PrfktTear Reviews > Frosta (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

December 19, 2012 | PrfktTear

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He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was at the height of its popularity at the time I was getting into it. I mostly relied upon a second-hand toy shop in town and yard sales to fill in the ranks of my collection. When She-Ra: Princess of Power made its debut I was well into my own personal He-MANia, so I easily made the transition from the “Most Powerful Man in the Universe” to the “Most Powerful Woman.” It never occurred to me that She-Ra was “just for girls” — I just saw her as the sister of He-Man and she was his equal. That was enough to make her cool in my book. It didn’t hurt either that She-Ra also had a bunch of cool bad guys to fight like Grizzlor, Leech, and Mantenna – that more than compensated for the pink and sparkles. Even though the Horde was sold under the MOTU brand, it was always POP in my mind.

Full disclosure: I only had a vague recollection of Frosta from the Filmation series. So going into this review I don’t really have much nostalgia for her, but my overall fondness for POP in general helps make her a little more palatable. (more…)

He-Man Gets Even Bigger

December 18, 2012 | Poe

That title is going to put my spam filter through a workout. Anyway, this seemed worth passing along…

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Pop Culture Shock Collectibles Joins
with Mattel for 1:4th Scale Statues
of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

LOS ANGELES, December 18, 2012- Pop Culture Shock Collectibles is proud to announce a licensing agreement with Mattel to bring 1:4 scale mixed media statues of characters from the most epic boys action brand of all time, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, to die-hard collectors’ homes this year.

“Having spent many years bringing the warriors of Street Fighter & Mortal Kombat to sculptural life, I’m extremely excited to add He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to the Pop Culture Shock Collectibles lineup,” stated Jerry Macaluso, President and Founder of Pop Culture Shock Collectibles. “There are few characters that so perfectly embody the archetype of the hero, and He-Man is just that! He’s right at home with the other muscle-bound warriors in the PCSC stable.” (more…)

Poe’s Point > Cy-Chop Addendum

December 17, 2012 | Poe

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I just wanted to offer my two cents on Cy-Chop. This isn’t a second review – Doc Thomas’s is the official review for PGPoA. But I wanted to offer my own thoughts on the figure, and this is my site so it’s my prerogative to do so.

I rather like the scissor-hands and the head. I don’t think the whole Micronauts-homage thing was a good idea, because I just don’t think it makes much sense (i.e., keep your peanut butter Micronauts out of my chocolate MOTU), but I like the design of the scissors and the sculpt of the head, and I don’t mind the silver. I like that the hands are interchangeable with other figures as well.

What I don’t like are the clear Roboto-style torso and the Beast Man limbs. Though in my Roboto review I wrote, “from an aesthetic standpoint I think [the clear chest] looks good,” over time I’ve come to like it less. It looks too cheap and toy-like, and feels brittle (and in Roboto’s case, for many collectors it was). As for the furry limbs, I just don’t think they work with the character design. They’re what make him look so slapdash to me; they clash thematically with the character’s “cyborg” design and demonic head.

If I’d been designing this figure, I would have recommended something like the Trap Jaw/Roboto upper legs and Hordak‘s or Horde Prime‘s lower legs, and perhaps the arms of Icarius, which we haven’t seen often in this line. That would give the character more cybernetic and Horde touches, which would have gone a long way toward making me like this figure more.

Doc Thomas Reviews > Cy-Chop (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

December 14, 2012 | Poe

Note: The following is a review by Doc Thomas, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Poe Ghostal. You’ve been warned. –PG

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Cy-Chop is the absolute most balls-to-the-wall bizarre action figure in this whole shambolic Masters of the Universe Classics mess. And it IS a mess – between the toyline and the hype and the problems with Digital River and the problems with not-all-inclusive subscriptions and with customer support and and WSODs and reuse and quality control and every other stupid thing that has gone wrong with the whole line it is a CRAZY mess, and there is no disputing that. I have said frequently that long after MOTUC is over we’ll be looking back at it as one of the best action figure lines ever, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t completely fraught with avoidable nonsense and things worth getting up in arms over, especially considering the premium we pay on these figures.

So here’s Cy-Chop, and he’s weird. I mean, he’s more than just weird, he’s COMPLETELY BIZARRE, and there are a lot of reasons why. There are a lot of reasons to like him, and a lot of reasons NOT to like him. Let’s try to break this down, shall we? (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Rising action figure prices, articulation debates, Hoverboard disappointment, Pacific Rim

December 13, 2012 | Poe

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LOT of ground to cover today folks, so let’s get right to it.

–ODD–

Phil Reed of Battlegrip recently posted “Five Reasons Why Action Figures Cost More Today.” Phil knows what he’s talking about and you should check out the whole thing, which focuses largely on economic factors such as rising labor and materials costs. But one thing that interested me was the first comment on the post, which mentioned the declining birthrate in Western countries. That reminded me of this post by Richard Gottlieb that I read recently, “U.S. Birthrate Plummets; Look for Fewer Children in Four Years.” Richard begins the article with, “If there was ever a case to be made for marketing toys to adult end users…” Hasbro has clearly embraced this idea, but if I had to guess I’m willing to bet there’s still a struggle going on at Mattel between the generations over how to approach the collectors’ market. (more…)

Free your MOTUC figures

December 13, 2012 | Poe

An increasing number of male MOTUC figures are coming with armor that covers their entire chest, thereby limiting the armor movement to “weightlifter arms” practically sticking out horizontally due to the armor increasingly the amount of plastic beneath the armpits. Other figures have restrictive plastic tunics, skirts, or loincloths. Some have both (I’m looking at you, Dekker.) What’s an articulation lover to do?

Well, it all depends on how much you love articulation and whether you’re comfortable with taking a razor to your figures. If you are, however, then Poester Dayraven has passed along a few pointers for freeing up your MOTUC figures. He sliced up his Castle Grayskullman to give the figure a greater range of arm and leg movement. He doesn’t have any before pictures (though anyone with a CGM has that), but here are some “after” pics, and a description of what he did. (more…)