Tag Archives: GI Joe Classified Series

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Kobra Khan- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

by

0

See the Video Review HERE

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Kobra Khan- So easy to misspell! So forgive me if I mess up, Hub City Geeks! I remember Kobra Khan seemed to come out before the rest of the Snake Men. Growing up there was Kobra Khan in the SpartanNerd household, as well as Tongue Lasher and King Hiss. So we didn’t have an army of Snake Men. The SpartanMom is deathly afraid of snakes. I kind of lumped him in with Skeletor’s crew, rather than seeing the Snake Men as a different faction. He had a water squirting action, and there were a few other toys in He-Man that had this…Dragon Blaster Skeletor and Snout Spout. Water action was a cool thing then in the 1980s and continues to be a feature in toys today.

Of course, the MASTERVERSE figure doesn’t have a water feature. So how did they deal with that? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

This package is just as great as any of them. But let me say something here…I have had a rush of reviews lately…So Belualyth, New Eternia Moss Man, Cold Slither, New Eternia Teela, and New Etheria Hordak. And this character just feels…less epic. How much of that is my bias, I don’t know. But this is the reason I waited to do this one last. Apparently, like Battle Armor Skeletor and Blade, he has pretty much sold out everywhere. (I’m still feeling burned about Blade…just saying. That is the SpartanNerd failure of the year.)

So I need to keep it focused…I like that we have an image of Tongue Lasher, who is my favorite Snake Man. Hopefully he will come out soon.

The wraparound image features Rattlor.

Yeah…So Rattlor wasn’t on my radar as a kid. I think I must have been aware of him, but I never saw him and didn’t have him. So there’s that. Also, I didn’t even know about Blast Attack until I was an adult. AND…why is he considered a Snake Man? I did have a cousin or someone who had Snake Face, but I pretty much hated it. So Kobra Khan, King Hiss, and Tongue Lasher were MY Snake Men growing up. I did eventually own SSQUEEZE in Masters of the Universe Classics. (Tangents, Tangents)

The other side features the library image that also shows the alternate way of displaying the character…more vintage style or with the hood. Also, notice the Snake Men logo. This is either Classics or 200x. Good that they are keeping that.

The back is once again what you expect. A Photoshop image of the toy on an illustrated background. The bio reinforces the 200x story that it was Kobra Khan who released King Hiss and the other Snake Men from the pit in Snake Mountain. I like how they made this story track with the way the figure was released practically as one of Skeletor’s guys but then double-crossing Skeletor.

The cross-sell art might help confirm the first statement I made about why I was less excited about this one. (He looks dorky in between Hordak and Teela)

FIGURE REVIEW

What do you get in the box?

  • Kobra Khan figure
  • Cobra Snake Hood
  • Blaster Gun
  • Mace
  • Alternate chest piece
  • Alternate claw hands
  • purple “venom” spray effect
after messing with it for awhile, I swapped the hands for the claws for a more vintage feel…thinking maybe this would help me out with my problem here. Not really.

Kobra Khan is sculpted in pearlescent green plastic. Or is that metallic? He has the same lanky build as the other MASTERVERSE figures. There are bronze and brass painted details on the figure…his hands and the claws have a darker color than the main figure. (The hands make it feel like he is wearing gloves.)

Kobra Khan has the same eye effect that Panthor and Mer-Man have. A very realistic looking eye, that in this case kind of feels like it is something different quality than the rest of the figure.

Here is a little comparison with the Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. I gave him Savage He-Man’s spear to make things even. And you can see that the Mythic Legions is easily a better sculpt. Kobra Khan should have more scales all over.

I guess the paint is alright. I mean, he is a green guy. But the big elephant in the room for me is the head sculpt. He looks “Rabbity” with those teeth. It is good that he has an articulated jaw…I was in fact worried that this was a static piece just from looking at the box.

ACCESSORIES

So kind of…the accessories and the figure run together a little bit. The hood and the breastplate…are these accessories? Similar to the wrist bracers…I guess they are technically accessories.

The hood just isn’t epic enough. So…weak head sculpt with a rabbity look, combined with a less-than-epic hood, means that Kobra Khan has kind of a “muppety” thing going on. BOO! (Serpentor hood? Cobra symbol? Mattel could have done better to compete with Hasbro here.)

Retreat! Wascawy Wabbit. For real, notice Cobra Commander’s snake on the hilt of his sword. Better hood than Kobra Khan. And those Cobra symbols from the GI JOE Classified Series packaging also look more epic. If there is a Serpentor, I will probably get it and compare, but I bet…

The venom spray effect is how they handle the water feature. This is purple, and not until taking the final photos did I start to realize that it looks kind of barfy. (I already did a video, and didn’t even have this thought then…)

She is the Snake Goddess. Shouldn’t he be more respectful?

Luckily, you can attach it to the end of the gun. Unfortunately, Snout Spout’s spray effect isn’t interchangeable with this one. Another missed opportunity by Mattel to do something cool that couldn’t have been that hard to accomplish.

I think it is great that you can swap out the chest plate. I prefer the one with the Snake Men logo, but the plain one is just fine and feels more vintage.

The gun has a snake sculpt to it. At first I thought it was the same as Zodac’s gun, but it is different and more flavorful. (I don’t own a MASTERVERSE Zodac…I am referring to my memory.)

And that mace. This is the weapon that came with the vintage figure, and is in fact the same that Clawful has. Which is stupid because those claws don’t hold it well.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA KOBRA KHAN

Originally I rated this figure as a 4/5. But it has been a few more days with it, and I have changed my mind. The gun and the mace need paint apps. The hands are a strange color. The head sculpt looks rabbity and even worse when the hood is on. The sculpt doesn’t stack up to other Snake Men figures on the market. (Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry, for instance). The purple venom effect reminds me of the purple vomit scene in the movie The Sandlot.

Aww look…they are dancing. Kidding aside, even MASTERVERSE Revolution Sorceress Teela (a different sub-line based on Kevin Smith’s cartoon,) her hood looks more epic. In general New Eternia figures look better than the cartoon figures.

No. He isn’t anywhere close to a perfect five. I am awarding MASTERVERSE New Eternia Kobra Khan a 3/5. I am giving him the feels point because I needed him for my collection. He doesn’t have stupid problems…he stands well and has good articulation. And he came with a lot of accessories. But the paint and sculpt are just too bad.

I hope Tongue Lasher and King Hiss turn out better. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Mythic Legions Belualyth- SpartanNerd Review

by

1

The SpartanNerd has a ton of action figures…so much so that I no longer can comfortably display them all. And I have a lot of lady action figures also, with several Teela and Evil-Lyn figures among them. But until now I have had no Mythic Legions or Cosmic Legions ladies. Belualyth is my first one. So how did she turn out? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

Belualyth comes in the typical Mythic Legions box, but she is a deluxe figure, so this box is larger than the general standard figures. Think the same size as the box that the Ogre Scale Accessories came in. It is a large window that you can see the figure in very well.

On the side we get a little bio. Evidently Belualyth is big daddy evil skeleton god guy’s daughter. It also mentions the Turpiculi, a figure that I know I will get before the end of the year very likely. (Maybe more than one?)

On the back you can see that Turpiculi as well as other figures in this “wave.” You also see the big bads on the back. I don’t know enough about Mythic Legions Lore to tell you much more about them other than the skeleton god is “Necronominus,” who this wave is named after.

Don’t know who all these characters are. The guy with wings is definitely Poxxus…I saw his figure in a store. Necronominus is the flying skeleton god. I don’t know the other two. The cross sell is Necronominus, Belualyth, Turpiculi, and Undead Legion Builder.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX?

Rather than take her out, I decided to get the top blister off. First of all, a little baggie came off of the backing card (that features the sort of generic D&D artwork that includes a dragon, some flames, and a demon). That baggie contained the additional hairpiece)

So going around the box clockwise

  • Birdcage with snake skeleton inside
  • Bird skeleton, probably a vulture
  • Alternate undead head with rotten nose
  • Belualyth figure
  • Shoulder pauldron with strap
  • Cage hanger
  • Bone saw
  • Alternate hands…gloved fist and ungloved fist for the other hands
  • Chimera skeleton pet
  • Witchy alternate hands
  • And also, alternate hairpiece

So Belualyth comes with a lot of pieces, and this was one of the big draws for me to get her. I have a ton of SpartanPets, and so I can relate well with her. If she is a good pet owner, then she is good people. (Maybe…)

Stop and think about all this. She didn’t cost that much! So WOW!

FIGURE REVIEW

Fully loaded!

Her sculpt and paint…we are talking about the Four Horsemen Studios. You know it is among the best in the business! There is a cloth skirt piece, and that belt hangs loosely there. Speaking of, that belt is one of the best pieces, featuring different animal skulls and a skelly hand. There is also a chain and a whip, and a pouch on the back for us to wonder what is in it. (The Four Horsemen are known to add these as details).

She is what is termed a “Mythic Legions 2.0” build, meaning she consists of smaller skinnier parts than say, Demistros, or the Gold Knight Legion Builder. The SpartanNerd has two such other figures…Undead of Vikenfell and Father Christmas. The addition to my collection then is the upper torso, which is obvious female.

She has very good articulation, with no real stupid problems. She stands well, even overnight on what I term to be a difficult surface to accomplish that on (Magic the Gathering playmat). Everything moves like you would expect, and the pieces are also modular like basically all mythic legions. (You can swap them with parts from other figures…be careful though. Use a hairdryer to soften the plastic).

I have never successfully removed the “normal” head from the neck to use the noseless head. Just saying…my example is on tight! I could do it if I really wanted to, but I don’t like that head. I prefer my ladies to have a nose, thank you! There are two hair pieces if you want to give her a different look. And I haven’t done it, but I can’t wait to try using the alternate wig on other action figures. (Maybe in October)

ACCESSORIES

It seems the pets are such an ingrained piece of the character I almost reviewed them in the above section!

Let’s start with the bird. It is stuck on the arm guard. If you have ever witnessed a falconer, then you know they have to use a tough piece of leather on their arm to protect themselves from razor sharp talons. It appears that Belualyth is worried about that, but unfortunately the bird doesn’t come off of that arm guard. You can’t have it stand any other way except by precariously balancing it on something like the tree in the snake cage. (We’ll get to that in a minute).

To get that bird on her arm, you don’t have to remove the forearm. At first I thought you had to, but I’m glad I came to my senses after looking at some photos of her online. Just remove the hand and slide it over the forearm bracer.

And now the snake in a birdcage. The cage comes apart, letting you get a better view of the skeletal snake and the tree perch inside. The snake is bendy, but I wouldn’t stress it too much. It seems to be a delicate piece and I would hate to break it. But you can wrap it around things or characters arms or whatever.

The pet tree can be used to prop the vulture, but it is a delicate and precarious process. It looks good in pictures though!

You can’t put the bird in the cage. And this is kind of a shame. The Four Horsemen missed an opportunity here if they had just designed the cage or the bird a little bit differently.

So about propping it on Belualyth’s back. I totally get why she would want to carry all these pets with her everywhere she goes!

Pearl
Love
Toby

The SpartanNerd has lots of pets, and he loves them so! AND his wife has a sticker on her Jeep…”There’s like a lot of dogs in here!” She takes her pets everywhere, and so why wouldn’t Belualyth do the same? I think this is why the character appealed so much to me.

So to get the birdcage on her back, you have to use this hanger that I discussed in the above section. And it snapped right in the spot on her back like it was supposed to twice, but then it was too loose. The Horsemen thought of this, and that is why the shoulder pauldron is different for this than what we usually get with say the knight characters. The strap is necessary to hold the piece to her back.

(I couldn’t tell what the shoulder pauldron even was until looking at photos on the store horsemen. It looked like it might go with the pets or something).

This strap is a tight fit, but totally necessary. And the pauldron keeps her from having the “cold shoulder.” Remember that talk about how good her balance is? This is crucial to having the character be displayed properly.

Now onto the biggest most obvious pet. The Chimera…originally I thought it was a Cerberus. But it actually only has two heads, but also the tail of a snake. It is about the size of a German Shepherd in comparison to Belualyth. The heads are some kind of tiger skull and antelope or cow skull. Both are on ball joints and could be used on other figures. AND that’s a double neckpiece that is removable and could go on another figure.

There is a leash that is permanently attached. Its four legs are articulated only at the shoulders and hips, and there is a slight splay on the back legs, but not much. The tail is a snake head. It seems to be a little bendy, but I wouldn’t push it too hard. It does have a swivel joint so you can move it some, but if you do it looks a little awkward at the joint where it breaks up the vertebrae sculpt. And I guess I need to mention this one other thing. When I reviewed Maxillius the Harvester, you can see that they have sculpted and painted blood wings and organs, etc into that figure. They didn’t do that here…for reasons of cost I’m sure. I’m just saying that for a customizer, there are some opportunities to improve the details between the ribs and around the joints. But the paint isn’t bad at all! I’m actually comparing a full price figure to what is an accessory!

PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes and Timber, and Mythic Legions Belualyth. They are giving belly rubs to their pets! The pets are doing the leg thing…

I could complain a little bit about the articulation and such on these pets in light of some other better articulated pets in competing lines, but she is an absolute Michael Jordan slam dunk of a figure. Where say the GI Joe Classified pets might be more articulated, the paint and sculpt on those isn’t as great.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Belualyth with Chimera, bird, and pet snake in a cage, and GI Joe Classified Gnawgahyde with Porkbelly and Yobbo. Notice that both characters have their knives ready.

OH yeah! Almost forgot about the weapon. She comes with a bone saw, which is highly detailed. It is a bone saw made of bone…not creepy at all, right?! There is a razor end and a serrated piece. There are spikes on the backside of the hilt. In other words, Belualyth could really mess somebody up with this if they got past those pets.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS BELUALYTH

I just mentioned complaints. I really don’t have any except writing the name Belualyth is hard to spell and harder to type! Let’s break these points down

  • Sculpt- Awesome!
  • Paint- No slop here. she is a drab figure, and is painted wonderfully so in sickening hues of blue and with bronze patina. Her nails are black. Her eyes stare vacant.
  • Articulation- Terrific! The only hindrance comes when she is wearing the hairpiece and the cage. But you can work around these problems easily for display purposes. And no real stupid problems.
  • Accessories- Are you kidding me? Maxillius came with a lot of accessories…the Undead of Vikenfell came with a lot. The undead builder pack basically IS accessories. But Belualyth has managed to just about outdo them because she came with three pets and a weapon.
  • The feels point- Well she adds a female Mythic Legions to my collection…that counts for something. But look how great she looks in my diorama of skeletons and undead guys. Yeah…she adds a lot.
All kinds of necromancy here. PICTURED: From left to right. Demistros, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn, Undead Legion Builder, Maxillius the Harvester, Undead of Vikenfell, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor on the Havoc Throne, Skeleton Legion Builder, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Panthor, MASTERVSERSE Revelation Scare Glo, and Mythic Legions Belualyth

THE SPARTANNERD AWARDS THE MYTHIC LEGIONS BELUALYTH 5/5.

You might think I am going easy on her, considering that my recent review of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Teela was also a 5/5. But there really isn’t a comparison of the two. The MASTERVERSE figure was way cheaper and still hits the same sort of boxes that a 5/5 hits. This Mythic Legions among other Mythic Legions absolutely is a solid 5/5, compared to say Warrior Beasts Head Hunter.

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

MASTERVERSE Vykron- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

by

3

For unboxing and initial review of the packaging for Vykron and Snout Spout, click here.

INITIAL THOUGHTS ON VYKRON

Vykron is a character that Mattel wants to keep shoving at us. I mean…who ever asked for Vykron in the first place? That he is a prototype He-Man concept is cool to a point, but the main idea for Mattel should be “keep it interesting for most people.” Offering someone like Vykron out there really appeals to maybe especially Classics fans. A certain crowd of people like the SpartanNerd. Middle aged Filmation, minicomics, vintage line types.

What I am saying, they would pull more mass appeal with a proper Moss Man, or Rio Blast, or Mosquitor, or … really…just about any A-list character. (Are Rio Blast and Mosquitor A-listers? Maybe B-listers). My point- everyone wants a proper Faker with orange armor. Everyone wants vintage style Roboto. Everyone wants King Randor, or the Sorceress to be done right. But they throw Vykron out there, and he is someone that most people won’t recognize, and now a product that I have seen on toy store shelves in boxes for $75 is being placed on sale at MattelCreations for $15. YEP. $15. This couldn’t be good for the brand OR MASTERVERSE. (This price was low enough for me to finally make the purchase.)

Then there is the whole Mark Taylor/Roger Sweet controversy. In my heart, I believe who is now called Vykor was the first He-Man. This was based on the barbarian concept by Mark Taylor. Roger Sweet INDEED contributed alot to He-Man and to his identity. But the very beginning has to be Mark Taylor. You can read about this if you haven’t heard of it you can read an article on Vykron at the Battleram Blog.

So all of this rant…what do I actually think about the MASTERVERSE figure?

MORE ON THE PACKAGING

When you open the box, you are greeted with some more artwork. This piece of cardboard is double-sided. The art you see depicts Vykron fighting skeleton warriors (Yes!), while the back of that is a mini diorama of Eternia, featuring the alien landscape with Eternos Palace in the distance, and a planetary backdrop.

You could hang the poster side of the battle, and photograph the Diorama (I will be doing that here!)

When you remove the art, Vykron is revealed dressed in his barbarian look. You can also see the helmet and gun from the military look, the jetpack from the spaceman look, and the battle axe. There is notably no blister bubble in this box. Oddly, I appreciate that. The box is such a display delight that we don’t have to see the figure on display. Someone who wants to collect everything with blister bubbles will be disapointed. But here, they didn’t even use bread ties, opting for those “paper” ties. (Is that stuff called “Jute?”

The figure stand opens up like the GI Joe Classified toys, revealing other parts..

I didn’t photograph it, but you can totally use the backdrop, stand Vykron on the stand in a pose, and keep him on display as a “staction” figure. This is a bonus 200x kind of idea that Mattel is tapping…much appreciated!

Overall, this package is very nice and I am reluctant to discard it. I will eventually, but nobody out there who makes toys needs to neglect how important the boxes are for “the feels.” This box won’t be valuable ever probably, but if you look at vintage toys, the packaging is unbelievably in demand. (Vinatage GI Joe and Transformers boxes especially). But I saw a complete vintage He-Man loose for $25, sitting in front of a MOC He-Man for $250 at a toy store (with yellowed bubble no less!). That is what nostalgia has done to people. Amping up the packaging of modern toys can at least let everyone today share the experience.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE BOX

Oh Boy! What a list!

  • Vykron figure- wearing gear (listed below)
    • Brown battle harness featuring blue Iron Cross
    • Soft-goods feathery cape
    • Shin guards featuring Iron Crosses
    • Wrist bracers
    • I armed him with the battle axe for the pic.
    • The helmet is NOT removable!
  • Space Armor Items
    • Space battle harness with ..
      • space helmeted head. This has a hose that can disconnect to use somewhere else.
    • Orange Lazer gun
    • White bracers
    • Backpack with removable wings.
  • Military Armor Items
    • Military battle harness with removable pauldrons
    • Army tank helmet
    • Green armor bracers
    • Green shin armor
    • Very large gun. (Is this a rocket launcher?)

Also included…a pair of fist hands.

Notably, you can use the space backpack with the military armor.

FIGURE REVIEW

I guess we will start with the barbarian

…less work, right? I say this because I can see the hair dryer being needed a mile away! The straps on the back of the shins look to require some dexterity.

I get to do a little bit of “comparison time” first. I actually picked up the Vykron barbarian armor from Masters of the Universe Classics at the Greenville Retro Toy con a few years back for something like $10. Then I modded Battleground Teela so she could wear the helmet. So here is the first big difference. MOTUC Vykron (which I never owned) had a slot on his head so you could change helmets. This helmet would slide right on, apparently. I realize that Vykron is made of earlier MASTERVERSE parts, but in the past year they released New Eternia Man-At-Arms, who features a removable helmet. I’m just saying…it could have been done.

The MOTUC axe is better than the MASTERVERSE axe. I’ve always felt that it was a little bit skinny, but look how nice a female character can hold it! These harnesses are almost identical, but the MOTUC one was designed for chunkier torsos. (Yes. I went there. Would you have for YOUR toy review?). Do I prefer the sculpted cape to the soft-goods cape? On one hand, the sculpted cape does look good. On the other, the soft-goods cape is adaptable to fit on the shoulders however you like. You can see that the MOTUC shin guards clip on the boots and are held on by tension, while the modern MASTERVERSE ones have armor straps.

So there is some improvement, but some steps back.

Vykron looks awesome, but did you notice that this is the only He-Man figure maybe ever that didn’t COME WITH A SWORD! (I thought I had a picture, but I guess not. There IS a loop under the soft goods to hold a sword. The axe fits fine in there, but you have to bunch the cape.)

Military Vykron

Apparently, he can be called “Tank Top.”

I had to get the hair dryer as predicted to get the shin guards off. These go on easier, with a “button strap” instead of belts. You have to remove the hands and bracers to put on the green bracers. The helmet has a large hole underneath the chin so you can just pop it over Vykron’s barbarian head. And here is a missed opportunity. We could have gotten a bald head, or a crew-cut head, or some other military look of a head sculpt. Making the helmet removable from barbarian Vykron’s head would have worked nicely. The guns on the side of the helmet move up and down like the sides of the Attak Trak. This gun seems to be a missile launcher, but it doesn’t have a removable rocket.

You can mount the space jetpack on the back of the harness to add something else of interest. The mystery is…what are those slots on the back of the helmet meant to be? None of these accessories go with that, including the “wings” that slot on the jetpack.

This helmet has it’s own positive qualities, though.

It could totally be a vehicle for a World’s Smallest micro He-Man, or go well with GI Joe Classified Seargeant Slaughter’s included micro-fig. Viewed in this way as a vehicle, it is reminiscent of “The Collector” that Skeletor used in FILMATION. (There is an Origins Collector vehicle for sale out there. So tempting. But I don’t collect Origins.). It kind of has the look of the beak on the Talon Fighter, the guns of the Attack Track, the rear-end of the Road Ripper, the mouth of Land Shark. Clearly the design department was going for all of this when they decided to make something that didn’t look so much like an American military tank.

These micro-figures are so small, once again they are a hazzard. I literally lost the shield breaking He-Man back out of the box. I found it after I packed everything up. Go figure.

Space Armor

Apparently this version of Vykron can be called “Space Ace.” I wonder if they bounced that one off of KISS, or at least Ace Frehley.

Maybe you can tell, but I find this version of Vykron to be the least interesting. He reminds me of Zodac somewhat. Why aren’t there any shin guards to cover up those Roman Soldier/ Arctic boots? This is meant to be a helmet, but they just made it an alternate head sculpt. It is said that this resembles the space suit that was cardboard in the vintage Castle Grayskull. Roger Sweet’s design was just Boba Fett armor applied to either Big Jim or GI Joe.

You can un-attach the hose and use the helmet somewhere else. I don’t know where, but you could… The hose is not removable from the helmet, however. The wings on the jetpack are removable, and you can see that pictured on the Military version’s back if you want.

WHAT IS THE REAL VALUE OF VYKRON

Well…check out the pics below.

Pictured: Clockwise from the left- MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull, Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor, Super7 Ultimates! King Conan, MASTERVERSE Revelation Savage He-Man, Mythic Legions Balthor the Tower Ogre, Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela (with Revelation Teela head), Mattel Creations MASTERVERSE Vykron, and MASTERVERSE 40th Anniversary He-Man. There is all kinds of weapons and accessories pictured…can you identify them?

Vykron is just another barbarian for my growing collection. That by itself would have been worth $15.

PICTURED:- MASTERVERSE Revelation Tri-Klops wearing Tank Top armor and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms wearing Space Ace armor.

But, here is Man-At-Arms and Tri-Klops. The space armor really works well with Man-At-Arms, and seems like something he would use if anyone would. And that helmet fits better on Tri-Klops than it does on Vykron by a long way, plus with that round eye selected, it is like you are staring down the throat of a monster. This is how I plan on using the accessories…Vykron can remain a barbarian. This stuff is a nice arsenal.

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MATTEL CREATIONS MASTERVERSE VYKRON

At $75 (Toy Collector store price), no way. NEVER. Not even at $65 (the price of Motherboard at Mattel Creations right now) or $33 (the price of Snout Spout. Review coming soon) Give me a Mythic Legions for that price.

But having gotten this on what is apparently clearance on Mattel Creations for $15, it is a no brainer 5/5. Philosophically I might have a little bit of a problem with Mattel pushing Vykron out there. But as a figure, especially at that low, low price…especially with all of the accessories and a nice diorama. No question.

GI Joe Classified Sgt. Slaughter…SpartanNerd unboxing and review

by

6

Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells!

The SpartanNerd got some new goodies!

First up is a “second”…that is, a second GI Joe Classified figure. (I already had Cobra Commander.). And now, I have Sgt. Slaughter, a figure of a person I actually met in person at the Retro Toy Con in Greenville last year. (Sgt. Slaughter is a real-life character.)

My history with the Sarge. Well, as a child I used to watch GI Joe. But we didn’t have many of the figures. Like Transformers, they were on the more expensive side. Which wasn’t to say we had none. Me and my brothers eventually accrued a small army, but we usually didn’t remember the names of the characters, and some of ours were of the more generic but WAY CHEAPER “Corps” variety. As the older brother, I always gravitated towards Cobra and the Decepticons in these rare but cherished acquisitions. The other issue…my mother didn’t want us to go into the army. I have an uncle who was eventually a colonel. And he of course encouraged us to join up. (Just a note. The character of Sgt. Slaughter would be a Marine before becoming a GI Joe.)

Anyway, Sgt. Slaughter was one of the few official Joes that we had. I remember specifically that he had a removable hat, that I remember specifically getting lost. So most of the time he didn’t have this. Some light research on YoJoe.com tells me that we must have had the version that came with the Warthog AIFV.

But this isn’t all, is it? Sgt. Slaughter was a WWF wrestler. I remember watching him. I didn’t watch wrestling that much. It was what came on after the cartoons on Saturday morning, so…BUT, (Confusingly, the sarge seemed to switch to our enemy Iraq sometime in the 1990’s for his wrestling kayfabe. Nobody’s perfect…). Sgt. Slaughter also appeared as a Saturday morning cartoon host and in commercials for GI Joe toys. And finally, the most memorable thing about Sgt. Slaughter for me was the 1980’s movie appearance. In this version, which I got to see dozens of times because we had it on BETA tapes hooked to our Nintendo TV, Sgt. Slaughter shines most of all. Without using a curse word (unlike Beach Head), he let us know what a drill sergeant is all about. “The only way your going home is in a ditty bag. An itty, bitty, ditty bag.” !!!!!!!!!!

(I asked the Sarge what this meant when I met him at the Retro Toy Con last year. The “ditty bag” is a small cosmetics bag that a soldier stores his razor in. At the con I was SO TEMPTED to get an autographed poster of Sgt. Slaughter saying this to hang in my classroom!)

On to the toy review!

WHAT? SERIOUSLY? I ordered my figure from GameStop…I got an e-mail blasting a sale. And so when I clicked, I saw it at a reasonable price of <$25, and ordered it. Having a Cobra Commander already, I knew this would be a pretty cool toy to display beside him.

BUT NOPE. REALLY!!

I had heard of “windowless” packaging for Hasbro’s toys. I might have seen a Star Wars black series Battle Droid hanging on a tab when I visited the store. I didn’t put it together that THIS WAS WHAT I WOULD GET. No window showing us the figure. I did not and still do not appreciate this. OK so there is virtually no plastic in this package. I guess that’s a win for the environment. But the environment has to take second place. We are talking about serious business here, Hub City Geeks.

What we get is a nice picture of Sgt. Slaughter in different situations. The top left is the GI Joe TV host (I think,), the top right is the comic book appearance. Next on the left is a person holding the action figure who is holding a micro action figure which is an included accessory. The right is the image of the Sarge from the movie. The bottom left is a picture of the toy posed holding the machine gun. And in the center, nice and tall, is a modern illustration of the character. If he seems less muscular in this depiction, this is what he really looks like in real life today, only an illustrated version. When GamesStop advertised that this figure would be Six-In-One, what they meant was the six versions that surround the illustration. And they are counting the micro figure.

The back shows us another picture of the machine gun pose, and also a picture of everything in the box along with a ruler showing us how big everything is in scale. Those symbols…

I didn’t pay that much attention to them on Cobra Commander’s box. I guess I just thought it part of the design. But with Sgt. Slaughter’s box next to it, I see that there is more going on here. Something deeper. These are the character’s stats! You can see a whole page about that here. Finally, it makes sense. Cobra Commander has strong leadership, light weapons, “psyops” (psychological warfare), and a mastered skillset for coercion. Sgt. Slaughter has strong leadership, great hand to hand skills, great strength, and a mastered skillset that is too secret to reveal!

The other side has nice art, comparable to Cobra Commander’s.

BUT…Trying to save the environment by removing the blister is a poor excuse for not getting to see the figure we are getting. AND…it looks dumb next to Cobra Commander who has a windowed package. Hasbro. You deal in plastic. Do it right.

Let’s open this up.

This is what you open. The figure is strapped to the open box with paper rope. The other box contains the accessories.

We get what my son in the army says is an AK-47, but you have to assemble it. The magazine and the flashlight were not attached. A pair of sunglasses. A “baton” (is this the right word?), a whistle, a micro action figure on card WITH BLISTER. Three alternate left and right hands, and that hat I remember so fondly.

I think the only couple of things I would add here are a figure stand and a pistol or grenades. But I don’t miss these that much.

Here I have Sgt. Slaughter posed as best as I could to his comic appearance.

I tried to do the pose of the big image on the box…the problem is that the baton will not stay securely in his armpit. Another one you can’t do is the arms folded. His plastic muscles are just too much!

He looks like an 80’s action star holding his AK-47.

In a future post, I will open this micro figure. Why did they include this? Do the recent GI Joe Classified figures all come with this? I really enjoy it, though!

The sergeant must be taller than Cobra Commander. With another upcoming review, you will see that it must be that Cobra Commander is supposed to be on the shorter side. More research needed, I guess. But I kind of like it if he has a Napoleon complex. Seems fitting. The Sarge looks like he could roll up Old Snake and throw him at some BAT bowling pins.

So what do I rate this GI Joe Classified Sgt. Slaughter? No question. That package is a disappointment. I was underwhelmed when I opened the shipper box. And that isn’t what you want in a hobby that is supposed to be about awesome fun. As a teacher that box gets a D+. The contents are clear and the pictures are nice. Blah blah blah. Less plastic. Blah blah blah. I. Want. To. See. What. I. Have. In. The. Box. for display purposes. I am a grown up. Are kids buying these figures? I don’t think so. They have no connection to them.

As far as the figure, it is excellent. 5/5. Hooray! It is a great representation of the classic GI Joe. He looks cool, is highly posable. Looks good with Cobra Commander. No issues with sloppy paint or anything like that. The joints feel right. The swappable hands kind of worry me, but they work just fine…just be careful.

If the figure gets a 5/5, and the package gets a 2/5, I guess I am giving this a 4/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!