Cyclops (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Ray Harryhausen Film Library by X-Plus)

If you’ve read my reviews on the Dinosaur Toy Blog, it should come as no surprise to our burgeoning readership that I am a fan of old monster movies and practical special effects. And if you’re a fan of those things too then you’re likely a fan of Ray Harryhausen. Moreso than any other special effects artist, Ray Harryhausen’s movies are still watched not for their writing or characters but for his special effects, and those films endure solely because of his work on them. In the world of cinema there aren’t too many examples of a special effects artist getting top billing like Harryhausen continues to do. For example, I’ve watched The Valley of Gwangi dozens of times throughout my life, and adopted the name as my online handle, but I would struggle to list off the human characters, and these days if his creations aren’t on screen I’m likely looking at my phone. But once those clay dinosaurs thunder onto the screen, I’m glued to it. That said, some movies are better than others, and one of my personal favorites is 1958’s The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad.

Today we’re looking at the X-Plus figure of one of the film’s cyclopes, in my mind the best cyclopes ever put to screen and some of Harryhausen’s most iconic creations. In the film, Sinbad and crew travel to the aptly named island of Colossa, which is inhabited by these beasts, along with other mythological monsters. Cyclopes are one-eyed giants that have their origins in Greek mythology, and it’s thought by some that elephant skulls gave rise to the cyclops myth, with the large central nasal opening being misinterpreted as a giant eye socket.  

The cyclops we’re looking at today is a soft vinyl figure produced in 2001 and sculpted by Yukimune Atari for the Ray Harryhausen Film Library series by X-Plus. He stands 8” (20.32 cm) tall. The cyclopes in the film stand 38-45’ (11-13 meters) tall which puts the figure at about 1/57-1/67 in scale.

The figure comes with 9 points of articulation. His head can swivel about at the neck and the jaw can open and close. His arms can rotate around at the shoulders, his body can rotate at the hips, and his legs can rotate at the hips and ankles. None of this articulation is particularly useful and this isn’t really what I would consider an action figure. The articulated bits are stiff on my copy, and I don’t mess with them much. Messing with the legs too much makes the figure less stable but once in the right position it’s quite sturdy.

As a static model of a cyclops the figure is fantastic though, and it looks like Harryhausen himself could have sculpted it. The skin is warty, cracked, and heavily wrinkled while the fur on his goat-like legs appears matted and thick. Cyclopes aren’t traditionally depicted as having satyr-like legs, but Harryhausen gave them to his cyclops so that audiences wouldn’t think his stop-motion creation was a man in a costume.

His musculature is nicely defined with noticeable pectorals and abdominal muscles and bulging veins can be seen on his arms and three-fingered hands. Finer details include grooves etched into his horn, fingernails, and hooves. On his face we get a furrowed brow, pointed ears, and sagging jowls on a heavy-set jaw. The teeth and tongue within his mouth are nicely defined. He looks every bit as menacing as his onscreen counterpart. A row of bumps runs down his thick wrinkled neck, and down his back.

The body above his waist is painted a sickly tan color with darker orangish highlights accentuating his musculature and deeper skin folds. The legs are dark brown with a lighter brown wash that adds the illusion of depth to his fur.  The hooves are also dark brown, and the horn and fingernails are tan. The eye is white with a brown iris and black pupil. The inside of the mouth is pink, and the teeth are white.

When it comes to monster figures, I’m a very casual collector. Actually, I wouldn’t consider myself a monster collector at all. This figure was gifted to me years ago by my brother-in-law. Although I’m not a monster collector the X-Plus cyclops is one of my most prized figures. If you’re a fan of movie monsters and Ray Harryhausen in particular, it’s a must-have piece. That it’s now pushing 25 years old and looks this good is a testament to its quality and to X-Plus as a company. This figure is no longer in production but is widely available on eBay for about $100, give or take. Highly recommended!