Home

Thursday 16 February 2012

Spy Monkey Creations - Armory Series 1

Spy Monkey Creations has come a long way in a short period of time. From a very small outfit that originally brought us the Master Blade of the Empyrean to that same very small outfit which has now recently released their newest creation, Spy Monkey Armory Series 1, they have created a near seamless integration of weapons and accessories for MOTUC. Read on for my musings on Spy Monkey Armory Series 1....




I first heard about Spy Monkey Creations when I found out about the Master Blade of the Empyrean not long after I started collecting MOTUC. They were being created by a forum member named Spymagician who was basically creating the Master Blades by hand on a custom basis.


Not long later, Spy Monkey Creations, compromised of like minded individuals, really took off and they basically haven't looked back. Their products became highly sought after, with some of them selling out on multiple times. They recently closed their store for a short period of time as they reformed their business plan. The outcome? Spy Monkey Armory Series 1



I didn't really know how I was going to attack this review because at it's core this is basically just a bunch of parts for us to use our imagination to run wild with. However, there are some constructs that are marketed by Spy Monkey Creations and already come assembled in the packet so I think that will be the best way for me to start this.

For this initial release of the series 1 armory, the parts come in 5 different colours, referred to as colourways. They are:

Empyrean



Bloodlust



Doppelganger



Venom



Cold Steel



The pictures do not really do justice on how good these look. My favourite colourways are easily the Empyrean and Bloodlust but I have to also give a special mention to the Venom colourway. In all the photos I saw, the Venom set didn't look as good as it did until I had it in hand. That ghoulish green is awesome and you can only really get the full potential of the colour once it is in your hand. The Doppelganger and Cold Steel are my least favourite colourways but that is not to say they are no good and I can still see myself purchasing more of them as time goes by.

All colours feature the same constructs;

Master Blade



Demon Sabre



Falcon Sabre



War Shield



Dominar 



There is also a bunch or various extra pieces, including connector pieces, in each packet to help with builds. These constructs are pretty much just suggestions from Spy Monkey Creations to either keep as is or to just help get you started on more builds. All up there are 40 individual pieces in each packet to help in creating your builds.

Speaking of builds, I didn't know where to start with them at first. It is a little bit daunting to begin with, more so if you look online and see some of the very awesome builds that others have come up with, but if you just make some minor changes to the original constructs then you will soon find yourself coming up with all sorts of crazy ideas, not to mention having a truck load of fun in the process. Just be mindful, these things can chew up so much of your time if you are not careful. They also are pretty hard on the fingers but Brian Stevenson, known as Brian-Man on the forums, from Spy Monkey Creations has stated that he is looking in to creating a tool that could help out.



Spy Monkey Creations will always be fondly remembered for their earlier weapons but  they now seemed to have found their niche with even better weapons for MOTUC while also making them compatible with the Glyos System.



The Glyos System is used by O'nell Design, Callgrim and The Four Horsemen's Outer Space Men.
I have dabbled in a small amount of the Glyos System products, with my favourite being the Callgrim series, but I have found myself being more impressed with these weapons. The fact that they can be combined with anything that features the Glyos System adds so much more value to the set than just being MOTUC weapons.



The guys from Spy Monkey Creations are great and are very interactive within the various online communities and their product speaks volumes for them. I really can't recommend these products enough. Either you are a fan of MOTUC and want cool weapons, or you want to create your own weapons, or you are a fan of the Glyos System. You will not be disappointed with these products. I have made multiple purchases myself and my only wish is that if these sell out then I hope they are made available again so we can make more purchases for our builds when inspiration hits.

All five colourways are still available at the Spy Monkey Creations store for $20 each set so get them while you can. Trust me, you will be happy you did.










7 comments:

  1. those empyrean ones really do look cool but i like the venom ones as well.
    this is some really great 3rd party stuff

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great pics! I love your Trap Jaw build.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As I said above, I really can't recommend these enough. I thank you for checking out my review and I hope it does help you to pull the trigger and buy a set.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How much is a set going for? I would love to buy some, so when the Classics line comes to an end I can custom several figures that didn't make the line..
    Thanks
    Shawn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are $20 a set. It may sound a bit steep but believe me when I say that they certainly are worth it

      Delete
  5. Although I really like the professional way these parts are made in and the nice clear material I have to admit that I do not like them for my MotUC figures. For my taste the possibility to assemble the parts in so many ways makes it too LEGO-y. IMO there are too many holes and plugs. So I liked the old Spymonkey Stuff better. I don't mean that these are bad items. I just think that they don't fit the visuals of MotUC. I hope you understand what I mean :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They can seem like a lot like Lego, especially if you are not familiar with the Glyos System. I still struggle to look past my collector mentality to use my imagination to build other constructs. It does take a little to get used to.

      Delete