Metal Defender Black Lion

Review by JoshB

The Metal Defender Black Lion from Playmates Toys and adds the one thing really missing from the previous Legendary Defender toys - die-cast metal. The toy comes in a nice package, with no fuss to remove from the tray aside from a few clear elastic bands. Right out of the package there's no denying that it's beautiful. The torso of the lion is metal, with the rest of the toy being plastic. It's actually an entirely different toy, not just a scaled down version of the larger toy. There are no electronics or shooting gimmicks. The gimmick here is the metal. The wings are the only weak part of the toy as they way they move do not allow you to replicate the proper look of the show. More on this later. The leg articulation is great, with even the toes being movable. The rear hips splay outward but that's more a function of the robot mode. So, to make the torso of the combined robot, first you have to flatten the legs out and flip the tail up. Open the compartments on the shoulders and fold the legs in. Flip open the mouth to reveal the face, and there you go! Here you can see my problem with the wings. They should be flattened but they lack the ability to pivot the 90 degrees necessary. I thought I was missing something but nope, this is how it looks. Odd that they would miss this in the design stage. They even packaged it in such a way that the wings look correct, but they are impossible to attach in this fashion. Overall though I am very excited that we are getting a die-cast Voltron in 2017. I think the Black Lion sets a good foundation for the rest of the toy. Now to find the rest! The Metal Defender Black Lion arrives courtesy of Playmates Toys.