ROBOT RO-K

CUBOYDS (STIKFAS)

Back at the turn of the millennium, action figures were getting a bit experimental again.  The concept of building your own figure was definitely one of those experiments, undertaken by a number of different companies, for a number of different products.  Stikfas, a line of 3 1/4-inch figure kits each put together around a general theme or idea, took the collecting world by storm for a couple of years, eventually even getting the attention of Hasbro, who licensed the brand and even used a lot of its elements for their own in-house brand Xevoz, which I looked at late last year.  Stickfas themselves were sold completely unassembled, in straight molded colors, relying on stickers for detailing, but as the line became more successful, the company dabbled in some pre-assembled and pre-painted figures.  One such creation was Cuboyds, which used the same general assembly, but were, as expected, more squared off in nature.  Here’s one of those.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Robot ro-K was released in the third series of Cuboyds, which was a whole series of robots.  That sure is fun!  Cuboyds were a little smaller than Stikfas, so this guy’s about 2 1/2 inches tall, and he’s got 14 points of articulation.  Like Stikfas and Xevoz, Cuboyds were built entirely on ball joints, which makes this guy quite poseable, and capable of all sorts of goofy robot poses.  His body is very blocky and boxy, as was the intended design.  It’s the exact same mold that all of the Cuboyds used, with no deviations or frills.  It’s got its limitations, especially if you catch one of the hard angles up against one of the joints, but I do dig it’s quirky and simple assembly.  The first two series of Cuboyds followed in Stikfas footsteps, providing a set of stickers to put on a blank body.  This series marked a change, with all four figures getting actual, proper painted details.  ro-K is primarily black, with red feet, and his actual detailing is patterned on a classic wind-up robot.  Of the four offered, ro-K’s always felt like the most refined of the details, and there’s actually quite a lot going on.  It works very well with his boxy sculpt, and the application was all pretty solid.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I somehow managed to miss Stickfas in their earliest run.  I was ultimately introduced to them after they’d left Hasbro.  They routinely set-up a table at Baltimore Comic Con, and that was how I got hooked on my first proper set.  I loved that, and, the next year, I wound up going back with a list.  This guy wasn’t on that list, but he was sitting on the table, and I couldn’t say no.  He just really speaks to me, even now, which is probably why, all these years later, he’s the only one of them still in any condition to be reviewed.