Category Archives: Super7

Two Generic Dudes- Demistros and Black Falcon SpartanNerd Action Figure Showdown!

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I mean…I keep waiting on some Conan the Barbarian Ultimates! figures to show up, and they keep getting pushed back. So now I am expecting Battle at the Mounds figures in June and King Conan in July…I ordered both going on a year and a half ago! In the meantime, I have been building a MASTERVERSE collection, with a minor emphasis on skeletons. I already think Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor looks great fighting skeleton warriors, and that will be the perfect thing for Conan figures to fight. I am also on the lookout for a giant snake…

The Four Horsemen had a special sale, where I picked up Demistros. And because Super7 pushed King Conan back another two months, they gave me a 15% discount on my next order…which is why I picked up Black Falcon.

Both are great skeleton warriors, but I would like to do a little throwdown here. Both are kind of generic…I mean they have names but who knows who they are? Not me! Who will win? Let’s start with Demistros.

DEMISTROS

Demistros came in a plain box in the mail…it was small enough to fit in my grandma’s mailbox! (long story). But it was the perfect size. I don’t usually care, but it was nice to have a little less trash. Demistros’ package was no bigger or different than other Mythic Legions figures….But wait. Here’s a point. Demistros isn’t a Mythic Legions figure! They actually made him to be one of the generic baddies you might have encountered in 1980’s cartoons. They say so on the side back!

So back in the 1980’s, you would have Masters of the Universe to purchase, but sometimes you might go to the store and they only had figures you already owned. What to do? Get a KO. A knock-off. And there were plenty. Sometimes they would be named “Galaxy Warriors” or other nonsense. But I had a little collection of guys who could hold Masters weapons and ride their vehicles and really just blended right in. And this went along with the M.O. of the Filmation show also, didn’t it? There were Count Marzo, Lizard Man, and Strongarm just to name a few. Also, WWF/WCW wrestlers were big, and their toys also sometimes went right along with MOTU. So Demistros here kind of fits that bill. And how did I come across purchasing it? A random side impulse. “Store Horsemen In Stock Sale!”

The package has a nice illustration, and I prefer the blue/purple background to the red/yellow on the back of Mythic Legions. So let’s open this collector friendly Mythic Legions style box.

Oops…the cat’s out of the bag. (This little piece of paper!)

Here is everything you get in the package. The Demistros figure, who has all of the articulation and swapability of a Mythic Legions figure, a giant sword, a lance/spear thing, and a morning star weapon. Also, the cape is soft goods and separate, the pauldons are removable, and necessary to hold the cape on.

So here are some things. That head sculpt…when I ordered it, I didn’t realize how much of a BUTT CHIN it would have. I mean…severe BUTT CHIN. I mean, giant spikes coming from the chin! It is a very nice sculpt, and that is just a wacky detail. Green evil eyes. Kind of a repugnant smile. I think it was the horns that sold me. I am very partial to horned helmets. I did remove the horns with some force, and I am uncertain if they were meant to be removed, unlike most Mythic Legions parts. They snapped right back in, but caution, everyone! After I ordered this, I saw what must be the exact sculpt but red at the Toy Federation store in Greer, SC. With red, it looks like Satan. no other way to say it! It is amazing how much the paint changes the character.

Now I am of the mindset that Demistros is supposed to be a KO Skeletor. Skeletor is often depicted in modern media as having horns like this. From DC and Dark Horse comics to Skele-God in Masters of the Universe Revelation. It’s just that the Four Horsemen did it first in figure form, and they couldn’t call him Skeletor. Here is Skeletor’s head on the figure with proper weapons. I mean really, it is terrific! But as before, the head doesn’t fit the neck joint, so it is actually just sitting there. But in this case, there is a big “collar” that goes around the neck so that it isn’t obvious at all.

Pictured: Demistros body with MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor alternate head, MOTUC Havoc Staff from The Faceless One, and purple Power Sword from MASTERVERSE King Grayskull.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor body with Demistros head and spear.

The cape…I really would like to put it on someone else. But after attaching it, using the hair dryer, etc. Way too much effort to be worth the fun. The trouble I had with it…That is probably never coming back off. It’s a shame, really. This is easily the best soft-goods cape on an action figure I own at this point.It really took me a lot of effort. The problem is that the peg doesn’t want to fit in the hole snuggly with the fabric of the cape in the way. (There are holes cut in the fabric that line up with the holes in his back.)

Articulation is just like Mythic Legions. All easy to move joints and modular parts. Only the head has trouble moving because of that glorious BUTT CHIN.

I think the whole sculpting on the figure is insanely good. And this is what the Four Horsemen do. No one is better at it in the business.

The weapons are a nice little variety. The sword is of the anime style…ridiculously huge. There are green “runes” sculpted on there. This is sculpting with paint details, and the figure appears to be powering up this sword. The morning star is cool. It has a real metal chain. My problem with this weapon is…how do you display it?

It just hangs. You can’t pose it swinging or anything. The spear/lance is the same weapon we already have gotten with other skeleton warriors, but this time we get a little bit of oxidized copper finish. It kind of reminds you of those bronze or brass grave markers. (Here is an example.)

So not many accessories. I believe the sword to be the best, but there is potential with the morning star…maybe I can figure out how to rig a wire through that chain so that I can pose it.

Black Falcon

Black Falcon came in just the opposite. A large piece of trash box labeled Super7. Which just meant that a FedEx man had to set it down outside my grandma’s door.

Inside that box was Black Falcon in a “The Worst” mailer.

And so let’s talk about The Worst. Who really cares about them? Who are they? No clue. I remember when The Worst was first released as ReAction figures. They were the first to use the Masters of the Universe Reaction molds for Battle Cat, which I thought looked ridiculous anyway. I couldn’t get behind the big hole in the back where you had to put the poorly articulated three inch figure. I have seen Masters ReAction figures on pegs, and I just think they are dumb, which is why I don’t own any. I prefer Dollar Tree minis, or Eternia Minis, or really almost anything to those figures that aren’t quite as good as GI Joes. (I don’t mind ReAction figures of stuff where there will be no other action figures, for instance, Parks and Recreation.)

But I have to admit, I thought Black Falcon was the coolest one of the bunch. And in Ultimates! form, his design is the best when compared to Captain Deadstar or Batula (which were in the same wave). Not that I am against either of those, but the horned helmet skeleton wins the $50.

Here is what was in the mailer.

This box cover. Now I don’t even like this illustration. And what is he holding? A brick? The problem is I think this is a good illustration for the ReAction figure, but the Ultimates! figure deserved better. This is a shiny cover…but what to do with it? I have the Cobra B.A.T. still in his covered box. And I think it fits so well. I considered keeping Metalhead’s, but it came damaged. This one isn’t damaged, but why would I keep it?

Finally, what does the box look like?

You get this shiny foil background and this coffin shaped window. You can see the contents very well! And like the Cobra B.A.T. there is a double blister inside. Here’s the back for more of a description of who Black Falcon is supposed to be.

So after taking the figure out, I just tossed the box. I don’t have room to keep every box. Still…it is a very good box, and on par with the other Ultimates! boxes I have. I think I may keep the Conan boxes when they arrive, so I need to eke out room.

So what do we get?

Oh Boy! A long list. First of all, three heads. (standard, smiley with a cracked skull, and fiery orange). a removable, posable soft-goods cape. It appears that I received an extra gripping hand…(this was floating around in with the figure in the box. Hope I don’t have someone else’s). So I got nine hands in total. (two fists, three gripping, two open claws, two fiery gripping, and one “circle game”). I got a falcon boomerang, a necklace with an X on it, a bident spear, a sword with horns, a falcon shield, a bagged lunch, and a coffee or soup canister with a removable cup/lid.

I don’t believe I have ever opened an action figure with so many accessories!

All these accessories will make for tons of fun, but lets just talk about the figure first.

In the box he has the cape and necklace on. The cape is terrific, and like Demistros it has rips and holes. But this one has a wire that is posable (or posable some other way I don’t know how it works). But it has this gold snap in the front that is just too conspicuous. But it is much easier to remove than Demistros cape, and could easily go on another figure if I wanted.

While you keep looking at that circle…(other The Worst figures have middle fingers, so…) notice the paint. For a guy named “Black Falcon,” the only black apparent on the figure is in the eyes of the skulls. He is generally gray and copper colored with some splashes of gold. The paint is very nice. The sculpt is also very good, but of course not as great as a Four Horsemen sculpt. However, his sculpt is more detailed than the Cobra B.A.T., more detailed than Metalhead, and it fits in well with MOTUC Vikor. Important, because the original Ultimates! figures were Masters of the Universe Classics. All of this is an evolution of that line of toys.

Pictured: Black Falcon with sword, shield, and cracked face. Vikor with Mythic Legions battle axe.

The helmets on these three head sculpts remind me of old football helmets. The only thing that bothers me about Black Falcon’s sculpt is the falcon on his right arm is non-removable. Why? This is a missed opportunity, especially since Captain Deadstar seems to come with two parrots. (I only know about him from pictures).

Back to accessories. Notice that the shield doesn’t have straps, but has one of those dumb handles. I am pretty sure I’m not wrong in thinking shields are never wielded this way, but rather worn as a type of armor. Still, plenty of action figures have shields like this. The sword is very detailed and also painted with pride, which is more than I can say for at least the morning star weapon Demistros has. (I believe that is a green “wash” on the spear…should I consider that paint?). Most MASTERVERSE weapons don’t have this level of paint work.

I was baffled to hear another reviewer not seem to understand the purpose of the translucent-ish orange face and hands. Seriously…that guy needs to read some Ghost Rider comics and play some DOOM. Flaming skulls all over the place. And maybe I am the first to point this out…remember in the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, where Skeletor unlocked the power of Grayskull and transformed Into a god? One of the featured colors in that transformation was THIS EXACT SHADE. (Super7, please send me a reward for pointing this out). I do wish there was more paint on the eyes and in the mouth on this head sculpt. OK. Why the bag lunch and the coffee. These are hilarious! And that the top comes off to become the cup, like most real coffee thermoses, is just an added design detail that makes this even more fun. Here I imagine that coffee was really hot! Then his face caught fire. Remember that the front illustration featured Black Falcon holding a box. Nope. It was the bag lunch. (Another reason that illustration isn’t so great.)

Here is another one I haven’t seen anyone point out. (Brian Flynn…are you reading?). The falcon-a-rang weapon fits in the crack on the alternate head sculpt. This would be a Batman reference…there is a villain, “Bat-a-rang Face.”

THE SHOWDOWN. WHO WILL WIN?

Well there’s no question that I was able to write a lot more about Black Falcon than Demistros, mostly on account of all the many accessories. And all around, Black Falcon is more fun. So Black Falcon gives the first punch, right to the spiky BUTT CHIN face of Demistros.

On the other hand, in the sculpting department, with the work of the masterful Four Horsemen Studios, Demistros is eating Black Falcon’s lunch.

Demistros looks great with other Mythic Legions skeletons. I have Maximillius on order to be the boss of my skeletons, but Demistros is a terrific boss. He can do what bosses do best…stand in the back and send the underlings forward, and looks great doing that.

Pictured: Mythic Legions skeleton “legion builders” armed with MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking Skeletor” scimitar and MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela’s shield, McFarlane Toys Raven Spawn scythe, Masters of the Universe Classics Vykron barbarian axe and armor, Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor shield, and Demistros commanding them to battle.

But Black Falcon is more fun in a mix of characters.

Pictured: Black Falcon surrendering to MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor, who is armed with the MOTUC Faceless One Havoc Staff and Black Falcon’s cape, and also surrendering to Demistros. Notice that Black Falcon is holding MASTERVERSE Revelation Mer-Man bident and his own bident. You can clearly see the Super7 spear is more detailed by far.

I mean…it could be a tie…

For me…I don’t “play” with my figures as much as I pose them and take pictures. So to me I value sculpting and paint higher up. Putting Demistros in the lead. I can’t wait to have Demistros sit on King Conan’s Throne of Aquilonia.

On the other hand, the many, many accessories that Black Falcon brings to the whole activity actually enhances the fun of other figures a good bit. A great bit actually. I can’t wait to have Conan Ultimates! figures fight against this guy.

I have to reluctantly say Black Falcon is the winner! Both are generic jerks. They are bad to the bones. They are evil inside and out. They are twisted with their circle game and BUTT CHIN humor.

So Hub City Geeks, do you agree with me?

Do you think I should do more Action Figure show-downs? This was my first time of trying that and I really enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-E-Faces

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Click here to see a video of Scareglow, Man-E-Faces, and Khotal Kahn’s packaging.

I really don’t have many “good guys” from MASTERVERSE line yet. (So far, three versions of He-Man, Orko, and Ram Man.). This is a little odd, because it was the good aligned characters that appealed to me the most as a child from Masters of the Universe. But as I have gotten older, I find that the villains are definitely more interesting designs. As a child I always stuck with the Decepticons as toys, and Cobra also I believe because of the color scheme. And for Star Wars I am generally a dark-side type. But the good guys have nostalgia for me more because these were the toys I owned. One of my brothers had Skeletor’s guys and the other had the Horde. Meaning the big brother SpartanNerd always got to “win” at something else!

Man-E-Faces was yet another Valentines item for me. I picked it up in Columbia South Carolina along with Scare Glow and Khotal Kahn (from Mortal Kombat.)

And I have so many questions…I remember having this guy as a child. And I remember the filmation episode vaguely. It seems like 200x had a proper story where he could be controlled by Beast Man when he had on his monster face. So I looked him up on the internet to review some details. Wow…there is alot to this character that I either never knew or forgot. For instance, Peek-a-blue is his wife. European stories are more psychological, giving him a split personality, while American stories are lighter…he is an actor. But there are other questions. Is that his skin, or is it some kind of space suit? If it is his skin, then that is kind of gruesome that he has these hoses all over him. His face is orange…which is why this might be his skin. Other questions, who are the three extra faces?

Well, I should back up.

So the bio on the back of the box also says that Man-E-Faces has a shattered mind. Throwing back to those multiple personality issues European stories gave him. That his faces are the key to learning to restore Eternia is another mystery.

(Let me point out now that made a mistake in the package video, referring to Pig Head as a movie figure. Evidently Pig Head is Sun Man’s version of Skeletor. It is Pig-Boy that I was thinking of.)

Anyways, back to the figure review.

Here is everything you get in the box. The figure with the traditional Human-Monster-Robot faces. Three additional faces in a case, which are Prototype Man-E-Faces (so I hear), Keldor’s face (assumed), and Skeletor’s (assumed) face. The extra faces have a storage case. You also get two fists, a laser gun, and also his helmet is necessarily removable. That shiny blue paint is no joke!

I almost missed this detail in the packaging…(I was in the process of throwing it away)

So they made the gun into a tool! I don’t need it to turn the knob, but some kid might. What utilitarian purpose the laser is useful to me for is getting the faces to pop off of the turning drum or the carrying case.

Don’t know why you would, but the helmet looks pretty good on other characters. I feel like this is a space suit helmet.

The case has an unsightly problem. It is a perfectly fine item except for the hinge. That white stripe is where the plastic has stressed…this could have been handled differently. It seems like vintage GI Joes had this problem alot when they came with some type of ammo case. It has this “eye” design on it that fits right in with Masters of the Universe. In fact, this case reminds me a little bit of the one that held the Power Sword from 200x in the Mike Young show. (a different complaint from the Scareglow review…look how big that sword is on He-Man’s back.)

I mean…is this Skeletor? The color scheme is definitely different. But who else is a smiley skull-face? (OK. Scareglow.). Masters fans would automatically assume this. And if so, then the blue mustache has to be Keldor, right? Maybe this is a Mandela effect thing. I am remembering something from the “correct” universe. (Because if there are other universes, this one is definitely not the correct one!). What I think I remember is Man-E-Faces showing Skeletor and even Orko faces to Orko to prank him. Anyone else remember this, Hub-City Geeks?

I already mentioned the 200x story. I got to thinking, though. If he is primarily a man or a monster, and it is a split personality…couldn’t the robot version be something Man-At-Arms devised to “regulate” the two personalities?

(This pic shows an actual self defense tactic… Also, this is Metalhead from Super7 Ultimates TMNT)

So who is this?

Somewhere on the internet people are saying this is a prototype or design sketch artwork. It reminds me of Space Ghost…The colors match very well, and you can tell who he is. Would I have rather had a different face? Beast Man would have been cool, or Man-At-Arms. Or Orko. Or even He-man.

Here you can see Man-E-Faces can carry the case on his back.

How do I think this figure can be improved? The sculpt and paint are good, and there is variety of what you can do with the figure. He is very posable…no problems there. The gun is faithful to previous versions, and the carrying case is cool, but flawed at the hinge.

Hear me out, Hub City Geeks! What if you could remove this drum like you can the other figures’ heads. Just think. Now Man-E-Faces could be anyone, literally! I don’t know the logistics of it. But this is how this figure could be improved. I already show how the “space helmet” works on other figures. How much of a stretch to think about totally changing this mechanism?

I am giving Man-E-Faces a 4/5. What I say above is actually my imagination thinking of possibilities, not so much of a criticism. My criticism is that we could have had more faces, or at least different faces, and the hinge on that carrying case…as issue that Mattel would have known better than produce. They should have created a different design.

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Ram Man

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You can see my video of the package here!

Here I am back to Ram Man. The last Ram Man I had was the Super7 Ultimates MOTUC “re-issue,” that had that orange color scheme on his armor instead of the classic red. The orange was from the “cross sell” art on the back of the vintage figures. It was cool. Very detailed sculpt, with even the boots having skull details.

(Surely people reading the SpartanNerd blog are familiar with vintage Ram Man. But just in case…) The vintage Ram Man toy was so iconic…so incredibly cool and everywhere. Everyone had one. I always felt like his plastic was a little different than the other figures…it felt like some Christmas ornaments my grandmother put on her tree. And it had that springy leg action feature. You locked him down first by pressing his legs up through his armor skirt into his hollow body. Then you pressed this button on the back of the boot, and he would pop up. Only his arms were articulated, and he had this axe that really no one else could hold, and likewise he couldn’t hardly hold anyone else’s weapon. He was featured heavily on the Filmation cartoon, and was portrayed as kind of stupid. And he was shorter than everyone else as well.

But since 200x, Ram Man has been portrayed as larger. And more of a “Juggernaut” type who has powerful strength to smash things with his head. No version of Ram Man has had the spring loaded legs. (I don’t think the 200x toy had them.). I suppose the requirements of modern sculpting just keeps it from happening. But today, I am going to show what I think is a terrific attempt at giving us some of the feel of the vintage Ram Man’s action feature.

Here is what New Eternia Ram Man comes with.

Check out this pose! I know I already talked about what was in the box, so lets talk about these legs. What we have are evidently standard MASTERVERSE legs encased in a hollow rubber tube. It is bendy stuff, and you can see it kinking up behind the left knee. But this is a fine attempt to do something that calls back to that original idea. Just be careful when bending the knees. That green covering prevents you from seeing which direction the knees are facing. I had to feel around for awhile before attempting to pose the legs. I really, really didn’t want to break anything.

So some things I didn’t mention in the package video. The axe has a very nice “patina” on it. Some brown, rusty shading. The armor has the Battle Ram missile warhead on the front.

I haven’t complained too much about the quality of the toys in this line. The ones I have are pretty terrific. I am a very picky customer. There are a few that I am just not going to get, for instance Andra, Mercenary Teela, or any of the Virgil Abloh collection. There is no appeal to those specific offerings for me. I also am holding out for a better Gwildor than the Revolution one they are offering with Orko. I would like a movie accurate figure. Some of their products don’t appeal to me, but otherwise the quality has improved, and the New Eternia figures are giving some of the Masters of the Universe Classics figures a run for their money. Still not quite as awesome of sculpt work as the Horsemen do.

Which is why the next statement is shocking. Ram Man is the first MASTERVERSE figure I have that came with a problem.

Full disclosure. I opened and photographed this after 1:00 AM, (I went to a Disturbed concert. Very nice!) I was trying to remove this head, and I just couldn’t get a grip on it. The helmet has smooth surfaces, and my fingers kept sliding off. So my solution was to pinch it tighter. Perhaps I should have got out the hair dryer, but you see, after the Disturbed concert, I wasn’t in the mood to get that out I guess. At any rate, I heard a “crack,” and I knew something very bad was amiss. I got the head off and saw that a piece has cracked, and the neck is separating at the seam. BOO! So for the rest of the photos you will see, I am showing you the head barely on. You can’t tell it isn’t snapped down, but I just couldn’t risk it.

The armor has its own special issues. On Ram Man, I haven’t been able to get the straps to lock tight. The left side keeps bucking open. Why do we have this head? I would have rather had an unhelmeted sculpt like the MOTUC version, with the metal plate on top. This looks like Judge Dredd to me. Is it supposed to be a helmet for riding the Battle Ram? I don’t hate it and am glad to have it. This is one of the New Eternia “riffs” like Beast Man had, where he had awesome fur armor in addition to vintage style armor.

And here he is with the Samurai helmet. This one does remind me of Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I don’t have a problem with that, but I have never thought of Shredder as being so big. (This weapon is the samurai spear from Animal Warriors of the Kingdom.)

Oh yeah…I almost forgot. In the comparison of MEGA Ram Man and the back of MASTERVERSE Ram Man’s back right leg, you can see that he has a stirrup or something…this is a call back to that little switch that activated the action feature in the vintage line!

Speaking of size, Ram Man isn’t a towering Juggernaut as he has been in the past. He isn’t short. But he isn’t bigger than, for example New Eternia Beast Man.

So armor swap time. This armor looks OK on Beast Man. But there is still room. I tried it on 40th anniversary He-Man, but it was way too big. I suppose it could work on Two Bad. The issue is that Ram Man is just “fatter” than anyone else so far.

So I am a little conflicted on scoring this one. I love the character and am glad to have a new figure of him. The sculpt is very nice, and the solution they came to for the springy legs is novel. Nobody ever asked for those two heads, but they are nice additions. The helmet-less head would have been cooler. The armor that goes on top of the armor…really just, “why?” It is barely usable on anyone else, and the straps don’t want to connect. The axe is nicely done, and the paint all around is as well, though I think this Ram Man is a bit more youthful than I would prefer.

The neck joint breakage is a big problem. I am a grown-up. I am not going to cry about stuff getting broken. But what about a kid? And he comes with those alternate heads, but they are not easy to swap even for a dexterous SpartanNerd. But I feel a little burned every time something like this happens. Super7 Ultimate Cobra B.A.T. had a hand that snapped when I was swapping it, and it almost put me completely off of their stuff. But there were other hands. On Ram Man, this was the whole neck joint!

I have to give this figure a low 3/5. The armor is aggravating and the head swap resulted in a broken neck. Those are negatives outweighed by the positives of well-thought-out leg design, excellent sculpting and paint, and variety in the accessories.

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

SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review…Animal Warriors of the Kingdom Weapons Loot (gold)

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I ordered the Animal Warriors Of The Kingdom gold weapons loot pack from BigBadToyStore, as I was looking for weapons packs and weapons, weapon racks, and other related items for 6-7 inch scale figures. I was specifically looking for things that were cheap, but probably would work with my growing collection of MASTERVERSE. This weapons pack caught my attention because I thought it might go well with the Super7 Ultimates! Conan the Barbarian: Battle of the Mounds figures and King Conan with the throne of Aquilonia that should be arriving within a couple of months

Animal Warriors Of The Kingdom (AWOK) is a line of action figures by a company, Spero, that I am not very familiar with. There are named characters apparently, but I am unaware of the story at all. In my mind, it’s a little bit like the Mythic Legions, where the figures could be any generic fantasy Idea. Most of these figures look like they fit well with the ThunderCats. There are several different colorways of these weapons, as well as variations of what weapons you can have in a “weapons loot”. It was the gold weapons that stuck out the most to me. Below are pictures of the package.

These weapons came in a wonderful window box…it was really very nice. Maybe I should have videoed this box because it is hard to do justice to the effect of holding it and looking at it. When my wife saw the package, she said “That is a terrific shadowbox.” It’s true. There is an orange Sunburst in the background and the weapons are suspended in a blister that allows light in and shadows to fall behind. It’s a boring window box otherwise, but the main idea here the weapons inside are very apparent. These weapons are just attached in a blister. There is no kind of weapons rack or other storage solution, which is just too bad. (Almost my only complaint!). The character on the back is apparently named “Pale,” (Question? ”pronouced “Pail” or “Peh-Leh?”). which is information readily available if you look at the other offerings from the line. He is some type of simian.

The weapons included are: a large mace similar to some weapons in Elden Ring, a broadsword with a jewel in the hilt (very original), two guns (one a shotgun and the other a muzzle-loader type of pistol…both in the safari hunter style). What first appeared to be two pieces- a scepter/magic staff and a short sword, are actually meant to combine to be a long spear. I suppose you could technically keep them separate. And my favorite…a battle axe.

The SpartanNerd has been working on his photography game little bit. You can see that I have a new light box set up. I’m also working on diorama pieces and so here are weapons racks that I made homemade. I found many of tips on the internet about making weapons racks for G.I. Joe classified guns, and also there are racks available to buy. Mostly these are for guns that come with G.I. Joe classified or Marvel Legends. In my case I want a more barbarian, Masters of the Universe congruent look, so I just made an A-frame similar to what we got with Castle Grayskull in the 1980s, and also a square one similar to the Masters of the Universe Classics version. 

I won’t lie to you. I thought about buying the Classics version again, but there aren’t that many of them out there for sale and what is for sale is well over $50 used. I remember when I had this, I wasn’t that happy with it. It seems to me like I could not get the weapons on there the way I wanted, and sometimes the tight pegs would rub the paint off of the weapons. I resorted to rubber bands on it also. Looking at old pictures of it doesn’t bring back great memories. Why aren’t there more diorama pieces readily available to purchase to help fans like the SpartanNerd and the Hub City Geeks out?

I decided to break out the She-Ra from the San Diego comic con exclusive 200x from I don’t know, 2003 or 2004. I keep her in her window box but take her out on special occasions. Her style of sword and the gold motif on her armor match up very well with Movie He-Man and the golden AWOK sword. Now is a good time to point out that none of these weapons will work with 7-inch scale female figures. In the case of this sword and also the guns below, you feel like the fingers are stretching even on larger hands.

I like characters that are like walking weapon racks. Case in point, Two-Bad here can run with the whole mercenary motif. I need to talk about the size of the handles of these weapons. In order for Two-Bad to hold the rifle, I had to face it into his body first in order to wedge the handle into his fingers, and that twist it around. Even this way that handle is so thick it does not want to give me the desirable Sergeant Slaughter type of pose I would want. These weapons were terrific with other toy lines, case in point the redeemer here holding that golden Mace just seems perfect. (The Redeemer can’t hold the guns. His fingers are too stiff. Too bad, because he only has trigger fingers.)

Vikor fending off a Mythic Legions skeleton army builder. A good test case for a future Conan model. From this picture, don’t you think that the handle looks too big? Because Ultimates Conan figures are basically Masters of the Universe Classics figures, I wonder if there will be drama. This sword looks great otherwise in Vikor’s hand.

I’ve had terrific fun posing and taking pictures of my figures with the Animal Warriors of the Kingdom gold weapons loot set. The weapons look great in the hands of male MASTERVERSE, MOTUC, Mythic Legions, and even Spawn figures. The shadowbox packaging is a neat trick. Be careful with the hands as the handles on some of the weapons are a little thick. I am curious about how well they fit in the hands of the AWOK figures. Spero offers plain army builder figures out there for low prices. Maybe I will get one someday and see. Of more interest to me is the set of armor I saw on Big Bad Toy Store. 

I am rating this set 5/5. The weapons look great and that is really the whole point for me. They can add a new dimension to figures like Two-Bad or Barbarian Skeletor. I don’t warrant subtracting a point about the handles…after all I did get the weapons into the hands of the figures and nothing broke and no paint scratched or peeled off. (But it is worrisome.)

Do you agree with my 5/5 score, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

TMNT Metalhead Ultimate by Super7- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review (plus my first REACTION figures.)

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So I had these “Mummy Bucks” burning a hole in my pocket. And then on Valentines Day, they said, “Order any two items and get 15% off!” And so I positively was ready to double up on the savings. $15 of Mummy bucks from purchasing the Ultimate Cobra BAT and Pre-Ordering Conan the Barbarian, plus 15% off…

I began looking at either Bebop and Rocksteady ultimate figures, or Donatello and Metalhead.

I decided on the evil duo…only to be told basically that the mummy bucks are not actually a gift certificate. BOOOOO!!! I couldn’t stack the offers. BOOO!! BOOOO!!!

I wound up ordering April Ludgate and Andy Dwyer Reaction figures from Parks and Recreation instead and receiving that discount on my first Super7 Reaction figures.

(I am keeping these in the package. Andy Dwyer looks pretty close to Chris Pratt, but April Ludgate looks way too frumpy to pass as Aubrey Plaza. It is cool that Andy gets his guitar and his Mouse Rat shirt, And it is also cool that April comes with Champion, a three-legged dog. I appreciate the flavor on the backs of the packages. The only thing I wish is that the photos matched the figures clothes. And maybe if they had Star Lord holding the guitar inside the blister. Eh….I give them 4/5 for what they are, something to keep in package and hang on a wall somewhere.)

So I still had to use my mummy bucks by February 28, and decided on just getting Metalhead. I was waiting to see if something else awesome dropped, but I didn’t really want anything they offered. I will say the Cliff Burton Ultimate figure is pretty cool, but I didn’t want to do a pre-order on something like that. Some of my dilemma…If I get one ninja turtle, then I will begin a rabbit hole of wanting them all. I am clearly a Rocksteady fan, but he needs to be with Bebop. You need Splinter and Shredder. You see where I am going here? Likewise they don’t have a full license for Metallica apparently, and so I had to pass on Cliff.

But at least Metalhead reflects a couple of things about myself. I listen to lots of Heavy Metal music and also spend my summer shredding this kind of music up on my guitars. I like robots a lot, and he should go nicely with that Cobra BAT. And I had Metalhead when I was a kid, though I called him “Mecha-Turtle” from the original TMNT NES game. To me, “Metalhead” was the baby name they gave him for the cartoon in order to have more appeal to kids. Does anyone else out there think this?

Metalhead came in similar packaging to the Cobra BAT. There is a nice sleeve over the top. You know you are getting a premium product! This sleeve has a nice manhole cover on the front of it featuring Metalhead’s … head. And on the back the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo.

When you remove the sleeve…WOW. This package is great! You can clearly see what you are getting. I am going to spoil ahead because apparently I lost the picture of all of the accessories. However, you can see everything here! At the top left (and going around counterclockwise…An alternate head, a hand with a finger-whip, two grenades, a backpack, a radar dish, and robochucks, and as you keep going you can see an inner blister with more robochucks, a weapon rack, and alternate hands. And Metalhead is prominent in the center. The background is a graded orange and yellow. Saying all of this, it still isn’t quite as awesome as the Cobra BAT package. You get a bio card on the back, and this looks like a retro-1990’s graffiti wall.

Now for the bad news. This package arrived mutilated.

And so I won’t be keeping it. See the bricks folded over, and then across the top is a seam from what might have been a box cutter going too deep. I also found it to be ripped as I opened the top. So I cut off the cool back and out the sewer cover sleeve, and tossed the rest. I don’t have that much room in my closet anymore. (The reason why I got rid of my terrific MOTUC collection.)

This was the pic that was supposed to show off the accessories. But at least you can get a good look at the weapon rack. It stands up pretty well on its own. And also Metalhead does as well. I spent a couple of hours playing with him and getting different poses. The joints aren’t quite as tight as you might like. But he really doesn’t have much trouble standing.

Because this is the first TMNT ultimate figure, or indeed seven-inch TMNT figure I have ever owned, I thought it extra interesting how they handled the shell and the plastron (that is, the underside of the shell.). Basically you have another buck underneath which seems to have an ab-crunch and everything, but they have made this shell into permanent armor that fits over that. It looks great. I have no desire to try and remove the belt. The backback fits nicely on his back in the same way the original did, with little holes in the chest that are for pegs. (Am I remembering this correctly, Hub City geeks?)

The weapon rack is unpainted, and the only reason I figure they include it is for nostalgia, as the original figures came with a sprue of ninja weapons that you had to tear out. Somebody out there has disassembled one of these that came with their Metalhead, and I say to you, you are a sad person.

I mentioned above that there are two sets of robochucks. One is to attach to the backback, and the other goes on his hand. These hands are removable and swappable, but I was extra careful, not wanting a repeat of what happened with the Cobra BAT. You can see in the pic that he holds the grenade just fine.

And here we are with the whip. When I saw the pictures on the internet, I couldn’t tell what this was supposed to be. Upon getting it, I realize it is an alternate hand with the finger opened up like a door so that this snakey cable can come out and…shock people?…whip people?….grab stuff?…It must be a relic from the cartoon. Someone out there should inform me in the comments. Notice (you probably can’t) that this is the other head. You see, the proper head for this figure has a translucent red “brain” exposed, and light can come in and make his eyes glow. The alternate head is fully painted. Seems like a waste. They should have given us a different expression or something.

Comparison time…

When I got Metalhead, I was thinking of what things would go nice together. And why not a robot ninja turtle to go with my robot Cobra soldier? You can see here that the Cobra BAT towers over Metalhead. Both are seven-inch scale, but I suppose the TMNT guys are supposed to be diminuative. And maybe the BAT is a tall boy.

One other suprise. I thought we probably could swap parts. NONE OF THE PARTS ARE COMPATABLE. You can’t attach the robochucks to the Cobra BAT, or Cobra BAT’s drill arm to Metalhead. The heads are also not compatable, (But why would you do that?). At least the colors are complimentary, as both are based on a cartoon appearance.

But it doesn’t matter. Good triumphs over evil! (Technically, I guess Metalhead is more of a good guy. Mecha-Turtle, from the NES game…that guy was all bad.)

How do I rate Metalhead?

The package was cool…too bad mine was messed up. But I cut out the nicest looking pieces to keep. The graded orange-yellow cardboard behind the figure leaves a little to be desired. (Cobra BAT had a terrific explosion, reminiscent of the vintage GI Joe packaging.)

His joints are kind of loose, and I worry about breaking the pegs. I have to admit, the alternate head hasn’t snapped on tightly and I am afraid to force it. I don’t even like it, so why risk breaking the ball and socket peg?

Metalhead came with plenty of accessories including alternate hands and a weapons rack.

I think I have to give this one a 3/5. It hits all of the average marks. And I kind of “settled” on getting it.

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

(Sorry about the red background cloth being wrinkled. I need to upgrade my gear, I think.)