Tag Archives: Masterverse

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Snout Spout- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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

INITIAL THOUGHTS

Snout Spout is one of them characters. Yep.

So I have owned every version of Snout Spout ever released EXCEPT for the 200x Staction, which looks totally awesome! I picked up the Masters of the Universe Classics version at Big Lots that time that a bunch of Matty Collector stuff landed there…But I sold that when I did my mass sell off of MOTUC figures. (I am really starting to regret that. It wouldn’t be so bad if Mattel would support MEGA a little more). As a vintage character, I remember using that squirting action feature all the time. The Classics version didn’t have that, but came with the awesome Jaws of Life weapon. I didn’t get that “Heads pack” with the awesome 200x design.

When Mattel Creations listed Snout Spout for $33 a few months ago, I thought about it. Wouldn’t they just eventually mark it down? It did look cool, but did I like the character that much? Remember, I picked up the Classics version for $20…that was really a steal and a deal that will probably never come back up. the MASTERVERSE version didn’t look quite as fierce as the 200x version, but it didn’t look like a Dumbo either as the vintage one and stock MOTUC one did. I finally decided to when I saw Vykron on a Mattel Creations sale and thought, “what else should I get” while I was on vacation. Not getting Motherboard at $65 of Dark-lyn. Snout Spout was the winner.

So what did I think of it when I had it in hand…keep reading to see the SpartanNerd’s review, and also his first ever Special Effects Toy Photography!

ADDITIONAL PACKAGING REVIEW

When you open the box, you get to see a poster of the same artwork on the cover. BUT the other side features (EXCITEMENT!!)

YEP. SNAKE MEN! Now there is no reason to have snake men here. Snout Spout (presented as a firefighter) doesn’t have much to do with them. Mattel will have to do some explaining. He does look cool standing between King Hiss and the lady (Lady Slither?). But more importantly, this art seems to point to Snake Men coming soon to MASTERVERSE!

Snout Spout was tied in just like Vykron. No blister bubble. One thing that is an improvement on the package is the smooth black poster finish on the cardboard. But the way the trunk is wrapped…it makes it look like he was injured.

You can open the little box, which doubles as a stand, to see the rest of the items.

FIGURE REVIEW

Here is everything you get.

  • Snout Spout figure. He has a power harness and belt that is removable.
  • Fire fighter’s axe
  • Backpack
  • Three hoses
  • Alternate fist hands
  • Water blast effect

A good bit of items! And look how impressive he looks! This orange and pink and metallic purple, silver, and bright red. It all works so well!

Those eyes use “Light Piping.” And this is kind of a bummer. Mattel tries to play it up as great, but it would be better if there was some kind of battery. When you don’t have a light right overhead, you get the “dead eyes” look.

So the hoses can be attached all over the place. You can connect them from the bottom of the backpack to the power harness. You can connect the shorter one from the top of the backpack to the back of his head. You can connect one to the bottom of the axe to make it into a nozzle. You can use your imagination! You can also attach the water effext to the power harness to make it seem like he sprung a leak. Or you can put it on the end of the axe.

Speaking of imagination, the SpartanNerd is a middle school chorus teacher…one of the things that almost kept me from purchasing this was the belt. What might a middle school student (especially a boy) say about that pressure gauge?

The hose nose (this is Snout Spout’s alternate name). His real name…Jaxston. Awesome! This nose is very posable, made of several hard plastic joints. Not foam. Not rubber with wire. This was done right!

ACCESSORIES

I really already talked about them, didn’t I!

But not including the Jaws of Life…that is a missed opportunity. Now I realize that item was roughly an homage to The Four Horsemen…it was in the shape of their symbol. Still…we have Clamp Champ. There could have been some parts re-use.

The axe is pretty cool. It looks kind of dinged up and used. There could be more paint apps.

REAL SPECIAL EFFECTS PHOTOGRAPHY!

This is my first time. I watched of few YouTube videos, especially about adding explosions and fire to GI Joe Classified and Star Wars Black Series figures. I knew there would be plenty, and I could apply those here.

I took a trip to the Dollar General Market to find some dollhouse pieces or something to destroy. It would have to be really cheap. Would you believe the only thing they had was an off-brand Barbie doll house that was $25! No way. Not for this project. So I went back home, and took the to box cutter to some Amazon boxes. And some spray paint…

You can see what I did if you watch this video! Snout Spout to the Rescue video.

Here are some of the pics I got when I lit it all up!

PICTURED: New Eternia MASTERVERSE Snout Spout rescuing MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil-Lyn, who is dressed in Tri-Klops’ robe as “Eternian Winch.”

I did two special effects videos… the fire and a snow one for the barbarians. But the fire one was truly a blast! No, this Snout Spout can’t really squirt water. But he looks great fighting fire!

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MATTEL CREATIONS MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA SNOUT SPOUT

Not kidding. Snout Spout turned out to be one of the coolest figures I almost punted on. I’m glad I didn’t! He looks impressive. So tall and heroic. He is taller than anyone else besides Mekanek with all the pieces. At first I thought this torso was a re-use of 40th anniversary He-Man, but it can’t be because the neck is different and larger. It is similar size to Beast Man, but isn’t the same either. The only re-used parts I see are the pauldrons, which are Vykron’s but with all red. The head sculpt doesn’t look like the 200x, but it also doesn’t look like the sad elephant from the vintage line. Those are huge feet…he stands very stable for what is a heavy build and big head. The trunk is very posable.

The light-piping isn’t very great, some kind of electronic design would be better. I am considering modding this with some LED’s. I seem to be living dangerously lately. The Jaws of Life would have been a good include. But the many options for display, plus the bonus promise of snake men over-rides these weaknesses. Snout Spout is one of the best figures I own now! I highly recommend him. 5/5!

MASTERVERSE Vykron- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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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.

SpartanNerd Action Figure Showdown- King vs. King. vs. King (Keldor Review)

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We Three Kings…NOPE. It’s waayyy too early for that!

I thought as a review for King Keldor, I would pit him against the other two kings I own. So for this review, I will be showing off King Conan (review here) vs. King Grayskull (review here) vs. King Keldor as the review of Keldor and for a little bit of “extra fun!”

KING KELDOR PACKAGING

King Keldor’s package was just like all recent MASTERVERSE figures. This one is notably from Revolution, not New Eternia or Revelation, so there’s that. This design is from the cartoon. You can see the figure clearly, and also his alternate head.

The back features another pic, this time of King Keldor standing in front of the palace. This palace is purple…not bright orange like Filmation. I will have to go back and watch the show again to see if that is an updated design. I think I remember it being white?? I already spoke about the preview figures in my last review (Mekaneck). This packaging is a major spoiler to anyone who hasn’t watched the show, as the bio says “Skeletor in disguise,” and also Randor’s half brother. I assume any readers out there don’t care if I mention spoilers, so here you are…WARNING!

I am a huge 200x fan. I really liked what they did with Keldor/Skeletor in that show. It was looking like that was discarded for modern stories…Skeletor even has a one-shot story in the Dark Horse Masters of the Universe Revelation comics (issue 3?) where he explains his origin to Evil-Lyn as someone who lost his family in another dimension, a place where everyone is a skeleton. BUT…Revolution reveals that Skeletor has actually had his mind wiped…he really WAS Keldor.

An intriguing detail! I suppose I should say it. Masters of the Universe is the first Sci-Fi property to have William Shatner and Mark Hammil together. And they are voicing who is practically the same character. A win for Star Trek and Star Wars and MOTU all over!

The images on the side are good, featuring Motherboard, King Randor and Queen Marlena, and then “Battle Keldor” without the cape or crown. I wonder if we will be getting Randor and Marlena soon? Revolution featured both in combat situations, also.

KING KELDOR FIGURE REVIEW

Here’s what you get.

  • Alternate “gripping” hands
  • Alternate head (I propped it on Mekaneck’s weapon like I said I would!) This head has a removable crown.
  • …I guess we can count the cape.

So not many accessories. A definite weakness. There were so many things they could have given us here. In the show he is using technology left and right. Computers, things that zap. “Nanites.” There is this mark of the beast kind of story where people are getting “communion” of Motherboard’s chips. We could have got some of those. But we got nothing really. And that alternate head is almost perfectly identical. There is a slight smirk on one of them, but otherwise, the same. And I think this is a trick of paint, not sculpt.

He has good articulation except for the rubber coat. This restricts him from sitting on a throne properly. Notice I put the MOTUC Faceless One’s Havoc Staff in his hand. We could have gotten a Havoc staff with a different colorway. No accessories really gripes me with action figures.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revolution King Keldor and New Eternia Skeletor. Would you have figured them to be the same person?

So Keldor is a good figure, just lacking in accessories. He can’t sit on a throne. I haven’t taken the cape off…I feel no need to. The crown fits on some other MASTERVERSE figures. Man-At-Arms if you take off his helmet. Beast Man. Teela (it looks strange because she already has a tiara). And King Grayskull, but it just doesn’t seem right.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revolution Keldor and MASTERVERSE New Eternia Man-At-Arms. Keldor is armed with the purple half of the power sword from King Grayskull.

SPARTANNERD RATING OF KING KELDOR

No accessories is a big mark-off. And that the head is so similar, also a bummer. It is good to have another king. It is great that it is Keldor, an acknowledgement of one of my favorite MOTU stories.

Unfortunately, there is also a QC issue.

So as a figure, this is a 3/5. Do you agree or disagree?

WHO WILL WIN?

I will pump you up!

King Grayskull attacks King Conan with Khotal Kahn’s sword, who blocks with the Sword of Aquilonia. Keldor is ready to take advantage and chop his arm from underneath.

With Arnold out of commision, Keldor and King Grayskull square off.

AND THE WINNER IS…

I had alot of fun doing this review. King Grayskull only won because I could tell the story with the pictures I took. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Masterverse New Eternia Mekaneck – SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

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I kept putting this purchase off, but didn’t want another faker situation. I caught Mekaneck on sale on BigBadToyStore, and boom, here was my chance

Here was a character that I owned and played with everyday as a child..not only was he cool to imagine a spy, you could also use the action feature to head butt other characters and knock them down. Another memory about this character. The armor was stiff plastic, which was better than the typical rubber armor. But the tabs broke and so my Mekaneck went shirtless a lot. Stinkor’s armor was the same but orange, so you could mix and match

Who is featured on the bottom? Battle Armor He-Man. This makes the second version in the MASTERVERSE line. Tri-Klops. This makes the second version in the MASTERVERSE line. I concede that each version has its strengths, but don’t feel the need for another Tri-Klops. I predict a big clearance on Battle Armor He-Man eventually because of the glut of product out there. Then I will pick up both version. I actually have King Keldor now, and will be posting a review soon.

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PACKAGING NOTES

You can see the packaging art is very nice, and you can see that the blue Road Ripper is featured heavily. Also, whatever species that Clawful is, there are lots of those guys around, so the illustration makes it seem that Mekaneck is spying on their camp. If you read the little bio story, you can see that New Eternia Mekaneck is part of a submarine squadron, a very cool new spin. (This makes the Road Ripper an aquatic vehicle too! Maybe…maybe!!! We can get a MASTERVERSE Road Ripper! How hard could it be?) You can see in the illustration some classic pieces of Castle Grayskull, namely the weapons, and that chest has the same design as the classic trap door.

This is another one of those boxes that is akin to what is going on with Transformers, and I like this very much. It gives more room for story art, and you can see the figure just fine if you wanted to keep them in box. It is also semi-collector friendly. The blister bubble inside isn’t worth much, but the character can stand in there and be seen without it, and there is a storage compartment for accessories to boot.

FIGURE REVIEW

Here is everything you get in the box:

  • alternate fist hands
  • five(!) telescoping neck pieces
  • classic mace, with a new twist (see below)
  • shield featuring the blue Road Ripper

The figure stands well and has very good paint. But something especially striking is the VAC METAL or SHINY FOIL goggles! They can do it here, why not on say…Thunder Punch He-Man? It is notable that this is only on the goggles. The other chrome details on the armor are painted. I like the contrast of the dark “furry shorts” and the green-ish belt. I like the silver straps on the boots also.

ACCESSORIES

The shield has “patina” already on the sticker as a part of the design, which is appreciable. These kinds of stickers wear and fade with age, often showing that white paper backing. So they just built it in to this shield, which is the very opposite of some of the boring shields they have given us on some figures. This shield has a peg instead of a strap, making this the second design like this I have seen. There is hole in the wrist and one on the back of the armor where the shield can go. And like I said, could we get a blue Road Ripper?

And now for the new spin on the mace. This mace is presented as a telescope. This is something that never occurred to me, and I wonder if there was a discarded design precedent in the past for the vintage or 200x line. This mace is in two pieces, so the big diamond-y part can detach just like the head or neck pieces. This will make a great new way to display alternate head sculpts. I didn’t get a photo of it, but the shorter “handle” piece is a convincing telescope by itself.

As you can see above, you can use just one of the neck joints to create a classic vintage feel. Or…

You can go more 200x with this one. And I’m not kidding, if I see Mekaneck on clearance in December or sometime, I am picking up more just to get these neck pieces to play with! So this is a big win, Mattel. Thank you for paying attention to what we probably want.

AND…

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck and MASTERVERSE Revelation Mer-Man. Mer-Man is wearing Clawful’s alternate armor, and holding Super7 Ultimates! Black Falcon’s bident spear.

yep. You can use the neck pieces to extend the telescope!

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA MEKANECK

Are you kidding me? This is one of the best MASTERVERSE figures. Why did I put off this purchase? I think I have been holding out for Faker or Whiplash.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck and Mythic Legions Balthor the Tower Ogre. I wanted to highlight just how tall Mekaneck can be…that is like a nine inch figure! Balthor is armed with McFarlane Toys Raven Spawn’s chain.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Mekaneck and Man-E-Faces. I am titling this one “Two Wierdos.”

Really the fun doesn’t stop. The figure is sculpted and painted well. The articulation is more than great considering the neck joints. The accessories have been riffed on in the best possible ways. And there is extended funtionality because the end of the telescope can be used to display some of the alternate heads in the future. My rating of this figure is a solid 5/5.

MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress- SpartanNerd Review.

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I’ve been putting this review off for a while now…which isn’t good news. Keep reading for details.

The blue stuff in there with her is the lighting in the room playing tricks. Sorry!

I don’t like giving bad reviews….I had never seen the Sorceress in a store, and on places like Big Bad Toy Store, she was sold out. The “Teela” version is out there still. I suppose it is the rarity of this figure that warrants $30 for a price tag.

Before I go any further, let me qualify a few things. I really like the Sorceress as a character. AND I don’t feel like she has ever had a great action figure. I have only seen the vintage version as an adult…I never saw it on a shelf and never knew anyone to own her. It looks like her wings are static…if it is an action feature I don’t know how it works. I didn’t feel like the 200x version was a great representation of the character. On the show, she was cold…no motherly warmth. I thought the “Egyptian” flavor to her redesign was cool, however. I’m pretty sure she only received a “staction” figure.

Then there was huge controversy about the MOTUC version. It was decided that to make her wings look right from the front end, they would install “drums” on the back of her shoulders and the wings can fan out. But this messed up the back of the figure, and I have seen the regular and the “Temple of Darkness” variants, and both look stupid from behind, and people had a right to complain…especially considering the fine work the Four Horsemen do. (I think they said it was Mattel’s decision and design, not theirs. )

I mean…do I need to say more. The pictures tell the story. This soft-goods treatment of the wings is poor, poor execution.

I kept being tempted to get the totally cute “bat sorceress” Evil-lyn variant. But I am glad I didn’t.

There are two loops for each arm…one for the wrist and one for the elbow. No matter how you pose her, the “feathers,” which are actually jagged cloth, look floppy and wrong.

Image of Flimation Sorceress from Wiki Grayskull.

So there are some differences in portrayal. This figure has blue wings on the inside, and a long skirt. Yes, we are reflecting the Revelation cartoon appearance…but guess what? That version had blue outer feathers and orange inner feathers. It even shows her this way on the package art! (Beautiful illustration!)

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress and Evil-lyn. Also, Evil-lyn has half of the power-sword that came with King Grayskull. .

ACCESSORIES: She came with some other hands, and also the “Staff of Ka.”

CUSTOMIZING

I saw out there where there are customizers “correcting” the skirt with a hobby knife. I just don’t feel up to it. I’d hate to make it look bad. It doesn’t look bad as it is…only I like the short skirt better and really most people do. But the long dress thing is OK. BUT…it will make it harder to sit on a possible future throne set.

Let me show you how to use this body for customization. Swap the head to Teela’s “hair down” head. Put Tri-klops’ robe on over most of the body. Put Evil-lyn’s pocketbook on there. Prop a spear up next to her. BAM. Eternian winch. (I would have used a broom or rake if I had one.)

THE FUTURE OF THE SORCERESS.

Mattel gotta do better by this character. And the future is bright if they put care into it. More and more this seems to be the case. I’m not ordering it, but Snout Spout is pretty sweet! I ordered it today!

We have a few sorceress figures to go. Maybe they’ll make a box set or something.

  • “Teela” Sorceress (of Zoar) is already out there. But she looks too much like this and has the cloth wings.
  • Sorceress of Ka- “The Green Goddess” version. The Revolution version looks to have a tail.
  • Sorceress of Havoc- We only saw her for like, ten seconds in Revolution. But she was AWESOME! Barbarian fur. Ram hor ns. Gothic make-up. BOOM! PLEASE!
  • Sorceress of Eternia- This would be the “queen Sorceress,” or “Tri-Sorceress” who no doubt we will eventually have paired with a He-Man super-powered up by her, probably as a two-pack.

Really, all of these would be beautiful figures. But they have to have more vision than this floppy cloth for wings. And already, Motherboard’s wings are hard plastic and look better. (That’s on sale… Maybe I should consider it?)

I can’t rate MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress highly at all. Something about the head is out of proportion. The paint is flat and drab. The long skirt restricts articulation. The wings are a floppy mess of cloth. She only has one true accessory. FAIL. That’s what grade it gets. 1/5. Please feel free to agree with me, Hub City Geeks, in the comments!

MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful- SpartanNerd Unboxing and Review

by

5

I have fond memories of Clawful as a kid. A crab guy with a lobster claw that car really pinch you…that’s the good stuff right there! So this is the first Clawful figure I have owned in maybe 40 years. (I never had the 200x or the Classics version). So for me an important thing will be, “how does it stack up to my memories of the vintage figure?” Keep reading for my review and rating!

PACKAGING

You can see the main window box in the top picture. Once again this is the older style “boring” package. BUT…you can see everything in the box clearly, and I keep finding uses for that rock background in taking photos.

The back of the package has a terrific illustration that really captures the fantasy world of Eternia. Is this the Sea of Rakash? The swamplands? Clawful belongs in this landscape, and as a bonus we can see the Battle Bones parked on an island in the back! Strangely, we don’t get any bio or other story blurb.

The figures below…I don’t have any of them. They are listed as “on backorder” at Entertainment Earth, and I signed up to be notified when they came in. The only one I REALLY want is Faker. I have a Mer-Man (from Revelation), I prefer a hairy Grizzlor (rather than sculpted), and this Buzz-Off looks weird. BUT, I signed up to be notified. I wan’t Faker bad enough. That is an upgraded Mer-Man, and I need a Buzz-Off. so…

There is one more image.

The image on the back shows him fully decked in “New Eternia” mode. This side image is of the vintage appearance, which is actually what you see in the window box.

FIGURE REVIEW

Here he is, completely decked out.

Here is what you get:

  • Clawful Figure (with default vintage-aligned appearance)
  • back armor with horns
  • Bicep bracer
  • power harness with a blue gem.
  • The same orange shield that came with Teela (and Stinkor, but his was blue.)
  • a green mace

This figure is very articulated! The vintage Clawful had a spring-loaded fiddler crab claw. But this one doesn’t have the spring…instead you can pose it how you like and it will stay. The left hand also has articulated parts.

I think this is some of the best paint on a $25 action figure. Nice shading on the claws. The torso and loin cloth were obviously “washed” first, and then details applied. This head sculpt doesn’t look like a muppet, but it doesn’t look like the 200x sculpt either. And yet this is clearly Clawful. Dare I say they nailed Clawful much better than any of the He-Man figures they have done. The blue belt, boots, and horns are metallic and shiny, and you can also see that nice shading on the back shell with the blue into red. Every line of chitin is sculpted evenly. The ugly bumps add a delicious grotesqueness. It is terrific!

There is nothing restricting his articulation at all, either. AND he is one of the tallest MASTERVERSE figures. Here is a pic for some reference. Still shorter than Two-Bad at his tallest point.

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Clawful and Two-Bad, as well as Marvel Legends Thanos (comics appearance)
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Clawful and Ram Man. Ram Man is armed with MASTERVERSE New Eternia Beast Man’s spiked club.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful vs. Man-At-Arms.

The articulation of these figures makes for some dynamic combat poses.

ACCESSORIES

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful and Revelation Mer-Man. Mer-Man is also armed with a sword from the Mythic Legions Skeleton Legion Builder.

The big shell adds so much to the character. And I’m pretty sure the green mace was the weapon that came with the vintage figure, so Mattel probably figured that an auto-include. BUT. Just like the old days, Clawful has a hard time holding it.

I have found this shield to be BORING. And I re-painted it too. (See it in my review of MASTERVERSE New Eternia Thunder Punch He-Man).

But now for the next big elephant in the room. The yellow power harness. Why? I mean, it looks cool. But what does this bring to the table? Is this a story element like Sir Lazer Lot’s Gem of Tamage?

PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful and Masters of the Universe Classics Sir Lazer Lot. Suggested dialogue “You have a gem? I have a gem!” Also pictured are Mythic Legions Magic Effects.

This armor with gem adds more to Mer-Man in my opinion. It looks better, and Mer-Man didn’t come with any armor as this is the Revelation cartoon appearance.

I’m not complaining that we got it…I just don’t believe it is an item that carries Clawful’s story forward any without us having context. Look at the back of the armor. That clip is so that you can clip the shell on. But that is completely unnecessary. The shell stays on around the neck just fine.

Is the gem removable? I spent some time with the hair dryer, and I am going to say “no.” It seems like I could have removed it, but then not been able to get it back in. It doesn’t seem to be glued, more like attached when the plastic was still warm or something. Or maybe its glue. I just review them…I don’t make them.

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF MASTERVERSE NEW ETERNIA CLAWFUL

Clawful here is akin to Beast Man. Both New Eternia figures give you options on how to display them. And this is very welcome! You feel like you have a more “grown-up” toy. Like you could see this as a modern translation in some comic or movie or something. I say bring it on!

I don’t see any reason not to award MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful every point he can get. The sculpt and paint are spot on. The accessories are good, even if the harness is a little strange. The green mace even doesn’t fit right, which might be a point off except that is exactly how the vintage was, making this even more nostalgic. And nostalgia, Hub City Geeks, people pay the big bucks for nostalgia. But this was a low cost item.

I award MASTERVERSE New Eternia Clawful 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!