These are "Morphlites" which are small, nearly-static-pose figures that have a lighting up feature for some reason. "Morph" means "change" so...what changes with these guys? Nothing. They're smaller than the 'megalite' seen above, but still made by LiteForce/Tech4Kids. The lighting effects here make sense, Shadow has an emerald that glows for Chaos Control like effect, while Silver's glove glows to represent his psychic power. Their eyes also light up. There is a hole in the top of the plastic bubble on the card so you can press down & test out the lighting feature. Their non-lighting arm has 2 positions (up or down) so they're not completely fixed-pose. The bottoms of the feet aren't detailed either. (see photos below, you can't tell in the package) They're 6.99 as shown, at Toys R US in fall season 2012.
https://sonicdistrict.com/merchandise/electronics/2906-shadow-silver-morphlites#sigProId11c907e3b6
As you can see, the morphlite is larger than the 3.5 line Jazwares figure, though they're not articulated. Why are Silver's boots burgundy? All his other details seem right.
To light the figures up, you push down on Silver's head, OR on Shadow's red stripe. It's sort of odd to push a stripe, but it works. You can see how light escapes out of the figures' eyes & plastic seams. The arm posing feature may not always work (This shadow's is loose, it wont stay 'up') The emerald has little dents in it for his fingers so he holds it securely. The battery seems to be NOT REPLACABLE. It's liley a watch type battery in the head, but there are no hatches to access it, & no instructions either.
It's a little wierd in this day to find a toy that you can't replace the battery on....especially since lighting up is the only thing these guys do, it's kind of critical that they be able to keep doing it. The paint problems (shoe bottoms & Silver's uppers) can easily be corrected with a bit of acryllic. The sculpts are actually pretty good here! They balance well/dont tip over all the time, the poses are about as dynamic as one can expect, & the faces are good! Certainly nicer than the "space fighters" who also had a lighting feature. The 6.99 price tag is VERY reasonable, considering that a FreeRiders is over 10 dollars and doesn't even light up. These are in the Sonicgear Personal Collection
Additional Info
- Year: 2012
- Region: America