Since the 2013 debut, the Noboto [FOTD #695] mold has been released in a variety of colorways ranging from transparent to pale to heavily painted - but few were as painted as this Protoclone Marezioc Guard. I ordered this one on a lark because Onell Design is phasing out one of the two heads and also because it had bonkers paint. The paint job is impressive but what was a real surprise were numerous bonus accessories. Grey blasters from Cyclops and a grey staff from Gemini (of The Outer Space Men fame) were included in the baggie, which helps make up the $14 price tag. (Previous Noboto toys were a bit cheaper.)
The default build is basically an armored-up version of the classic figure using the Clone head. A vest/armor (or "scarf") was added, as are new pieces to cover the wrists and ankles to give it a completely different look. If you don't like that look, alternate arms and legs are also present in the packet to do whatever you want. The figure is molded in a gorgeous green color and adds grey accents plus some swell red bits on the body. Black, white, and red were added to the eyes on a bone and/or green head - depending on which one you go with for your displays.
The armor makes the figure a little tougher to pose in spots, but it's fundamentally the same skeleton as before. The unique shoulders allow the arms to swing out to the sides a bit, and it's still a really clever way to build out the figure. The head rotates with no obstructions and you should have no problems with any part other than, maybe, the wrists. So much wonderful detail was packed in here that you might not even realize the figure has a removable belt. Why? I have no idea, but it does, and it's a nice little extra element to bring it some more customization options. You can swap it with other belts. Maybe some have special powers. (Maybe not. But that's the story gimmick behind Titans Return toys that they're not really incorporating into the marketing.)
Depending on the figure, I see an abundance of extra gear as a pet peeve or as a radical bonus. This is sort of a bit of both. I like having the extra parts - the drop also included Glyarmor and Vareryx heads as a freebie bonus - but the figure's hands cant; make great use of the Outer Space Men weapons due to a size issue. It's a wonderful bonus for those of us who collect everything, but all of these extra parts are best used elsewhere. You can't use the backpack and the armor at the same time, either, so prepare thy junk and parts drawers. You might be able to use them with other creations, but the thing is we don't have a heck of a lot of spare hands and feet yet. Maybe we'll get some eventually, until then I'll probably keep the spare limbs in a baggie for safekeeping.
Because of all the parts, paint, and extras, this was an expensive figure. For all six of the hardcore The Outer Space Men collectors left, the bonus parts will no doubt make this a desirable release for fans of that line as well as Onell's own creations. The newfound addition (temporary or otherwise) of the OSM parts to the Onell stable has me incredibly excited for crossovers and new releases - but I'm also spooked because I don't necessarily know which one(s) will include the bonus parts now. Well, here's to more of this craziness, and also the drop following this one - which may have hit by now, I wrote this in advance - will be the final Protoclone head release.
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