Master of the christmas tree by Robert DeNitro
Happy Buzz-Off Day!
I have to admit that Buzz-Off has been flying completely under my radar. I’ve barely thought about him what with everything else that’s been going on lately. Still, he looks pretty neat, and goofy name aside, he was always one of my favorite MOTU figures. This is definitely a case where the 200X figure is superior (cue lamenting DMW comment), but I’m still looking forward to the MOTUC version. (more…)
Mattel posts Sy-Klone pics
Mattel has officially posted pics of Sy-Klone.
As you can see, he comes with the 200X-style ring, but it’s both removable and sized so that it can be used as a weapon. Interesting.
EDIT: Forget everything I wrote below. Thomas B. below is right, the ring can be pivoted so it surrounds him at the hips like a hula-hoop, which is arguably cooler than it being up over his shoulders. Shame on me for not noticing and doubting the Horsemen. That said, Mattel really should have taken a pic showing that. –PG
But the ring on the 200X figure could be raised up and brought down over his shoulders, so that when he spun, the ring spun in a circle around him. It was a nice effect.
Here, the ring can only attach to his lower back and stick up vertically over his shoulders. Seems a bit pointless. I would have designed a second clasp at the top of the “backpack,” so that the ring could be brought down over his shoulders–though I suspect this would have caused the same problem as the 200X figure, namely, that the clasp wouldn’t have been quite high enough and the ring would hit the shoulders, so it juts out at a slight angle rather than being parallel to the ground. Still, you could either sculpt the clasp a bit higher than the top of the backpack–or have it slide out from the backpack–to solve that problem.
This is a very rare case where I think the Four Horsemen missed a design opportunity. That said, I’ve learned to give them the benefit of the doubt, so it’s quite possible they recommended something like that and Mattel shot it down for some reason.
Bow, BA Skeletor, & Preternia He-Man Packaging & Bios revealed
From Mattel’s Facebook page. I won’t discuss the bios now–we’ll get there once these come out…but feel free to discuss below.
Review > Grizzlor (Masters of the Universe Classics)
I never owned Grizzlor as a kid. I do recall thinking that, like Moss Man and Panthor, there was something uncool about the fact that he had fabric parts. Fur, flocking, and fabric clothes were always a turn-off to me as a kid, I think because it made the toy seem perishable. Flocking could wear off; fabric could tear or get filthy; fur could fall out. Plastic, on the other hand, was forever (or so it seemed to a kid, anyway).
And so I’m fairly sure I was never interested in Grizzlor, and though I recall seeing him in friends’ or cousins’ collections, I don’t have a lot of nostalgia attached to the character. However, I’ve re-familiarized myself with Grizzlor, as with many MOTU characters since the advent of the 200X line ten years ago (remember, the announcement came in 2000, even if the figures weren’t on shelves until 2002). And now I think he’s kind of cool.
That mostly comes from my love of monsters. Grizzlor is a big, hairy, classic-looking monster, and while the fur may have turned me off as a kid, as an adult I find it charming. Yes, on one level he’s a ridiculous furball with hair like Cher and the face she would have if hers weren’t 90% polypropylene, and if you can’t roll with that, you’re probably not going to like him.* But on another level, he’s a really fun addition to Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC).
The Third Annual PGPoA Four Horsemen Interview
PGPoA’s anniversary was December 1, and you know what that means–another interview with the Four Horsemen!
As always, I want to thank the fabulous Foursome Horse-some for taking time out of their extremely busy schedule to answer a few questions. In case you haven’t been following it, the Horsemen have been updating their website, FourHorsemen.biz, with frequent shots of the next Fantastic Exclusive, Scarabus. He’s looking incredibly awesome, and he might just be the best FE since Xetheus! (Not a knock on the other FEs, I just love Xetheus…like, a lot.) –PG
POE: For those who may not know, what is the concept behind Symbiotech? Do the figures work together in some way, or does the “symbiotic” aspect have it more to do with the “world” behind the toys?
Eric Treadaway: Symbiotech has been an ever-transforming property story-wise since it’s inception. We originally wanted to create a world where the characters that inhabited this world could look like nearly anything you could possibly imagine, and they’d be set up in pairs that would depend on each other in many ways.
Chris Dahlberg: Then, over over a decade ago now – before we even began making prototypes of the figures, we decided that it’d be cool to not only make an awesome action figure line of this property, but to also incorporate a game into those figures.
Jim Preziosi: That’s where the “tech” part of the Symbiotech name came in. The large characters – the Goleth – would have removable armor that would connect them to the smaller characters – the Pygma – to create a symbiotic link between the two. There were also various weapons and accessories that you could attach to the armor and other weapons and accessories to prepare your characters for battle. A spinner dial connected to the armor would decide movement and battle stats during the game portion, and the armor and accessories would have various values that would allow a character to become more or less powerful during battle.
Cornboy: Since so many other action figure/game hybrids have come along since then and most have failed, we’ve decided just to approach Symbiotech from the “awesome action figure” standpoint for now. If demand is there, once it’s released, who knows, maybe the gaming aspect will make a return in some form or another. There have been LOTS of technological advances since those early days that would allow us to have a lot of fun with that now.
ET: Wait… what was your question again? Haha… (more…)
5 Questions With > Penny Dreadful
A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of being a guest on He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast alongside one Penny Dreadful, a bewitching horror host based in my own native New England. After a quick consult with my sources in the underworld, I was able to arrange an interview with Ms. Dreadful. Read on! –PG
PENNY DREADFUL
Real Name: Penny Dreadful XIII
Base of Operations: Haunted New England and www.shillingshockers.com
History: Penny Dreadful is the witch hostess of the horror movie TV program Shilling Shockers. She delights in the macabre and is known for saying “hex-cellent” a lot. With a withering wit and a dramatic gaze, she can be silly and sinister by turns. Penny’s mysterious powers were acquired in the late 1300’s. Whispered tales claim these powers came from an infernal pact made in her youth. Penny has neither confirmed nor denied these rumors, but becomes melancholy when reminded of those “tragic” times. She is assisted on the program by her “snarling darling” Garou the werewolf and by the semi-retired vampire hunter Dr. Manfred Von Bulow. In addition to winning the 2007 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Favorite Horror Host, Penny has also freed over two dozen villain overlords from evil dimensions, has displayed no shame in rummaging through the royal junkyard for psychotic robots, and has cloned at least twenty people.
1.) You’re a frequent contributor on the He-Man.org forums and have also participated on He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast. What’s the story behind your love of He-Man & She-Ra–when did it begin, and how has it grown?
I’ve been a fan since 1982. I first became entranced by the world of Eternia when I saw the Castle Grayskull commercial with He-Man and Beast Man. The timpani drums and blaring horns, plus the announcer’s voice just made it all seem so epic. The colors on the Mattel figures really caught my eye too. The characters looked so vivid and unique. I used to stand in the toy aisle and look at them, and especially at the Castle Grayskull painting on the box. The box art for the toys was very sublime and mysterious. All of this was sucking me in. I finally got up the nerve to ask my parents for a figure, and they bought one for me! The first figure I got was Faker and I still have him! The Filmation cartoon soon appeared and I became VERY addicted to that. I’d come home from school and watch it with my sister every day. I’d also talk about the episodes with my friends at school the next day. “Did you watch it?” we’d excitedly ask each other every morning. Good times! (more…)
And the April MOTUC figure is…Sy-Klone!
Sy-Klone by Fanboy30
ToyFare #162 isn’t on sale at comic shops until next week, but fans who have already received their subscription copies have spilled the beans–the April MOTUC figure is Sy-Klone. Reports say he looks very close to the vintage version, but with the large 200X-style ring on his back.
The pic is a ToyFare exclusive, so please don’t post or link to it in the comments.
New DC vs. MOTU 2-packs on ToysRUs.com
Not sure how long they’ll be there, but you can order the new DC vs. MOTU 2-packs on TRU’s website right now. If you decide to order them, please use the links below…I’ll get a commission that will help me bring you more PGPoA goodness for years to come.
The Mystery of the Plastic Mist
I was digging out some of the DCUC and Movie Masters figures the other day and found several of them–particularly Deathstroke, Nightwing and Movie Masters Batman Begins Batman–were covered with that oily, misty substance. There was a lot of discussion of this after DCUC Wave 3–apparently the worst offender for this issue–and in doing some research, I came across this informative Fwoosh post by user BigGuido. (more…)