MOTUC Bio Discussion #40 > Shadow Beast

March 28, 2011 | Poe

Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!

Shadow Beast Bio

Real Name: Varies

Great ape-like beasts who live in tribes throughout the dark hemisphere, Shadow Beasts can only come out in the absence of light. Originally created by Count Marzo as a weapon to use against his enemies, the beasts were driven back by Princes Keldor and Randor and forced to reside in the shadows of Mount Barathrum. There they developed a long standing hatred of both the Human and Gar race. Easily manipulated, the ever growing colony of Beasts was later controlled by Beast Man in the service of Skeletor to take down Eternos Palace. With their great strength and stealth-like appearance, Shadow Beasts are more than a match for most heroic warriors!

Portrait Art Source: Cartoon model sheet

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Review > Shadow Beast (Masters of the Universe Classics)

March 25, 2011 | Poe

The 1980s He-Man cartoon, produced by a company called Filmation, had no shortage of monsters throughout its run–many monsters of various sizes and shapes. But as much as there could be said to have been a signature monster in Filmation’s Eternia, it would be the Shadow Beast.

First appearing in “Teela’s Quest,” an episode penned by Paul Dini and easily one of the series’ best, the Shadow Beasts would later show up in three more episodes: “A Beastly Sideshow,” “Prince Adam No More” (also a famous Dini episode) and “The Rarest Gift of All.” Their distinctiveness would even get them their own episode of the 2003 Mike Young Productions (MYP) He-Man cartoon, “Night of the Shadow Beasts” (written by Michael Reaves, who, like Dini, worked on the original He-Man cartoon as well as Batman: The Animated Series). (more…)

PGPoA Exclusive > Joe Amaro’s MOTUC Ram-Man Custom

March 23, 2011 | Poe

Joe Amaro has been a fixture of the action figure community for years. Not only is he the Director of Product Development for Jazwares, but you’ve seen his customs in ToyFare magazine going all the way back to the 200X He-Man days. More recently, he’s been producing some of the most mouthwatering MOTUC customs you can imagine, including Skeletor’s Robot Knights, his Bone Throne, and of course, the amazing Castle Grayskull.

Today, Joe has graciously given PGPoA the exclusive reveal of his latest custom: MOTUC Ram-Man!

Here’s what Joe had to say about the process of making the figure:

The original idea was to use the DC Universe Kilowog as the base and try to keep as much of his proportions possible. But as I progressed and studied Ram-Man, it became obvious that I could not. Ram-Man is more stocky and more square. So I went with a mix of the vintage back art, the vintage toy and little of the 2002 version.

The main element that I wanted him to have was to be huge! I wanted him to look like a massive battering ram that would be used to breakdown castle doors. Plus I know when Matty makes him he will be a lot smaller.

In the end I only used some articulation points from Kilowog, mainly the arms, although I did bulk up his arms using Magic Sculpt. Other than that, it is an all-original sculpt using Sculpey and mainly Magic Sculpt.

Poe’s Point > Perspectives on the King Hssss Shouldergate

March 22, 2011 | Poe

There is a lot of anger among fans about King Hssss’s reversed shoulders. I was part of a Roast Gooble podcast the other day in which this topic was discussed at length (it’ll be posted later this week), but I think it was Val “JVS3” Staples who most accurately described my own feeling on the matter: fatigue. I just can’t muster the indignation this time. Part of it is because I managed to correct the problem, but part of it is just being tired of the drama surrounding this line of toys.

I’m tired of the QC mistakes, of course.

I’m also tired of the discussions about the mistakes, the price, the subscription, the Mattycollector website, the character selection, and the 200X/MOTUC arguments, all of which have been so negative in tone (on He-Man.org, here, and elsewhere) that it’s made me consider quitting PGPoA so I can enjoy my hobby in peace. Or at least dropping the news and figure reviews and focusing on articles about vintage lines, childhood memories, interviews and so forth. (more…)

The King Hssss Shoulder Swap

March 21, 2011 | Poe

As you will know if you’ve gone anywhere near He-Man.org in the last few days, King Hssss, like the first-release He-Man and Roboto before him, has reversed shoulders. Like Roboto, the shoulders were assembled correctly at the factory; the problem is the left and right shoulders were incorrectly stamped “L” and “R” (i.e., the right shoulder was stamped with “L”).

First off, a mea culpa: I didn’t notice the shoulders in my review of Hssss. What’s more, if I hadn’t read about it online, I’m fairly certain I never would have noticed. This is arguably a fault of mine as a reviewer: I’m more of a “big picture” type of person when it comes to toys, rather than getting into the minute details of the aesthetics of a sculpt. When I do get into the nitty-gritty, it tends to make me feel like one of those stereotypical nitpicking nerds you see on The Simpsons or Saturday Night Live. It also makes the reviews run really long, and long articles are something I try to avoid (this post being a bad example). (more…)

Ask Mattel > Answers for Mid-March

March 16, 2011 | Poe

1.) The Batman : Legacy figures look great. Regarding Two-Face: will he come with an alternate, non-coin-holding right hand (hopefully one that can hold a gun)?

No.

2.) The Movie Masters figures tended to be in a slightly smaller, more “realistic-to-humans” scale than DCUC. Will the Arkham Asylum figures be closer to Movie Masters or DCUC, in terms of scale and style? (more…)

King Hssss Day

March 15, 2011 | Poe

It’s King Hssss Day! If you’re still undecided about whether to order him, why not read my review?

Also on sale today:

And here’s the link to the all-in-one page.

Some collectors have been saying three reissues in one month is too much–mostly because it’s a financial burden. I see their point. But, does Mattel have an obligation to space out the reissues to help collectors manage their money better? I would think that as long as the reissues all sold, it’s a moot point; but perhaps multiple reissues favors the wealthier collectors?