Category Archives: Snake Men

SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review…Masters of the Universe Classics “Snake Armor He-Man vs. Battle Armor King Hsss” Two Pack

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I always wanted to have Snake Armor He-Man from the 200x line.  Unfortunately, I’ve never seen one in stores, and apparently it only was sold in Europe.

When Mattel revealed the MOTUC version, as a double pack with 200x King Hsss…I was very surprised.  Here is a company that has consistently said they weren’t going to do “anime stylized” figures.  I, like everyone else interested, watched Pixel Dan’s video review…and I knew this would be my next purchase.  Then came the big news of a 200x subscription line…I am still deciding on that.  But I am very glad to know that they are visiting that old line and bringing new figures from the show that were never released, like Ceratus and Calix.

I ordered this as soon as it was available on February 16, and today it arrived on March 2.  Not so good.  Not that the amount of time the shipping took has anything to do with the value of the figure, but it is kind of a bummer that it took so long.

Anyways, on with the review!

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The toys arrived in this mailer box.  Similar to what we have seen in the past.  You can see the names of the figures prominently on the front.

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Removing the inner box from the mailer reveals this packaging.  It is similar pakaging to what we got with the Palace Guard two pack.  There is a Snake Men sticker conspicuously on the blister bubble.

Flipping the box over…wait a minute.  (sniff sniff).  What’s that (sniff sniff) smell?

I’ve heard of new car smell.  And there is/was a blog or show on the web “That New Toy Smell.”  But I never actually smelled a new toy outside of a toy that was supposed to smell.  And I have to say, it isn’t very pleasant.  It is a strong smell, that overcomes the packaging.  I heard complaints on Roast Gooble Dinner podcast about some of the new plastic Mattel using smelling “like urinal cakes.”  I wouldn’t quite describe this smell as that bad.  It smells of chemicals, though.  And like new paint.

Onto flipping the box.

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We get some pictures of other snake men in the line, notably Tongue Lasher, my favorite Snake Man…until today!

The bios are interesting, and you can read them on your own time, Hub City Geeks.  I am just throwing this packaging away.  (As I type this, I am looking at the two figures on my kitchen table, and they continue to smell funny.)

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Both figures are MAGNIFICENT!  The sculpt of He-Man’s armor…what they’ve done with the concept is incredible!  And there are lots of tiny details.  He-Man is one of those figures I could stare at for a while and keep finding new things.  King Hsss likewise, has a remarkable sculpt, and this time, they adapted the 200x look into his Armor instead of making a new buck, or whatever.  Both figures feature loin cloths reminiscent of the 200x time period.  King Hsss comes with a snake staff and a shield, just like the older version…

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No shoulder swapping has been done to the new King Hsss!  The older version has a certain nostalgia, but the newer version carries Egyptian details.

He-Man has received a new head sculpt, and this is what has people excited the most about getting these figures, I think.

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No more fish-head haircut for He-Man  Notice that there is a sword holder on his back, designed to hold the 200x sword!

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He-Man also has the claw accessory that was prominently featured in the cartoon.  It just clips right into his gauntlet.

He-Man and King Hsss have all of the articulation of other MOTUC figures: Ball jointed head, ball jointed shoulders, bicep swivels, rotating wrists, an ab crunch, rotating waist, ball jointed legs, knees with a hinge, and rocker ankles.  Neither figure has a boot cut swivel, but that is generally unnecessary.

King Hsss’ head swivel is hampered by his headdress a little bit.  Otherwise, all of the joints feel tight and the figures stand very nicely.  I would like to point out that the loin cloth on both figures hampers their ability to ride on a steed…He-Man can’t properly ride Battle Cat (if you happened to get Battle Lion and armor swap.)

You can remove King Hsss torso and swap out with the snake form from the previous figure.  Mattel is promising a 200x snake form to be packed with a different figure.   I feel that the older snake form looks like a buck-toothed rabbit.

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You can try trading He-Man’s head sculpt onto different figures, and vice versa. You can make a truly 200x regular He-Man now if you have King Grayskull’s armor.  Or you could take the armor off of the 200x He-Man, and use that…it fits the classics figures just fine.  (I don’t have these options available, sadly.)

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But putting that 200x head on Prince Adam looks SWEET!  He looks like some kind of model, don’t you think!

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Here is a COMPARISON TIME:  Wolf Armor He-Man 200x and Snake Armor He-Man MOTUC

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Hsss’ staff and shield are given to us in muted colors this time.  I especially like the staff in this color.  It looks extra evil.  And the darker colored shield is also better than the brighter shield we got before.

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He-Man’s sword is the same as the other swords we have from 200x, but this time the cross on the hilt is highlighted in black.  Some things are lacking in this department for He-Man.

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Sure we have awesome new armor…(incidentally, non-removable armor).  But Snake Armor He-Man needs a snake shield.  He also needs a sword that can open up to fire the power of Grayskull at Serpos, like we saw in the final episode of the 200x series.

So what’s my rating?

I had a blast coming up with cool poses for each figure.  They look absolutely awesome together.  My favorite thing is the action pose you see above, where He-Man is fighting King Hsss.  This armor lends makes you believe this figure is a real snake fighter!

But no way around it…I have to take off some for a couple of reasons.  We didn’t get all we need with these figures.  King Hsss missing his alt mode.  He-man not having a transforming sword or a shield.  And then there is that smell.  That has to be enough to really effect some people’s fun.

But the positives really outweigh the negatives.  The sculpts are amazing.  The customizability that is opened up with these figures is also very nice.  The figures are fun to play with and look at.  I can’t say enough about all of the details.  The paint is very intricate as well.  This has to make up for some of the bad.

So I am going to rate this set a solid 3/5 or a cautious 4/5.  If you are a fan of 200x, or just the snake men in general, then this product is for you.  I mentioned above, this sculpt of King Hsss has promoted him to my favorite snake man.  And I really like the part swapping options opened up with the new 200x head sculpt.

SpartanNerd’s MOTUC He-Man Review

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My first ever TOY REVIEW!!!!

Masters of the Universe Classics He-Man!

I really hoped my boys would dig into this.  I bought them a few, but they simply don’t have that much interest.  They like the way they look.  But the magic isn’t there that existed when I was a kid.  Every once in a while if I put on a MOTU cartoon, their interest will spark up.  But that is it.  They are just not as into the property as I am.

I mention being into the property….I have followed He-Man.org since I got onto the internet!  (It was Adam Tyner’s page then!  )  I was thrilled to find others that longed for the days of MOTU.  And I was so happy when they put out the 200x cartoon, and I got a few of the toys then.  (I was REALLY BROKE then.)

I don’t own many of these new figures….I mean, they cost nearly $40 a pop from Mattel!  But I fell in love with the idea as soon as it was announced, and it wasn’t long before I had a tiny collection of basic figures.  I am going to start with He-Man!  (Where else would I start?)

I don’t care much about the packaging….I usually look at it for a second, and then throw it away.  The MOTUC bios are OK with me, but I can read those anytime on the internet.  AND, I can also look at the packaging if I want to look at it for some reason.  So I normally feed the packaging to Oscar the Grouch!

My He-Man figure is the first “re-issue” of He-Man.  Apparently the “first edition” had backwards shoulders, and too much red around the eyes.  (He has been given the loving nickname of “Pepper Spray He-Man!)  Mine has none of these problems…Mattel saw to go ahead and fix their flagship character.

I have been playing with this guy for about….10 months?   He is properly broken in!  I can still hear a tight little click sometimes when I move his joints after he has sat for awhile.  His ankles are getting a little loose, though.  (He has “pin” style ankles.  You can see the pin in his shoes at the joint.

But WOW.  What an update!  You only had five articulation points on the vintage He-Man figure.  Basically on all of them.  But the MOTUC design has an articulation point on every major human joint!  There is also an ab crunch, and boot cuts so that you can point He-Man’s shins.  So a MOTUC figure is more like a vintage Gi-Joe figure, only exploded to a 6 inch (7 inch) scale.  This is the greatest He-Man we’ve ever seen,…..Heck, it is just about the greatest action figure we’ve ever seen!

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He came with the same accessories that the vintage one came with, with an updated “full” power-sword, so that you can properly display him when he is alone.  He also came with a half power sword, a throwback to the vintage figure who had a sword that could combine with Skeletor’s to open Castle Grayskull’s door.  This idea remains….but the swords do not fit together so well  😦

He also comes with his iconic battle axe, shield, and power harness.  (armor)  I think I prefer seeing He-Man hold the Battle Axe nowadays in my old age.

So what don’t I like about it?  Well, I feel guilty about owning such a luxury item….I mean, I paid nearly $50 for my He-Man in the after-market.  I have bills to pay, family to feed, and I’m a grown up.  I don’t really “play” with toys.  I think they are cool.  I like to display them.  He-Man makes a good Magic the Gathering table piece.  I even like to poke around with them, which I guess IS playing with it.  But I don’t play with it like I did as a kid.  SpartanNerd though I am, to have a full on Eternian War is sort of beneath me, I suppose I am sad to say.  To display such a war would be cool, if I was rich.  I could display him at work, but I found out quickly that he is a bit to naked for my clientele.  (Elementary School)   Maybe during a movie year!

So how will I rate my He-Man figure…..He gets a 4/5.  The point was lost because the ankle joints have become weak.  This won’t do on THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE UNIVERSE!

I will bring more of these figure reviews in the future!

“With great power there must also come — great responsibility.”  – Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962)

My promise to Pixel Dan….My Top Ten MOTU characters!

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I grew up with He-Man.  I saw every aspect of He-Man until “The New Adventures.”  Even then I had a few of those figures.

So who were my favorite characters?  I promised Pixel Dan in my comment for his contest that I would list my top ten.  So here we go!  I love these guys probably more than the others.  But it is so hard to choose.  I did not even consider Battle Cat or Panthor.  But I love them too!

10.  Hordak.  In my mind Hordak is the goofy villain from She-Ra.  But I also love the MYP interpretation where he is a powerful threatening wizard.  I don’t love the Hindu-ish looking Hordak from the current comics, however.

9.  Tongue Lasher.  Cool name.  Cool action feature in his toy.  Loved his color scheme.  I prefer this guy to any of the other snake men.

8.  Scare Glow.  Old Scare Glow is especially bad in the dark!

7.  Mosquitor.  This guy is just awesome!  I loved the blood sucking feature.  Ironically, as a kid, I got Mosquitor in my Easter basket……

6.  Man-At-Arms.  Ever loyal to He-Man and Eternia.  I am not fond of the idea of Duncan dying a snake man.  To me, Duncan is the mastermind behind all of the vehicles and such.  He also appeals to me as the sort of priest for the good guys.  That might strike some readers as weird, but here’s why.  If you study anthropological formation of religion, you find that the first religious figures were the ones who could predict nature, build fire, and heal people.  Man-At-Arms has the secret of the lost technology from Eternia’s ancient past.  And he communes with the Sorceress, who is also a religious figure.  So there you have it!

5.  Rio Blast.  The guy has more guns than Swartzeneger.  What’s not to like?

4.  Evil Lynn.  She has such depth of character.  More than many other villains in this universe.  Everything from the white hair under the helmet, to the contrast with Teela, to the classic yellow skin, faceless dad, and even the seductive story in the digital comics.  Evil Lynn is an agent that generates story.  I also used to love to put the figure on Tyrantisaurus.

3.  Roboto.  The gears in the chest get me every time.  AND you can swap his weapon hands.  How cool is that?

2.  Skeletor.  Not for the same reason as He-Man.  I just think he is AWESOME.  A barbarian wizard dude with a skull face, goat staff, and lives in a mountain shaped like a snake.  Skeletor is THE DEFINITIVE bad guy,

1. He-Man  (Does this need explanation?)  He-Man caught my imagination.  He helped solidify my view of “good guy.”

So what is yours, Hub City Geeks?  Do you agree with me or disagree?  Comment!