Category Archives: SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

SpartanNerd Review- Masters of the Universe Chronicles Trap Jaw

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Here is a link to my YouTube Channel where this review also appears.

Once again I took a trip to Summerville, SC for a teacher retreat, and decided to look into the Target down there, where I saw two Chronicles figures…Skeletor and Trap Jaw. I like the Skeletor…but the issue is…I have at least five already! Now yesterday they announced Gym Bro Skeletor, and that looks cool…I am waiting on Office Bro Skeletor. That will be amazing! Maybe they will name him Darrel?

But I have wanted the Trap Jaw, AND this was the last one. Trap Jaw had a huge role in the 2026 movie, with at least three big fight scenes and a rivalry with Man-At-Arms. So did the figure turn out as great as expected?

PACKAGING

This is the second Chronicles figure that I have opened with retail packaging, the other is Battle Cat…but I also have the Mattel Creations Chronicles King Grayskull. My point is, this packaging is pretty similar to Masterverse packaging, but a noted difference is the DELUXE articulation mark instead of some kind of number like “30 points of articulation.” It turns out that some figures might just have MORE articulation if you thing about it, but also some might have less. You can see Trap Jaw just fine in the window as well as all that comes with the figure. “Evil & Armed For Combat.” Keep scrolling for more images

Nick Galatzine’s He-Man. Links to 2026 movie review.
Another little window in and a full but small image of Trap Jaw from the image on the front.

The back features a photoshop image of Trap Jaw on purple Snake Mountain details. There are little call-outs showing us his action features, which is the interchangeable arms of course. There is cross sell on the bottom featuring Skeletor and Trap Jaw.

When I opened the box, I realized there was this table of contents, but more importantly when you remove the blister…

BOOM! A nice Snake Mountain backdrop!

I don’t rate figures based on their packaging…so here is a rundown of how I will rate Trap Jaw or any other figure since around 2016. I use a five-point scale, each point is listed below:

  • Sculpt
  • Paint
  • Articulation
  • Accessories
  • “Feels point”…why did I want this and what does it represent to me? Most figures I buy at least have this! (Otherwise…why did I buy it? But it has come up)

FIGURE REVIEW

Here is what you get in the package…

  • Trap Jaw figure
  • alternate left hand
  • sword arm
  • hook arm
  • cannon arm

One of my complaints about the Chronicles line for most of the figures is the lack of accessories. King Grayskull was loaded out, but He-Man only comes with the sword. Evil-lyn only comes with the wizard staff (typically…I don’t have a chronicles Evil Lyn). But here, Trap Jaw has plenty because that is his gimmick, after all!

The sculpt is very nice, but he feels all around a little slimmer than the Masterverse New Eternia Trap Jaw.

There is no storage on his belt for the accessories, which is a bummer. Also notable, you can’t interchange the weapons between Chronicles Trap Jaw and New Eternia Trap Jaw. This is a big miss for Mattel. Why limit our fun? NE Trap Jaw’s weapons could go to NE Roboto, NE Hordak, or Revolution Man-of-War.

PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Man-At-Arms riding on Chronicles Battle Cat. He is armed with the Masters of the Universe Classics 200x style arm cannon. Chronicles Trap Jaw is riding on New Eternia Panthor.

The paint is one of the best features…it looks like it came right out of the movie! Most of the paint is glossy, and there is a glossy finish to even the more boring parts like the lower legs.

PICTURED: Chronicles Trap Jaw with one of the prize pieces in my collection, vintage Transformers Shockwave. Both have upgraded their unfortunate arm incidents.

Articulation…it feels like a different toyline actually…remember the old Halo figures that were 4-6 inch scale? The joints move similar to those. Now at first the lower right boot-cut wouldn’t work, but over time of me posing him and taking photos, this loosened up. So it doesn’t count as what I call a “stupid problem.”

ACCESSORIES

If they didn’t include accessories, would Trap Jaw be who he is? NOPE. Luckily they did!

PICTURED: Chronicles King Grayskull and Trap Jaw.

The hook is my favorite attachment. I thought it an odd choice that this was used the most in the movie, considering that Karg was also in the movie and using a hook hand. (I have always felt that Karg was a stand-in for Trap Jaw in the 1987 movie…budget limitations. Just the same I am glad they included Karg in the 2026 movie. Figure please)! This hook became the signature move for Trap Jaw in the movie, and it looks great!

PICTURED: New Eternia Ram Man and Mekanek take on Chronicles Trap Jaw.

In the picture above, where Trap Jaw is about to lose to Ram Man, he has caught Mekanek’s head with his open hand and is about to use his sword arm to do some chopping. But…Ram Man is going to use Mortal Kombat’s Raiden move on him.

The accessories are great, but they didn’t include the classic “gripper arm” from the vintage toy or the Filmation show. However…that didn’t appear in the 2026 film either. The only thing that bugs me about the accessories is that they aren’t swappable with the Masterverse action features that are similar. I should note that the hand is also not compatible with Masterverse…it has a socket in the hand with a peg on the figure, but Masterverse figures had it the other way around. The accessories are painted the same glossy gray that the boots are. They could have more paint applied, but they also look like they look in the movie so that passes my test. I DO wish there were loops on his belt. (But once again, not in the movie).

PICTURED: A semi-recreation of the movie scene where He-Man rips Trap Jaw’s arm off and uses it as a blaster. This is Kitbash Masterverse Battle Armor He-Man (with a beard!), Kitbash Classics/Revelation Teela, New Eternia Man-At-Arms and Roboto, fighting against the disarmed Chronicles Trap Jaw and the New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CHRONICLES TRAP JAW

He gets a 5/5. I really can’t take any points off. I do think there are ways that Mattel could have made him better…belt loops…claw arm…interchangeability with similar figures. But the sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and feels point are all there for the SpartanNerd! And he looks great with other bounty hunters!

PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Two-Bad, Chronicles Trap Jaw, Cosmic Legions Kannox Vull, and Mythic Legions Ne’Ve’. Don’t worry…Revelations Orko is about to rescue her!

So I award Masters of the Universe Chronicles Trap Jaw a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

Mythic Legions Névé- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review (Ne’ve’)

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I have done a YouTube review of this, and it has been up for awhile. You can find it here!

I don’t know how…I guess things got away from me during the end-of-the-school-year concert season…but I never did a proper SpartanNerd.com written review of Névé! (Forgive me…it is pretty hard to type out her name. Also I don’t know how to say it. So sometimes, I am going to do Ne’ve’ instead of the French or whatever is going on there sometimes!)

I’ve had her for a little while, and she has become one of my absolute favorites! Keep reading to see why!

PACKAGING

I purchased this at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC. I was looking for … I wasn’t sure…that new Mythic Legions bear was a possibility. But when I saw her, I knew this was what I wanted! (Notable, today I was there and it was double the price!)

I don’t know…when I saw this, it struck a nerve. I was looking at Alloy. ACTUALLY, I had just purchased the video game Crimson Desert, and she more rightly resembles the Graymanes with that blue warpaint. You can see all that you get in the package clearly.

I really need a new iPhone. There is a bio on the side that basically reads that she is kind of an outcast. She is a frost giant, actually, which begs the question, is that blue warpaint a scar or an injury…does she have frozen blue blood? Her eyes are also solid blue.

The back shows off the other figures from this wave. I looked very hard at the minotaur guy. There are also a pair of dwarves in this set that I missed…(I thought about getting them but came away with Ne’ve’ instead.). We also have some Oni looking guy riding a black unicorn with war spikes.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE?

  • Névé figure
  • Shield with a bear emblem
  • Alternate helmeted knight head with metal “horns”
  • Double-headed battle axe
  • a medallion(?)
  • Sword
  • Pair of alternate hands
  • shoulder pauldrons
  • Arrows with different colored fletching (in the plastic still so I didn’t lose them)

Not a bad load out, really.

FIGURE REVIEW

This is a “1.0” female Mythic Legions figure. In other words, she has the same kind of parts and build as the first waves that came out. Most female figures from the past couple of years are of the 2.0 type, with a slimmer build. I only became aware of the differences when I got the Figura Obscura Father Christmas. Beneath his robes is a 2.0 supposedly male knight’s build. (mostly unpainted at that). Later I would get the Undead of Vikenfell skeleton figure, who shared some of those parts, and then I got the 2025 SpartanNerd figure of the year, which was Belualyth the Beastmaster. Essentially a modern lady. AND last week I reviewed the Cosmic Legions Cosmic Ladies. Check that out HERE.

Anyway, my point is, Névé is a bit heftier than some of the more recent ladies. But that fits her MO as a Frost Giant I suppose.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Névé, Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela (kit bash), MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn, and Masters of the Universe Origins Sharella. Névé feels a little more substantial than any of these.
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Névé fights against Demistros and a zombie build from the Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack. Demistros (Not technically a Mythic Legions) is sporting one of the recent skull heads from a head pack, this one with vampire teeth.

Névé is super articulated, as are most Mythic Legions. Does that mean she balances well? there are things about her that are top heavy. Her hair is pretty substantial, and those pauldrons hinder her articulation so that her arms can’t help her balance. But it isn’t terrible, just something to keep in mind.

Her sculpt and paint are great as always, and I love the blue and gray details over her more barbaric pieces. She doesn’t seem to be old, but she has gray hair like a senior citizen. Maybe an artifact of being a frost giant? The pauldrons are one of the best colors…it is kind of a silver with a purple hue. This color reminds me of Micro Machines…long ago in the early 1990’s I had the set that changes colors in the sun. One of them was a jetliner in this exact same color. To me, one of the draws to getting this figure was the helmet, which is also in this brilliant color. And the pauldrons look best with the helmet, even if the articulation is compromised.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Gold Knight II Legion Builder and Mythic Legions Névé.

I feel that Névé is at her best without the knight armor. But we kind of have two characters sort of don’t we. And that is one reason why this is a terrific Mythic Legions figure.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Terpiculi with bone wing attachments, Névé, and Belualyth with her pet chimera. Notice the medallion hanging from her belt.

ACCESSORIES

I keep talking about those pauldrons and the helmet. The problem with pauldrons like this in Mythic Legions is they are so dumb to get on the shoulders…and the point of them is just that. Shoulder armor. You have to peg them into holes on her back that every Horsemen figure has. And it is such a tight fit. Sometimes I’ve had to use a hairdryer or run hot water to get it to work. Luckily this line isn’t for kids. They would be very frustrated, and parents likely would be too. Other than this problem, I like how they kind of have that “Bowser shell” look to them. That helmet is the exact same helmet we have a few times over, but this time with different side-horns. And of course this is the only one in that silver-purple color.

The next big and obvious accessory is the shield. This is the first time I have this round shield. It works like other Mythic Legions shields in that you could swap the bear emblem out from the middle. I won’t be doing that, but I could with the deer from the Xylernian Guard or the thing from Cosmic Legions Wal-torr the Mad (both would look dumb). What is new tech, though is that there are holes in the shield to install arrows! YES! At first I thought I must have been cheated a bow. But then I realized…that was what the arrows were for!

The double headed axe is nicely detailed, and you can store it or the sword on a loop that is on her belt. The belt has nice details, with an animal skull as the belt buckle. The sword, I know I’m bringing it up again, but it looks like it is a part of the Abyss in Crimson Desert. Also, the Masters of the Universe movie trailer has been showing some interior of Grayskull, and this sword looks like it could belong there. The axe has a sculpted “wooden” handle, with flat-topped curved-under heads. The rope is painted well.

I know these figures cost a little more than other lines (Masterverse, GI Joe Classified Series, Super7 Ultimates), but the Horsemen really are outclassing everyone else, for really not that much more. And the fact that this is a line of “generic” characters, it is like they are really rubbing it in to Hasbro and Mattel maybe for not contracting them anymore.

Oh yeah…I keep almost forgetting. Névé came with a medallion. This was bent in the package. It is a circle with a cross on it, and looks very Viking-ish. I have no idea what this is about. I usually hang it from her belt. It looks good, and I think it is not supposed to be bent or curled, so I’ve tried to flatten it out, but it keeps reverting.

ADDENDUM

This time it has been awhile since I first did the review, and I have some additional “BOOM!” pictures

PICTURED: All Mythic Legions: Sir Godfrey, Sir Uczajk, and Névé. Some of the best looking knights. BOOM!
PICTURED: Masterverse 1987 Masters of the Universe Movie figures, Chronicles 2026 Master of the Universe Movie Battle Cat, who is ridden by Mythic Legions Névé. Also notice the vintage storybooks, and also the popcorn bag I purchased when I saw The Mandalorian and Grogu. Névé has the blonde head from the Cosmic Ladies heads pack. BOOM!

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS NE’VE’

I give my ratings based on sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and “the feels.” It is excellent in all areas except for articulation. The figure has great articulation…but when you put the pauldrons on you lose the range of motion in the arms. BUT also with the default white-haired head, those braids are just too awesome for her to be able to turn her head. (Same with the blonde head pictured above)

This figure is solid awesome otherwise. It was a moment when you didn’t know you needed something until you saw it. It was that kind of thing. She looks great with Masters of the Universe. I kind of chose skeletons as my faction to collect in Mythic Legions, but knights are turning out to be a close second place.

I am giving Ne’ve’ a 4/5 rating, taking a point only because of that situationally limited articulation. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

Mythic Legions Terpiculi- SpartanNerd Review

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To see the YouTube version of my review of this AMAZING FIGURE, click here!

Way back when the Necronominus Wave dropped, I saw a few figures that I really wanted. Maxillius and Belualyth were two, but also the Terpiculi. And I didn’t pick him up as soon as I saw him. I thought I must have missed him, but then the opportunity came to me to get him off the shelf.

Keep reading to see why he is the greatest skeleton in my collection!

PACKAGING

His packaging is the same packaging as most recent Mythic Legions. It is a big blister card window over a D&D style background featuring a demon and a dragon, with red and blue details and some fire. The back is the same that we saw with Belualyth and the Undead Legion Builder pack. But here is a picture anyway. You can see clearly everything in the package except for the oversized alternate hands hidden behind the Mythic Legions logo.

The cross sell shows Necronominus (the skeleton god who is flying in the center of the artwork,) Belualyth the Beastmaster, who was my 2025 figure of the year, the Terpiculi, and the undead legions builder. I have all of these except the over-the-top skeleton god. And in person he is really incredible, but he is also just a little bit “too much” for the SpartanNerd. The other characters in the artwork are Poxxus, Ilythia, and Arythyr. That I know all of these names means that I am out-nerding most people! I don’t know much about the lore of Mythic Legions, but I do know that these are the evil bosses.

There is a little bio on the side that says that this is truly a monster. If you read Belualyth’s bio, then you know that she led an army of these Terpiculi into battle. So this guy is a legion builder as well.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE

  • Terpiculi figure
  • Pair of angled swords
  • Bone or antler meat cleaver
  • Pair of small bird wings
  • tail
  • alternate head that doesn’t have horns
  • oversized alternate hands
  • regular alternate hands

I took it right out of the package and propped him up with the oversized arms. This is what you get right out of the box.

FIGURE REVIEW

I love how the colors match most of the other Mythic Legions skeletons. It is the best bone color…actually looking like old bones look in movies and such. Which I suppose represents real-life decay, bleaching, etc. Something else cool…like Maxillius the Harvester before him, he has “guts” molded in the ribcage.

This figure is basically a Modulok or Multibot kind of character, only based in skeletons, which is actually genius if you think about it. You can rearrange the parts in so many different ways…unlimited ways really if you are willing to combine multiple figures. Which for the SpartanNerd is an actual possibility. I wouldn’t mind owning more than one of these, and for that matter you can use these parts or the parts of other skeleton warriors to add to the fun of this figure.

I thought I might need the hairdryer, but I haven’t had to use it. To the contrary, the more I have messed with the figure, the more loose fitting the pegs are. Be careful with the tail. It is a bendy tail, and the vertebrae on it are angled by default. But if you are too rough with it no doubt your could break it. This already happened with one of the Ninian Infantry figures I have, where the tail separated from he top plug-in joint. I was able to get it back together, but it freaked me out enough so that I was extra cautious with The Mouse King and now with this Terpiculi.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Battle Armor He-Man and Skeletor, with MASTERVERSE Panthor and MOTUC Battle Cat. Does He-Man win this one? Seems he always finds a way.

And just as a default character, he is a walking battle machine. It is strange to only have three weapons for four arms. But he is so lanky and such that some of this is kicking, punching, and tail swipes.

The oversized arms. You can remove the chicken wings and the regular arms, and peg the oversized arms in where they were. Use the hornless head, and then you have a gorilla skeleton!

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Belualyth and the Terpiculi in an MTG “nightmare” configuration using Maxillius alien head.

These two photos represent a couple of nightmares. Above I have Maxillius default head put here, with the chicken wings for the arms, and the legs reverse jointed to make a chicken monster. Below I have the oversized arms and Maxillius’ blood wings halo thing.

A FANTASTIC UPGRADE

I already purchased the skeleton wings to use with my other warriors, but they are very natural for this figure.

PICTURED: Masterverse New Etheria Hordak, Revelation Scare Glow, Mythic Legions Maxxilius the Harvester, Belualyth’s chimera pet, several skull heads, and Mythic Legions Terpiculi on the worst flight stand you ever saw.

The bone wings are huge! Very impressive…there is really nothing like it. If you get the Terpiculi, you should definitely pay the extra $20 for the wings.

WHY IS THE TERPICULI THE GREATEST SKELETON FIGURE

Let’s compare the figures below. On the far left I have The Undead of Vikenfell, who is getting weaker and weaker and constantly has trouble standing. Maybe he (or she?) is too small and light for their own good. At the back we have Demistros, one of the first Mythic Legions skeletons I had, and a great boss for the skeleton tribe. I have MASTERVERSE New Eternia Viking Skeletor’s head swapped on, and you can see he really isn’t much of a skeleton warrior. Mostly a dark knight with an evil head. On the right I have the disrobed Maxillius the Harvester, who is basically a grim reaper. And he is the most anatomical of the skeletons and would be the greatest, but I broke his neck around October 2025 and have had to Gorilla Glue it a couple of times. I was able to swap his heads for this review without issue, thankfully. A big difference in the Terpiculi and Maxillius is the pelvis…Terpiculi has the regular 1.0 waist, while Maxillius has a properly designed pelvis. (There is a belt piece on the Terpiculi providing privacy for what looks like a diaper!). But that durability problem makes me worry with messing with Maxillius.

Terpiculi is the best because he feels like you need to mess with him…it is like he is inviting you to disassemble him and reassemble him in a different way. He is a Spooky Scary Skeletons figure, for sure!

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS TERPICULI

Sculpt- 1 point. Excellent work!

Paint- 1 point. Love the color!

Accessories- 1 point. This figure IS accessories basically. Plus there is a whole bone-wings add-on that is perfect!

Articulation- 1 point. I haven’t had to use a hairdryer. I want to say that he is getting looser and looser the more I mess with it. It hasn’t been enough of a problem to deduct a point…it isn’t a “stupid problem” yet.

Feels Point- Look at the picture below, and tell me if he gets the “Feels Point”. Of course he does! And even if a person isn’t into Mythic Legions specifically, but loves creepy monsters. Well the Terpiculi belongs in that monster fan’s collection. I can’t imagine a collector of horror figures would be unhappy with the Terpiculi!

THE SPARTANNERD RATES THE MYTHIC LEGIONS TERPICULI A 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

GI Joe Classified Beach Head (Retro Cardback)

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See Reviews of Zarana, Jinx, Tunnel Rat, and Law and Order at SpartanNerd.com

See the video review of this product here

I am on a roll picking up the Rawhides subgroup of GI Joes from the 1987 movie. I have Jinx, Tunnel Rat, Law and Order, and now their drill sergeant, Beach Head. (I need to get Lt. Falcon, Big Lob, and Chuckles, if anyone is counting).

I saw this Retro Cardback Beach Head at LT Toys in Columbia SC, and decided it was the perfect time to get one of the GI Joe Classified Series Retro Cardback figures.

As this is my first one, lets take a hard look at the package, which should be a bigger deal than the normal Classified Series stuff.

I mean…it looks like a toy from the 1980’s in modern collectors sensibilities. I have seen a few of these warming the pegs at Walmart…usually Cover Girl or Scarlett. I don’t know why the lady figures don’t sell so well? I seem to enjoy quite a few over the past couple of years. Back to Beach Head, you have a nice illustration with the classic explosion behind him. You can see the figure very well in his bluster bubble, as well as all of his accessories. Really…holding this in hand also brings back some memories. Let’s flip it over…

On the surface, it looks like a cardback from the 1980’s, but dig a little bit to see some differences. There is cross sell art, which is similar, but I don’t know who these characters are, and it doesn’t say who. The bio takes up most of the cardback, and I remember being a kid and cutting these out, only for them to usually get thrown away probably by my mom. She was generally against us having GI Joes by the way. Terrified of guns or that we would join the army. I have an uncle who almost made it to general, and so there we go…another draw towards the military that I am pretty sure scared her to death. I never joined up, but I strongly considered after 9/11. However, my son did go into the infantry, and worries US to death.

Back to the cardback…this bio barely gives us any information. Instead, we get a little bit in five languages. I absolutely think they should print this for other languages…that isn’t what I am saying. I wish a more fleshed out bio wasn’t sacrificed for the real estate on this card it takes to print five languages. (If they did print a different card for each language, that is even more incentive for people to chase down the variants…just saying!)

I love this package enough to keep the cardback. Important to note, it isn’t a collector’s friendly package. I used a pocket knife to cut the blister off without damaging the card. I saw where it is possible to use a hairdryer. I’ll keep the card with any others I pick up and keep using it as a diorama for YouTube videos, etc.

WHAT DO WE GET IN THE PACKAGE?

  • Beach Head Figure
  • Backpack
  • Bandolier
  • Pair of daggers
  • Crossbow
  • Pair of tear gas grenades
  • Pistol with silencer
  • Submachine gun (Demro XF-7 Wasp?)
  • Figure Stand

I kind of thought the retro-cardback style was another way to sell the core characters to nostalgia chasers, and use less plastic (parts and accessories). But that doesn’t seem to be the case with Beach Head. This is pretty much the exact same thing I would have expected from the more classic Classified Series packaging.

FIGURE REVIEW

PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Cobra Commander and Retro Cardback Beach Head

Beach Head has all of the same articulation you would expect. BUT my example has a stiff right knee that has a top joint that doesn’t want to move. I used the hair dryer and got it to go, but it is still very stiff. Otherwise he has a ball-jointed head on a posable neck, butterfly joints on the shoulders, bicep swivels, double jointed elbows, swivel wrists with rubbery hands. Ab crunch, waist twist, ball jointed hips, double jointed knees, boot cut shins, rocker ankles. Everything you would expect from a Classified Series figure.

Beach Head is wearing what I would describe as riot gear, however he is clearly an Army Ranger. He has this rubber flack jacket and ammo utility belt. There are red details on the shoulders which I believe are padding because of the weight of this armor and backpack, but it also could be some kind of storage. He has a poster for his pistol, which has a silencer also. There are sheaths for his two daggers…this is very welcome considering that Law and Order didn’t come with a sheath. He doesn’t have a proper way of storing the crossbow or machine gun on his armor.

His sculpt is very good. Mostly this is a uniform sculpt, like the recent Jinx figure I reviewed. You aren’t seeing a lot of human figure, but instead are seeing the costume. In the case of Beach Head, his most iconic look is this look. Military uniform from head to toe, always wearing a ski mask. But it is a great sculpt. You can see the elastic details on his shirt, the ridges on his mask, and the pants look like natural pants. (These have been used before…Sergeant Slaughter has the same pants and deco)

The paint is an area I thought this retro cardback figure might skimp on. It’s true that the accessories could use more paint, but the figure doesn’t seem to have suffered. All of the paint on this figure is well done. There is some of the “molded in colored plastic” effect that does some of the work.

Beach Head inspects the Rawhides. PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Jinx, Law, and Tunnel Rat. MIA Lt. Falcon, Big Lob, and Chuckles. I have a feeling I will be getting Big Lob soon…

You can see in the above photo that Beach Head, being from the Retro Cardback, isn’t the least bit worse than the other three.

ACCESSORIES

Beach Head is absolutely loaded. I believe his best accessory is the submachine gun. BUT…it needs more paint apps. It’s true that it captures what the vintage figure came with. But like I said before, it is in the accessories where the paint apps are lacking. This machine gun has a muzzle break and a magazine, both removable. And his hands are very rubbery, allowing you to pose him holding it without problems. Notable, this figure did not come with alternate hands like so many others, but these rubbery hands are a good workaround. This gun, reportedly a Demro FX-7 Wasp, isn’t normally military. I looked it up, and it was possibly used in Vietnam, where actually American military issued weapons were not allowed. But in general, this is more of a police weapon.

PICTURED: All GI Joe Classified Series figures. Cold Slither (Dreadnoks Zartan, Buzzer, Torch, and Ripper), Zarana, and GI Joe Beach Head.

His pistol is average for GI Joe. The bandolier…I am told that this pouch thing he is holding is just that. It holds three ammo cans. You can attach the tear gas grenades to it also. his backpack appears to have the arrows for the crossbow sculpted in. Internet research says that this backpack has a mine detector.

PICTURED: Turtles of Grayskull Skull-Shredder vs. GI Joe Classified Shooter and Beach Head. It looks like they have him with their pistols, but we all know it won’t be that simple…Also pictured my favorite cover of Turtles of Grayskull #1 and the most recent Energon Universe GI Joe story, where the Joes recruit Roadblock. (was that a spoiler?)

SPARTANNERD RATING OF GI JOE CLASSIFIED RETRO CARDBACK BEACH HEAD

  • Sculpt- Point
  • Paint- Point
  • Accessories- Point
  • Articulation- Taking a point off because of his knee issues
  • the feels point- You know it!

Yeah, Beach Head gets the feels point all day because of that special scene in the 1987 GI Joe movie. I recently watched it again just because that movie is awesome…I had it on Beta Max when I was a little kid and watched this movie all of the time…easily once a week. But the best scene in the movie isn’t Nemesis Enforcer, or even the opening music video (though that is undeniably awesome). It is the scene between Jinx and Beach Head. And I am going to write my feelings right now, and you’ll know why I needed Beach Head so much, and also why he gets the Feels Point, even though the SpartanNerd is a Cobra fan.

First of all, Beach Head is inspecting the new recruits, dubbed Rawhides. These are six new bodies being injected into GI Joe by Hasbro, but I digress. Beach Head gives them a looking over and blah, blah, blah Lt. Falcon is AWOL. Jinx is among them. Beach Head trains Big Lob and Tunnel Rat, but then meets Jinx in her training area, which looks kind of ninja-cabin-ish. She is working her katas or something. Here he accuses her of being bad luck, and then she makes a kissy face at him. He doesn’t like this at all, and proceeds to beat her up and then using the gladiator pole shoved in her face says “$#1+ ! Pathetic!” Yep. On a straight to TV movie. I would normally not like this except for what happens next.

As Beach Head begins to leave, she puts on her blindfold and breaks the training pole in two, then beats Beach Head down.

And there you have it. Beach Head gets the feels point. There has never been a time when this movie was on that I didn’t stop what I was doing…almost like saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and just take it in.

So I award GI Joe Classified Series Retro Cardback Beach Head a 4/5. He only loses a point because of his knee problem, but I guess the SpartanNerd loses that point also!

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

New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor-SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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I was gifted Terror Claws Skeletor…a version of Skeletor I never had as a kid. (I didn’t care for the generation that was Flying Fist He-Man and Terror Claws Skeletor, and I believe this was He-Man’s fault). But I remember the Terror Claws from the mini comics, and I really like mini comics. (Versions of Skeletor I had were OG, Battle Armor, and Dragon Blaster).

Keep reading to find out my opinion on this Masterverse re-imagined version.

PACKAGING

Terror Claws Skeletor comes in the typical Masterverse package. It has a nice window where you can see the figure inside with some accessories…in this case part of his claw. You can see that he is wearing a helmet with a visor also, which looks kind of Judge Dredd-ish. The art is very nice, showing Terror Claws Skeletor fighting the fully transformed King Hiss.

If you angle the box to the side you can see a continuation of the main image…Cobra Kahn is standing in the background, with Viper Tower looming overhead.

The other side of the box has the library image for those who keep the packaging. I will be cutting this up and adding it to my YouTube video backdrops. But you can see him full on battle posed, and his profile picture at the top.

The back features a photoshopped image of the toy. This bio says that he invented the Terror Claws to go Mano-e-mano with He-Man. (I paraphrased that!). You get some images of the figure with the claws, a back-of-armor shot where we can see the Dr. Octopus arms, and a mugshot of the helmet with the visor.

There is cross sell on the bottom, showing Terror Claws for one thing, Ninjor…a character that I wasn’t aware of as a child and honestly one of my least favorite Masters characters, and then the newest version of She-Ra.

FIGURE REVIEW

What do you get in the package?

  • Terror Claws Skeletor figure
  • Pair of Terror Claws
  • Pair of alternate hands

Not much to list here. Normally I would complain, but this is Terror Claws Skeletor…his whole jam IS accessories.

This Skeletor has all of the articulation of any Masterverse figure. But this one has a posable jaw, which not every Skeletor gets.

His sculpt and paint are very good. There are dragon details at the top of each terror claw, as well as the classic skull on his armor, but this time kind of cybernetic looking. The armor is what some people like to compare to a crop-top or sports bra…and I agree with joking about that! But it looks like the vintage design. The helmet is kind of a football helmet with spikes running up the mohawk. His feet have metal boots covering monster feet. There is this glossy blue, purple, and silver paint all over the figure, with the same pale blue that BA Skeletor has. I think the paint is one of the best features of this figure. The red belt also compliments red evil eyes that always work for Skeletor.

The visor on the helmet is removable (the helmet is not). This is kind of a sunglasses design…your best bet is to wedge your fingernail at the seam between the helmet and glasses at the top. You can then use the glasses on other figures.

PICTURED: New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor, NE Terror Claws Skeletor, and Masterverse Movie Skeletor. Also notice a rando Mythic Legions skull that has the visor on it. Battle Armor Skeletor is still the winner…I have armed him with an extra Havoc Staff and also with Heatboys Donatello’s camouflage cape. But Movie Skeletor is surely in everyone’s mind. Click to see my movie trailer analysis.

ACCESSORIES

Like I said…that is what this figure is about. Those gigantic claws. This time we have mechanical arms attached to them. These run from the same kind of sockets that we have on the back of New Etheria Hordak (they are for wings). I don’t believe that was a part of the vintage design. What Mattel is doing is updating this Skeletor to have a more techno look, which also tracks well with the old Mini Comics, where the dinosaurs had a “techno virus,” an idea that also was kind of used in the most recent Kevin Smith cartoon series.

PICTURED: New Eternia Battle Armor He-Man vs. New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. Skeletor is meant to go up against Flying Fist He-Man…a figure I do not want.
PICTURED: New Eternia Clawful and New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. You can see some shared design aesthetics, for instance Clawful’s new shell on his back and metal boots over monster feet are similar updates to what is going on with Terror Claws Skeletor.
PICTURED: New Eternia Fisto fights New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor. My complaint about Fisto is that his fist isn’t large enough. It should be as large as Terror Claws Skeletor’s mechanical hands. So Skeletor wins.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF NEW ETERNIA TERROR CLAWS SKELETOR

PICTURED: New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor and New Eternia Evil Lyn. These two look like they belong together, sharing somewhat of a color scheme. I have Skeletor showing Evil Lyn the Star Seed, which he is able to hold no problem with his metal hands. (It is a spherical polished blue quartz from a rock store at a mall somewhere)

I don’t see any reason to downgrade this figure. His paint is especially good, but his terror claws gimmick has been generously updated, and we also have an articulated jaw and sunglasses style visor that we can use on other figures…an excellent feature update. Plus, I haven’t had any trouble getting him to stand, and you know these claws would normally present a challenge of balance. But not this time. I think it is because the Masterverse line of figures has reached a point where stupid problems like that just don’t come up as much.

Near the end of the line last year, I had a lot of complaints because it seemed that Mattel was cutting paint. They didn’t on this, and I appreciate it very much. Sculpt, Paint, Accessories, Articulation…all points that I am awarding. And I am giving this the feels point because I am very grateful for it as a gift. I didn’t have him as a kid and wouldn’t have gotten him, but I’m glad to have it now…so I award him a 5/5! Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

Origins Sharella-SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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Who? I kept getting e-mails from Mattel Creations about this “exclusive” Club Grayskull figure. But then I was like…”Why would I get this? Who even is Sharella?”

The story continues. In December I went to some different nerdy stores, and one of them had Sharella for sale to a good cause. (The overpriced-ness caught me first, until I saw the tiny words “for charity”). Anyway, this was my actual first in-person look at Sharella, and I was like “NOPE, she’s wayyy to small.” To be fair, all of Mattel’s photos don’t give us references for how big she actually is. Then, for Christmas I was gifted some Origins figures, including Cartoon Collection Catra, and my attitude about Origins began to shift a little. And then after Christmas, the end-of-the-year sales…Sharella was only $12. I was ordering Turtles of Grayskull Skele-Shredder anyway, (to go with Stealth Ninja He-Man,) so I tacked on the purchase of Sharella.

So was she worth the $12?

PACKAGING

(Note: Most of these images are screenshots from the YouTube review I recorded for a few weeks ago)

Sharella came in this excellent window box, where you can see her prominently. It has a stiff bubble, surrounded by a sort-of crystal skull motif. Her byline, which I just now noticed all this time later, is “Heroic Tribal Chieftress!” The words Masters of the Universe The Powers of Grayskull are a prominent title feature. For anyone who doesn’t know (most of my readers and viewers probably will,) Powers of Grayskull was the failed-to-launch sequel series to the original vintage He-Man and She-Ra lines. You might remember dinosaur vehicles (as a kid I had Tyrantisaurus and Bionatops, these were to be part of that line)…There was a whole plan to make a new He-Man line based around the most powerful wizard in the universe, He-Ro. This line was far enough along for promotional material to be published in catalogs, and ever since people have been asking about it. Mattel has milked this demand, making a few He-Ro figures as well as his mentor Eldor. Sharella seems to be entirely new, however. So now Mattel is leaning into creating a new story for apparently adult collectors. (Club Grayskull is a subscription…you won’t find Sharella on the shelf at Walmart or Target.)

The back shows an awesome scene.

Now this is a great piece of art by Axel Giminez, one of those Masters of the Universe Classics era artists. Sharella looks muscular and powerful. She is aiming at a moving target, The Great Black Wizard. This, as well as the snake boss on the ground level, is a completely new character. So Sharella is kind of like Teela, The Great Black Wizard is kind of like Skeletor, and the snake pharaoh guy is kind of like King Hiss. The setting here appears to be either Snake Mountain or the Fright Zone.

Right now as I type this, The Great Black Wizard is on sale at Club Grayskull. He looks awesome! But I believe he serves the same purpose as Skele-Shredder, so I won’t be picking him up.

The sides of the box also feature beautiful illustrations.

FIGURE REVIEW

What do you get in the box?

  • Mini Comic “She-Warrior”
  • Sharella figure
  • belt with attached quiver
  • bow
  • arrow

Right away I had a problem. The mini comic was packed in plastic, of course. Nonetheless, the corner was stuck in the little slot you can see on the energy burst in the photo of Sharella below. It is permanently bent…I have had it under weight to try and fix it. Nope. Such is the way of comics. If I was a Mint-on-card collector, this wouldn’t matter though would it? I would never know. But as someone who opens up his stuff, this gets to be a downside for me.

As soon as I removed the figure from the blister I dropped the arrow and actually wasn’t even aware. After posing her for a little while that was when I realized it had fallen in the floor.

Upon trying to take her head off and swap it with Catra for the first time, her torso came apart, and so I went ahead and set her out like this for the “what do you get in the box” photo. She comes apart very easily, but not too easily. I am not complaining.

Origins Cartoon Collection Catra and Masters of the Universe Classics Teela (kit bash) are both taller than Sharella.

Sharella can be posed any way you would like that a typical Origins female can do…in other words exactly the same as Catra. Ball joint head, swivel shoulders, bicep cuts, elbow hinges, swivel wrists, torso twist, ball-on-peg hips, hinged knees (which are unsightly), boot cut, rocker ankles.

Her sculpt is nice, and as a a mostly bare female figure you can see her lack of ab muscles (as opposed to her artwork.). Just a regular skinny belly. I know someone is wondering… is the top removable? Yes 🙂 (She is more modest than the above Teela…it says ages 8+ people). It is hard to get the rubbery piece off, and even harder to get back on. You have to remove her head and her arms, as well as have the torso off of the waist.

Check the images below of the classic Conan-carrying-a-lady pose. Let me know which Conan figure wins…Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor or Mythic Legions Legendary Barbarian? Vikor is notably receiving love from the just released Masters of the Universe movie trailer. (My reference photo was Dark Horse Conan the Cimmerian #2).

Vikor has really big bicep muscles, and this keeps him from gripping her good. He has a horned helmet also mucking up the image. I had the most trouble catching this shot before he fell over.
The Legendary Barbarian isn’t quite as Arnold-ish. He can’t hold her as high up as she needs to be, and do you notice that I have wedged her foot against his boot? I wonder if there is a barefoot Origins female out there to swap Sharella’s legs with.

ACCESSORIES

Oh boy. Here is the big problem.

The bow looks good, but just like every other archer character I have, she can’t look right knocking an arrow.

PICTURED: Origins Sharella, Mythic Legions Xylernian Guard, and Super7 Ultimates! Thulsa Doom. I have a few others, but none of can pose with a bow and arrow correctly. I took a box cutter to Xylerian guard’s fingers, but his arrow isn’t long enough. Thulsa Doom is the same body sculpt as Vikor underneath that costume. (Super7 Ultimates! are actually MOTUC 5.0 figures). So his biceps keep it from happening.

I already mentioned how I just about lost that arrow. It is very thin…think about that thin plastic they use to strap figures into packages. The kind of stuff you hand a price tag on a piece of clothes with. Super thin stuff. As such, it is bent and there won’t be any repairing that. It came out of the box that way, and using a hair dryer won’t do anything but make it gummy and even more floppy.

All of Mattel’s promotional material show her aiming the bow and arrow and looking good doing it. I would rather have a bow-and-arrow sculpted and painted together, pre-posed, out of stiffer plastic than this. That is what I would rather have. They could have given us that AND a non-posed bow. But this is what we got.

Besides this, Sharella could really use a spear. How hard would that have been to include?

SPARTANNERD RATING OF Origins Sharella

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Boreus ridden by equestrian Origins Sharella. She is armed with GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order’s dagger. She might as well use it…he didn’t come with a sheath and she doesn’t look right with her accessory!

Sharella looks great, and this is her main job. She is a good bit shorter than any of my other female barbarians…actually even shorter than GI Joe Classified Shooter. But as a female figure in Origins scale, she does this job well.

I wish she came with more accessories, but she comes with what is apparently “on par” with other Origins figures. Her packaging looks great and kind of offsets her low accessory count. (But how hard would it have been to give her a spear?)

BUT…the difficulty of getting her into archery poses is a problem. I mean…this is WHO SHE IS. All of Mattel’s promotional photos show her knocking an arrow and aiming. Sadly, this doesn’t really work. The bow is sculpted and painted well, but the action doesn’t work, and this is where a point has to be taken off.

The SpartanNerd rates Mattel Creations Origins Sharella 4/5. I expect one day we might have a Masterverse figure of this, and I will definitely get that if they release it. Hopefully they learn from their missteps about the bow and arrow system.