Sonic Action Figures
Toy Island Sonic X Metal Force Figures

There are 4 figures in this line, and it is a repaint of the earlier Space Fighters line. These figures are SLIGHTLY different, in that they lack headgear, and some small details, as noted below. The theme to these action figures, is that they are supposedly now wearing "Metallic Suits". The fifth figure for Space Fighters was Missile Wrist, the robot, but there is no point in making him metallic, becaue he already was. Therefore, he is not on this line. * This may also have contributed to the scarcity of the Missile Wrist figure.

Sonic Gear Main
Metal Force Action Figure Knuckles Here is Metal Force Knuckles.
As you can see, he still has his light-up emerald rod, and strange armor. ALL the figures are in identical armor. The armor has been painted differently, in all cases. The texture of the armor is also identical. No Metal Force figure has a helmet. Other details are missing, for example Knuckles does not have the orange fin at his hip, and Shadow does not have a fin on his leg back like the Space Fighters one. See the original Knuckles review here to compare.
Here are 2 comparisons, so you can see how each figure's color scheme differs, and how Knuckles looks without his strange helmet. The Metal Force 'space rod' is also a slightly lighter color of plastic, but this does not effect it in any way.
Figure Comparison Metal Force Space Fighters Compare
Pearly Metallic Paint Here is a close-up of his fist. You can see that ALL colors on all metal force figures are 'pearlized' versions, even if it's hard to notice in the photos. Even the red on him has a pearl-tone coat. The golds and silvers are all appropriatly metallic. They DID make an honest effort to reign in overspray, and for the most part it worked.
Metal Force Figure Side Metal Force Knuckles Back Over all, the metallic paint is a nice touch for these figures. It changed their color drastically in some places, and really improved some of the suits. Removing the helmet for Knuckles and Tails was a nice move, as their heads had a good sculpt. Shadow and Sonic...it just reveals that their heads are a poor job.
Metalforce Shadow Turn Around As you can see, the Shadow still has the 'ugly head' but has had his headgear removed. The glove has also had a red stripe added to it. The gold isn't bad for the chest design, though silver would of been more appropriate if they were trying to make the armor resemble him underneath.
This figure can also have mis-painted eyes, where most of the eye is red but the black is just a little speck, and in the wrong place.
Metal Force Tails Turn-Around Shots With the close up of Tails' face, you can see that for this they fixed the terrible 'keyhole eyes' problem that their other figures had. He's now much more normal looking from the front. Metalforce Tails Face Close Up
The figure is done in mostly golds and silver/pearltones making him seem more subdued than the rest. His shoes are the only bit that keep the red. Though his eyes were fixed, the sculpt to his head wasn't really, and from the side you can see the nose is still very snootish. Still, if choosing an armored Tails figure, the Metal Force one would likely be the better bet simply for the fixed eyes.
Metal Force Sonic Turn Arounds Metalforce Sonic is actually much better looking in person. The pearly blue paint they gave him is much better when you own the figure, and is really a good match with the black. However, from the back the white section where his tail comes out does appear like a pair of white underwear.
All turn-arounds in above section provided by: JShedgehog
Metal Force Action Figures Box Here are all of the figures. Sonic gear is not currently affording all the figures, as they are repaints, and can be judged fairly well through looking at the originals, and this box back photo. You can see all the new colors for the new figures.

On this set, Shadow got a raw deal. His suit is not that impressive or different, and without his mask, his badly sculpted and poorly painted face make him an embarrassment to the line. Sonic fares a bit better in the paint department, but is still looking up. Sonic's suit is quite nice in person. Ignore the box back photo, the paint is attractive when you get the figure.

Watch for bent figures on this line!

ALWAYS look your figure over before buying it. This line can have paint spray problems, and there are reports of bent figures, such as Knuckles having a lifted spike, or Shadow having a distorted arm.

All Metal Force Figs Out of Box With this photo, you can get a better look at the metallic paint used on the figures. Tails is done in entirely silver and gold theme, with the only red for his shoes. Shadow is red and glitter-black, but his color scheme isn't much of an improvement. Sonics' dark blue/red is more impressive in person, and makes the figure look a bit less "power rangers" than it's Space Fighters counterpart. Photo by
In all, the metallic paint is a surprisingly nice addition.
Fans were dissapointed that the figures are not all new, but if you missed anyone from Space Fighters, this is a good chance to get someone similar. The metallic paint is a nice touch, and seems well selected and well done. Removing the helmets was a good choice on two, but it really shows the flaws on Sonic and Shadow.

Donate to Sonic Gear!
You can donate these figures to Gear, if you somehow magically have extras. If a figure is donated, it will be reviewed here with full photos.

Toys R Us has Assortment Number 37644 and UPC# 54687-37648 for Metal Force Knuckles. Other figures may have similar numbers. If you ask a clerk to look them up, use this number to help them. (Invalid 2014)

Metal Force All MIB Figures Here are all of the Metal Force figures mint in their box / on their card. You can see the box is quite a bit larger than necisary for each one. Their 'space accessory' or whatever that is...it was never labeled, is packaged beside them. Each item comes apart & fits into the top & bottom of the figure's fist.
The boxes are pretty much the same as the Space Fighters, but now are labeled Metal Force & randomly have the Sonic X logo, as if trying to trick people into somehow thinking that MF was actually a part of the show / a real thing instead of just repaints with really random items packaged in. These figures are rare in 2015, and MOC ones are highly collectible*, even though (and possibly because) the line was super strange. Photo by Max6464

*Why so uncommon?
These were merely repaints of "Space Fighters" and were released right after that line. If you as a kid, or an adult/parent were presented with obvious repaints of a figure set you just bought, even though it made no sense, you likely weren't all eager to buy the same ones again, with the same accessories. So this line didn't do too well.

Metal Force Knuckles Head Error The Knuckles on this line CAN have this problem, likely the bane of MIB collectors. His head isn't snapped down. See how the eye/nose piece is separate from the head top/spikes piece. Here, the head top isn't snapped down all the way, exposing material above his eyewhites and making the figure look strange. This is fix-able though, if you open him, you can push the head top down to snap it into place & the figure is fine.
At right, you can see the Tails with a similar problem. In his case, it's the bottom white part of his face separated away from the top/yellowish. Just like Knuckles, he can be opened & snapped together properly. Photos by Max6464
Box Rub Photo Here is an illustration of "Box Rub" where the package wasn't large enough to accomodate for the box getting squeezed or squished a little in selling/shipping. The figure's nose hits the front of the box, and, if pressed hard enough it wipes the paint off the offending limb and onto the packaging, thus damaging the figure. In this case, it would be fix-able with black paint, but only if the figure was opened....which is against the point of MIB collecting. Photos by Max6464