Wren from Sega's Phantasy Star!!! The Phantasy Star RPGs were some of my favorite games ever when I was a kid. I had a Atari, then a NES, and after that a Sega Genesis. I was just floored by the console the first time I saw Sonic being played on the demo TV at Babbages. It blew my mind. I knew I could only have one console and I went with the Genesis. My buddy down the street had a SNES and he introduced me to Final Fantasy. In return, I had the pleasure of showing him Phantasy Star.

I rented Phantasy Star III from a drug store called Pharmore, and I was hooked. I eventually obtained my own copy, followed by a copy of PS II, and I completed both games. I was lucky enough to have the Strategy book for 2, which was a necessity for my age and how difficult the final dungeons were. It was in PS III: Generations of Doom that I was first introduced to the character of Wren, and he quickly became my favorite character. He was an android, he was tough, he used space-age guns, and he even transformed into a vehicle for the party to use. He was just really cool! It was later that I got a glimpse of the new Phantasy Star to be released inside my copy of Game Players magazine that would arrive in the mail each month; Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium!

The new game looked awesome, and I eagerly awaited its release. When it came out, to my dismay, it cost $90! There was no way I could get a copy, but I saved my money and annoyed the clerk at my local used game store, GameCo, a couple times a week until they finally had a copy come in. I reserved it and had my dad take me to pick it up. It was like finding the Holy Grail. The game was everything I wanted it to be and more. I was super excited when Wren was mentioned for the first time, and I was ecstatic when the cut scene with him played and I was able to add him to my party. It was like being reunited with an old friend. And he kicked just as much butt as I remembered! It's only now that I learned that the Wren from 3 and 4 are actually different characters, because as a kid it only made sense that he would be able to appear in the new game because of his extended lifespan as an android. So, to me, they'll always be the same person.

This custom figure was made from an Iron Man I found at a yard sale and the head was from a Ryu whose body I had already used for another custom, also a yard sale find. His head gear was made from fodder and the gun's origin is a mystery. His left hand was replaced with one that could hold the gun properly and also had a trigger finger. The Iron Man had an action feature where when the legs were squeezed he'd turn at the torso and lift his arm. This feature was disabled with a bit of glue to preserve the paint work that was to be done and make him static. After he was built, it got a coat of Duplicolor vinyl and fabric spray paint as primer, followed by head to toe paint done with Vallejo Model Color acrylic, and finally top-coated with Testors Dullcote.

Thanks for checking him out and going down memory lane with me. I know there are some Phantasy Star fans out there, and I hope this figure made your day and brought back some memories of your own. Sega and their Phantasy Star saga will always have a special place in my heart, and I hope this figure helps represent team Sega in the contest. Thanks for looking, reading, and voting. Burst Roc for life! Long live Phantasy Star.