Incubot Voltron USB

Review by Prometheum5

The wait is finally over. Incubot Productions has been quietly chugging along since the great success of their initial releases of the Series 1 Nekobot USBs and Cyrstal Nekosaur Sofubi, as well as their Think Geek exclusive version of the Stealth Nekobot release. We have been tantalized for months with pictures of a new USB figure of none other than Voltron, Defender of the Universe (AKA Voltron III, or Lion Voltron, or even Go Lion depending on when you grew up)! Through no small feat of licensing, I am sure, the Voltron USB figure was born, and is available now at the Incubot site!

Voltron needs no introduction. Five powerful robot lions piloted by five brave warriors combine to form the ultimate universe-saving warrior, now also the defender of your files! There have been myriad Voltron toys over the years, but Incubot’s USB figure is arguably the most useful. Let’s take a look.

USB Voltron comes in a gorgeous box in the vintage-retro style Incubot has made standard. My Voltron was given to me early to put it through the ringer, and did not come with a box, but the man behind Incubot, Alen Yen, was kind enough to send me the graphic proof for the box so we could see all of the glorious detail.

The box artwork looks awesome, including both licensed art and a great cutaway graphic of our fearless data-protector. The box graphics capture both that funky vintage feel of Voltron and the total bad-ass-ery that was always present when Voltron formed Blazing Sword to finish off an enemy. Of particular note is the inclusion of Voltrons I and II on the side of the box, hopefully a sign of things to come! I could really see the USB separation feature being co-opted to make a really great transformable Albegas.

The actual figure is pure love. Voltron is rendered in a slick blocky style that captures the chunky feel of the robot and hits all the necessary design marks. The sculpt is clean and crisp, with molding that even seems a bit sharper than that of the Nekosaurs, with many more different molded colors than on the Nekos as well.

Voltron features a combination of razor-sharp molded and printed detail that really makes the figure pop. All of the major colors are molded in the rubber, including all of the detail on the face, all of the lion faces, and the shins. The face manages to blend a heroic look with a friendly, blocky aesthetic. The chest emblem, waist detail, extra details on the arm lions, and all of the retracted lion legs are tampo printed on, and the markings are perfectly in register and on-location. Everything about the finish of this figure screams professionalism.

Voltron is made of durable rubber and articulated at the shoulders and neck, just like the Nekos. The wings and ears present some worrisome looking protruding detail for throwing Voltron in your pocket, but I am happy to report that my Voltron has been riding along for two weeks of college already, and is none the worse for it. The ears have plenty of give, but the material seems strong enough that they won’t come off.

Voltron splits apart at the waist, just like the Neko helping me demonstrate. The chest emblem lights up the same red, since the internal 2 GB flash drive guts are the same as in the Nekos.

Everything described above would be enough to make a fantastic homegrown Voltron release, but Incubot did not stop there. Where would Voltron be without his Blazing Sword!? Molded in the same durable soft rubber, Voltron’s Blazing Sword is flexible enough to likely be impervious to pocket damage, but still firm enough to stay true in Voltron’s hand.

The Sword can be held in a more realistic hacking pose, or in the classic front-ways pose that vintage robot toys are always better at. The hilt is even molded to fit right in the lion mouth this way. The Sword can even be held by the foot mouths, for all you sickos out there, as well as by Nekos, since the peg hole is the same size.

USB Voltron can be purchased now at the Incubot site for $29.99. A 2 GB USB drive is not the biggest, but is still useful for moving important documents, and gives you a great excuse to carry around a fantastic little figure of Voltron in your pocket! Any Voltron fan really will not want to miss this.