Category Archives: Megator

SpartanNerd Blog…Blog Photos the way they Should Be!

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I have a few really nice figures, and am always reviewing them on this blog….

But up until now, I have only used my kitchen table….Or maybe the “Protector of the Keep” playmate for Magic cards or comics.

But not anymore!

The SpartanWife got me an early Valentines present…And I was completely surprised and blown away by it.

A LIGHTBOX!

Now I can take really good pictures, and edit them like a pro!

Here is a sample!

D Arts MegaMan!

i switched out the armor on Snout Spout last week.
I like my elephant warriors to be more savage!

Teela has proven to be the hardest to photograph.
I think her face is a bit too shiny for the spotlight.  Here I gave here a cooler treatment,
with mystical blue lighting.

Here is Marvel Select Thor, with a black background and a filter.  I wanted an antique look.
I am especially fond of how the hammer turned out.

Skeletor is an interesting one to photograph.  So much detail!  This black and white filter really makes the trio of Panthor, Havoc Staff, and Skeletor feel like they came from a horror story.

A good pic of the details on Panthor’s face.  The Sepia filter makes it feel bronze, or clay even.

One thing, Skeletor’s eyes can hypnotize you if you stare too long at them.
There was masterful design and execution on the face sculpt and painting of Skeletor.

I think this is my favorite picture I have taken with the new equipment.  Nothing too fancy.  But it feels like the cover of a Conan the Barbarian comic book.  I tried to have Vikor hold Teela over his shoulder, but their facial expressions are too calm for that pose to work.  Still, Red is the perfect color to go behind Vikor.

I tried to get a “Catalogue” feel on He-Man and Battlecat here.  

And here he/they are.  Two Bad looks like he leapt off of the comic pages as well.

I have a lot to learn about taking pictures for reviews, and editing them as well with iPhoto or other software.  But I am off to a good start.  The lightbox is a 3X3X3 cube with two spotlights and four background colors.  I have found that sometimes the light reflects on faces a little too much, as in the case of Teela, Mega-Man, and Two-Bad above, but I was able to recover most of the time with editing.  I need to spend more time previewing before shooting, I think.  And also maybe moving the lights back or something.  I also took a few pics right before my iPhone battery died, and I believe that caused them to be a little blurrier. (I took some Pokemon pics that were unusable.)

There are also size limitations.  He-Man and Skeletor barely fit on their cats in the pics.  I cropped down what you see.  But the Griffin is way too big for the lightbox treatment.  And so is Megator, really.

Still, it is a great start and I am having a blast.  Comment on the photos!

(Also check out my recent blurb about Born of the Gods, where I also used the white reflecting material as the background for the cards.)

Oh yeah.  My rating.  The Polaroid Lightbox gets a 5/5!

It folds up for easy transport and storage into a little baggy with pouches for the lights.  It also came with a camera stand that I will have to try out when I use a real camera sometime instead of an iPhone.  I won’t fault it on it’s size.  Really it is perfect for most action figures, and I am a beginner.

Masters of the Universe Classics Unboxing and Review…Weapons Rack!

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Happy New Year!  Do you now have swag stacked upon boxes piled up on returns as well as items not yet sitting in a permanent spot?
My MOTUC characters have been like this for awhile…extra weapons scattered about, or stored away in a little baggie.  But not anymore!  Here is my review of the MOTUC Weapons Rack!
I wondered if this box was going to say “Weapons Rak.”
It was misspelled on the Matty Collector Website!

The Weapons Rack was something I wanted when it came out, but couldn’t fork over at the time.  And the way that Mattel does things, it disappeared and I never had a chance to get it again.  With Castle Grayskull having been on sale (didn’t sell out as they predicted, did it?), They wanted to be sure that people could display the castle with the proper Weapons Rack.  After all, the vintage version CAME with a weapons rack, which is what this thing I bought is modeled after.

(I have not purchased a MOTUC Castle Grayskull.  There are a couple of problems. 1.I don’t have that many figures.  2. It costs way too much.  3. Where would I put it?  I do however, think it is terrific, and am glad they made it.  Maybe someday I will have it.  But there are other ways I have to spend $300 + shipping right now.  I am a cheapskate, remember?)

Here’s what you see when you open the box.  A nice window on card,
featuring the furniture and the weapons, packed in weapons pack style.

This is what is on the back.  Oddly, only one palace guard?
Here is a picture of the weapons that came with it.  The red ones are especially nice!  The silver ones have a little patina to them, that might not be coming through in my picture.  The silver ones are supposed to be an homage to the original weapons that came with Castle Grayskull, and the red ones are supposed to be an homage to “Man-E-Weapons.”
Here is the rack, with nothing on it.
Rows of pegs to display your weapons!

Here is how I set it up at first.  Front view.  I like how there is a little post to put
the shields on on both sides, as well as pegs to hang some weapons on the sides.

Here is the back view of my initial setup.
Here you can see the mace hanging on the right side.

How do other weapons work with this, that is, other than those that came with it?  I decided to do a good and evil theme!

My evil theme!

My good theme!

What are the limits of the weapons rack?  I went and found all kinds of MOTUC weapons to load it down with!  Here is a front and back view!  Read the captions for a contest!

Can you identify all of these weapons, readers?!  Send a comment for prize!

I will respond back and you can send me your address!  (The prize will go to whoever names the most.  Look at both the front and back view pictures, please.)  

This weapons rack is worth fighting for!

My rating for the Weapons Rack?  5/5!  It is a superb sculpt, serves its purpose well, and looks amazing with the figures.

Masters of the Universe Classics Unboxing and Review….The Griffin!

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Remember my review of Megator?
Well I think I have an even more impressive figure to review, now!  The GRIFFIN!
The Griffin is AMAZING!  Who would have thought we could get this?  And it seems very calculated as well, being an amalgamation of Battle Cat and Swift Wind.
In the Mike Young cartoon, griffins were the bad guy’s main mode of escape.  They would start to lose, and the griffins would swoop in and grab the villains and take them to safety.
This creature absolutely fits in my nerd closet with the Magic cards and other stuff like that.  I’d bet I have several dozen Griffin Magic cards…
When I first saw the Griffin, I thought, “Do I really want that?”  Then I got Vikor, and thought, “The Griffin would be a great ride for Vikor.”  It didn’t take too long for me to figure out, Vikor isn’t riding any steed, with that loincloth.  But it was worth a try.
I got the Griffin as a part of the Cyber Monday sale, as mentioned on the Groovy Dork List.  And am I glad I did!  This figure is the most impressive figure I may own!
He came in this big box.  It is so big, I decided to use it as a background!

Here he is in his ugliness!  Awesome ugliness at that!

When you take him out of the box, you see that you have to assemble the wings to his body.

Here he is, ready to fly!

Don’t call him four-eyes!

He has a double tail…the kind of thing that was favored on the MYP show.

I don’t own a Beast-Man, so Spikor will have to do.  Ugly riding Ugly!

I dreamed of putting Vikor on the Griffin.  Alas, his loincloth was too much.
Even with the saddle off.  This was the best I could do.  It kind of looks like
Vikor is going to slay him in this picture…

You can see that he has a cool mane.  His backside is just the Battle-Cat buck, with chicken feet.

What do Griffin’s eat?  Temple of Darkness Zoar!  (not included of course)

Here is an overhead shot.  This figure is HUGE!

I give the Griffin a 5/5!  He is solid.  Huge.  Fits in most contexts.  Ugly in a beautiful way.  He is one of the best figures I own as far as sculpt, displayability, playability, and on and on!

MOTUC AT BIG LOTS

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                 As I tirelessly remind anyone who reads this blog.  I’M A CHEAPSKATE.  Mostly out of responsibility and guilt, needing to spare luxuries sometimes to make the ends meet.  So what news caught this Tri-Clops’ eye?

                  So I made my way to the Big Box discount store.  And LOADED UP!  MOTUC figures for $10 a piece.  Even the giant figures!

I got….

Orko/ Prince Adam
Megator
Icarius (Flipshot)
Count Marzo
Snout Spout.

I passed up on Faceless One (already have one), Molar/Skeletor (I have two Skeletors already and hate Molar.)

For $50.  YEAH.  AND it is TAX FREE WEEKEND!

This score seems exceptionally huge because of two things.  (1) At the MonsterCon, I bought a MOTUC Spikor for $40, reminding me of the huge aftermarket prices of these figures.  I TRIED to buy a FlipShot and a Marzo from someone, who backed out of the deal not wanting to take my debit card.  (Pleeeze.  This is the 1990’s.  Duh!) (2) ToyGuru and Company are trying to get me to subscribe.  AND I wish I could.  But I can’t commit.  Oh how I want a Modulok.  But I can’t commit.  I just can’t do it.  That is paying more than $500 for mostly sight unseen product.  And I buy a ton of Magic Cards and Comic books.  And these things are mostly for MY entertainment.  I have mentioned before that my boys don’t really play with them.  (Well they are now, now that I scored a few figs, but the newness will soon wear off.)

I wished I could find some female characters.  No luck 😦  Some folks on the internet say that they found Moss Man, King Grayskull, and Grizzlor.  I had no luck here either.

Lots of reviews on the way, including my first ever UNBOXING Reviews!

“Forever is a long time, Skeletor!”