Tag Archives: King Conan

Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack

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(See the video unboxing and review on the SpartanNerd YouTube channel!)

I went with my Apple Cash to the Toy Federation, hoping to find Beaulythe to be my first Mythic Legions lady. (I know I didn’t spell that right!) They had a few Mythics there, but not who I came for. So then I started looking around at other stuff. Eventually I came to something I actually never heard of…”The Undead Builder Pack.” Seemed like a winner for a guy with a big collection of skeletons. Keep reading to see how it turned out!

PACKAGING

This is the same Mythic Legions package, with the same “classic” kind of art. BUT. This time it is a full oversized image in the background, meaning I can now throw away the older small ones I have around.

The card image behind the blisters

You have a double blister inside that you can see the figure very well. And all the accessories. And that is what this figure is REALLY about. The back features the art from the Necronominus wave, but zoomed out.

The big skeleton god is appears smaller in this exposed version of the image. And let’s take a second to talk about him. I have been critical of this image…that the figure looks goofy. Blah Blah Blah. But I saw it in person…Like I almost bought it instead of the undead builder pack. That headdress can’t look right in a 2d image…too goofy. In full on person, it looks amazing. It is kind of like Maxillius the Harvester, with all these intricate bone details all over the armor, etc. The cross sell also features the other figures released in this wave, including the one I came to get but they didn’t have, but also the Turpiculi, which I suppose I will eventually get. I was just really shocked at how cool Necronomius (I can’t say it or spell it) came out. And so this means…the Undead Builder Pack must have been cool enough to come away with instead of those guys! Also of interest to the readers, the skeletal horse, Conabus (spelling?) also has far more details in person than I had detected from images.

We do have a brief bio…it says something like “the dead do not rest in peace on Mythos.” But it says it in a verbose and over-the-top way.

WHAT DO WE GET IN THE PACKAGE?

Rather than get the figure out and put him together in some way, I figured it would better serve us all to show a picture of the items in the two blisters. There is so much here!

  • Undead figure, with translucent ghostly jaw-less skull, arms, hands, and thighs, and feet.
  • two different “smoke” effects
  • Three alternate head sculpts
  • Opaque rotten arms
  • Opaque Rotten thighs
  • translucent and opaque angle joints
  • Opaque Feet
  • Mace
  • short handle axe (halberd head)
  • curved sword (khopesh?)
  • belt
  • shoulder armor
  • Back adapter set
  • small smoke effects
  • handcuffs with metal chain
  • alternate collar piece
  • Six ghostly hands
  • eight opaque rotten hands

And this is the WINNER! I have no other action figure with this many parts. Not even Black Falcon!

BUT…

FIGURE REVIEW

As a figure with all of this, like if this was the only one you had, that would be incredible. But I think the Four Horsemen were thinking people like me would be adding the parts of this as accessories to our other existing figures.

As a figure, vanilla out of the blister, he is pretty good. These translucent ghostly parts have a “gumminess” to them that is very welcome, and makes this figure extremely versatile.

It wouldn’t have been my choice to market him with the translucent half skull as the main look. It is OK, but that screams “ghost” to me and not “zombie.” They should have put the head with the open mouth on there. But this is me nit-picking about their choice. This doesn’t have any bearing on how great this set is!

The half skull head with ectoplasm effects really improves Warrior Beast Head Hunter. Also, add extra arms to Skeleton Legion Builder II!

He comes apart easily and is very modular, and also highly articulated as a positive consequence. The opaque undead parts are masterfully sculpted. These feel like the classic Mythic Legions, and you might need a hair dryer. (I didn’t). And the details. Wow! We could have had two symetrical thighs, but no the Horsemen went the extra mile and gave us different decayed details on each one. And this is so throughout the character.

Wal-Torr the Mad showing off those spectacular thighs!

ACCESSORIES

Yes. This can be a standalone action figure for a fan of zombies I guess. But the real magic is what it brings to everyone else. As such, I am giving you lots of examples in Mythic Legions as well as other figures.

The three weapons…we already have the axe head. The other weapons were new to the SpartanNerd.

All of those heads and hands!

And so here is my only one complaint. And the Horsemen did this on purpose I’m sure. We are a torso/waist, set of wrists and lower legs from having a second figure. In fact, I wish they had done this. Gave us TWO full figures in the package. One fully ghosted and the other fully zombified. I mean. We are literally six parts away from that.

But the nature of this set is that we will customize our other figures.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF THE MYTHIC LEGIONS UNDEAD BUILDER PACK

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn energizes her staff while holding the spectral skull of an evil master.
Thulsa Doom, a figure that woefully lacked snake themed items, can hold the little smoke effect as a magic serpent.
In honor of Mattel giving us all kinds of cool origins figures in the $10 CLUB GRAYSKULL membership, I put the decayed head on Masters of the Universe Classics Despara. See the irony. The sarcasm! Why no MASTERVERSE in the Club Grayskull? They didn’t make this clear!

It can’t give anything but a 5/5.

  • Sculpt- The Four Horsemen bring us another incredible piece of art
  • Paint- The opaque parts are sickening gray, and the armor and weapons have very nice paint. The head sculpts are also painted very well. The translucent parts don’t have paint and don’t need it. (There is a dab on the face sculpts)
  • Articulation- The ghostly parts are very modular, and I didn’t need a hair dryer for the parts in this set.
  • Accessories- This figure is almost ONLY accessories, if you like to count alternate hands and feet as accessories. Otherwise the smokey energy effects and the three weapons are very nice.
  • Significance- I bought this so that it could add to my skeleton collection. And it does that very well!

And we are moving into the “Mega Bloks” kind of aspect of Mythic Legions. Masters of the Universe Modulok. This kind of figure. And I actually have the blue knight builder on order, so there is more like this to come eventually to the SpartanNerd. AND…Back to the Tupiculi. That guy is firmly one of my future buys.

I award the Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry

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Watch the YouTube unboxing review HERE

When I saw these guys…I immediately bought TWO. I had been gifted some money for Christmas, and I spent it on a bunch of figures. I thought this was so good I had to get more than one.

Evidently, this was offered at Legions Con, as a preview for a big pre-order set coming up. A set with a story about thousands of years before the main story of Mythic Legions…(which I don’t know much about anyway).

So why was it so great? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

I took some photos and videos at home while I was sick, and some when I was on a trip in early February to the SCMEA convention in Columbia, SC. The hotel had a nice office area and also a good table with a book light that made for a terrific spotlight! (See New Eternia Evil-Lyn on the runway!)

So we get this blister. And it looks really cramped. It doesn’t help that the plastic collector friendly case is very reflective.

We get a lot with this figure. you can see it with the main head, an open mouth head to its left, and a spear to the right. You can see the zippy bag behind him.

But extra striking on the front of the packaging is the foiled out MYTHIC LEGIONS branding.

On the back we have this desert that we have seen before I’m pretty sure. But there is a HUGE Four Horsemen Studios symbol, also in foil.

The story of Mythic Legions is summarized in this too-small-to-read text on the back. This is all I know of the story, besides some that I have picked up from bios on the internet. This is the main way Four Horsemen Studios want you to get this story. As far as I know there is no comics or cartoons or anything, though supposedly there is a video game going to come out some time.

Let me summarize this story even more.

“Mythos has been a peaceful place, with legions of followers devoted to past heroes. There are rumors about evil forces from the past coming back to wreak havoc, and they are bringing their own dark villains to lead them.” How’s that?

On the side we get this bio for Ninian infantry. A true army-builder. You can make it who you want it to be. (I’m pretty sure this is a male…there are definite females in the Bassylia wave made available to pre-order. But as it is, it’s hard to tell with snakes.)

And “snake-men” is what the Ninian Infantry amounts to! That’s why I had to get it. No doubt MASTERVERSE will be coming out with Snake Men in 2025. Too many hints have been dropped. The packaging for Snout Spout…the even more recent packaging for Battle Armor Skeletor. They’re coming in MASTERVERSE form, no doubt. In the original MOTU line Cobra Kahn was the “harbinger,” and to me these guys fill that role as far as my collection is concerned.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE?

Package contents:

  • Ninian Infantry figure
  • Alternate open mouth head
  • Optional tail
  • Optional pauldrons
  • Spear
  • Mace
  • Shield
  • Five pairs of additional hands

Exceptional amount of things, I would say. And this guy didn’t even cost that much. Roughly the same as other “army builders.”

NINIAN INFANTRY FIGURE REVIEW

I strongly suggest using the hair dryer. I didn’t have any problems, like for instance with the Monkey King, but just be cautious. I never have been able to get the pauldrons on or the tail in properly without using a hair dryer.

He stands very well, and is super articulated. There is soft goods layered underneath the plastic armor, and it is all very complimentary.

As always, the Four Horsemen Studios have given us a terrific sculpt and such good paint. Each scale has a paint hit. And there are scales on this figure from the tip of the head to the feet. That is incredible! The design they went with is a surprising homage to the Coral Snake, a species that lives on the coast of South Carolina. Not my first thought when I think of Snake Men, but here we are! (Coral snakes are actually red, black, and yellow. BUT, these guys still make me think of them).

You can of course choose to use the tail or not to. Masters of the Unverse Snake Men don’t usually have tails. I like the tail, however. And I also prefer the fanged head.

He stands with no problems and can balance in several poses. There is a scaly “hump” on his back that you can remove to see what you usually see on the backs of Mythic Legions characters. (It’s a rectangular slot, and then the two holes are there for pegs)

ACCESSORIES

We have had the mace and the spear before, but never with this “enamel” treatment. It is like hardened, glossy paint on the business end.

PICTURED: Masterverse Revolution Sorceress Teela (I call her Green Goddess), and Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. This image of Snake Mountain is from the recent New Eternia Panthor (review coming soon)

The shield is new, and I don’t really know which way is up. And is that a snake tail? A lizard? Well, I know what it looks like. NUMBER MUNCHER. (See there, I just out-nerded all of you!)

All those hands…this is similar to the amount of hands that came with the space version of Wal-Torr the Mad. I guess we won’t be getting too many other snake guys in these colors or something.

PROVE HOW GOOD IT IS, SPARTANNERD

This figure is so photogenic. The Meso-American styling is creative and unexpected. With snake men, my first thought is “green.” Which is pretty stupid when you think about it. Most of the Masters of the Universe snake men are fairly colorful.

The figure looks great with Evil-Lyn. Remember the 200x story, where she sold out to the Snake Men, and her payment was to be eaten by King Hiss?!! No wonder Skeletor tried to feed her to an inter-dimensional being.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn and Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. Evil-Lyn is using a blue lightning magic effect, proving that those effects don’t have to be for good guys.

Ninian Infantry also goes very well with Wu Kong, the Monkey King. Similar colorfulness. And these people seem like they would be enemies. In fact, aren’t snake men everyone’s enemies.

PICTURED: Figura Obscura Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King vs. Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry.

NOPE. Thulsa Doom worships the snake god Set.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry X2, Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mounds Conan the Barbarian, wearing MASTERVERSE New Eternia Beast Man’s armor and wielding the bloody axe exclusive to the Battle of the Mounds set. Being sacrificed by Thulsa Doom is Valeria (Spirit), also from Battle of the Mounds. This backdrop is from the Mythic Legions Ogre Accessory set (I think)
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Wal-Torr the Mad and T.U.5.C.C. Pilot, both with the Illuminati Ninian Infantry heads. This backdrop is an Extreme Sets piece called The Compound.

Try these heads out on the Cosmic Legions space men. The Horsemen have already offered a “character pack” using these heads with a Cosmic Legions figure also. I thought of this with the space men first, so I beat them to it! (I did pre-order these blue heads, and also some traditional alien heads.)

And let’s not forget about the packaging for Snout Spout.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Snout Spout vs. Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry. The backdrop was the surprising diorama that featured King Hiss and Lady Slither, a part of Snout Spout’s packaging.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS NINIAN INFANTRY

Sculpt, terrific

Paint, unexpected and brilliant.

Accessories, perfect for army building, and extra head at that.

Articulations, no stupid problems. Just remember the hair dryer.

And what does this add to the SpartanNerd’s collection? So Much Value! Snake Men, I’m waiting.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull, armed with the techno sword from the 200x Castle Grayskull. He is fighting the Mythic Legions Ninian Infantry.

So I rate this figure a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon

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Who? I don’t remember this guy (or “these guys”) from my childhood in any way. Possibly they were in minicomics, or non-American media. I don’t remember them from Filmation.

I decided to get him when I saw it go up for sale as an army builder. But I already have an army of skeletons, with more to come. So I only got one. He seemed like he would go well with Battle Armor Skeletor and Undead of Vikenfell. I ordered it, and then had to wait about a month.

He’s OK…but how OK? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

Skelcon comes in the now standard MASTERVERSE packaging. You can see the figure from the belt up, with a spear on his left. Now, right away you can see one goofy expression on this face. He has such a long nose that the articulated face is askew. This is bad for a Mint-On-Card collector. I haven’t seen other examples, so I don’t know if this is how everyone’s will turn out.

We have nice artwork on the front featuring Skelcons fighting Stratos and Avionians. We can see Avion in the background. Wait-a-minute. I see a Skelcon with wings. (No wings with this figure…curious). Notable that we don’t have Stratos in MASTERVERSE (that I know of). I suspect this is a teaser for the future. And on the side we are treated to a lady Avionian, who totally could be done in MASTERVERSE.

The other side shows Skelcon standing with a shield, and his portrait floating above, making it completely possible to store and file easily on card.

The back is one of those dumb photoshop pictures. There is no cross sale, but we do get a bio that mentions Infinita, the nearly forgotten opposite of Eternia. (There was this “series bible” in Mattel’s files as they were designing the Masters of the Universe line. Infinita was a planet on the same orbit as Eternia, but diametrically opposite. This is where Skeletor and “his people” are from.)

FIGURE REVIEW

Just beamed in from Infinita

What do you get in the package?

  • Skelcon Figure
  • Battle Axe
  • Spear
  • Dagger with sheath
  • Shield
  • Alternate fist hands (not pictured)

I am not counting the harness or the girdle…though you might.

This figure has several re-used parts. I pretty much think he feels like the same figure as New Eternia Mer-Man, with a different head. But this isn’t so entirely. Just the legs and feet.

The Battle Armor Skeletor vibe is also unmistakable. But he doesn’t share parts…he “seems” to, but for instance Skeletor’s three-toed feet have these metal boots on them.

The best thing about the sculpt is the head. That articulated jaw opens and closes…and he has a nasty, gray…perhaps decayed tongue sculpted to the lower jaw. He has a horned helmet that is glossy purple, and black “highlights…(sounds wrong…outlines) there are red eyes that look like Skelcon is always in attack mode. I have a little bit of paint smudge over the eye on mine, but this adds to the figure! He looks like he has a scar or burn.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mer-Man and NE Skelcon.

He stands as well as Mer-Man, which is to say, he is lanky. I have a bit of a time getting him to stand independent of leaning on the wall.

This figure is in Skeletor blue. So kind of you can swap parts easily. The armor is in dark purple, almost black, and there are pops of glossy purple. The horned skull on the belt ties it together.

BUT, the paint on this figure is really plain compared to other skeleton warriors. From MASTERVERSE and other lines. And I am not sure it is from lack of application…it is color scheme. The SpartanNerd isn’t that great with colors…a problem that is getting worse the older I get. I don’t see the black straps on the armor right away…my eye gets lost in the forest and leaves the trees behind.

I do feel that the body could use some kind of “wash,” rather than being flat blue. Also, the chain mail on the armor could use some wash.

PICTURED: Left to right. MASTERVERSE Revelation Scare Glo, Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon, Mythic Legions Skeleton Legion Builder (with MOTUC Vikor cape, MASTERVERSE NE Battle Armor Skeletor, and Mythic Legions Demistros. All on the Extreme Sets Compound backdrop.

ACCESSORIES

The armor is well sculpted, but the best sculpts are on the head and the weapons. The bone motif is very strong, with a consistent yellowed, aged hue.

Attack the usurper! PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skelcon and Super7 Ultimates! Black Falcon. You can see the bone paint job here in comparison to what is on the throne.

Once again, I have to complain about this shield. It is the same dumb shield we have had several times. This time even more boring because it is just flat dark gray. I sense some paint in the future. (It might snow on Wednesday and Thursday, so…). (It did not. And I did not paint.)

He really does come with a lot of accessories. He was the same price as New Eternia Evil-Lyn, who practically had no accessories. (I guess they spent the budget on this guy instead). These accessories are very useful and add a good bit to the rest of the collection.

PICTURED: Kitbash Conan the Barbarian fighting MASTERVERSE NE Skelcon. (Conan is Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mounds Conan alternate Schwarzenegger head, Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell cape, GI Joe Classified Gnawgahyde necklace. Notice the comparison of the two shield here…Skelcon’s shield vs. the same kind of shield in Mythic Legions.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA SKELCON

Once again…Who?

I would have rather had Stratos, or even his sister. I would have rather had the more recognizable Eternian Guard…which I probably would have bought a few more of to army build.

The head sculpt is great, but most of the body feels so much like the other lanky figures, especially Mer-Man because of the three toed feet. But he doesn’t have that great paint that Mer-Man has, does he? BUT the accessories are well sculpted…among the best in MASTERVERSE.

He came with lots of accessories, and his articulation is very good with really no stupid problems. That knife sheath came off when I removed him from the blister, but it is designed to come off. Sometimes he is hard to get to stand, and he always feels lanky and leggy.

I am going to rate Skelcon a 3/5. He adds another skeleton to my collection, and one with a horned helmet no less. I like that Mattel is digging deep to give us a character like this…I just don’t know who he is. (I am looking it up after I publish this blog entry). But it is good to see Mattel bringing up Infinita again, remixing it into New Eternia, which has a story that I am not even sure is coherent.

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

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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It has taken SO LONG for me to properly review this figure.

But she is pretty terrific! Let’s emphasize “pretty.”

My history with Evil-Lyn coincides with the end of my playing with toys as a child. At around the 11-12 years old mark. (December birthday…probably just turned 12). I received Evil-Lyn and Tyrantisaurus for Christmas, and my uncles had a fit making fun of me at my grandmother’s Christmas party. “You are playing with dolls!” It didn’t matter…I thought she was great. And she went very well with the cyborg dinosaur. (That dinosaur had one of the coolest missiles in all of toys).

The reason it took so long for me to review it … more like reasons…I had a horrible bout with the flu around the time I unboxed the figure. I filmed video of me talking about it, but it sounded so horrible. Not fit to publish. So I did another video about a week later. And THAT one had interference all over it. Background noises, etc. Making YouTube videos is more challenging than I would think.

Eventually, I was at the SCMEA (South Carolina Music Educators Association) conference in Columbia, South Carolina, staying at a hotel, and had sufficient time and a different environment to do some video reviews. So the photos and all that I post here and on YouTube will be a hodge-podge.

PACKAGING

She comes in the superior MASTERVERSE packaging, with superior art. You can see the figure in the window very clearly, as well as her wand. I have a complaint, in that she has drop-down hips, and on the blister they are pulled down, making an awkward look for those MOC collectors. (She doesn’t look as bad as the Green Goddess). The illustration of Evil-Lyn looks menacing and all business. She is in front of Snake Mountain, and there is a Skelcon to her left. (The Skelcon is one of the upcoming SpartanNerd reviews!) MASTERVERSE is in exploding rocks on the top, and Evil-Lyn’s name is on the side slant, which invites you to look at the side art.

We see her standing, cape raised with spellcasting right hand energizing the wand. She stands on alien ground, typical Eternia yellowish brown dirt and plants. Her head appears large above her. If I was a Mint-On-Card collector, I would absolutely display this side on my shelf.

Let’s see the other side.

More Skelcons, and lest we forget, Panthor coming down the stairs on the side of Snake Mountain. Notably, just in the past few days Mattel Creations posted Panthor for order, and I jumped on that so fast. (Panthor review coming hopefully before the end of February!)

Also notable on this side is a glimpse into where this line could go. That moon with a face on it is from the New Adventures line. (Nordor?) I believe the only New adventures MASTERVERSE figure out there is Slush Head. I have seen him on clearance in a couple of places. While I believe Slush Head is cool, and on of my brothers had this vintage figure, New Adventures doesn’t appeal to me very much. This isn’t “my He-Man.”

And here we have my least favorite thing about the recent packaging. This is a photoshopped image of the figure. Pointing out that she appears more “yellow” here, while the figure is Caucasian. (I prefer my Evil-Lyn figures to not be yellow in general). She stands in front of a fungus covered Eternian tree, with a blob of red magic photoshopped on a layer behind the wand, notably assembled in long configuration. Pictures clockwise around show Evil-Lyn raising her hand above the crystal ball, the soft-goods cape, a cross sell of Evil-Lyn (why?), a cross-sell of Fisto (review here), and a cross-sell of Flying-Fist He-Man (I am not getting that.)

BUT, check out this bio. One of the best! So good I am going to re-type it here.

“EVIL-LYN| Evelyn Morgan Powers. Evelyn Morgan sold her soul to the Subternian Warrior Goddess. She was given powers beyond her dark imagination, changing her forever into Evil-Lyn.”

BOOM. This right here is what this New Eternia line is about. Evelyn Morgan Powers being Evil-Lyn’s name has been a thing since the planning stages of Masters of the Universe way back in the early 1980’s. As far as I know it wasn’t mentioned again until Masters of the Universe Classics, when they began giving “real names” to characters. Also, “Forever becoming Evil-Lyn” totally bucks the story of Revelation/Revolution, where Granymyr declares her “good” upon his death.

That she sold her soul to the Subternian Warrior Goddess…Who is that? They probably won’t make this character, so, fill in with your own Mythic Legions!

HERE’S WHAT YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE

Yep. This is it. Basically this red package contained alternate hands and the bottom of the staff.

I am going to go ahead and complain about that. Mattel ABSOLUTELY could have given us more accessories.

This is the third Evil-Lyn from the MASTERVERSE line, and only one of those came with proper accessories. Revelation Evil-Lyn came with an alternate helmet-less head, two wands (one short and one long,) a pocketbook, and alternate hands. I complained about Movie Evil-Lyn not coming with many accessories, and the same here. There is no excuse. She is known to take that helmet off. We should have gotten that. She transforms into a fireball in Filmation all the time (I watched some Filmation while I was sick…comfort food!) Why didn’t we get some kind of fireball. Or even a magic effect. Kind of like they depict photoshopped on the back. NOPE. We get alternate hands. That’s it. And we have tons of alternate hands already that fit. I am not counting the bottom of the pole as an accessory really. More like “the bottom of the weapon.”

You can see that our new Evil-Lyn is more exhibitionist than the Revelation one. She is also about an inch taller, because the thigh cut is new tech. And also the new figure has new more flattering knees. I like the translucent blue staff, but I will say I prefer the more colorful staff that came with the earlier Evil-Lyn.

FIGURE REVIEW

Having gotten that negativity out of the way, the figure is all around beautiful. This is a wonderful sculpt, and she looks like a fashion model. She isn’t “busty” as some depictions, 200x for instance. No, she is elegant…maybe even “dainty.”

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn with Mythic Legions Magic Effects. The blue effect proves my point about that specific product. (It matches Evil-Lyn’s wand very well).

This sculpt is so good. She shows a lot of leg, and that is appreciated. Unfortunately, you can see the seams on their thighs a little too much, but this was my complaint with Snake Sorceress Teela also. The “loin cloth” hangs down hiding the crotch area, and where the drop-down hips were a problem on card, the way they look adds to the curviness of this figure. A big improvement is the knees. Before, say in Movie Evil-Lyn, the knees looked like “cellulite.” Fat knees that took away. This is what Mattel came up with to maintain more articulation. But these knees looks so much better, and the articulation is just as good. I believe it makes her thigh and calf muscles appear more ripped.

She has sculpted boots with the appearance of a furry top around her calves. So with all this fur on loin cloths, boots, armor, whatever…maybe it stays pretty cold in Eternia? Seems like a contradiction because everyone is also half-naked.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE NE Evil-Lyn with Mythic Legions Magic effect, and Mythic Legion Ninian Infantry (Review coming soon)

Her torso…she has an ab crunch right below the bodice. We have nice sculpted details in blue and purple color scheme. She also has blue bracers on her biceps and wrists. This top is sculpted on and is non-removable. (Masters of the Universe isn’t that kind of property!) Kidding aside, you COULD remove Battleground Teela’s in the Masters of the Universe Classics line, so it was worth pointing out. (Nothing to see there, people!)

The cape…it is solid black and soft goods. Evil-Lyn can’t hold it to the side like she often did in the Filmation show. (She is rather plain under the cape. Do I have to say it again…Nothing to see there, people!) I wish this cape had a wire to it so that it could be more posable. And why didn’t Mattel give us this? It would have only added to the figure and couldn’t have cost that much. I like the purple nails.

Her face. Who is this?

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE NE Evil-Lyn

No really. Is this some actress? Model? An attractive worker at Mattel studios? I’m just saying, this face sculpt doesn’t look like any Evil-Lyn from before. Which is fine. I mean, it’s just really different but well done. The helmet seems to be a little big for the face. BUT, this brings a point. Perhaps it is a helmet with a headdress on it. Something I never thought about.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA EVIL-LYN

She gets a point for this terrific sculpt. Mattel needs to bring this A-Game to every MASTERVERSE figure.

Her paint is great, from her nails to the fur on her boots, to that wonderful vexing face.

Her articulation is usual…I will say I had a little bit of trouble getting her to stand at first, but after some wrangling this hasn’t been a problem…certainly not a stupid problem to deduct a point.

And she adds what to my collection…the best female sculpt I have. Better than Green Goddess, Battleground Teela, other Evil-Lyn figures…any of them! She seems to go right with King Conan and Boreus here.

PICTURED: Mythic Legions Boreus (Horse), Super7 Ultimates! King Conan, and MASTERVERSE NE Evil-Lyn. On an adventure in what tiny bit of snow we have had this Winter. In fact, for several Winters Spartanburg South Carolina has had no snow.

She loses a point because Mattel just didn’t give us more accessories. I think about this problem, and … I don’t know the business, but here is a thought.

She stands an inch taller than earlier Evil-Lyn figures. That’s an inch more of plastic and paint. That would be accessories, because they haven’t raised the price. Maybe I’m wrong. But regardless, Evil-Lyn should have more things. Filmation artifacts, scanners and collars from the movie, magic effects, or a fireball…something. And what about Screech and (and Zoar for that matter?) This would have been a cool addition.

So the SpartanNerd rates MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn a 4/5. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! Also be sure to go over to YouTube to like and subscribe to my content. There you will find this review in a different form, as well as other recent reviews of MASTERVERSE, Mythic Legions, and other 6”/7” figures.

MASTERVERSE Battle Armor Skeletor

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Watch the YouTube video HERE

The SpartanNerd has been SO SICK. The Type A Flu has done a number on me and the SpartanFamily. So I have been home on these cold, cold days, with no motivation to do anything but sleep. Not much eating. Some TV watching. But the idea of taking action figures down and getting photos of them…as non-intense as that is. The motivation just hasn’t been there. And it is a shame because I have so many nice reviews waiting to happen.

I’ve had Battle Armor Skeletor for awhile. After Christmas break, you know, back to work. And then the flu. I filmed the video unboxing of Skeletor and also The Undead of Vikenfell before Christmas break was over. I can’t say my greatest video. (You can watch that video HERE). But today, January 21, I am determined not to lay around anymore. I’m GOING to do this. And get the review of the Undead of Vikenfell up, and New Eternia Evil-Lyn, and then four other Mythic Legions should be arriving today.

PACKAGING

Once again, the MASTERVERSE packaging is really good. On the front you can see Skeletor very well. Notable that Skeletor’s helmet is kind of loose in my example. A MOC collector might look out for one that is fit on the figure better.

There are illustrations of Skeletor fighting Snake Men along with New Eternia Evil-Lyn, and as you turn the box around you can see an image of King Hiss. Severe hinting that by the end of the year we will have some Snake Men. We already had hints about this with Snout Spout’s diorama…that is kind of a non-sensical thing to include with a firefighter.

The other side has an illustration of Skeletor without the helmet at the top, and standing there holding the battleaxe looking…Reverend SpartanNerd will say BadAss. How else can you put it? Mattel propping up the more barbarian side of Masters of the Universe is terrific, but with Skeletor they could have gone full-on mage. Instead we get the surprising champion, conquerer, victorious, “I dare you to mess with me” version of Skeletor. And I can’t get over all of the completely Death Metal spikes they put on the helmet and the armor. What a terrific redesign!

As usual, I do not like what they are doing with the backs of the new packages. They are showing us a photoshopped picture of the toy, and they have done things like airbrushed out the seams on the thigh-cuts, etc. Little windows on the side show the features of the figure, and this figure is in berserk mode swinging the axe and the sword. There is cross-sell on the bottom, this time featuring Man-O-War, Sorceress Teela, New Eternia Mer-Man, and the Battle Armor Skeletor that you already have. I own all of these now except for Man-O-War, and just don’t care for him much.

FIGURE REVIEW

Here’s what you get in the package

  • Skeletor figure
  • Removable horned (and spiked!) helmet
  • Battle Axe
  • Scimitar
  • Alternate battle-damaged armor plate.

Skeletor has the three-toed monster feet with boot cuts. Think about that for a minute…this means that these shoes were tailored specifically for his specialized feet. Depending on your view, this is awesome or ridiculous. (I’m leaning towards awesome)

There is a chain mail loin cloth that looks like soft goods, but it is sculpted plastic. He didn’t come with any alternate hands, but now I have five Skeletor figures PLUS King Keldor, so if I need an alternate hands I have them. Both hands are gripping hands that rotate and have hinges, and probably he is usually going to be holding weapons..

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revolution King Keldor opens a portal to his home dimension, summoning his people through the portal. (This is a remix of the old miniternia story). The two Skeletor figures in the portal are both New Eternia Skeletor figures. (Viking and Throne)

His head sculpt is just a little bit too jolly for my taste. It looks good, and the chain mail skullcap is a very nice touch. The jolly-ness comes from the smile along with the pointed chin and pointed cheek bones. Definitely more of a smile than a grimace. This is an articulated jaw, but it has limited mobility and opening the mouth doesn’t help much. As it is, I prefer the Alcala inspired head that came with the Havoc Throne. (There is some opinion that that head looks too much like a chimp skull. I say those people need to go back and look at the source material.)

PICTURED: New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor with New Eternia Skeletor (Havoc Throne) hoodless head, wearing the helmet.

The shoulder pauldrons might be removable. I can’t tell and am not willing to force it. A customizer can probably do a lot with this. I love how there are these spikes on the shoulder. Blood Bowl anyone?

You don’t have to remove the armor to swap the scratch plate. It easily pops out and then you can easily replace it by slotting it in behind that little skull emblem on his chest. I did eventually remove the armor out of curiosity, and the whole thing structure reminds you of the armor power up you can get in a game of DOOM. There is also a girdle of armor protecting his hips. And this is also removable.

I believe they learned from their mistakes with the two Battle Armor He-Man figures we have been given, and perfectly addressed concerns with those.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revolution Battle Armor He-Man battles MASTERVERSE New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor.

ACCESSORIES

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto
Mythic Legions Legion Builder Skeleton
MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms

The helmet is really one of the things that was the biggest draw for getting this figure. It is what caught my eye first. I was a big fan of that helmet that came with MOTUC Panthor, but there were a lot of critics of that. I say “WHY?” Horned helmets are awesome, and Battle Cat has a helmet…Panthor should too. In Skeletor’s case here, he is given something the character has never had before in his normal context. He always has a hood. He might be bare-skull occasionally. There is Skele-God from the Revelation cartoon, and the golden god Skeletor from the movie (more of a spiky headdress), but these don’t look so metal. I say this because this helmet adds a lot to Battle Armor Skeletor as a character. Anyone remember “Molar?” This was the Eternian Dentist from the Robot Chicken skit. Mattel gave us a figure of Molar with an accompanying Skeletor, and that figure was missing a tooth. It took no time for people to put that head on MOTUC Battle Armor Skeletor and add some effects to create an awesome kitbash.

This is what I am talking about. OAFE.Net

This horned helmet does something similar to the character of Battle Armor Skeletor. It doesn’t “snap” on…it fits loosely. But you can put it on many other figure’s heads because of this loose nature. It has curled horns that would belong on Panthor or on the Havoc Staff, and spikes up the middle for even better effect. Skeletor wears this way better than Super7 Ultimates! Black Falcon. (His non-removable helmet has spikes up the middle and Viking horns.)

The Battle Axe is one of the best battle axes. I like how it is large and epic. It has that asymmetrical nature like Snout Spouts that we can tell where the main business end is. It has wraps around the handle also, and is well painted, and once again LARGE. It’s true that Revolution Battle Armor He-Man’s axe is spectacular chrome paint, but it is smaller and doesn’t bring that well-used patina. And yes, I am being picky.

This is some of my battle axes. Lines represented: MASTERVERSE, Super7 Ultimates!, Animal Warriors of the Kingdom, and Mythic Legions.

The Scimitar is different than other curved swords we have in MASTERVERSE. It feels like more basic of a weapon than the battle axe, but has a deadly and savage feel, as opposed to say what we got with Fisto. (This is the same scimitar that came with the first New Eternia Skeletor (Viking) but in a black and silver color scheme.)

PICUTURED: Curved sword collection. Bottom to top: Mythic Legions Undead of Vikenfell (review coming soon), MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull, MASTERVERSE Revelation Merman, MASTERVERSE New Eternia Skeletor (Viking and Battle Armor)

SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA BATTLE ARMOR SKELETOR

Not only does Skeletor excel in all 5 areas I check for, (sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and significance), Mattel has built on knowledge of making two less-successful Battle Armor He-Man figures. He has all of their strengths, but none of their weaknesses.

So he gets a 5/5. Do I have any complaints? Skeletor feels like he needs to have the Havoc Staff. You might argue that the helmet IS the Havoc Staff, and with recent comic book stories it seems like his skull gets melded with it or something. So perhaps that’s what is happening here? And then that face sculpt is just a little bit too happy for me. But that is offset by the sheer Slayer-ness of the rest of the presentation, plus it is backed by a chain mail skullcap. I can’t mark off for that.

So the SpartanNerd’s rating of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor is 5/5. AND, if you watched the video, you know I have to declare a winner between this figure and The Undead of Vikenfell. Stay tuned!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto-SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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Fisto…Total FOMO.

I didn’t have Fisto as a kid. BUT, the character has always resonated with me. A guy with a huge prosthetic fist. That is a cool power! And that it is a metal tank of a weapon.

Back to the FOMO. When they released the Masters of the Universe Classics version, he was one of the first that you had to order online only, and like no one got him. Matty Collector crashed, and just like that. Bots or something snatched them all up when the site came back online, and just like that, all of them were sold.

The MOTUC version was REALLY COOL. He looked awesome, with some 200x flare, which was unusual for the time in the life of the MOTUC line, and also he came with this huge Final Fantasy VII kind of sword….Just an extra incredible detail. And I think that sword was designed for 200x but didn’t ship or something?

And so after-market MOTUC Fisto is a very high priced toy. Then they came out with a kind of lame version for Masterverse Revelation. What a letdown.

When they showed off this new Fisto, I was shocked and completely knew I would be getting it. No regrets this time.

Or are there? Keep reading, Hub City Geeks!

PACKAGING

Fisto comes in this awesome package, this time showing off some cartoon baddies not often seen. These are the orcs from the mini comic “Masks of Power,” where these little monster guys put on the masks and turn into big monsters. This mini comic was the pack-in with Fisto, and so it is a nice homage on the box. It would be TOTALLY AWESOME if they gave us these orcs sometime in the future. And why not? They are doing Skelcons.

The sides also show some of this action, with one panel featuring He-Man throwing one of the bad guys. There are also some notable flying enemies.

The back of course features a photoshop of the toy.

It is a cool addition to the story that he has bonded with the “mystical Iron Fist” in his bio. The three images on the cross sell art…I am passing on Flying Fists He-Man. Never been a fan. And this is the same bad face treatment as Thunder Punch He-Man had. Big Bad Toy Store has charged me for Evil-Lyn, but she hasn’t shipped yet. I expect she might be here before the end of the week. (What is it with me and Evil-Lyn? This will be number 3.)

One more thing. Inside the package is a little bag for his accessories, and I think this is the first time we have this specific style of baggie.

It features the modern font for Masters of the Universe in black over blue.

FISTO FIGURE REVIEW

Here’s what you get in the box

  • Fisto figure
  • Alternate vintage-style head
  • Alternate left hand (fist)
  • Curved sword (cutless?)
  • Battle hammer

The head that comes on him out of the box is an older, more wizened portrait with gray details on his beard, especially coming down from the “soul patch” to the goatee. There is also a mask that reminds me of something from She-Ra. That mask is not removable. He also has a top-knot ponytail.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms and Fisto.

The second head is the classic Fisto portrait. Younger and what you expect.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress, New Eternia Fisto, and their daughter Teela (this is a mash-up Teela) I am following the 200x story here, where Fisto and Sorceress are deadbeat parents and Man-At-Arms has to raise her.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto rides on Mythic Legions Boreus. It just seems right to have Fisto ride on a horse. This is because he is often pictured riding Stridor, who we don’t have a proper MASTERVERSE version of yet.

This arm is also what is different. Fisto not only has a metal fist, but now for New Eternia has a whole robotic arm. This reminds me of the whole “techno-virus” story angle from the pre-ternia mini comics and more recently from the Revolution cartoon. In other words, watch out. Perhaps Fisto can be easily controlled by the likes of Motherboard and Skeletek.

ACCESSORIES

This is a character where the accessories and the figure kind of run together. The battle hammer has modular business ends. That spike looks like it could do some damage, or at least bust up some ice. The other “dome” end is similar to Man-At-Arms weapon. Now these two pieces can be swapped out. You could just have half a hammer, or you could remove Fisto’s metal fist and swap it with one of the hammer heads.

The other accessory is the purple “cutless.” Not a giant buster sword. BOO! This was a missed opportunity, Mattel! As a weapon on its own without that context, it is just fine. I think it might be a copy of the one that comes with New Eternia Jitsu, (which I don’t have…Maybe I should get?)

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF NEW ETERNIA FISTO

The sculpt looks good. The paint looks great, with two heads for different looks taking that piece beyond the expected. I DO think the fist might be just a little bit too small (Beast Man, Snout Spout, and Ram Man have similar sized hands.) The accessories are fine even though I wish it came with an anime sword…but this can’t figure in to the rating. It is novel that you can swap the hammer heads with the fist, and as a bonus, Trap Jaw’s parts (and Roboto’s?) can also go with Fisto. And already the pirate hook looks cool, if just a little bit rustier of a finish.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto and Trap Jaw

And also importantly, he represents another good guy to go with the inferior force that the SpartanNerd has. (Still missing, Stratos, Buzz-Off, Extendar, Rio Blast, Roboto, Moss Man, Prince Adam, King Randor, and Queen Marlena. Yes, some of these exist but not in a proper form. OK, Zoar also.) As a contrast, I have every important bad guy represented except for Modulok and Cobra Kahn. OK, Screech. The Snake Men should be coming out soon in MASTERVERSE, at least there have been hints.

So with great sculpt, paint, accessories, no problems along the QC area or with articulation, and that he represents something special to the SpartanNerd, he gets a 5/5. We start the new year off with a bang of a punch.

PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Battle of the Mounds Valeria (Spirit), MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck, and Fisto. We all know that Mekaneck had it coming…

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments! Also check out the SpartanNerd’s new video content on YouTube.