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In late 2006 DST tested the water with limited edition sets of Cylons both modern and classic, and it appeared they had a bit of a hit on their hands.This first wave of Battlestar Galactica (BSG) Minimates arrived in the first quarter of 2007.

Packaging

DST have gone for blister cards with this series and it looks all the better for it. The Battlestar Galactica logo is on a cardboard inset at the top of the blister, while the bottom of the blister features the names of the characters within and the Battlestar Galactica crest in the centre. There’s also a wing detail swooping up the sides. The figures themselves are clearly viewed through the bubble and accessories are also on show. The backing card itself has a space scene as background.

The rear of the card features a nice cartoony type picture of the BSG cast rendered as Minimates, and photos of all the ‘mates in the wave including the variant. It also features more logos than is good for it. There’s the Sci-Fi channel, Universal, Art Asylum, and Diamond Select Toys logos all in the bottom left corner of the card. What with those the CE information and that huge UPC window it’s a wonder there was any room at all for other graphics. Kind of a shame the back of the card is so busy when the front has such an elegant design.

The Figures

Cylon

The bad guys of the show: The Cylons were created by mankind but in time-honoured Frankensteinian (Frankenstienian? Is that even a word?) fashion they turned on their creator. These Cylons are a bit of a departure from the seventies version. They’re a lot more inhuman looking, CGI technology allowing the creators to get away with a computer generated effect rather than a man in a clunky robot suit.

The Cylon bundled with Six is exactly the same as the Cylon Centurion which was made available in late 2006. The Cylon is about as far from a regular Minimate as you can get. The headpiece, chest plate, and arm extensions really disguise the fact that there’s a Minimate body underneath. Only the arms and legs are recognisably Minimate. There’s a very clever crotch piece which slips over the regular Minimate t-piece and extends the torso up, this not only adds height but also makes the Cylon’s mid-section skinnier and less human-like in its appearance. The feet are new pieces cast specifically for the Cylon, and they also add height to the figure while again making it appear less human.

The only difference between this Cylon Centurion and the 2006 version is the indicia which runs down the rear of the figures legs. The usual copyright bumph is there, but is printed in white instead of the black of the 2006 release. The year of manufacture is updated to 2007.

One drawback to the figure is the lack of head articulation, the head can slightly rock from side to side but cannot be turned due to the high shoulders on the chest piece. The arms also have restricted articulation because of the shoulder sculpt.

In conclusion, This is a cool addition to your Battlestar Galactica Minimate collection. It may not look much like a classic minimate but the series would be all the poorer for lacking ‘toasters’.

MMC Score – 8 out of 10

[Editor’s note – Lots more pics available in the review of the Cylon 5-pack! As I’d reviewed them before I felt it was still worthwhile to get another person’s viewpoint of the Cylon in review format.]

Six

Six, like Starbuck, is one of the breakout characters from the re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. I personally poo-pooed the idea of having Cylons that looked humans in the new show. I dismissed it as an opportunity to save money. I’m glad to say I was wrong. All of the human-type Cylons have been a joy to watch, but none more so than model no: Six.

They’ve really tried to capture the likeness of Tricia Helfer with this ‘mate. It’s a good attempt but correctly getting the facial characteristics of a real person is a minefield when it comes to block style figures. Nevertheless it’s recognisably Number Six. They’ve gone for simplicity over detail here, and that I think was the right way to go. As noted in other reviews for this wave the hairpiece has been cast in white plastic and then sprayed the appropriate colour.

Onto the body… What a body! Six plays the femme fatale a lot, so naturally she has to be dressed provocatively. The red dress she wears while on Caprica (in the mini-series) and in Baltar’s head (regular series) has the ability to defy gravity, or so it seems. It must have been a bit of a nightmare for the designers trying to put this very sexy female body on a two inch chunk of square plastic. They’ve done well on the top half, largely due to that impressive cleavage. But the skirt piece on the bottom half throws the look right out the window. It’s the squareness of it. I find it aesthetically jarring, but realistically there’s no other way that DST could get it done. Just in case you were wondering, no, she’s not wearing anything under that skirt. I wasn’t going to look but Danny insisted. “It’s for the good of Minimates Central, the fans need to know!” he screamed, so, I forced myself to look and can confirm that DST have once again made a Minimate party girl. The upper body decoration continues around the sides as a simple strap line that also runs across the back. I’m glad to see DST going that extra mile, but at the same time am a bit disappointed at the lack of definition. There’s a lot of paint bleed on that strap line, something that could, and should have been corrected.

The only other decoration is the strapping for Six’s shoes which goes up over her ankles. Unlike the strap on the torso the strapping is tidy and well applied. Also well considered too. I doubt I’d have even looked at her feet, let alone checked out how her shoes stayed on!

Six has no accessories. As a standard Minimate she has C3 feet, and the peg hole in the head.

In conclusion, as good as it could possibly be, and that’s not negative criticism.

MMC Score – 7 out of 10

Agree? Disagree? Why not vote for yourself below, or comment further over at the Minimate Multiverse MMC Review Forum.

Review and pictures by Stewart Kay

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