Toy Review: Masters of the Universe Classics Man-At-Arms by Dene René

The 10th figure to be released in Mattel's incredibly popular Masters of the Universe Classics line was Man-At-Arms. And what an impressive figure he is.




In terms of sculpting, I think that is safe to say that Man-At-Arms has some of the most detailed and intricate sculpting that has been seen in this line so far. And this is due to the fact that the characters armour lends its self extremely well to this type of detail.

From the serrated plate armour of his lower shin guard right up to the metal face plate, the level of detail is truly amazing, and it really makes the figure look unique which is fantastic, given the fact that this toy line has been structured around the heavy reuse of parts.

Man-At-Arms armour is completely unique to this character and it consists of 5 pieces which are all easily removable. And with an additional 4 weapons and an interchangeable head, it brings us to a grand total of 10 accessories. The most that has been seen in any MOTUC release to date.

There have been some concerns from some fans regarding the softer plastic that has been used for the sculpting of Man-At-Arms mace weapon. Personally I do not have an issue in this particular instance because the figure that I recieved was packaged correctly and was not warped as I removed it from the box.

One area where I think that this new, softer plastic works extremely well is on the construction of Man-At-Arms hands. The softer plastic used here allows for the various weapons that he comes equipped with, to be removed from his hands very easily. But the plastic is not too soft that they would simply fall out of his hands. It is a delicate balance but it seems evident that Mattel are constantly striving to find new ways to improve upon what is already a phenomenal line of action figures.

Duncan also comes equipped with 2 different heads. This is fantastic due to the fact that many people have different interpretations as to what the character should look like. And this is a great way to please everyone.

He also comes equipped with a sword, a gun and his trademark mace, as well as a 200x version of the He Man power sword, the inclusion of which will please a great many of the fans from that era.

Overall, I have to say that Man-At-Arms is a truly exceptional action figure. And the original $20 price tag does not seem very steep at all considering all of the extras that this figure comes equipped with.

Unfortunately, this figure has already sold out on mattycollector.com. But if you shop around you should be able to find a reasonably priced figure on eBay. Or be sure to pick him up on his inevitable re-release.

Many fans feel that Man-At-Arms has been the most impressive MOTUC figure so far, and I must confess, when you actually hold the figure in you hand it is very difficult to disagree. He really is a spectacular action figure and certainly worth the original $20 Mattycollector.com price tag.

Dean René Middleton
Staff Reviewer