Sledge Trooper

Since the success of the almighty cool Stikfas, lots of companies have kicked back in response with their own super-articulated figures following the same concept, but none of them have kicked as much ass as Hasbro and their awesome Xevoz line, taking the Stikfas idea to the next level with detail and character alongside the uber-articulation and customisation. In 6" scale, each of the Xevoz figures takes a cool character idea, like a giant killer praying mantic insect or a pirate skeleton, and make it into a cool customisable toy with super-articulation and many many extra parts that you can modify the toy with to your heart's content. Slow, steady, and unbelievably powerful, Sledge Trooper warriors have customized their body upgrades to suit a variety of purposes, which include war, war and more war. As shock troops for the Zyberian heavy infantry division, they take the biggest hits and are constantly upgrading and modifying their bodies for greater battle strength. Sometimes thought to be more machine than man, they fear nothing, and their arsenal of lethal appendages includes both a buzzsaw and plasma cutters (don't ask). Oh, and by the way, don't try ambushing these guys. Their zybernetically enhanced brains and automated weapon systems give them the ability to see in all directions at once and counter incoming attacks. The Sledge Trooper is a Biomecha - simply another name for "cool killer robot." The Sledge Trooper demonstrates all of the coolest stuff about Xevoz. To start with, the detail is perfect in its simplicity; all of the Xevoz are sculpted as if pulled from a 2D cartoon, and they look awesome, detailed with a small colour scheme of about four colors. Because most of the colors are actually the color of the plastic, there's no problems with paint and he looks great. The customisable body is articulated to smithereens, like the Stikfas, with the Sledge Trooper weighing in with at least 14 points of articulation - almost all balljointed. He can really really move! Both posability and playability are excellent, and this is a very durable toy - he's not breaking, even if you drop him from high places. The sheer amount of accessories and customisability (is that even a word?) is what makes the Sledge Trooper really awesome; this Biomecha comes with an attachable chainsaw, power axe, clamps, a creepy human hand thing, a robotic hand, two backpacks, a dual missile launcher (which fires two spring-loaded missiles), two different heads (one with exposed brain!) and lots of little removable armor pieces. You can spend hours just tinkering with his attachments, changing him over and over to get the coolest, most bad-ass robot you can make. Of course, this is only the start - pick up another Xevoz figure, and you can use the parts from that as well to have even more customisation - it kicks ass! Some of the "accessories" are beautifully detailed, but Hasbro has gone a step further and included a little sticker pack, allowing you to design the robot even further with all kinds of stickers! You've got to hand it to them with this toy - the execution is just as genius as the concept. This is a fun, fun toy, and it's inspiration to collect all of the Xevoz. Plus, there's even a little game included with each Xevoz allowing them to "fight," although that's more of an easter egg for me (and probably most collectors), but it's icing on cake that's already very sweet. The toy also features a couple of little brochures with character information and other bits and pieces which are very cool. Overall, the Sledge Trooper is an exceptionally cool figure, the killer robot toy you always wanted, and you can make him however you like! My personal preference has the missile launcher on one hand, the chainsaw on the other with the skinny head and backpack - I call him "Buzzsaw" and he stands alongside Glow in the Dark Monev. Kick ass! -- 12/06/04

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