light green paint has been added to his torso, as well as the eyes of each head. Oh, and he can wear most of his spare parts as a backpack. That's a plus.
The base figure is articulated similarly to many of the toys from the 1980s toys which inspired it, but the included Axis Joints add a greater range of motion. The giant plastic spheres on the shoulders and knees are cut in the middle, allowing additional rotation and allowing for fancier poses. Will you ever really need this? Probably not - but it's nice to have. He's easy to pose or seat, so there's really not much to complain about here other than a lack of any weapons in any traditional sense.
While I dig the Argen/Buildman mold, I bought this figure specifically for the color. It looked a lot like the Adventure People X-Ray Man and X-Ray Woman figures from nearly four decades ago, and I hope Onell Design encourages more use of this colorway in other Glyos lines. Specifically The Outer Space Men, should they ever do another round of recolors of Jack Asteroid or Terra Firma. I can dream, right? Until they show up to pal around with Argen, I'm just going to enjoy this one and if you can snag it cheap, you may as well. As Onell Design marches on, we get more releases - some small - but fewer new stories surrounding those toys. Creator commentary has ebbed a bit, we haven't had a new comic since 2013, and the last game was about a year ago. Managing to make an interesting recolor isn't always easy, but when you've got the right inspiration great things come to pass. This is one of my favorite Argen figures, but I've also probably got too many of the darned things now as I never quite expected to amass such a large collection of the stuff. It's fun to play with and neat to appreciate, but I'd be lying if I wasn't sitting here typing this out and wondering "what's next?"
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