Lion-O is a toy that was released in every series of the LJN Toyline and is based on the 80's version ThunderCats series character Lion-O.
Features[]
The toy featured the "Battle-Matic Action" where by pushing the lever on its back down made Lion-O's arm move up and down. The figure also had poseable head, arms, and legs.
The Lion-O figure also had "Light Up Eyes". When the included Power Ring was inserted into the contact point on the figure's back, it made Lion-O's eyes light up. The Power Ring required one AAA Battery to operate. The only other toy in the ThunderCats line which had this feature was the Mumm-Ra figure.
Accessories[]
PVC Snarf figure
Accessories included with the figure were the Sword of Omens, the Claw Shield, and the Power Ring. The Sword was made of red plastic and its blade, hilt, and the Eye of Thundera were painted silver. The Claw Shield was also made of red plastic and it snapped onto the figure's left arm. The Power Ring consisted of a compartment to house the AAA Battery and at one end it had the contact point. The bottom part was ring-shaped so that it could be worn on the finger. Lion-O's Power Ring had the "ThunderCats" insignia sticker on top of it.
Some Series 1 figures also included a free "Energizer" AAA Battery while the Series 2 figure included a PVC Snarf. The PVC Snarf did not have any articulations or features. When LJN released its second wave of ThunderCats toys, a much larger and fully articulated Snarf figure was released as a separate toy.
Variations[]
- There were three common variations of this figure:
- Red Hair & Accessories
- Orange Hair & Accessories
- Maroon Hair & Accessories
Red hair, Maroon hair and Orange Hair Lion-O variants
- A completely different Lion-O figure was released in Series 3 known as the Thunderwings Lion-O. This was not a variation of the Lion-O figure but a separate figure altogether.
- A toy of a Red-Armored Lion-O, wearing "Thunderwings", did appear on some LJN catalogues and Card Backs but was never produced.
- There were quite a few differences between the LJN Lion-O figure and those released by other companies. The Childbro Lion-O's torso had a slightly greenish tint to it and is commonly known among collectors as the "Olive green Lion-O". The Playful and standard Glasslite Lion-Os did not have the light-up eyes feature, but the Deluxe Glasslite Lion-O did have the light-up eyes feature. Also the Glasslite Lion-O's torso was joined by screws instead of glue and so it had three screw holes on its back.
Laser Saber Lion-O[]
LJN also released the Lion-O figure together with the Blue Laser Saber as a deluxe pack similar to the Thunderwings Lion-O. However, this was packed on an Italian LJN card. Only three such deluxe Laser Saber packs were released. The other two were Bengali with the Orange Laser Saber and Mumm-Ra with the Red Laser Saber.
Foreign Market Release[]
The American is considered the standard for comparison. If no notes are added, it confirms it is released, but without information.
- Playful (Argentina) version known differences:
- No light-up eyes feature in the Playful figure.
- Only the blade of the sword was painted silver not the eye and the hilt.
- Some Lion-O figures were packaged with a pvc Snarf, but it is of a different mold design.
- ChildBro (Germany) version known differences:
- Lion-O's torso, arms, and bottom jaw have a slightly greenish tint paint/plastic color and is commonly known among collectors as the "Olive green Lion-O".
Gallery[]
