Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

April 29, 2009 | Poe

fanmode-copy Michael Crawford reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man Mattycollector.com exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… my favorite of the series so far, and in hand, really impresses me with it’s quality and design … But in the end, it’s still tough to say it’s worth a whopping twenty bucks plus shipping.”

Poe Ghostal reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man Mattycollector.com exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… the great sculpt, excellent accessories and interchangeable head make him a must-buy.”

Nathan Newell reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man Mattycollector.com exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… another fantastic showing for The Four Horsemen and Mattel.” (more…)

FANtastic Exclusive Round 3: Articulation

April 21, 2009 | Poe

champion-ravenRaven has come out on top, and the new round for FANtastic Exclusive 2009 is all about articulation.

Rather than asking about specific points of articulation, this time around the Horsemen have chosen to give some more general choices.

  • Minimally articulated: Maybe head, shoulders and waist for a more or less static stance.
  • Minimally/Moderately articulated: Upper body would be moderately articulated, but below the waist they would remain more or less static.
  • Moderately articulated: Very articulated above the waist, but less articulated for more stability from the waist down – maybe hips & knees.
  • Highly articulated: Very articulated from top to bottom – articulated along the lines of Xetheus or Ramathorr – would include support stand.

While I think many fans might reflexively want “Highly articulated,” the mention of the support stand is basically saying, “This will fall over like Ramathorr.” So in the end, I had to go with “moderately articulated.”

Click here to vote!

Review > Atom Smasher (DC Universe Classics)

April 15, 2009 | Poe

While there are plenty of extra-large villains for Mattel to choose from as Build-a-Figures, there are far fewer super-sized heroes. One of those few, though, is Atom Smasher. Created in 1983 by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway, Atom Smasher gained popularity as a founding member of DC’s current version of the Justice Society of America (as opposed to the Justice League). While the Justice League gets all the press and features high-profile heroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the Justice Society has carved out its own niche in the DC Universe. (more…)

Raide–I mean, RAVEN wins!

April 6, 2009 | Poe

k7Sorry, had a Mortal Kombat flashback there.

The 2009 FANtastic Exclusive victor–who will be released at next year’s San Diego Comic Con–has been crowned, and the victor is Raven. While I was rooting more for some other characters, I can’t begrudge an action figure based on the inspiration for my namesake’s most famous poem.

Future voting rounds, which will begin next week, will decide things such as articulation, variants and accessories. The Horsemen hint that there may be other types of birds, too. While a cardinal would look resplendent, I’m also hoping for a pigeon and a penguin.

Now that that’s settled, what I really want to know is–what’s the status of Queen Alluxandra?

Hordak’s Six-Pack Flak

March 31, 2009 | Poe

p4013_hordak_fullsizeimage1aOh, Hordak. While I’ll admit you have a cool design, I never liked you nearly as much as I did Skeletor. You make pig noises and turn yourself into goofy objects. And yet, you are so incredibly popular that you got a MOTUC figure in the first year of production, and still, still your fans are not happy!

The quibble in question is Hordak’s ab joint. The original Hordak had a single large piece of armor that covered his entire chest and torso. If the MOTUC figure had that same type of armor, he would have no ab joint. The Four Horsemen devised a way to save that point of articulation by raising the bottom of the armor and then sculpting a lower ab joint molded in black to give the appearance of a second piece of armor below the chest plate.

On Facebook, Mattel posted a brief Q&A with the Four Horsemen as to why they did this. (more…)

New FANtastic Exclusive round is up

March 24, 2009 | Poe

ministry

Ugh…I have to admit, I find this a little depressing. The four figures now vying for FANtastic Exclusive 2009 are: Wolfbat, Raven, Vampire Lady, and the Ministry of Hunters, which I think pretty much solidifies my belief that the majority of FE voters are MOTU2K fans who think MOTU2K Skeletor is one of the greatest action figures ever made.

Seriously, this is probably the outcome I least wanted. Now I can only pray the Ministry of Hunters wins, since they’re the only one of the four I really like. Please, I urge you to go vote for the Ministry. As for the other bracket–I don’t care who you vote for, really, but if you forced me at gunpoint to choose, I guess Raven.

FANtastic Exclusive 2009 – Round 2

March 17, 2009 | Poe

Round 2 of the FANtastic Exclusive voting has begun and, sadly, the Blue Gargoyle didn’t even make the bracket. Ouch.

I don’t have a clear favorite now, but I like the Phantom Trooper, the Celestial Zodians, and the Ministry of Hunters. I really hope Wolfbat and Raven don’t win, because I’m tired of the anthropomorphic, dark fantasy-style FE figures. I’d be relatively happy with any winner other than those two.

Unfortunately, I suspect Raven is going to win, because I think the FE voters are heavily weighted toward MOTU collectors and fans who became familiar with the Four Horsemen due to MOTU2K. There’s been a strong epic fantasy/sword-and-sorcery bias in the FE voting since day one.

Mattel mid-February Q&A Roundup

February 16, 2009 | Poe

mattel logoI’m not planning to do any more of the monthly Mattel Q&As for this site. There are enough out there, and too many repeated questions. I think it would make more sense for Mattel to sort through the questions from everyone and post one large round of answers on Mattycollector.com, but hey, that’s me. In any event, I’d rather focus on getting you more interviews with the Four Horsemen and other Mattel designers and staff.

However, you can still come here for your one-stop shopping for all the Mattel Q&As around the Web. Here’s the roundup for mid-February:

Also, don’t miss this great interview with the Four Horsemen at Kastor’s Korner!