Nuggit

Of all the Rock Lords people want to talk to me about, Nuggit is top of the list. Easily one of (if not the) most popular, he's instantly recognisable both by his unique robotic design and the fact he's entirely chromed. Just looking at him it's easy to see why people get so excited: despite being the smallest Rock Lord, he's got an awful lot going for him.


It's easy to forget that Rock Lords aren't supposed to be robots (at least not in the cartoon. Bandai publicity would explicitly call them robots!). Nuggit though is one hundred percent robotic.  His face looks amazing, with big red eyes and recesses far back under a flap that opens up. It's a lovely little sculpt with a lot of personality, and the face being half-hidden adds a bit of interest to proceedings (the first series minicomic featured Nuggit heavily, and had him be full of all sorts of hidden gadgets that he didn't know existed!)

There's nothing about Nuggit that isn't charming. He's actually two toned, with his head, arms and inner body being silver, though the tone is so close to the gold it is tricky to tell. I'm a big fan of chromed toys, and Nuggit pulls the look off really well: the bumpy rocky surface really helps to accentuate the chrome effect.

I love his big shoulder pads, his clumpy feet and his classic robot arms! He's got a good range of motion on his arms, though his legs don't move that much. The entire design is really well done and pushes the 'small cute robot' angle with pretty much every aspect of it.

There's an added splash of colour on his back. He has a rocket pack with blue boosters on. The rocket pack is always revealed as a robot, but in a neat twist it automatically folds out when the head flap is raised!

Nuggit comes with his 'Tri-Gun weapon' which (as you may be used to by now) neither has three of anything nor looks remotely like a gun. It clips over his fist so he can wave it about menacingly. In Europe it was released in black, and in the US it was red.

Nuggit's transformation is both satisfying and absolutely terrifying. Satisfying because everything fits together so well in a logical, well-thought out fashion, including the auto-transformation mentioned above. Terrifying because he's made entirely of chromed parts which are just begging to flake at every stiff joint and wrong touch.

His rock mode is really solid as well; probably one of the best in the line and unlike Rock Lords such as Boulder, there's no cheating to achieve a spherical rock by having half the rock swing away. All the panels neatly line up to form a rock that looks great from every angle.

The big negative is, of course, the chrome. Yes it looks amazing, but actually finding a Nuggit that hasn't been damaged by play is extremely hard. As a figure he's relatively common, but pristine Nuggits do not come up for sale often, and if you find one be prepared to pay for it. I'd suggest your best bet is to get one mint on card, as even the most carefully owned Nuggit would have seen some damage. If you were wondering, the plastic colours used under the chrome are yellow and green. Trust me, I've got a lot like that! This also makes it tricky to buy one off ebay, as with a flash, a damaged Nuggit will look very similar to a pristine one.

I don't want to sound too negative. His greatest weakness is also his greatest strength, and if you are lucky enough to find one with good chrome, you'll be the proud owner of one of the best Rock Lords. Just be sure to place him carefully on your shelf and never touch him!