I give this packaging points for being collector friendly. The flaps on the back are just taped on, so all you need to do is cut the tape and you can slide the card out and if you wanted, place it back under the flaps and it looks like you never opened it.

I also have to take points off though, because I just can’t help but feel this packaging is a waste of resources. There’s a good 3, maybe 4 inches of empty space at the bottom of the packaging, and it irks me, to say the least, when toy companies have this wasteful empty space in their packaging. I suppose they made it that big to accommodate the Mumm-Ra figure, and all the packages had to be the same size for shelf space purposes, but still. Even the Mumm-Ra figure had a lot of empty space. So I dunno. I think it’s a neat packaging style, but they could have made it smaller to conserve natural resources.

SCULPT – Tygra is sculpted very accurately to the source material. His armor looks great, and there’s lots of sculpted detail on him, which is nice. Something great about all of these figures is that they each share a 100% unique sculpt, something you don’t see a lot of in toys these days. But it pays off here. He also has his belt, which is a separate piece, around his waist with a holster for his blaster. The head sculpt looks fantastic too. All of the tiger stripes in his hair are actually sculpted in, no doubt as guidelines for the painters. I think Tygra has the best and most accurate sculpt out of any of the modern 6 inch figures so far.

PAINT –  This is another area where I think Tygra exceeds his other 6″ Thundercats brethren (and sistren? I dunno). On the previous figures, they were each molded in this semi-glossy plastic that really made them look too much like toys for my tastes. Tygra here is cast in a more appropriate matte plastic all around, which brings him closer to the prototype and makes him look very nice.

The paint job all around is great, with some minor exceptions. There are a couple of spots on his head where the paint is chipped off. On the bridge of his nose, and in his hair. There’s also a couple of spots on the top of his feet that don’t look as if they were fully painted the green they should be for his armor. You can see some of his flesh tone through it. They’re not huge problems, but they are something to look out for should you have the luxury of getting to choose with Tygra you’re getting.

Something else of note is that, just like with the other figures, all of Tygra’s joint pins are cast in black. While on the others, it really stuck out, on Tygra I don’t see at as much of a distraction. He’s got black stripes, which help blend the pins aesthetically. His left arm has some long black sleeve with armor attached, so the pins fit in just fine. Same goes for his legs. I guess due to Tygra’s design, they just lucked out.

ARTICULATION – Tygra has a ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders, double elbows, ball jointed wrists, mid-torso side-to-side rocker, waist swivel, ball jointed hips, double knees, and rocker ankles with up and down pivot movement.

All of his joints work really well, and most of them have a good range of motion. His neck joint works mostly as a cut joint, and his waist swivel is really limited too. You can only turn his waist maybe 10 degrees left or right, which is strange, because all of the other figures had a really good range of motion on their waist swivel. His mid-torso joint doesn’t let you turn his wait, just rock it side to side, if you feel like posing him his arm held high.

The only two complaints I really have against his articulation are his limited waist swivel, and the lack of a swivel for his ankles. They have a nice rocker motion, and pivot as well, but you can’t really turn his feet. You’d have to turn his entire leg at the hip ball joint.

ACCESSORIES – Tygra comes with two accessories. His signature whip, and his blaster. The blaster fits perfectly in his right hand, but not so much in his left hand, since it’s not sculpted to hold a gun. The blaster fits easily in his holster as well. The whip can be held in either hand, however both hands are sculpted a little too open to really get a grip on it. Any customizer could solve this problem easily, but for the casual collector who just wants to display their figure, this will probably get annoying.

FUN – Tygra is a lot of fun, if for no other reason than he completes the team of the four main Thundercats. I certainly find him the most aesthetically pleasing figure of the bunch, and the most fun to play around with. There’s no denying that he looks good with the other figures, if not just a tad out of place since he’s the most well made out of the bunch as well ha ha. If you like Thundercats, then Tygra is essential to completing the team, and you’ll definitely want him.

OVERALL – Tygra has a great sculpt, with a near perfect paint job. He’s got loads of articulation, though some of it is restricted. He’s got character appropriate accessories, though you might have trouble getting him to hold his whip. Despite the problems though, overall I’d say he’s a really good figure. I had to pay a premium to get mine, and while not everybody will think he’s worth paying that much for, I just couldn’t live without completing the team. If you’re lucky enough to find him in stores, he goes for about $15, which is a much better price on the wallet. All in all, it will depend on the individual, so if you can wait to find him, then I recommend it.

FINAL SCORE: 3.5 / 5

Where to buy:

• EBay, unfortunately, seems to be your best bet at snagging Tygra at any price point.