Masterverse 40th Anniversary He-Man- SpartanNerd unboxing and review

November 5, 2022 by spartannerd

I am going to take a moment away from Snake Mountain, which is slowly coming together, to review the 40th Anniversary He-Man I didn’t know existed. It was at Target, where I was looking for some Christmas presents for one of my sons. At $21.00 I decided this was a good purchase

Here are some pics for reference. The big one is the 40th anniversary He-Man. You can see the art on the back of the box, and how the cardboard tray can slide out revealing the blister with the action figure inside. You can also see my sealed 200x He-Man, and also my vintage He-Man. (Might be the re-issue. I know that the Grayskull door was mine from childhood.)

I have mostly avoided the Masterverse line of Masters of the Universe toys…The first wave, which featured He-Man and Skeletor, just threw me off. He-Man’s belt was colored too closely to his skin tone, making it seem like he had a “gut,” which just wasn’t right for the character of course. This one item, plus too much focus on the Revelation show just kept me from wanting it. It seemed to me right away that this line was going to be far inferior to the Masters of the Universe Classics line, which it was supposedly replacing.

Let me settle this up front: Mattel, Masters of the Universe Classics was the line of toys the fans deserved. It was a high bar that you set yourself. Now whatever you do that is pointed at adults has to match it. The Masterverse line does not match it. I have watched Scott Neitlich’s videos and I understand what is going on…that it was a small line aimed at collectors only and sold online. I get it. But you have set a gold standard as far as highly desirable action figures.

So now that I got my sermon posted, which they will surely never read or care about, here are my thoughts on this 40th anniversary figure.

This is my first purchase of a Masterverse figure. I have seen the boxes and all of the other figures, and thank you Mattel for giving us a good box for this one. The other figures in the Masterverse line come in boring and ugly blue boxes with plain text. But this box is not only great, it is collector friendly too! You can see from the above pic that you just open the top flap (mine had a little piece of tape) and slide the tray out. I was carefully able to remove the figure without damaging the bubble. I sold all of my MOTUC figures when I ran out of room. (This is where the funding came from that got me into the Mega line). If there is anything that this Masterverse line is doing better, it is this collector friendly package. On all of the MOTUC figures you pretty much had to destroy the package if you wanted to touch the figure. After selling the MOTCU collection, I have been collecting the Mega figures on card and also off card. This is economical enough, and helps me feel like a real collector. I have since picked up San Diego Comic Con She-Ra that had a similar collector box, and also GI-Joe Classified Cobra Commander. I am sad that in the instance of the 200x He-Man that I have on card he has to just stay on the card. (That figure seems to have come down in value recently. My box is in awful shape anyway. Notice my version is the more rare “cross” on the chest version.)

The figure looks OK in the box. Let’s get him out and play awhile.

He-Man comes with this: Power Harness (armor), Power Sword, Shield, and Battle Axe. He also comes with a fist hand and a chopping hand. I guess I should count the left hand Wrist Bracer that also comes off.

His articulation is pretty good. Shoulder, biceps, double jointed elbow, and wrist with a 360 rotation as well as a hinge for up and down. The hands just pop out of their socket, and as mentioned, the left hand bracer comes off which might help you to display him equipped with the shield. The classics version didn’t have the double jointed elbows…but…I’ll say in a minute.

He-man’s head has 360 rotation and can nod up and down. He has a torso that is more likely to bend backwards rather than ab crunch. (Remember what I said about the first Masterverse He-Man having a gut?)

You get a waist swivel, legs that come out to do a split, and now thigh cuts. Double-jointed knees, boot cut, and rocker and hinge ankles.

Go have a look at my review of MOTUC He-Man from 2013. Now let’s talk. The double-joints are supposed to be an improvement on the design. But they look bad. Also, the thigh cut doesn’t do anything for me. It is kind of similar to what we had with the female figures in the MOTUC line, where when you moved their waste, you had a flat surface that just “looked wrong.” The thighs here just look wrong. No other way around it.

The top left pic shows He-Man in the same pose as the artwork on the back of the box. (very nice art, by the way.). He has no trouble getting into this pose. The second pic shows a near-transformation pose. But can you see what I see? The arms are out of proportion. His hand is too long. This head sculpt has an unsettling facial expression. You can compare the original sculpt to the new one in the third pic. The original looked menacing. Barbaric. They have given him a more vertical head, larger eyes, and distinct eyebrows, making this He-Man appear less confident. And He-Man should exude confidence. You can really see this when posing the fist. This fist looks like Deadpool’s baby hand compared to the rest of the arm (don’t look it up if you don’t know). The backside pic shows off the way the sword fits in the harness, and the muscle flexshows the off-proportions. I will say, the furry shorts and boots have a nice wash. But there is a contrast between the molded plastic belt and bracers that seems incongruent.

He-Man goes back in the box nicely, where I think he will stay.

I didn’t have any trouble getting him back in the box. Here he is with my other carded Masters figures.

I think I believed this purchase would scratch the itch of collecting He-Mann figs again. In the box, maybe. But he just isn’t as inspiring as was the MOTUC figures were. I don’t think I am likely to remove him from this package again. Maybe when it snows.

So what do I rate this figure?

The packaging is a 5/5. The toy is about a 2/5. So this puts it in the 3/5 camp. You would think that a 40th anniversary figure would be a solid 5/5. It should be. At least it was affordable, unlike the Magic the Gathering 30th anniversary fake cards (60 fake cards for $1000). Thanks professor! I didn’t know this product existed, so it was kind of an impulse buy. I wonder if they will make a Skeletor. Surely they will. But I will probably pass on it.

UPDATE: I had a good look at the first release of the Masterverse He-Man today unsealed in a case in a store. This 40th anniversary figure has a MASSIVE chest in comparison.

ONE MORE THING: I was just moving the MEGA CONSTRUX Castle Grayskull to the top shelf…It crumbled. I guess I am taking even more of a commercial from Snake Mountain.

SpartanNerd Review…Mega Construx Slime Pit

July 5, 2022 by spartannerd

Back two years ago, when I decided to begin collecting the Mega Construx Masters of the universe, I frantically searched to find everything I could. But the hardest thing to get was this guy.

I’m talking about Battle Bones…Not the Wind Raider. (You can frequently still find the WR in stores.)

When building the Battle Bones (a San Diego Comic Con item), I couldn’t help but think, “They could re-purpose this head into a Slime Pit.). And I thought surely they would.

But that’s not what we got. Keep reading to see my experience!

We got a Skeletor Head Slime Pit.

Now this was an unexpected idea. I suppose I was thinking larger. But in scale, I guess this makes sense in context to the scale and size of Grayskull. But not in respect to the vintage toy, but in respect of the size of the Mega Construx minifigs. On the other hand, the Talon Fighter dwarfs this.

This Skeletor head is the same mold as the others, only this time in slime green. The picture on the package shows us Horde Zombie He-Man, and also the Slime Pit. At first I thought the green behind the mouth was a wall, but I realized that it was just the hollow inside of the Skeletor head. I kind of wish that was different. That it was a proper wall. Oh well! We are talking about something that costs less than $10. And I could build that wall if I really want to.

When you get the package off, this is what you see. The gray brick will be the floor. Here is the instructions with something else in there.

Here are all of the contents. I am thinking, “He-Man must be in the bag with the green stuff, with some other slimy pieces.” Nice extras, you know.

So I opened the instructions next.

It turns out that something extra in the instructions was rubbery slime pieces. The only slime that came with this set. BOO! Here are all of the pieces separated out. This is what I must do when I open a building set. Set them all out, sort them by type and color. But there aren’t many pieces with this Skeletor Head. The package said 70 pieces, but each minifig is around 20 pieces. (When I counted, I counted 73 when including the head and the floor. Am I wrong, Hub City Geeks?)

This is a cool, green slime He-Man. As I assembled, I couldn’t help but think about The Green Goddess, who apparently shattered when people opened her MOTUC package.

No extra slime pieces here. And here is the second thing I would improve about this set. There should be more “sliminess” to it. It isn’t even very gross. I remember the toy as a child really freaking out my mother. And she took that slime away from us and we never got to play with it. (Hope you are reading this now, Mom.). I believe this should have come with more things to make it even more gross-out. Maybe a can of slime. Or just more rubbery pieces. Or even green pieces. OH WELL.

Now on to the assembly. Let me preface this by saying that I prefer building LEGO’s to any other bricks like Mega Blocks/Construx. I have put together plenty of the different kinds over the years between the SpartanNerd and the Spartan Kids. Lego bricks have aesthetic principles and roundly stick to a certain vision of kid friendliness and pop sensibilities. (SpartanNerd takes a bow for that sentence!) It isn’t like Mega Construx doesn’t have this, but the Lego thing never does anything that involves winging a piece on a stud, or other questionable hi-jinx that might compromise the structural integrity or even make a more difficult build. The Mega Construx I suppose is aimed at an older audience, so I guess older customers might not even care. But who am I mostly writing this blog to?

It also is notable that LEGO doesn’t even acknowledge their competition. But right on Mattel’s website, you can see where people post their customs and proudly give the formulas, which mix the Mega Construx blocks with Lego, Kreo, and other brands. It is like Lego is the more serious “fun” brand. And Mega Construx is us casual fans. I just wanted to say this first and get it out of the way. I knew going into this I would encounter some things that feel questionable or are nonintuitive. (I built the largest set ever- Castle Grayskull. I know very well what I might see.)

BACK TO THE BUILD

It began as I expected. Build the bottom first. These red pieces make me wish there was more red here. The Slime Pit is partially a Horde thing. Black, gray, and red are their thing. And with the bone pieces, you really evoke Hordak. (See an upcoming post!)

This connection is one of those that felt kind of janky. But after I snapped them together, it remained firm.

And here it is. Step 9. Notice how the four studs don’t line up with the five. This strictly seems to be the kind of thing Mega Construx does that Lego doesn’t seem to do. The solution works out in the end, but it just seems wrong when you are building it. That piece on top with the two studs and then the three studs is also an unusual piece.

Here are the drawn-on eyes. Tampograft I suppose. I remember when I did the Battle Bones eyes, and the Talon Fighter’s eyes, the eyes just kind of emerged from the build. This is a cheap trick, though. Yes…I know. >$10.

See those pieces that are at the nose? These are the stuff of nightmares sometimes. This time no drama. But when I did the Battle Bones and other sets, it seems like they would flick off, be backwards or hard to tell what to do from the instructions. Also, notice here that one has a different angle than the other. How are we supposed to know which to use? I figured it out, with the instrutions and all. But what if I lose the instructions? What if it is a kid building this? (What would happen would be I would help my kids build it, and then about an hour later all of the pieces would be mixed in to a giant bucket.

I definitely see how I can improve this set. It isn’t terrible, and it is clear what is going on here. But could it have been better? Absolutely. “Horde Zombie He-Man” or “Slime Pit He-Man” is actually kind of obscure, being found only in like one mini-comic, but Mattel has made him ubiquitous as a toy in recent years. He is translucent green. Who doesn’t like that? But the rest of this set. I just feel underwhelmed. I actually said to my kid “I am thinking about getting a few more of these to add the slime pieces. And I could strip down the He-Man figures to make other zombies.”

Here are two other Skeletor Head sets to compare this to. I have them all, but these two are in the most presentable condition. And I’ll tell you why they are better!

He-Man and the Jet Sled. What wasn’t great about this? It completely captures what the original toy was. It even came with the exclusive blue armor. Placing it on a propeller at the top of Skeletor’s head makes for a goofy gimmick, but it makes good use of the real estate, and you can display your Jet Sled flying. I give it a 5/5. NEXT!

Here is something I don’t remember having as a child. But check out the diorama piece that this is! I don’t know why they chose to do Zodac this way. I would have rather had the 200x Zodak, especially since we got a Zodac with the Talon Fighter. (An astute MOTU fan will know the difference!). I guess he looks like he is wearing a scuba mask all the time anyway. Still, I enjoy the diorama. There is fun to be had here. I don’t remember this toy as a child, but it perfectly encapsulates the adventure. I will give this one a 4/5 really only because there aren’t more water features in this line.

But I feel I can only give the Slime Pit a 3/5. It is good to get the green He-Man. But the Slime Pit leaves much to be desired. It isn’t gross enough. MORE SLIME. The build has some weakness to it. I had pictured something like that Battle Bones head on a mighty horror movie wall, perhaps with some green pieces to replicate slime if not a rubber puddle or even actual slime. Instead, we get this sort of soul -less offering.

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

SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review…Masters of the Universe Classics Evilseed

September 5, 2015 by spartannerd

When Evilseed went on sale, I decided I would get him, only to be held off by circumstances. I thought I would have to catch him on Cyber Monday, maybe. But he remained on sale…perhaps he didn’t sell out? Regardless, I ordered mine, and over a week later he arrived in this mailer.

I quickly opened it, to reveal the sealed packaging.

The front of the box has a nice window that has Evilseed on display. You can clearly see his accessories…he has the tag line of “Evil Master of Plants.” And that’s about it. Just from seeing here…he is quite incredible looking, if you are a MIC collector. But that’s not me.

I flipped the box over, and check it out! For the first time, I own all of the characters on the back of the box!

Evilseed gets a new “real name” and bio, photographed here for you, oh Hub City Geeks. But I’m just throwing away the package. Notably, the bio says that Moss Man created Evilseed. A good story. But I prefer the Mike Young version that this figure is based on.

Removing Evilseed from the package isn’t difficult. He did have some rubber bands, and the vine-whip accessory had to be wrangled out of the blister. But other than that, it was all good. Notably, there was no “smell” associated with this figure. (If you will recall, Moss Man” had a very strong pine scent.)

Here he is in the first pose I made for him.

Evilseed has a terrific sculpt. When I first saw this revealed, I knew I had to get one to go with my Moss Man. The Four Horsemen hit a homerun every time! Check out all of the little scaly looking parts. Check out the thorns and vines. I went back and watched “Orko’s Garden,” “Council of Evil” part 1 & 2, and “The Last Stand” today to check my facts. I have ready other reviews, and there is some criticism of this version being too bulked up. In the MYP cartoon, his IS skinner at the torso and waist, but the entire upper body looks almost perfect. The thicker torso here is welcome, if you ask me. While they could have used some amalgamation of Lizard Man’s parts, I think this was the way to go. It doesn’t look wrong at all. Maybe he’s been working out?

Evilseed has that terrific sculpt, and also the standard articulation that all of the other MOTUC figures have. Rocker joint ankles, hinged knees, ball jointed shoulders, waist twist, ab crunch, ball jointed shoulders, bicep swivels, hinged elbows, a swivel wrist, and a ball jointed head that can rotate freely and be swapped out.

The cool new addition to the articulation is the way the vines look on the legs. They are made of a more rubbery material, and are a continuation of the waist piece. These come down and loop around the knees, which means Evilseed has both loose vines on his knees and articulation there!

How about this face! If he had a mother….

For real, this is one of the most evil faces ever sculpted for MOTUC. Evilseed’s overall green color is a stark and EVIL contrast to this sinister eyes and mouth, which are bright red in color. This is the only red on the figure…everyghing else is green, black, or brown. This highlights the evil human nature of the figure, and even makes him appear alien. Where his hair should be, we have this bunch of creepy looking vines/grass/seaweed.

The torso is evidently just the same sort of Torso that He-Man or most of the others have. But this time there is non-removable armor sculpted with he specific viney details demanded of Evilseed. There is a very striking collar that comes up beside his head on both sides, giving him a plant/vampire look. You can see the vine details on his back, and also two mysterious green thorns in the middle of his back.

One of Evilseed’s two accessories is “The Scepter of Power.” My research tells me that this Filmation artifact was in the episode, “The Magic Falls.” I don’t personally own this episode on DVD. I started to watch it on YouTube, when I discovered that all of those videos appear to be playing at too fast a clip, giving a chipmunk effect to most of the music and voices. It was unbearable to me. And As a music teacher, the difference in key created by the effect was just too jarring. Anyways, Evilseed looks really good with the Scepter of Power. It is supposed to be for King Randor, but since I am not a fan of “Throne Room Randor” and, nor the Burger King version of the regular Randor, I decided to settle on letting Prince Adam hold it. (He would inherit it anyway, right?)

Not bad at all.

The other accessory is this vine-whip creature. You can position it almost anywhere on his body. I think I might try and order more of these! I think he should have come with more of them. Watching the MYP version made me realize how ridiculous and over-exaggerated the vines that Evilseed controlled were. But it worked really well in that cartoon. Evilseed even made T-Rex sorts of plants, and hydra plants also. He also would use them to transport around on…Mattel could have given us an interchanging waist so we could display him as seen transporting around on a “trunk” of vines!

In getting this figure, one of my aims was display him in battle with Moss Man. Here is my first attempt!

Even with the “plant god” head on, Moss Man appears to be from a different line entirely. Both are green, but the flocking on Moss Man blurs his details.

Evilseed looks pretty good with Moss Man’s weapon, but the seed-bag armor with knife doesn’t fit properly across Evilseed because of the collar piece of the armor. It fits loosely around his waist, which is something I do with Moss Man sometimes.

It might be better to use it to imprison him…

Heheh…looks like Orko is going to set him free…

Evilseed was a part of Skeletor’s Council of Evil…We can compare Evilseed to Count Marzo and Skeletor by reenacting a scene from the cartoon.

SpartanNerd Rating of Masters of the Universe Classics Evilseed.

Evilseed has terrific sculpting. He is highly articulated, even specifically for his figure. (With the vines around his knees.) His paint looks good, and there was no “pee plastic” smell like I detected from King Hsss and Snake Armor He-Man. He comes with two accessories…the only complaint I can level is I wish we had MORE vines. But this can be easily done.

So I give MOTUC Evilseed a 5/5! I am not the least bit disappointed in this figure. Every detail matches my specifications! There are some people who complain that this isn’t Filmation’s “turnip head” version. But I don’t even like that version…it was even a reason I might not subscribe to that little add-on sub. This 200x version looks evil, not goofy. He is ready for battle…ready to kick some plants!

The SpartanNerd gives Masters of the Universe Classics Evilseed a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

SpartanNerd… Thoughts on Toyfair Reveals

February 17, 2015 by spartannerd

Toyfair usually has a few things that catch my eye. This year though, I think is going to get me to purchasing.

To start with, there is a new MattyCollector Subscription being offered…a “200x Masters of the Universe Classics” line. (Not sure the official name.Oh yeah. Club 200x.) I think I am going to subscribe. I skipped on the Anniversary Line, and the Filiation line, AND the minis line. But considering the figures planned, I am game. Revealed so far is Calix (he needs a red shirt), Ceratus, and EvilSeed. I speculate that we will get Old Man Marzo, a Skeleton Warrior, and Stratos’ sister or similar. There is also a head pack coming, with the 200x head for Snout Spout (AWESOME!), Buzz Off’s 200x head (ALSO AWESOME!) I figure we might get 200x Prince Adam in the main Classics line, as this subscription specifically says that the characters will be never-before-released.

I’m so excited I went ahead and purchased the Snake Armor He-Man and 200x King Hsss two pack today…(review coming as soon as it arrives!)

(I could care less about Peek-a-Blue and Angela. Angela could be much more awesome. Mara is cool though, maybe the best New Adventures side character so far.)

SpartanNerd Vintage Toy Review…”Masters of the Universe Wolf Armor He-man and Snake Armor Skeletor”

January 1, 2015 by spartannerd

This is one of the longest titles I’ve typed on this blog!

Today you get the final pictures taken with my iPhone 4s. Good riddance, after seeing how good the iPhone 6 camera is! (I can hear Skeletor from the MYP cartoon saying “Good Riddance!”

This item was originally meant to be a gift set. You are getting two figures, both with an action accessory, and a VHS tape. (GASP)

The front of the box is a nice window where you can see the figures and the video inside.

I love the SpartanWife…If it weren’t for her, I probably never would have got these!

Here’s the back…

Everything all over this packaging is in three languages. English, Spanish (or Italian?) and French.

Probably Spanish, aimed at the Mexican market. Sorry Europeans. (Seriously. There are mega fans in Europe. Especially Italy and Germany.)

The back of the package gives you instructions, and also shows off some other figures and vehicles from 200x.

I do miss the 200x show!

On with the review. This packaging is just landing in the trash. I’m not sure this could have counted as Mint On Card anyways. The box has had some abuse.

Here is everything assembled, for your photography pleasure. The video is going to stay in cellophane. I believe I will display it with my 1987 movie VHS tape. Because neither is EVER going back into a VCR to be eaten. That’s why. And besides, I have “The Courage of Adam” on DVD.

Here are the accessories. I activated the action feature of both shields this time. I prefer to display them like this. Skeletor’s activates by press of a button. You reset it by pushing that skull back up, and then the blades retract. He-Man’s works by turning that wolf head. His isn’t spring loaded, unfortunately. But it looks way cooler with the blades out.

This is the first He-Man I’ve ever owned that didn’t come with a sword!

Also notable, He-Man’s helmet is removable…Skeletor’s is not.

He-Man has a wolf claw weapon. And I’m not sure WHAT Skeletor’s weapon is. A gun? A sword? I tend to think those silver pieces are meant to be long retractable tentacles. So more of a gun. But then again, it could be that the two silver pieces are meant to mirror Skeletor’s double sword. I just don’t know.

As far as I know, there is no extant fiction for either character…

Here’s Skeletor. His shield is really heavy. 200x Skeletor tends to be sort of hunchbacked as it is. But in order to have him stand and hold the shield, you have to bend him backwards, pretty severely.

The figure has a snake head on top of his helmet. I thought this must be a button for an action feature. Nope. Maybe the Horsemen intended it to be so? The armor is removable, but it looks to be two pieces. I don’t feel the urge to take it off…you can’t remove his helmet, so you would have a shirtless Skeletor with a snake hat. And what if I have trouble getting that armor back on?

I have to add that the snake hat is glued to the hooded head that was on the original, non-variant version. Mattel really cut corners on this figure. And I don’t necessarily appreciate it. I do think these are cool designs. I might not understand them. But stuff like the mess that is on Skeletor’s head is pretty infuriating. Why isn’t that removable. Or at least, not GLUED TO HIS HOOD.

Skeletor is fine below the waist. His loin cloth is elaborate. His toes look ever creepy. To bad he didn’t have claws on his feet, as he had in the cartoon and the Vintage figure from the 1980s. I wish they at least painted the nails black as a compromise.

Skeletor also doesn’t have the torso punch. How did that get left out.

I can make a comparison this time. We have what I believe to be Battle Armor/sound Skeletor from the 200x line. He has a spring loaded waist twist. And you can remove his hood. I’m just saying.

Onto Wolf Armor He-Man.

He-man is superior to Skeletor in every way. He has the same problem as Skeletor in that his shield is too heavy for him to stand and hold it as usual. I am not necessarily a fan of the way the He-Man holds his shields in 200x. Shields should strap to the arm. Not be held in hand. But this is an overall style criticism. He-man’s waist twist works great. His armor is removable. I generally have a hard time standing 200x He-Man. His legs are sculpted in an odd way.

He-Man’s armor is a nice gold color. His furry shorts come complete with the little pouch that hangs from his belt.

I tried out the sword from the 200x Castle Grayskull playset. This sword has good symmetry with the shield, matching the other shiny silver pieces.

Here’s Skeletor with the other 200x villains in my collection. Too bad we can’t see Two-Bad’s faces. (get it. “Two Bad.”

SpartanNerd’s Rating

Here goes. Whhhhhh…..(sigh)

What these figures ARE is kind of a mystery. Snake Armor Skeletor kind of makes sense. Skeletor is the enemy of the Snake Men. But we never saw him in the cartoon wearing this. On the other hand, He-Man was decked out especially for the Snake Men. But what was Wolf Armor He-Man? There were no wolf enemies. I guess this was just a variant like the “Jungle Attack He-Man” or “Smash Blade He-Man.”

Skeletor’s figure has a very compromised feel to it. Like they intended for it to be more than it is. But had to cut corners. So there is no action feature. And the helmet is not removable. And they didn’t bother with a new head sculpt…hence the hood is still there under the helmet.

Add to these problems the fact that the figures can’t stand properly because of the weight of the shields, and the fact that He-Man doesn’t come with a sword. And the score is pretty low.

But I don’t dislike these figures. They are fun! I think the shields’ action features are cool. Especially Skeletor’s with the spring loaded blades. He-Man’s shield, with the blades sticking out around it is especially cool looking.

I rate 200x Wolf Armor He-Man at 3/5. His sculpt is great. He has a cool shield. It is a nice variant. He looks cool on the shelf. With the downside of not coming with a sword, or being able to stand holding the shield without being contorted.

I rate 200x Snake Armor Skeletor as 2/5. He has a compromised feel. Unremovable Helmet. Dubious removable armor. A strange weapon. And can’t stand naturally holding the shield. On the other hand, the action feature on the shield is fun, and the overall look of the figure is nice.

I’m not even going to bother rating the tape.

Because these figures look so cool on the shelf, and that is their main function, I am going to rate them probationally 3/5 as a set.

That’s right. The SpartanNerd rates the dubiously named:

200x Masters of the Universe Wolf Armor He-Man and Snake Armor Skeletor Gift Set *

3/5.

Do you agree? Let me know in the comments!

*I added the colon because it is supposed to be funny.

SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review….VINTAGE ALERT! 200x Beast Man.

January 20, 2014 by spartannerd

I am going to call this new variety of column VINTAGE ALERT.

Some people might argue that 200x Masters of the Universe toys are not vintage. But they are approaching fifteen years old, people! They ARE NOT fresh and new.

From now on, when I get to review a vintage toy, I am going to all-caps VINTAGE ALERT!

Because it’s my blog. That’s how I roll!

I am going to start with the package.

The card evokes the feeling of nostalgia for the 1980’s line. Beast Man is clearly visible in the package. The package is covered in text as well, in english and two other languages.

Here is the back of the package. This packaging is familiar to me because
I have the rare variant “cross-harness” He-Man MOC hanging in my office!

I have only owned a few 200x figures before. My brother Hoagie Boagie had 200x as HIS He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I will say that I enjoy the Mike Young Productions cartoon quite a bit. And I am glad to see the Four Horsemen’t work on these figures as well. So there are a few loose He-man and Skeletor figures floating around. But no other characters.

On with the review.

Here is Beast Man out of the package. Notice his arms and legs. This figure is NOT super-articulated. He has two accessories. The whip and his armor. The armor fits on him loosely, and is made of the same rubber as the whip. The whip is quite flexible, and really “whips” good with the action feature.

On the back, you can see a lever sticking out. When you press this lever,
it causes his arms to move simultaneously. So he can crack that whip! Action features like this
were what Mattel thought kids wanted.

Beast Man can control animals, right?

He is famous for conjuring Griffons to help the baddies make an escape. Here he is riding and whipping my griffin! He doesn’t fit on the saddle great, but his loin cloth is soft enough to position right.

Beast Man seems to be a good scale to ride on the Griffin, and that pleased me very much! So how does he look next to Skeletor?

Skeletor seems to stand about a half-head taller than Beast Man. BUT, Beast Man is hunched over a little. Which is fitting for the character in relation to Skeletor.

So what’s my rating? I am going to take into account that super-articulated figures weren’t the big thing necessarily at the time these were produced. (200x He-Man figs were marketed at kids more than adults.) I am going to take into account that he looks pretty good with the MOTUC characters. The same sculptors, after all! I am also pleased that he fits on the griffin, and looks fantastic. (If you are a regular reader, you know I wanted Vikor to ride it, but his loincloth was too stiff.) I kind of wish the spikes on his arms and knees were removable, but I don’t think it is necessary enough to take off a point, considering the time it was released.

So, my rating is 5/5! He serves the grand purpose of making my bad guys seem to have more of a team. I will probably not have a MOTUC Beast Man any time soon. What do you think? Leave a comment!

spartannerd

A blog about everything "nerdtainment!"

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