ne point often mentioned in action-figure discussions in recent years is how detailed they've gotten. In the 1980s and '90s, action figures were over-muscled caricatures of humans with standard articulation that included a rotation at the shoulders, hips and neck. Perhaps the knees and elbows would bend in one plane, perhaps not. Todd McFarlane entered the scene revolutionizing articulation and detail, raising the bar so the level of detail that has become acceptable is very high indeed. Nowadays, each company seems to be falling over itself trying to maintain or improve on this new standard.
Just a few short years ago, Singapore native Ban Yinh Jheow produced a small, highly articulated action figure made up mostly of ball joints and ... absolutely no detail whatever. Stikfas surprised the world, and perhaps even itself, when this figure gained popularity in Asian markets.
Hasbro saw the potential and began marketing the figure to North America, beginning with the very basic Green Alpha Male Military figure. Almost immediately, Stikfas became one of the most desirable action figure collectibles on the market.
One recent product is Mechana, Segmented Robot. Reminiscent of many robots from the history of film, TV and other fiction, Mechana has standard Stikfas ball joints, and plenty of them.
Molded in semi-matte black plastic, Mechana comes in a box as 60 pieces attached to runners just as in a model kit. The pieces snap together without glue, forming a robot that stands about 3.5 inches tall. The arms are formed by spheres, each of which has a hole and a peg. Each peg can fit into any hole, making a strong ball joint.
Mechana's arms can be made up of four ball-jointed segments; this can, of course, be changed to three, two or even a leg. The robot has a barrel-like chest and a featureless helmetlike head. Its hands are incredibly multijointed, with each of three fingers and a thumb completely articulated with multiple ball-jointed digits. Each hand is made of 12 separate pieces and can form a fist, hold things or take on any desired pose.
Packaged with Mechana are enough extra pieces for it to sport a satellite dish, jet packs, sawblade weapon or claw hand. He has a teardrop ray gun. Mechana also comes with a sheet of stickers that can be used to decorate the robot with eyes, chest or leg decorations including a microwave oven, bolts, coffee maker, gears, car stereo. Most bizarre is that Mechana carries with him a small six-piece articulated teddy bear that, for some inexplicable reason, is the robot's companion.
Mechana's parts are compatible with the system, so, by combining it with other sets, just about any creation can be made. With a number of Stikfas figures, a person can create almost anything he or she can imagine.
Reminiscent of Robby the Robot
The first thing anyone will notice about Mechana is that he is made up of black spherical or otherwise rounded parts. This feature is highly reminiscent of Robby the Robot from the film Forbidden Planet. His general shape can be compared to The Iron Giant, with his barrel chest and bulletlike head. With his extended arms, he can also look a little like the automated guardian robots in Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky.
The first thing you must do is strip the parts from the runners. Like building a model kit, this is an arduous exercise and includes removal of little flash remains so that pieces will not have sharp protrusions that ruin the look of this otherwise smooth toy.
Assembly can be arduous as well, as each peg must be snapped into its hole with a fair amount of force. This is good, not bad. It means that each joint is strong and holds a pose very well. Mechana has no problem standing on one foot. One thing that attracted people to the original Military Stikfas is that he is so posable. In fact, he is constructed very like the wooden model that has been used for ages by artists to model human poses.
A large ray gun fits well into the robot's oversized hands. Small holes in the back and one in the center of the chest allow for small accessories to fit: jet tubes, satellite dish, head crest, antenna. You can set him up with jet tubes in his back, a satellite dish in his chest, and an antenna on his head, or you can replace one hand with a claw or a sawblade. When Mechana is combined with other figures, these options increase exponentially.
The stickers can be applied at will, though I prefer the elegance of his undecorated form.
What's truly amazing about Mechana, besides his inexplicable teddy bear, is his hands. Unlike most Stikfas figures, which have a small single-piece C-shaped hand for holding accessories, Mechana's are fully articulated and can be posed to grip just about anything, including his ray gun and teddy bear.
Mechana is not given any kind of backstory, so the teddy bear is anybody's guess.
Other figures in the line include a Samurai, a Dragon with Beta Female Rider, Alpha with motorcycle or jungle cat, Omega Knight with Stallion, Firefighter ... the line is growing fast, and collectors are clambering to get their hands on each one.
Don't miss out.
