Yellow Lion

Review by JoshB

While I really enjoyed the reboot of Voltron, dubbed "Legendary Defender", nothing can replace the original. Playmates Toys understands this, and has released a "Voltron 84" collection of classic-styled, combining lions, in the same size and form as the Legendary Defender.

This review sample was provided by Playmates Toys

The toy comes packaged in a basic, but large blister card. There are a rather unnecessary amount of twist ties that need to be removed before you can free the toy from its plastic prison.

The Yellow Lion is surprisingly large and sturdy. Playmates Toys has taken their skill at making durable kid-friendly toys and applied it to something that appeals to the nostalgic adult collector. These toys are a great opportunity to share your love of the classic Voltron with the next generation.

The Yellow Lion is fully poseable, and every joint clicks when moved. The head rotates, the jaw is spring loaded, the legs move at the hips, knees and feet. The tail is flexible hard rubber.

A suitable sitting pose can be achieved, but a bit more articulation in the head would have been nice.

We do get more movement than the red or green due to the necessity for the head to become a foot. The head rotates a bit on a bar inside the head, providing a bit of extra movement.

The Yellow Lion comes with a compliment of weaponry that harkens back to the original toy release. Both the spiked disc and missile launcher click into the holes on the sides of the legs.

The missile is a bit of an illusion. It's molded like it's two separate missiles but it's actually one. The missile fires with a good amount of force.

The blade (Yellow Sword) can be held in the mouth via a tab and slot system. The upper part of the lions mouth has a slot that the weapon can easily tab into.

One nice nod to the original is the moveable cannon on the back of the Yellow Lion.

Overall I am very happy with this modern take on the classic Voltron Yellow Lion, but I can't help feel like there are a few missed opportunities. I feel the design team was torn between honoring the original toy versus depicting the cartoon-accurate version of Voltron. I would have liked to have seen some additional detail, even if it was a sticker sheet with the individual lions numbers. Still, I can't complain. To get a modern, fun, durable representation of such a beloved design that also fully combines at this price point is remarkable in itself.

Thank you again to Playmates Toys for this review sample. Stay tuned for reviews of the other lions in the series.