Sectaurs Wave 1 (Action Figure) Review

The Nacelle Company continues its impressive roll with an oft-neglected 80s icon, the alien insectoid action figure line, Sectaurs.

No puppets though… yet

When you talk about the biggest toys of the 1980s, there are a few that undoubtably stand out. But past that ‘A’ tier, there are a multitude of toy lines that had solid fanbases, but just weren’t supported enough, or didn’t have any tie-in media to keep kids excited for the next releases. I had more than a few faves in that arena, and they remain some of my favorite brands from that era. One such series of figures remains Sectaurs.

Now, if you don’t know Sectaurs, we’ll go through a brief crash course. More or less though, they’re a race of insect-hybrids from a planet called Symbion. In the fiction, the race of Sectaurs were created by science run amok, leading to the fall of the existing society. In place of that precursor species, arose our pals here, along with a series of monster-sized bugs that they interacted with in much the way we do mammalian life here on Earth.

To that end, there was a series of nice big action figures, which came packed with dog-sized (to them of course) bugs. That’s in addition to an accompanying lineup of really giant bugs that the figures could ride on, and which also featured puppet-like gloves so kids could actually use their hands like the legs of the beasts. If that sounds cool, it was, and it’s one of the reasons why I’m loving what The Nacelle Company is doing.

Nacelle has so far produced a series of excellent figures featuring the likes of RoboForce, with Cowboys of Moo Mesa and Biker Mice from Mars both on the horizon. It’s an initiative that they call the Nacelleverse, which is currently working towards unifying these disparate lines into one cohesive universe. Comics and animated movies are next up for that, and all of the above will eventually include Sectaurs in a big way.

But while that’s all fine and dandy, we’re here to talk toys, and specifically the first wave of the all-new Sectaurs.

Straight from the Shining Realm

The first thing I noticed when I got the Sectaurs figures in-hand was the packaging. While I’m an opener for sure, it’s alway a treat to see a retro-themed toy packed with a nod to the original line. Not that these new figures mimic the originals in that way, but they definitely have the vibe.

Back in the 80s, Sectaurs were packed in boxes with clear plastic windows and hang-card tops. So kind of a hybrid (I sense a theme) between two styles. Nacelle’s versions are packed on big and colorful blister cards, so they’re different, though also have similar colors and imagery.

The front of the cards have the figures displayed (natch’), and also have the names and faction symbols, plus the Sectaurs logo at the top. A nice looking render of the figure included is splashed across the otherwise stark cardback, along with cross-sell images, an impressive amount of story and character background, and an interesting little “proof of purchase”.

It pretty clearly looks as though this is to be clipped, and it even has a point value. Though to what end you might do said clipping, I have no idea.

Sectaurs… Origins?

I’m sure most toy fans out there know all about Masters of the Universe Origins. Mattel’s now well-trod line apes the original look and feel of the classics, while adding in lots of articulation. And if that scratches an itch for you, well then you’re going to love The Nacelle Company’s Sectaurs. First things first though, because these look almost exactly like the vintage figs.

It was beyond cool to be opening up one of these, and being smacked with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Mine are packed away, so while I’m not 100% certain, both Prince Dargon and Stellara look to be just about the same scale as the originals. That’s specifically cool in the case of Stellara, since the classic line folded before she could be produced. So if you have a collection of the older offerings, then you might want to grab her even if you’re not planning on getting into Nacelleverse stuff.

Getting back to the figures in general though, both have terrific metallic paint jobs on their armor, and nice clean applications throughout. As you can see, they also vastly improve on what’s come before. For one thing, their heads aren’t squishy (I count that as a plus), and for another they have much more in the realm of articulation.

While the original figures had more or less five points of articulation, Nacelle’s Sectaurs have double-jointed knees and elbows, rotation at the hands, and movement (not a ton) at the ankles. That’s in addition to some tight ball joints at the hips and shoulders, and rotation at the head. Yeah, that’s the only bummer, as the figures maintain the original line’s non-ball-jointed heads. so they can look back and forth, but not up and down. You’ll also note that there’s no waist articulation, though even so I still like the level of motion that these Sectaurs are capable of.

I hope it comes across in the pictures, but these figures are real knockouts. They have such a great, vintage feel to them, and the little modern niceties like the better-jointed elbows and knees allow for some great dynamic poses and a sharp updating.

Arming for battle

Along with the upgrades for the figures themselves, The Nacelle Company’s Sectaurs also come packing. Both figures include a full slate of accessories, plus on-figure storage for a decent amount of it. That’s something of a ‘thing’ for me, so I really dig that the straps with holsters were brought across.

Now, I will add here that these straps don’t seem all that removable. They do look like they can be taken off, but when I tried to do so with either figure, I got a little nervous that I was going to break them. So if you’re looking for them to just pop off, don’t.

Stellara, Symbion’s toughest warrior, comes with her shotgun, a dagger, and a small shield. As mentioned, all of that (except the shield) can be stored on her bandolier. There’s a very Ash-like sheath for the shotty on her back, plus a holster for the dagger.

On the flip side, Prince Dargon comes with a sword to go along with his shield, and twin pistols. The pistols both have holsters and the sword… doesn’t. So basically, Dargon can go into action in melee form, but he’s gotta ditch that hardware if he wants to draw down on the bad guys. In fairness to Nacelle though, I’m pretty sure that the classic figure had exactly the same setup. So I’m going to with this likely a case of wanting to keep things as close to those original toys as possible.

Overall

The Nacelle Company is pretty clearly one of my favorite toy companies right now. Yes, there’s a much bigger picture in respects to what they’re doing, but on its face Nacelle is just making awesome new versions of classic figures that have been ‘out of print’ for decades. The Sectaurs wave is right there with the company’s other stuff, and if you’re a fan the property, they’re pretty darn great.

Personally, I’m hoping they make more sooner than later… and also eagerly awaiting Nacelle’s revival of Power Lords. That too.

Wave 1 of the Sectaurs action figures was provided by The Nacelle Company for this review

Sectaurs, wave 1
Release date: Out now
Manufacturer: The Nacelle Company
MSRP: $39.99 USD each