Pulse Pheyden (clear pink/clear purple) and Empire Exellis (black and white solid).

Announced at the New York Comic Con, and available now at the Onell Design Store, Pulse Pheyden (clear pink/clear purple) and Empire Exellis (black and white solid).

The latest round of Pheyden variations have arrived! Onell Design announces the release of three new Pheyden colorways from the Glyos System Series: Andromeda Pheyden (orange/clear orange/green glow), Eclipse Pheyden (black/white) and Cosmic Wave Pheyden (clear blue/clear).

ACTON, MA, March 16, 2008 – The latest round of Pheyden variations have arrived! Onell Design announces the release of three new Pheyden colorways from the Glyos System Series:

Andromeda Pheyden (orange/clear orange/green glow)

Eclipse Pheyden (black/white)

Cosmic Wave Pheyden (clear blue/clear)

These figures are a bit more limited than the regular releases, with Andromeda Pheyden being the least produced of the bunch. They are available online at www.onelldesign.com for $8 each. Look for more new colorways to drop in April.

About Onell Design:

Onell Design, a small independent company owned and operated by a husband and wife team, is dedicated to producing original toys and comics. All products are created in limited runs to ensure collectability, paving the way for innovative new projects. The Glyos System Series is the brainchild of Matt Doughty, founder of Onell Design, who is responsible for the conceptual artwork, character design, sculpting, and figure packaging. Onell Design also produces several original comics, including Gear’s Edge, Rechlen and Aves, MicroShow and Sidrick.

nell Design announces the newest addition to the Glyos System Series toy line: The Crayboth. Harkening from the Sporian Planet Alcray, these creatures use their energy-disrupting abilities and advanced psychic communication to protect themselves from off world invaders.

New Figures from Onell Design’s Glyos System Series

ACTON, MA, February 9, 2008 – Onell Design announces the newest addition to the Glyos System Series toy line: The Crayboth. Harkening from the Sporian Planet Alcray, these creatures use their energy-disrupting abilities and advanced psychic communication to protect themselves from off world invaders.

Each figure stands 1.5” tall and has four points of articulation. All parts are fully interchangeable with the Glyos System Series figures. The Crayboth have the same high-quality, super-durable PVC construction that the Onell Design figures are known for. These figures are available in ten different color styles, from solid and clear to glow-in-the-dark.

The Crayboth come packaged in five different 2-packs, featuring a double window box design, mini catalog and collector card. The 2-packs retail for $8 each.

In addition to the new Crayboth figures, Pheyden and Exellis have also been re-released in all new colorways. Six new styles are now available, three for Pheyden and three for Exellis. More styles will roll out in late March. These figures now retail for $8 at www.onelldesign.com.

About Onell Design:

Onell Design, a small independent company owned and operated by a husband and wife team, is dedicated to producing original toys and comics. All products are created in limited runs to ensure collectability, paving the way for innovative new projects. The Glyos System Series is the brainchild of Matt Doughty, founder of Onell Design, who is responsible for the conceptual artwork, character design, sculpting, and figure packaging. Onell Design also produces several original comics, including Gear’s Edge, Rechlen and Aves, MicroShow and Sidrick.

The companion piece to Onell Design's Pheyden action figure,

When these first came out I was so caught up in the commotion that I reviewed Pheyden and completely forgot about Exellis. Now that these have been out for a while I can now talk a bit more about these awesome figures.

Prototype Sincroid Exellis is the companion piece to Onell Design's Pheyden action figure. They are the brainchild of Matt Doughty who just happens to live minutes from my house. I suppose that it was inevitable that we should meet, and we've managed to develop a great friendship. I try not to let that friendship cloud my impression of his figures, but i have to say that seeing this whole process come to fruition is pretty amazing.

Exellis is an articulated action figure that is meant to be played with. He's 2.75 inches tall, has 12 points of articulation, and comes in three different color variations.

Standard

Hyper

Aves

The toys come in a cool little window box that has a small sticker denoting what figure is inside. The boxes aren't even taped shut, as Matt just wants people to play with them. They are sturdy and meant to survive in a kids pocket. I have a few on my desk and I fiddle with them all the time.

One of the great things about these toys is that they are all interchangeable. You can mix and match parts form each one to create unique color schemes. You can even create new massive toys if you have many of them at your disposal.

There's even a whole crazy backstory behind these guys that they chronicle over at the Glyos Transmission Blog. You can get a good idea of what kind of creations you can come up with from some of the things they post.

They're just getting ready to release some new figures, and some new colorways of the existing figures, so go grab them while you can.

They have what a lot of the “collector” toys are missing these days, and that is FUN. You can actually play with them.

I have to be up front with you here – this is going to be a biased review. I’ve become good friends with Matt and his crew and I’ve watched these toys come alive through them. It has been an amazing experience, to see someone’s dreams come true.

Pheyden is from a small company in Acton Massachusetts called Onell Design. He is the creation of local artist / toymaker Matt Doughty. Matt has been drawing Pheyden and other characters since he was a kid. He created a comic called Gears Edge, and Pheyden is one of the characters from it.

I won’t admit to knowing a lot about the character. The back of the package describes Pheyden as:

Space Traveler Pheyden – Hailing from the fabled edge of space in the mysterious Glyos System, Space Traveler Pheyden journeys through endless dimensions securing the order of the infinite universe and patching holes in the fabric of time.

What that means, I have no idea.

Each Pheydon comes in a nice window box that is unique to this character. Pheydon comes in three colors – Standard (Blue), Gears Edge (Sepia) and Phase (Green). You can see each figure through the window on front so there is no surprise as to what you are getting. There is also a small sticker on the bottom of the box denoting which figure is inside. The sticker is a nod to the small stickers affixed to vintage Japanese toy boxes to show that the toys were officially licensed. Pheyden rests in a form-fit clear plastic tray, and incuded in the box is a trading card and a small fold out booklet (another nod to vintage Japanese toys, this time the fold out catalogs that came with old Takara toys).

The figure itself is really cool, but I can understand how the aesthetics aren’t for everyone. This is very much an action figure, not some high-end collectable to be locked behind glass. In this age of super-expensive limited run designer vinyls that don’t actually do anything, it is refreshing to handle an artist-created toy that I can fiddle with that wont break the bank. There are no egos or names here – just a cool little figure.

Pheyden is 2.75” tall and has 12 points of articulation. Each joint is a swivel joint that you can actually pop out with a little effort. The idea here was to make it so that any part of any figure in the line can be exchanged with any other figure in the line. Right now there are only two figures out, but in the future this will become a great asset. Other toys designed by Onell share similar connection points (Saucernauts, for example).

What I like about these toys

I like the fact that these are just fun to hold and play around with. I keep a few next to the desk and find myself fiddling with them all the time. The joints are tight and they stay tight. I like the designs a lot, and I specifically love the translucent green one. I like that I don’t have to be afraid to hand these to my kids and worry about them breaking them. I can’t stress it enough – these things are STURDY.

What I don’t like.

I really like the end result of the toy, but there are a few things I would have done differently. For one – I would have liked to have seen 2 closed fists, or an extra one included with the set. I would have also liked for them to have included some sort of weapon. Matt has told me that the hand was designed to hold any standard Star Wars weapon, but still, I’ve seen the weapons these guys make, and they are pretty awesome. Finally, the only other thing that is missing is holes in the feet. All your great action figures have holes in the feet to attach to action figure stands. Why not Phaedon?

You’ve spent $10 on stupider things.

Like I said, I am a little biased, but I think you should check these out. They have what a lot of the “collector” toys are missing these days, and that is FUN. You can actually play with them.

Pheyden (and the other Onell Design figures) are available at http://www.onelldesign.com