Silphymon was the second
"DNA Digivolved" character to be introduced in the
second season of Digimon. He is the result of the combination of
Gatomon and Aquilamon - and YES, I said "HE." Silphymon
is a male, despite the fact that the female Gatomon is part of
him. Silphymon first appeared in "Opposites Attract"
and enjoyed regular appearances throughout the rest of the
series. Silphymon, however, is probably the least popular of the
three DNA Digivolved characters. Bandai of America had no option
to import a Japanese toy in this case, as no Japanese Silphymon
exists, and elected to make their own "triple-changer"
toy in the same way as Paildramon.Silphymon
With Paildramon, I reviewed the toy starting with ExVeemon, despite the fact that it came packaged as Paildramon, but with this one, I'm going to start with Silphymon, because it's easier.
Silphymon is, without doubt, the best of the three modes this toy has, but then, that's not saying much. Like Paildramon, you instantly notice Silphymon's chunkiness and overall size - it seems to be a factor in these American DNA Digivolvers. There's really nothing wrong with the Silphymon mode, except made that the ears are too small. Also, in respect to the toy in general, it has suffered from the same "lazy paint job" problem as Paildramon, but here, it is more noticeable, as Silphymon's big chunky toes should be grey (as shown on the back of the package), not yellow, like the rest of his feet. Silphymon has minimal kibble - only Aquilamon's horns and tail on his back. The biggest gripe is, of course, the giant ugly Gatomon head, which must sit aside in this mode. It's damnably scary, sitting there on it's own with no ears. I think I saw those eyes in "The Omen"…
To transform Silphymon to Aquilamon is a complicated procedure, simply because the instructions included with the toy are incomplete. First, you open Silphymon's forearms and fold his hands inside, then rotate his arms down at the waist. Open his chest, rotate his head in, and pull Aquilamon's head out (so far, this is the same procedure as Paildramon). Bring Aquilamon's horns up from Silphymon's back so they sit on either side of his head, and rotate his torso 180 degrees, then rotate his arms back up. Remove the feathers from under his tail, and insert their pins into the holes on his back. This is as far as the instructions go - if you follow them, you will wind up with THIS.
However, if you look at the
package, you will see from the picture of Aquilamon that there is
a further step you should take - rotate Aquilamon's pelvis
around, and separate the white portion. Slide his legs up, and
rotate the feet around at the ankles, then close the white
portion, bending the legs so he can stand on them. Doing so will
make Aquilamon look like THIS.
This is it as far as official transformation goes, but there is one more thing you can do, as discovered by my friend, Hugh Benn - if you rotate his arms down at the waist, and bend them so the wings are pointing outward, it makes him look MUCH better, as you can see on this page.
Aquilamon
Aquilamon can only be described as looking good if you transform him "unofficially" and bend his arms in the way described above. Otherwise, he looks just plain crap. There's really nothing remarkable to say about Aquilamon - he has very little pose-ability, and little play value, as… well, Aquilamon rather sucks as a character, as well. He's probably the least popular of the four Champion Digimon from the series, too. And again, those unpainted toes are annoying, and the Gatomon head sits staring into your soul with it's dead eyes...
It's hard to detail how you transform from Aquilamon to Gatomon, so, first, let's go back to Silphymon mode. Now, in Silphymon mode, first, you remove the wings, then remove the secondary piece from inside each of them. You rotate his arms back, then transform the legs as you did with Aquilamon. You fold out the third middle toe on each of the feet, and fold the back toe in. Snap the secondary pieces from the wings into the hinges on the side of the pelvis-thing, and rotate the arms so that they fit underneath them (there is a peg on the arms and a hole in the legs to help you do this). Then, clip the two wing pieces together, one over the other, and insert them into the hole on Aquilamon's tail. Then, you take the scary disembodied Gatomon head and open it, removing the tail from inside and folding her ears out. Insert the tail into the hole in the back of the wings which now make her butt, and snap the head over Silphymon's torso and head (lining the pegs inside it up with the holes on Silphymon's chest).
Gatomon…
I'm BLIIIIIND!!
This "Gatomon" mode is one of the worst things EVER. And not just when it comes to toys. It's utterly hideous - it's loose, with limbs slipping in and out, and panels falling off all the time. The front legs are yellow, and do not even come close to passing as Gatomon's claw gloves (the unpainted toes!). It's just ugly.
UGLY!!
Also, Gatomon has her Tail Ring in this toy, which is incorrect for the second series. She cannot be posed in any way, and has absolutely no play value. Ugh, I just can't go on about how HORRIBLE this mode is.
Overall
It's a bit tricky to rate Silphymon. The Silphymon mode is fine, the Aquilamon mode is passable, but the Gatomon mode could only have been spawned by the gnarled, hairy testicles of Satan himself. The very idea of making a Silphymon triple-changer was misguided, as the character is NOT a visual fusion of the two who combine to make him, the way Paildramon is. Kids - don't buy this toy. Parents - don't buy this toy for your kids, as they will hate you for life.
Rating: 1 out of 5