Here is a line of action figures from the 80's that I always wanted growing up. I immediately fell in love with the animated cartoon and also being a fan of GI Joe I was all into action figures and their cool vehicles.
I'd have to wait a very long time before I acquired my first first (loose) Visionaries figures. Cindarr, one of the Darkling Lords was my first acquisition.
Right off the bat I was surprised that these figures were the same size as the GI Joe A Real American Hero figures. Instead of being 3 3/4" these figures measured in at about 4 inches tall. I don't know why the scale was changed, but this did assure you that you'd be getting new figures and not frankenstein figures using Joe body parts.
The body construction isn't far off from the way the Joe figures are built. They have the same level of articulation, including an o-ring in the waist and swivel joints in the arms. The thumbs on the figures are prone to breaking so be careful when you arm the figure with it's weapons.
I like the detail in the figure's armor, especially on the legs. It appears he has a turtle shell design on his legs. The back of his chest armor has a lot of intricate detail molded into the figure, however without paint apps none of them stand out very well.
The holograms used on these figures are some of the best I've ever seen. However they are prone to wear so when buying these toys be sure to carefully inspect the holograms. As you can see Cindarr's totem hologram is scratched up a bit. This leaves little black marks which detract from the beauty of the holograms.
Cindarr's chest hologram is a gorilla. In the show he uses this power to change himself to a gorilla, whether to travel the diverse terrain or to fight the Spectral Knights. He was given this totem power by Merklin because of his climbing ability and great strength. In the show, he is voiced by non other than Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime).
His magical staff gives him the power of a gobin of some type. He can use to aid himself and the other Darkling Lords in battle.
In addition to the magical staff, Cindarr comes with a gold colored club or mace. It's rather small and top heavy so prepare for it to flop around a bit once you put it in his hands. I will say that I have seen any signs of GPS (Gold Plastic Syndrome) on this figure. The frame around his totem hologram, staff and weapon are all cast of that infamous swirly gold plastic.
His helmet is made of a softer plastic that seems to be a bit more pliable. It fits snuggly on Cindarr's head, but not too tight.
Overall I was impressed with my first Visionaries figure. I think they can be fun toys, however this is one of those cases (at least for me) where the animation series trumps the toys. Now if the toys had came with a translucent green (or blue for the Spectral Knights) of the animal on the figure's totem, perhaps that would have added some more play value. As such, I'm limited my Visionaries figures in my collection to be MOC so I can enjoy the beautiful artwork.
