Utrom

Head Height: 17.5 cm

Articulation: 5 points total - Swivel neck, swivel shoulders, swivel hips.

Colors: Molded dark grey, silver, pink. Painted green-grey, blue, red, white.

Release Data: The Utrom was released in third-quarter 2004 at a price range of US$4.50 to US$6. Although it appears to still be in production, this figure is somewhat uncommon as of December 10, 2004.

Gallery: 7 images.

Author: ExVee

I'll admit right off that I was huge into TMNT back during the first line. I had piles and piles of the figures and vehicles, almost all of which are sitting in storage boxes in the next room even now. And naturally I was also a fan of the cartoon. Some of the characters left strong impressions which last even to today. Yes, I am a Ninja Turtles nostalgiac, and I freely admit it.

And that said, one of the strongest memories the old show left on me was from Krang, the disembodied brain from Dimension X. I have three Krang figures, in fact. The original "Bubble Walker", the big Android Body, and the much later released four and a half inch tall version of the Android Body. So, even though the Utroms aren't *exactly* the same thing, being that they're what Krang was based on, I knew as soon as I found out an Utrom figure existed that I had to have it!

Now a little basic information. Utroms are an alien race of extreme intelligence, vaguely resembling a brain with eyes and a mouth. In the new cartoon, the Utroms became stranded on Earth several hundred years ago. Because the world at the time lacked the technology to allow them to return to their home, they began taking apart their crashed space ship and building humanoid robot bodies for themselves which they could easily disguise and use to move safely among the human population. There's more to the story, but this is all that's important right now.

The Figure, part I

The Robot Body

The robot body sadly follows the traditional articulation forumla Playmates has employed since before I can remember (granted, they did have some exceptions, but the majority of Playmates' homegrown toys follow the "tradition"), with just the so-called major points articulated - The shoulders, the hips, and the neck. Though generally the limbs are molded into somewhat dynamic looking poses to at least give the illusion that the figure can do something. Not so for the Utrom robot body. The limbs are molded in straightened, "at-rest" poses, which entirely are not compatible with the available articulation. Attemping to pose the arms or legs at all is very, very unnatural looking. Basically, if you want the figure to look nice, you can't use what little poseability it was given.

However, while Playmates keeps up their typical weakness, they also hold on to their normal strength, which is sculpting. The design of the robot body is meant to be simple and smooth, to clearly be the product of an advanced race, while still retaining subtle mechical details to reinforce that it's still a robot. The figure maintains this style, with a satisfying balance of smooth surfaces, and a touch of alien appearance. It conveys the image it's intended to right away. ...of course, the empty space in the torso helps too.

The Figure, part II

Squishy Alien Brain!

While still resembling a brain to some extent, the similarity isn't nearly as much as Krang had. Still, the idea is plainly visible. The package advertises the Utrom as being "Sticky-Squishy." This is pretty much accurate, as the Utrom is made of a very soft rubber which deforms easily under pressure, but springs right back to shape. It's coated with something to make it feel a little tacky, like paint that isn't quite dry. This has a purpose aside from trying to make it feel a little gross. When not in its robot body, the Utrom has a small "hovering disc" to get around. The sticky surface of the Utrom lets it cling directly to the disc.

That is about the only advantage I can come up with for it, too. I've had past experiences with coatings of this nature of soft rubber or plastic toys, and they invariably end up caked with dust, muck, and whatever other crud happens to be in the air, or on the carpet or whatever other surface a kid might drop a small part onto by accident. I've even considered going to one of the vending machines in the grocery store and getting a little trinket just for the plastic bubble so I have something clean that I can securely seal the Utrom into.

The sticky aspect doesn't really make a difference when putting the Utrom into the body. The shape is specifically meant to hold its passenger safely, and the Utrom needn't actually stick to any interior surface. Though I'm kinda thinking it should. I have no idea if it's common, but I can't seem to get my Utrom to sit flush with the top of the pelvis, there's always a space between it and the Utrom. Plus, sometimes the Utrom faces off to one side, or even a little bit upward, which is sort of annoying.

Paint And Details

Not much to cover here. I already mentioned the nice sculpting work, details are molded fine and paint work, which is the only thing stopping the whole body from being the same dark grey from optical scanner to lower stabilization extremety, is applied cleanly and evenly. The same goes for the small amount of paint the Utrom itself has.

Closing Remarks

I suppose it's just that I'm spoiled by current toylines with excessive levels of articulation, but this whole thing seems really, really lacking in that area. My want for this figure was based on reasons of nostalgia, and so I'm satisfied. But if somebody wants a toy they can really play with, this comes up about six joints short of having what I consider good, basic play value. Alternately, even though it might have brought production costs up too much, it would have been really neat to have snap on pieces to make the robot body able to replicate the human disguises employed in the show. But then, I guess I just look for a little more in my toys.

Objectively, I have to give the figure an overall rating of Could Have Been Better.

But from a nostalgiac point of view, I can bump it up a notch to Good.

-ExVeeBrawn, 12/10/2004