This is the worst figure of the line. I had the most trouble posing it. I find it difficult to figure out whether it is male or female. The hand won't properly hold the handle bars. They also did not include any foot rests on this one. The paint job is the sloppiest on this one but that might match a story along the lines of this character being a veteran cyclist but there is no bio card included unlike figures seen in series 14 and previous. This figure is overly articulated. The fin accessories on back will not hold a form. I was forced to apply superglue in order for them to hold form. This figure is the most human looking and thus the chin articulation sticks out the most. I think they should have gone ahead and made them all robots so it didn't look odd. And one final disappointment was the face mask was suppose to lift up but it only bends over poorly.

This is my favorite figure out of the bunch. I love the black and orange/gold color scheme almost 'halloween-like". The figure also has an 'anime/phantom of the opera' feel to it. I also like the deadly 'wings' on him as well. The bike itself is the smallest and the the simplest of the 4. That was a good choice for this figure's bike because it shows off his wicked spikes better when he is on the bike. I had no trouble putting this figure on it either.

Surprisingly, Afterburner is my all time favorite of the Nitro Riders. Why? Is it because he looks coolest? No. It’s because I can play with him. I managed to fit his feet into two of the exhaust ports on the figure, and he’s the only one I can get to grab onto the handlebars with ease. His figure is fun to play with when he’s off the bike, and I find that the accessories, although they do still fall off the bike, are few in number and easiest to fit back on. Although the orange color scheme makes me like him less, I find that he reminds me of a masked, metallic angel of the future, and that’s just cool. AB is a must have for anyone who likes to play with their toys.

This figure is actually neat, I thought that Green Vapor would be my second favorite to Eclipse but it is definitely Flash Point. I can think of a small short video to do with this guy. He's a neat little humanoid Robot. I would have made the mask cover his entire face but the half mask is also appealing. The foot rests sculpted as indentations in the body of the bike is quite innovative. The tail pipes attached to his back are kinda pointless but interesting. The only problem with this guy is that his chest piece isn't removable and doesn't rest firmly on the body so I again used my super glue to attach it.

This figure is my 3rd favorite overall. The suit is very detailed and the paint scheme of blue, silver, and black work well. The little shoulder 'pipe' thing is very loose like it should come off but it doesn't which I thought was a little annoying. His face looks like he has been in one too many crashes and also has a weird expression. This bike is the second smallest and simplest. The only problems I have with the bike is that the kickstand never wants to stay in position. Again this was probably to show off the tail-pipe attachments on the figure itself. I didn't have any trouble putting this figure on his bike.

Flashpoint is one of the coolest looking Nitro Riders with the least play value. Set him on his bike and leave him at that and he’s perfect. Touch him and you’re going down Break Street. Among other things, my Flash point has trouble with his head and two or three bike parts. His limbs are flimsy and he doesn’t fit his bike well. I like him the least of all because I can’t play with him, and when I do he ends up being little more than comic relief. Although his face looks really cool and the engines on the bike make for an interesting design he is not fun at all to play with. While the figures for the other bikes are somewhat playable this guy has no potential. The only thing that saves him is his display value.

Has anyone ever played EA's Road Rash series? Road Rash 2 for Sega and Road Rash 64 kick ass. You drive motorcycles at 160+ mph and beat on one another with chains, lead pipes, nightsticks, giant deadly bananas etc. If you crash, you usually fly about three hundred feet, smash your head on the ground, then get right back on your bike and keep going. Not like these guys. If they got hit with a chain, they'd go flying while their bike smashed into about a million pieces. I picked two of these up, Flashpoint and Eclipse 5000, because I wanted to review them. But you know what? I don't like them. Unfortunately, the rating system doesn't really allow me to rate what I feel is wrong with them. For one thing, I couldn't get Flashpoint here on his bike properly to save my life. His joints, while many, are incredibly loose, and his head pops off constantly. The bike is ungainly and looks like it was slapped together in three seconds, despite its high level of detail. Give it a push on the floor and it topples over after a foot; and don't push too hard, because if it hits the wall, all the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put it together again.

Reviewer's Update: After owning the toys for about a week, I've softened on them a bit. Flashpoint here is actually pretty neat. I still can't get him to sit on the bike well, but as a toy he's cool-looking, and of course, since I don't play with my toys there's not much sense in being mad that they're not particularly playable. They look great though. Oh, and regarding Road Rash, if you want to experience what it would be like riding these motorcycles, play the secret "Insanity" level of Road Rash 64. There's special bikes that look almost exactly like the Nitro bikes, and ride at over 300 mph.

Well at first I thought this guy would be my second favorite to Eclipse but the bike turned out horrible. When sculpted the transparent piece on the back of the bike fit more tightly but on the actual product it doesn't fit well and looks out of place. When I positioned him on the bike his head would not stay in a position looking up so I had to adjust it by gluing the center wire to the left wire. Out of the way the head moved fine. This guy is a killer robot, he is extremely well sculpted. And one final problem was the unattached foot rest would not stay on until I superglued it as well.

This one is my least favorite. Standing with the other Riders he looks so plain. As a cyborg it looks fantastic. The detail in the mechanisms is superb. It's just that when you put him with the other figures that have their added armor attachments he just doesn't look as 'cool'. The bike is the biggest of the 4. It is also the ugliest because of the huge back attachment for it. It just looks so awkward and not very streamline. I had no problems putting this figure on his bike.

My second favorite of the Nitro Riders is fun despite the fact that his bike has major integrity problems. I just happen to love the sleek, cool look of his cycle combined with the robotic, deadly, precise feel of the figure. If Green Vapor were more fun to play with, he would be number one on my list. As it stands, I believe he is the coolest looking figure of them all. Features like a plug into his back from the rider and a near melding that takes place between him and his bike when he mounts it is pure fun. However, like all Nitro Riders, it is difficult to get him into the best position on his bike, and more than any other (next to Flash Point) his bike falls apart if you try to play with it.

This is the best of the line. But I wouldn't call him spawn. He does have some qualities of a Spawn but I would much rather have seen him as the center point of a new line. The dread locks looked unattractive at first but once on the bike they look pretty cool. The paint job is spectacular. One minor problem was his head fell of when I removed him from the package but it was easily reattached. The only disappointment was the difficulty in attaching him to the bike. If you are thinking of passing on this line reconsider this one figure.

I guess this is the "Spawn" figure out of the bunch. He is my second favorite of the line. The dreads on this figure at first had me rolling my eyes but they eventually grew on me. The bike is the 2nd larges and my favorite overall. I did have a little trouble getting him on the bike until I noticed that you can pull the side 'flaps' up and slide his feet in.

As a person who plays with his toys, Eclipse 5K is one of the better figures of the Nitro Riders line. His sculpting work is perfect, and the articulation is something I’ve been waiting for a long time. His painting, while neat, is not contrasted enough, and while initially cool, the colors become drab after a while. This figure is really cool and fun to play with, but his bike leaves something to be desired. Although he fits on it rather well, several of the pieces come loose if you try to play with it and the spoke on my front wheel is broken. A fun figure, with a nice to look at bike, displayers take note, for 12.99 this guy’s a bargain. Players beware.

This guy had potential. He could have been a contender. He's basically a cross between a cyberpunk biker and an H.R. Giger painting. Very cool looking. But he won't sit on the bike properly. He won't look up when he's biking - a trait that will probably get him killed at some point. He has dreadlocks...why? I just don't like this line.

Reviewer's Update: Like Flashpoint, I've softened up on these figures. Eclipse here is very cool-looking and the articulation is fantastic.

As you can see I'm all decked out in Biker Gear and I'm VERY impressed with this line but its not for everyone. If you got $60 to spare consider grabbing this line. The line is unfortunately over articulated to the point that the characters don't hold form. I really see some potential in this line if it was explored further as a small 30min cartoon short or best of all a music video featuring the Nitro Rider characters would really be good! I can easily picture Song 2 by Blur with these guys. If you do pick up this set buy a bottle of super glue to go along with it.
Side Note: After having written this I later discovered at FAO Schwartz in Chicago that there has been a second paint application done. The symbols on the sides of the bikes have changed. Damn McFarlane yet again for an early running change. This type of change has been seen in Techno Spawn and Manga Spawn I.

When I first hear about Nitro Riders and the Spawn on bikes idea, I thought it was stupid. Now that I actually own this like I have to say that this is a very cool concept although I wouldn't call it Spawn (but that's a whole diffrent matter). Anyways, this whole like seems to have grabbed a little inspiration from the anime "Akira" which I like. For $13 this line is well worth it's weight in plastic.

As a person who plays with their toys, I found this line MOST disappointing. Based on the information we have from Toy Fair, it appears that series 17, a highly awaited one, is catering only to displayers. So I was anxiously awaiting one of the two playable lines this year, only to find that it’s not. Despite McFarlane’s pitiful attempt, the figures remain for display purposes only. Playing with them is for those with a high imagination and a lot of patience. If a person could only afford one, I would recommend that you get Eclipse 5K to display, or Afterburner to play with. The other two are just too much trouble.

I may be getting a reputation as the Russian judge of our little quartet, but I have to go with Hail and say this line is very disappointing. The figures themselves are pretty neat, and would have been nice as part of some 5" sci-fi figure line; the articulation is pretty awesome (but elbow articulation would have got them a 5 from me). The bikes, while immaculately sculpted and incredibly detailed, are almost entirely nonfunctional. These things just sit there looking good on their kickstands. I should have gone with my gut instinct and avoided this line.

Reviewer's Update: As I said in my Flashpoint review, these figures have grown on me since I first wrote my review, fresh from a half-hour of trying to get the figurs to sit well on their bikes. Now I like 'em - at least a little more than before - and encourage everyone to pick up at least one.