Monthly Archives: November 2024

Action Figure Showdown- SpartanNerd Review of Wal-Torr the Mad and Cosmic Legion T.U.5.C.C Pilot

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It’s Rivalry Week, and in South Carolina, this means CAROLINA vs clemson (not a typo). The Gamecocks are poised to take out the Tigers this year, by a great margin. And oh satisfying will that be! But this blog is a review of toys, so…

I picked up Wal-Torr the Mad on a special sale (the same sale I got the Ogre Scale Accessory Pack). This was an item I had my eye on but waffled…There is a traditional fantasy Mythic Legions version, and then there is this Cosmic Legions space version. So space toy vs. fantasy toy.

Ultimately, after looking at the photos awhile on the internet, I decided the space version was the best, even if it was hideous orange.

But the presentation was adorable…the skull headed spaceman looking at a flower in a setting reminiscent of Mars. It looked like some kind of familiar scene somehow.

And I already have some of the parts in the Mythic Legions version, while the only Cosmic Legion I have is the SSKUR’GE ogre scale figure. So I jumped in…and glad I did.

BUT…that isn’t all of this story, is it? I went to the Toy Federation in Greer, SC one day just for some spontaneous shopping. And behold…they had a copy of this same figure but in a glorious Garnet color scheme. The T.U.5.C.C. Pilot (that is an annoying name to type) is the same basic idea, but instead of being a named character he is an army builder. Army builders are a tad cheaper than “legendary” creatures, so I paid the same price for both of these figures (just from different sources.)

Let’s examine the packages first.

PACKAGING FACE-OFF

Both packages have a nice window box. Wal-Torr’s is more orange nebula, and Pilot’s is more space purple. (So unfortunate colors to have together.)

Both have faction symbols in the top corner, but I don’t know anything about what they mean. You can see the alternate headsculpts easily. One of the big mysteries for me when I first got Wal-Torr was…what really is going on? He has this helmeted alien head, but then he has this human skull. So many questions! But those questions were answered when I saw the alternate head sculpt of the Pilot. Wal-Torr is supposed to be an homage to a real human, and the other is what kind of alien he is. I get it (I guess). I don’t know much about it, but perhaps Walter Hagen is big into skeletons…seems like an awesome guy then! (Walter Hagen is the leader of the Mythic Legions Cabal fan group.)

Wal-Torr’s box features a nice illustration of”hologram” on the bottom. Important that it shows the collar option.
The back of Wal-Tor’s package. Perhaps this is the planet he is on or from.

The back of both boxes feature cross-sell images from the rest of their respective Cosmic Legions wave.

Both have nice art on the side, both with a bit of a Bio.

Wal-Torr’s bio
I really like this graphic.
Can anyone decipher this?
The front of T.U.5.C.C. Pilot’s package. His hologram importantly shows the hoses.
I don’t know what kind of ship he pilots. Is this it in the corner right of the package back?

T.U.5.C.C. Pilot Bio
Outpost Zaxxius information

I actually appreciate some of the vagueness of the bios and packaging. Maybe that’s Wal-Torr’s home planet? Maybe this is the T.U.5.C.C. Pilot’s ship? Who knows. Maybe this is all artistic technobabble. I’m good with that.

There is one new backdrop. Wal-Torr comes with a background that I haven’t had, while T.U.5.C.C. Pilot comes with a smaller version of what SSKUR’GE came with.

This is the backdrop. A space scene. I am showing you a photoshop work screen. It is stretched and there is some “spot healing.” I’ll make it super-usable yet.

One more thing about the packaging. Both contained this message, and also a little tray of pegs. At first I thought “What is this? Ammo?” They CAN stand in for ammo. But the intention is that they be mounting pegs. That they are translucent is a nice bonus…translucent works great in science fiction, right?

Somehow I didn’t get a photo of T.U.S.C.C. Pilot in his blister. But I assure you readers, it was comparable to Wal-Torr’s.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGING?

Let’s start with Wal-Torr

  • Wal-Torr figure in terrible urrnje coloring.
  • Two options for a head (alien helmet and skull)
  • Astronaut Space-Suit helmet, which is a collar and bubble
  • Backpack
  • Sci-Fi rifle
  • Sci-Fi pistol
  • Another piece of gear (can be a couple of different things)
  • Map hologram
  • Translucent pegs (that can be ammo)
  • Back adapters
  • Shield
  • Hose
  • Seven (!) pairs of hands. Notably human hands…

So much here, it takes a few photos to capture it all.

This shield comes apart…you could trade pieces if you had more than one.

What about the T.U.5.C.C. Pilot? (GO GAMECOCKS!)

You get…

  • T.U.S.C.C. Pilot figure in glorious Garnet.
  • Two head sculpt options, both aliens, one helmeted and the other weird and blue unhelmeted.
  • Space collar
  • Armor pieces
  • Backpack parts (you can see that I assembled these together.
  • Sci-Fi Rifle
  • Sci-Fi Pistol
  • Multi-purpose weapons part
  • Map hologram
  • Translucent pegs (that can be ammo)
  • pair of alternate hands, (notably three fingered alien hands)
  • Two hoses

As above, it takes more photos to show it all off.

You can remove the bubble from the helmet to get a better look at the “face” on both figures.

There are a lot of similarities here. They have the same exact guns. Wal-Torr wins the accessory battle because he comes with a shield and all those hands. WOW. I figure that they included all of these because they won’t ever issue them in this color again probably. While the pilot’s hands could go on anyone (being black gloved alien fingers).

BUT…You get a lot of options with T.U.5.C.C. Pilot also. Perhaps making the shoulder wings into a backpack was an unintended use…but it’s my toys…I get to play with them! (Thank you, Rob Base!)

Both have the same sculpt in some ways, but different in others. Pilot has sculpted slacks and upper sleeves, while Wal-Torr’s body is fully armored. Both have the same torso with a fan sculpted on the chest. Pilot’s cover’s his up when wearing that collar. Wal-Torr’s backpack was actually one of the intriguing sculpted elements that caught my attention in pictures. I didn’t realize it was a backpack until I had the figure in hand, however.

The hose with Wal-Torr creates questions. Where is it supposed to go? The two hoses with Pilot seem very purposeful. In the photo above, I only realized right before taking it that there were holes in the collar for it.

Their guns are the same with different colors. And there is that other little piece. Is it a scope sight? Is it a laser for the wrists? Is it a magazine or power supply? I guess it’s up to your imaginination…it can be all of those things.

The hologram is the same for both figures, only Wal-Torr’s is a more pleasing blue shade and Pilot’s is grayish. (If you read enough, you know this must be the five rings of the cosmerium or something like that.)

A big problem with the Wal-Torr figure…that space helmet doesn’t snap on. The collar sits loosely. The bubble snaps on to the collar just fine, but the collar is the problem.

The space helmet fits on Man-At-Arms exactly as good as it does on Wal-Torr. Not great. It looks good on him, though.

BUT…that skull head is a great thing. It is missing a tooth, providing options for me to display other skeleton warriors. And it has an articulated jaw.

This is what the New Eternia Skeletor looks like with the skull swapped out. I prefer Skeletor to have some color in his face, rather than being a boring normal skull. Notice that this head is loose on the MASTERVERSE peg.
Perhaps Black Falcon is telling his carrier pigeon to go poop on Demistros‘ limo!

SHOWDOWN…WHO WILL WIN?!

First of all, you all know I am going to be unbiased…(totally)

T.U.5.C.C. Pilot drops in, ready to spray down Wal-Tor with his awesome garnet ammunition. Wal-Torr makes good use of his shield but can’t rightly aim with his pistol in the face of heavy fire.
Quickly thinking about his high school varsity level sled training, Wal-Torr bucks up with that shield and knocks T.U.5.C.C. Pilot LaNorris Sellers back.
Far outclassing his opponent in physicality and skill, our glorious garnet Gamecock is able to chin-kick the hideously colored Clemson opponent.
The Tigers are done for as Wal-Torr is unable to recover from his nimble opponent’s reverse!

Yep. I say I believe the Cosmic Legions T.U.5.C.C. Pilot is the winner here based on his paint job. Now…It is true I don’t like that Clemson orange, but the details on the Pilot really pop with shiny metallic details. I believe mostly Wal-Torr is molded in orange plastic and then washed with a darker shade, while the Pilot has attention to detail that out does him. Now I believe Wal-Torr has better accessories and more adaptability with that skull head. But the amount of variation you can get from T.U.5.C.C. Pilot is greater. The skull head is kind of puzzling, but the blue alien head is a new sculpt that resolves some of the mystery about who these aliens are. And besides. GO GAMECOCKS.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LEGIONS WAL-TORR THE MAD AND T.U.5.C.C. PILOT

I give both figures a 5/5. Great fun! Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

NOTE: On November 30, 2024, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Clemson Tigers 17-14. My prediction came true!

Mythic Legions Ogre Scale Accessory Pack

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I picked up the Ogre Accessory Set on the same day I ordered a Cosmic Legion (Review next week). It was on sale at Store Horsemen and at $20 I thought this might be a good way to put some more life into my ogre scale figure and even make SSKUR’GE even more like Whiplash from Masters of the Universe…well let’s see how that worked out.

But first you should read my review of Balthor the Tower Ogre, which I purchased loose, and then my review of SSKUR’GE.

PACKAGING

The Mythic Legions Ogre Scale Accessory Pack came in this flat window box, not unlike the Mythic Legions Magic Effects came in. You can see most of the contents very well. I say “most” because the hammerhead is hidden behind the title card.

The back features some artwork of a castle in a volcanic setting surrounded by ogre scale characters. The featured character appears similar to what Balthor the Tower Ogre should look like armed with most of the kit. You can also see a cyclops, which I have seen at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC, and some other big guy. Two or three smaller guys look up from below in fear. It’s a good illustration. The side of the box has some pictures…one is the title and the other features other characters from Mythic Legions, with that bear symbol being a faction. (something like “the noble bear.”

But most impressive is the backing liner of the packaging. We get the same castle from above, but without figures. So anytime I could use a fantasy lava scene or need a quick castle to photograph, the Four Horsemen provided that as a nice bonus to this product.

WHAT IS IN THE BOX?

As you continue to open it, you see it has a blister with a rectangular blank cap on top.

From left to right clockwise you get

  • Antlers
  • Weapons strap
  • Shield with an evil face
  • Double ox-headed hammerhead
  • Tusks for the shield
  • Alternate Viking horns
  • Diamond-spiked shoulder pauldrons
  • Bearded head
  • Hammer Handle

Now, this seems like a longer list than it should be. The tusks are supposed to always be on the shield, and the hammerhead should be on the handle always.

The hammerhead…OK I had seen pictures online, but I didn’t really realize what it was until I had it in hand. I thought it was just some kind of furry thing or giant blocks with moss hanging off or something. Nope. MOO. Gruesome MOO. And there is something evil about this too. It almost seems to be an altar of some kind. It has the ball joint so that other standard size heads can fit on the top of it, reinforcing my point.

SO HOW IS IT?

Here is Balthor with the alternate head and antlers, wielding the hammer. I can’t for the life of me get those paudrons on him properly. The antler gets in the way, or the armor straps get in the way.

The Antlers are very impressive! These are “moose” type of antlers, and were a big draw to me getting this set.

PICTURED: Balthor the Tower Ogre armed with the Mythic Legions Ogre Scale Accessory Pack. He is holding MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela.

I decided to try something different. Let’s remove the Balthor armor and replace it with the weapons strap. Then put the pauldrons on. So we have another problem then. The pegs that are supposed to go into the holes on his back are too big. I mean…that’s just it. I can barely get them in. The way I accomplished this photo was: Head off first. Remove armor second. Put on strap third. JAM THOSE PALDRONS AS HARD AS I COULD fourth. Get the hammer in the strap fifth. Put pauldron that fell off sixth. Loosely put head on last.

He was standing OK, so I thought I would see how far I could take it with a classic barbarian-holding-woman trope. I seriously thought it would tip over when I put that piece of dress on his left hand.

The Pauldrons are very heavy, and hammer is also very heavy.

So what about SKKUR’GE?

If you remember, SKURR’GE had some plugs on his back covering some holes to add wings, etc. I took those out, but the recesses are too deep for the pauldrons to fit properly. Too bad, because he looks awesome with them on. (They are just sitting loose.)

The shield is another matter. The handle is just like the other Mythic Legions shields we have. It has a handle that fits in the figure’s gripping hand. This handle pegs on the back of the shield, and here is the first problem. It is very loose. It always wants to let go. And the tusks…the left side doesn’t want to stay on. (You can see in the illustration on the box that the tusks are supposed to face outwards.) I think this shield is the goofiest thing. That face…it’s kind of “doopid.” And honestly was one of the reasons I never purchased this until it was marked down.

As for the weight of all this, SSKUR’GE already is a very heavy boy. His tail takes a lot of burden off of the leg joints. Adding this stuff starts to tip the balance forward from where it needs to be.

WHO WINS? I think Balthor swings the hammer down but it is met with the shield. Whiplash slides the shield up and presses forwards with the tusks, knocking Balthor back. In the same motion his tail crushes in on his bare arm.

I find that the tusks work better if you reverse them, which looks fine, actually even if it wasn’t the intended way.

THE MOST CHALLENGING THING

PICTURED: Balthor the Tower Ogre armed with the Mythic Legions Ogre Accessory Pack and a kit bash Conan made of Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor body, Battle of the Mounds Conan neutral head, MOTUC Vykron axe, and a Mythic Legions silver spear.

The picture shown here took forever to accomplish. Balthor kept falling over. The hammer is so heavy and his wrist joints are loose. (This is an old figure…well cared for but also worn). That head is barely on and necessarily turned to accommodate the pauldrons. Only one pauldron would work, and notice I used the more boring Viking horns. The shield kept falling apart, either off of the handle or the tusks would fall. And remember, stuff falling off or weight shifting pretty much caused the figure to fall over. I posed Balthor armed with as much of the accessory pack as I could for about twenty minutes. I got him where I wanted him, and then set Conan up there, and this element caused him to fall over AGAIN!

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF THE MYTHIC LEGIONS OGRE SCALE ACCESSORY KIT

Mythic Legions is solid stuff. Really…the figures all have heft to them. And the modularity of them, where parts can be swapped in scale just adds a whole other element. And that this is a generic kind of story…it goes great for any fantasy property. Pair it with Cosmic Legions and you can have that sword-and-sorcery-sci-fi world complimentary to Masters of the Universe.

I’m saying all of this glowing stuff because the weaknesses of the Ogre Scale Accessory Pack take some of the joy out out it. You don’t want to spend fifteen minutes arming a figure and then it being too heavy to support your work. You don’t want your display, set up awesomely in your nerd closet to be knocked over because your Balthor or SSKUR’GE figure couldn’t bear the weight of its armor and balance at the same time. It shouldn’t take thirty minutes to get a photo.

The moose antlers are cool. It is good to have some alternate Viking horns. That hammer is gruesome, and I don’t know if that is a good thing. The pauldrons would be awesome if the pegs would fit in the holes. The armor strap is versatile and can be used in lots of other places with other figures. The shield…(face palm). No really FACE PALM. I really like the bearded head, but I wish it had eyes painted in. (My same complaint with Balthor’s original head…it looks like Batman). The backdrop was a very enjoyable bonus.

I am awarding this set a 2/5. I bought this on some type of clearance sale at storehorsemen for $20, making this just about the least expensive item in Mythic Legions. And I see why, now that I have it. I will use it…in fact the pauldrons really do it for me in displaying SSKUR’GE. They do make him look even more like Whiplash, and that was enough for my $20.

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela…SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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Looks like the SpartanNerd is playing with his dolls again…

At this point I have several female action figures. I really value my girls. But I was on the fence about this one because of the preview photos, but also…I mean you can see what threw me off of getting her. She is beautifully painted and sculpted, but that upper thigh cut and the execution of the leg joints makes her look awkward right away. And not just me…I asked a few others and they felt the same way.

I get that MASTERVERSE figures have advanced articulation, but Mattel…KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS. Who are we? Middle-aged adults who are more into displaying or photographing our figures. To that end, anything that makes the figure look worse…at least give it second thoughts. This has been a thing since the MOTUC She-Ra had the hole in her head…since the MOTUC Sorceress had big drums on her back to execute wing articulation.

Now depending on your feelings…maybe you LIKE the way this looks. It doesn’t work for me, and is why I almost punted on this purchase.

PACKAGING

You can see the window box at the top of the post how she looks on the shelf. It is a big MASTERVERSE-style window box, showing a great illustration of the character surrounded by magical snakes. I am going to say that it is notable that she is called “Sorceress Teela.” This is one of the Revolution designs from the Netflix show. In the past she has been known as “The Goddess” or sometimes “The Green Goddess” and also “The Sorceress of Serpos.” But they are going to stick with “Sorceress Teela” which is fine. I kind of like the idea of her being a different character, and maybe someday there will be a “New Eternia” release, maybe even with translucent plastic like they did with MOTUC. (I’ve only seen that one in box…it has notorious crumbly plastic). Readers should know…there is ANOTHER figure out there with the same name, with a more traditional “sorceress of Zoar” design. Maybe I’ll pick it up one day, but I am salty still about the MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorcerss’ problems.

They absolutely cheated on the back of this box…that is a picture of the toy…notice that they photoshopped out that seam at the upper thigh articulation. The cross-sell on the bottom features Man-Of-War, Sorceress Teela, New Eternia Mer-Man, and New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor. I really want Battle Armor Skeletor, but it looks like I might have missed it.

I generally like what is on the back and sides. One of the sides shows Sorceress Teela holding the Staff of Ka and the other shows all three staves (Havoc Staff, Staff of Ka in a neutral pose, and Staff of Zoar). In the cartoon, she had to master all three kinds of magic to become the “Tri-Sorceress.”

Just a side note…I’m completely into the design of husband-and-wife He-Man and Teela the Tri-Sorceress at the end of the show. AND I think they could sell those two as a set and I would totally buy it. In fact…don’t tell anyone…I would buy this as a BARBIE set! (Also…when will we get the completely awesome Sorceress of Havoc?!)

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX

Contents:

  • Sorceress Teela figure
  • Staff of Ka
  • Snake magic effect
  • Alternate hands (she has gripping and open hands)

Not many accessories…

FIGURE REVIEW

PICTURED: Sorceress Teela using the Snake Men backdrop that came with New Eternia Snout Spout. This photo makes her look a bit like an Egyptian goddess. Egyptian has already proven to be OK for the Sorceress back in the 200x days.

As a figure, the paint is really good. This is green plastic all over, but such a pleasing shade! They painted the toenails black and the fingernails red. The armor is non-removable (painted on). That she has long sleeves painted on and naked legs makes her more reptilian. They also gave her painted anklets.

I don’t know if it is the bare feet or not, but I have had a hard time getting her to stand.

PICTURED: Sorceress Teela with Savage He-Man. Savage has 40th anniversary He-Man’s head, and she is presenting him with the armor and weapons similar to the first “mini-comic.”

You can see in the storybook homage photo above that Savage He-Man doesn’t have trouble with his bare feet. But he has big boats while she has dainty green princess feet, and maybe it’s the giant hood that causes the balance issues.

PICTURED: MASTERSE Force Captain Teela and Sorceress Teela, both with their heads swapped. Notice Force Captain’s headdress is the MOTUC weapons pack version, as well as the Staff of Ka. I only did this head swap for the review…why would you ever do this for a main display?

Speaking of the hood, I wish you could remove it from her head. That this is glued on takes away from what could have been an amazing feature of the toy.

The tail is soft goods…effectively making this a “dress.” I know you are wondering out there, so here you go…(pictured below)

PICTURED: Sorcerss Teela and Conan Battle of the Mounds Valeria (Spirit)

If you have Sorceress Teela “half-cheek” it you get an unsightly view of those upper leg joints. Similar to Super7 Ultimates! Conan Battle of the Mounds Valeria. And if you zoom in you will see that the black stripe visible in this picture is a shadow, not paint. (That’s how bad it is…Cringy)

Ultimately, though, the tail isn’t meant to do this…it is meant to always cover her backside. And it doesn’t look bad. I wish it had print on both sides of the dress, but one sided works just fine.

ACCESSORIES

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor Throne and MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela. She is showing off the Staff of Ka that she came with, as well as the one that came with the throne.

The Staff of Ka is really what pushed me over the edge to go ahead and purchase this. This is the best painted snake staff we have had in Mattel Masters of the Universe ever. You can see how lacking the Skeletor one is by comparison in the picture above. In fact, I plan on painting Skeletor’s now (maybe one day when it snows).

PICTURED: Sorceress Teela with Mythic Legions magic effects.

The snake magic effect is cool…I just wish there were more of it. BUT…you can use Mythic Legions Magic Effects with her just great!

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE REVOLUTION SORCERESS TEELA.

Why does The Sorceress always get messed up in action figure form? Below is a picture of four versions of Teela and Sorceress Mattel has given us.

Each of these have had some kind of issue except for MASTERVERSE Force Captain Teela. MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress (Teela-Na) has those stupid soft-goods wings. Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela has the strange “table” effect on the waist when you turn the body. And now the Green Goddess has the strange thigh-cuts that make her pelvic region awkward for Reverend SpartanNerd to talk about. And notice I “kit-bashed” Battleground Teela and Force Captain Teela. I still think the legs on the MOTUC version are the better female legs. That double jointed knee looks like cellulite. And the MOTUC version also just didn’t have a thigh-cut. It wasn’t needed and the Four Horsemen knew it.

As it is, Force Captain Teela with the MOTUC gear is still the best. But as much griping as I have done about Snake Sorceress (Green Goddess and Snake Sorceress are the names I usually use), as an action figure she is great. She really “feels” like a different character, actually in the show as well. And she is very enjoyable to play with…not displeasing to the eye. I think the thigh cut problem looks its worse while the figure is standing in the box, which is too bad for MOC collectors. As you are posing her around, you can minimize her un-sexiness actually much better than you can Super7 Valeria (Spirit).

So positives…Terrific paint, on both the figure and also the Staff of Ka. She is very articulated and is currently the most “free” to pose female figure because her armor is painted on. Negatives…the articulation seams are unsightly visible and especially distracting from what would be a great female body sculpt. She didn’t come with many accessories, and that the hood is non-removable is a missed opportunity.

I am going to rate this figure a 2/5. She’s a lot of fun but has her problems…problems that are poor design choices that could have been handled differently. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!