TOY REVIEW: MOTUC Moss Man

A sighting of the elusive Moss Man, last seen briefly on March 15th.

Who would have thought that poor mellow Moss Man would be involved in so much drama? From the very beginning there were problems. We were first shown a knockout fully-flocked prototype of the character. Then we were told the flocking would present problems and we were given the option of several levels of flocking, and even shown a fairly hideous non-flocked version of the character. Once the decision was made, we were informed that Moss Man would be only partially flocked. When we were next shown the character, he was almost entirely flocked but he was a dingy brownish green and his ears were flocked over. We were told he was too far into production to make changes. Mattel then told us they were, in fact, making the change and that there would be two versions of the character sold, with and without the flocked ears. When Moss Man finally went on sale, both versions of the character sold out in under five minutes, which is a record even for Masters of the Universe Classics, especially considering that Moss Man is hardly an A-list character. Sadly, many fans did not get their figure, which is sad because so far Moss Man is easily my favorite figure released in the line this year.

Use Moss Man in the stinkiest parts of your house.

Like his vintage counterpart, Moss Man is largely a flocked and repainted Beast Man. Being that he is based on Beast Man, he lacks the lateral calf articulation of the booted figures and has his right hand sculpted open. Unlike his MOTUC body double, Moss Man has the longer preternian loin cloth first introduced on King Grayskull.

Moss Man says, "Go flock yourself."

The flocking is done quite well on the figure and covers most of Moss Man, with the exception of the areas around his joints. Luckily, he avoids the diseased mangy look he could have had. The only place that is noticeably bald are the shoulders but the exposed darker shoulders give his skin a bark-like appearance which actually works for the character.

The Moss Man Redemption.

Oddly, Mattel chose not to fully flock the figure because they were afraid the flocking would come off the joints...leaving the character looking like the version which they released. Maybe it would have been better to have flocked the joints for people who don't open their figures or handle them a lot. I'm just sayin'.

Looks like Moss Man needs a bit of a pedicure.

Although not as vivid a green as was first shown, the flocking is actually quite nice and has a few different shades of green and brown in it. Even with the limited flocking on the figure, it still manages to hide some of the joints quite nicely. When Moss Man is posed with his ab crunch bent down, the joint pretty much disappears into the flocking. Like the original toy, the flocking gives the character a different tactile element and he is literally fun and pleasing to handle. I find myself taking him down from the shelf to touch.

Amazing what a shave and little blue eyeshadow will do, no?

Moss Man includes an alternate head. The second head is said to be inspired by the 2002 cartoon but really doesn't look much like that version of the character. He is packaged using his Beast Man head, with its screaming Klingon expression. The alternate head is much nicer, with its stern simian gaze and pupil-less metallic green eyes. Moss Man's new headsculpt is really one of the nicest headsculpts of the line so far, he really has tons of character.

"Get off my lawn!"

The figure is packed with an updated version of his classic mace and Matty really went the extra mile with the detail on this weapon. The could have just given us a flat brown mace but instead it is sculpted with all kinds of really nice woody details as well as a curling vine painted in a different shade of brown. Moss Man also comes with an over the shoulder satchel with a built in knife holder.

How much do you want to bet that there is weed in that bag?

The satchel has lots of nice botanical details. The knife is a simple obsidian-looking blade with a stone handle which does not quite fit in Moss Man's weapon hand, although it fits snugly in its sheath next to the pouch.

Why isn't this mace flocked?

As a throwback to the 1980's figure Moss Man is pine scented, although it is apparently not the exact same scent that you remember from the original. Some people online have been saying that it is overpowering or that it smells like Pinesol but I don't think so. It's strong but not overpowering, and certainly not unpleasant. There is a somewhat spicy quality like eucalyptus but to me it smells a lot like walking past a Christmas tree lot.

On the quality control front, my Moss Man has some loose joints. This is a collector line that has been around for over a year now, so I have to wonder why these figures are still shipping with loose joints. Are they shipped to a preschool between their production and the time in which they are packaged? Mattel, the only thing you have going for you in this line is the quality of your product, everything else has been screwed up at every opportunity. Please fix this, it is inexcusable.

Moss Man asks you to give him a little privacy.

Although I would have preferred a less articulated, fully-flocked, figure, I am happy to say that Moss Man ended up being a standout figure in Masters of the Universe Classics, and well worth all of the drama that surrounded his development and release. Due to his cool flocking, his excellent alternate headsculpt and accessories, and his enjoyable pine scent Moss Man has quickly become one of my favorite MOTUC figures. Sadly, due to his shockingly fast sellout, a lot of collectors were not able to pick him up on the 15th but Matty assures us that he will be re released early in 2011.

Patrick Garone
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MINI TOY REVIEW: MOTUC SKELETOR (MOTUC VS. DCU 2 PACK)

Finally, Masters of the Universe makes its return to retail. This month, exclusively at Toys R' Us, a pair of special two packs featuring DC Universe and Masters of the Universe Classics figures were released. Each pack features a reprint of a classic 1980's crossover comic. I'm going to be taking a look at the Skeletor figure from the Skeletor vs. Lex Luthor 2 pack.



This is a simple repaint of the re-released Skeletor figure with the tighter left hand, with an eye towards capturing his bolder comic appearance. While the paint on the head is less detailed than the other versions, the paint on the armor features a richer purple color and new metallic highlights. The crossbones are painted in a metallic purple, similar to the paint scheme on the Faker armor. This is a great detail that should have been implemented on the very first release of the character. Another difference in this figure is that there seems to be a pronounced gap in the area around the ab joint near the waist whereas this is much tighter in my original Skeletor.


The hood is also painted the same richer purple as the armor and the loincloth. Instead of the yellow and green face deco on the original, this new Skeletor features a uniform yellow face and unpainted eye sockets that give him a more Filmation look. The teeth are also outlined in black paint which is a little sloppy on my figure. The two pack Skeletor also includes an exclusive yellow and gold version of the powersword, previously seen at the recent art exposition.


I highly recommend this new Skeletor. It represents major improvements over the two previously versions of the character. I particularly like the new purple color used throughout and the great metallic paint on the bones. This is my definitive version of the character until Keldor comes out and I can kitbash a new, more cartoon-based version of the character.

Patrick Garone
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PENDRAGON'S POST IS LOOKING FOR WRITERS!!

Want a chance to review or write?

Then Pendragon’s Post wants you!

Currently Pendragon’s Post is looking for creative, mature and dynamic reviewers and columnists in the following categories:

• Comic Reviews - DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, and Indie Labels
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For further inquiries, Please send a message to Pendragonspost@aol.com.

ATTN: Brian Isaacs

Please include a contact email, along with what you would be interested in writing.

We will be looking for capable writers, able to express themselves and their opinions, both clearly and maturely.

Experience is not necessary. Just need to be able to express yourself.

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TOY REVIEW MOTUC BATTLE CAT

The first "beast" figure in the line, Battle Cat is likely the ultimate version of this character. He is far superior to any previous incarnation of He-Man's fighting tiger and he has far more detail and articulation than I think anyone was expecting. He is a heavy bulky figure who is well worth the $30 plus shipping that Matty was asking for him.




The first thing you are likely to notice about him in his really nice window box packaging, is just how big this new Battle Cat is. He is scaled to the figures, which are a good deal larger than any of the previous lines, so Battle Cat actually comes out to be about the size of a small house cat.


He is also directly modeled on the vintage figure, there is little to no 200X influence on the design, which is a very good thing in this case as the classic design is far more distinctive and interesting, with its large, beaked helmet and vacant eyes.



BC comes complete with his helmet and a large harness both of which are colored a dark red. The Horsemen have brought out lots of great detail on this classic design, such as a finely-lined, leathery look to the saddle as well as numerous bronzy highlights on the various bolts, buckles and rivets. The saddle area features indentations for He-Man's fuzzy shorts, allowing you to fit characters in there reasonably tightly.

Mmmm...corn.

There are also two straps on either side, ostensibly to hold the Power Sword, although these are a rather silly place to store something as precious as the Sword of He. It would have been nice if there had been somewhere closer to the saddle to store weapons. I would have also liked to have seen some sort of t-bar on the saddle for He-Man to grab on to. Also, there should be a more secure way to keep the helmet on, as it tends to shift and come off too easily.



As I said above, Battle Cat has an amazing amount of articulation for an animal figure like this and I am very relieved that all of his joints are reasonably tight. The head seems to be on a ball joint, although the sculpt prevents a lot of movement, which is a shame. You can completely rotate the head and there is some lateral play but turning the head or looking up is restricted. The jaw is on a hinge joint and opens and closes fully. The neck slides up and down and can bring BC's nose to the ground or at about chest height on the MOTUC figures, again with no lateral motion.




Unfortunately, Battle Cat cannot really look up. The legs are fully articulated at each joint, as they would be on a real cat and the paws are even on a ball joint and can be rotated. There is even a little play on the shoulders allowing BC to move his front limbs in and out a bit. The figure even features "mid torso" articulation, allowing him to arch his back somewhat or event twist at the waist (take that Teela!). The tail is made of a flexible plastic (but does not hold a shape if you bend it) and is on a combo ball and hinge joint allowing it to be posed numerous ways.



Sadly, Battle Cat sold out before many people could get him but Matty seems to be rushing him into re-release for the fall, so fans will have another shot to get this iconic Masters of the Universe character. Mattel and the Horsemen really went all out with this figure, and it most have cost them a lot to make a brand new figure, this big with this much articulation and still sell it at the relatively reasonable price of $30. Make sure you are ready to go when he is re-released or pick him up on the secondary market because no MOTUC collection is complete without the fighting tiger of Eternia.

Patrick Garone
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TOY REVIEW: Masters of the Universe Classics Trap Jaw

As a kid, my all time favorite Masters of the Universe toy was Trap Jaw. Not only did he have a funky color scheme, a cool spring-loaded jaw, and a helmet loop through which you could have him rappel down a line of string, but a mechanical arm with interchangeable weapons. Trap Jaw was the ultimate Masters of the Universe character and best represents the dizzying collage of styles and genres that is MOTU: he's a cyborg, so there's a sci-fi element to the characters but his mechanical parts are very low-tech and what we would now call steampunk; he has lost his arm and jaw so there is an implicit horror to the character and he remains one of the scarier MOTU villains; his hook arm and crossbones belt gives him a piratey appearance. When the 2002 line came out, I was not into the show but Trap Jaw was the only figure from that line that I bought. The new classics Trap Jaw was released this month and sold out in under a half hour.

Trap Jaw, giving a Power Point presentation at Digital River.

As with many of the villains in this line, his bio heavily draws on his MYP comic appearance and the 200X continuity. In Icons of Evil: Trap Jaw we are introduced to the warrior Kronis (briefly seen in the 2002 cartoon as well). Kronis challenges Skeletor and is banished from Snake Mountain only to raise an army in an attempt to finally overthrow the Overlord of Evil. The two battle atop Snake Mountain and Skeletor defeats Kronis, destroying his arm and jaw in the fight. Tri-Klops is given the job of rebuilding Kronis into the new villain, Trap Jaw. This is pretty cool stuff and miles away from his bumbling portrayal in both cartoon series.

As with previous versions, the unused attachments hook onto the belt.

My first impression out of the package, is how much Trap Jaw resembles his vintage figure. There is really very little 200X in his design, which is unfortunate. For although I'm not a fan of the exaggerated proportions of that line, the 2002 version of the character was a very scary-looking dude and a good representation of the character. MOTUC Trap Jaw carries over the cartoony and non-threatening aesthetic of the old line.



Sculptwise, Trap Jaw is loaded with new parts. His arms, legs, and heads are all brand new sculpts. The legs in particular, are impressively sculpted with lots of mechanical details. There is lots of great detail on the two "organic" arms, each one with lots of mechanical parts. The Trap Jaw head leaves a lot to be desired as it replicates the googly-eyed stare of the original toy instead of the more menacing look of the modern version.

I'm crazy gun arm man! Gimme some candy!

One strangely hardcore detail, is behind the mechanical jaw (not spring-loaded, by the way). When you open the jaw you can see some bloody mass behind it. This is presumably what is left of Kronis' original jaw. The alternate Kronis head is a little goofy looking with its Oompa-Loomp features and Billy Idol-esque sneer. The mechanical arm is well-articulated, with almost full mobility (the ball-joint at the shoulder is obstructed by some of the upper arm detail). Again, the arm is more of an update of the original figure with little of detail of the 200x figure (a good thing in this instance as the modern Trap Jaw's arm was ridiculously out of proportion with the figure).

Oy! Bugger off!

The paint is mostly excellent on MOTUC Trap Jaw, although I think the colors are a little too cartoony. The figure is loaded with paint accents and details, mostly in the fantastic metallic blue color that is used for the Kronis arms. These are located all over TJ and really make the figure pop. There are also some very nice (although uneven) metallic green detailing on the crossbones on his belt and the surrounding rivets.

His trademark pirate league wrestling belt.

Trap Jaw's main accessories are his three arm attachments: a gun, a hook, and a claw, in order of coolness. These are the biggest disappointment with the figure. While the gun is actually pretty cool, the hook and the claw look very puny. The claw in particular looks about as threatening as a cupholder. I would have preferred a "classicsized" version of the big scissor claw that came with 200x Trap Jaw. Sadly, none of the attatchments from previous figures are compatible with the Classics version. The figure also includes not only a bonus head but a bonus arm so that you can make Kronis, which is a pretty cool addition. All in all Trap Jaw comes with a great amount of accessories and earns his $20 plus shipping.

Trap Jaw, doing shadow puppets.

On the quality control front, I'm sad to say that my Trap Jaw has loose joints in his legs and ankles. As one of the bonus items for subscribers, Matty should send out a quarterly bottle of Krazy Glue. There was also some scuffing on the bonus arm. While my first subscription figure was shipped without a hitch, my subscription was not "entered correctly" and I am still waiting on my actual subscription figures which are MIA. Luckily, I have friends in high places (or at least places near Toy Fair).



Trap Jaw is long overdue in Masters of the Universe Classics and I'm glad to finally have him in my collection. He's a great figure who looses some points for a slavishly retro sculpt and accessories but makes up for it with a stunning paint job and extra accessories to make his alter ego, Kronis. Although he is among the line's fastest sellers, Matty promises to have him out again in the summer.

Patrick Garone
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Toy Review: MOTUC Adora (Mattel)

The first Masters of the Universe Classics figure of 2010 and the very first Princess of Power figure in the line was January's figure of the month, Adora. Adora is special for a lot of reasons, but mainly because this is the very first action figure version of the character. While there were a few different versions of She-Ra in the POP line, until now there has never been a dedicated Adora figure. It's always great to get these never-before-produced characters in the the MOTUC line. Adora might very we be the fastest selling figure to-date, having sold out in under a half hour on the mattycollector.com site. She was also the first figure of the 2010 subscription program.


Like the other figures of the line, Adora has a short bio on the back of her card. All of these bios have the sometimes difficult task of reconciling different MOTU continuities and Adora's is almost straining from the effort. The difficult part is this whole "Sword of He" mythology that goes back to the He-Ro bio and details the sword having been passed on the Grayskull, and the imbued with his power and then the power of The Elders and then split in half. And now cloned. Nothing goes with swords and sorcery like fractions! And then the cloned sword looks different from the regular sword. Ugh.

Suffice to say, Adora is a really beautiful figure and she puts to rest some of the concerns that people expressed after seeing the 2nd prototype, which featured pasty skin, weird eyes and puffy granny panties. The sculpting and paint on the head are really elegant, and Adora features her characteristic voluminous blond hair and side curls. For all of Mattel's timidity regarding Filmation characters, Adora looks surprisingly like her animated counterpart. If there's a flaw in this figure it comes from the somewhat bland outfit, basically a dark red one-piece suit. Fortunately, the bottom portion is a bit tighter than the second prototype and doesn't have the same poofy appearance.


Adora comes with three accessories. The first is a small pistol which fits snugly into a removable holster. The third accessory is Adora's Sword of Protection, which is a slimmer, more feminine version of the Power Sword, inset on both sides with an aquamarine plastic "gem." It would have been nice if this gem were actually one piece so that light would be able to pass through it instead of two pieces glued onto opposite sides of the sword. Again, the design of the sword is very Filmation. I think I would have preferred something more like He-Man's sword but with an inset stone, instead of giving Adora a thinner, more "girly" blade. Especially since it was to have been cloned from the Power Sword.


Having heard all of the horror stories about the 2009 subscription program, I was quite nervous about how and when I would get my items. Despite a small problem regarding combining shipping on subscriptions made on two different dates (which was eventually solved) I got my items without any issues. My two Adoras went out before my bonus/reissue figures as they should and I got them a week after they had gone on sale, which is normal. So, it looks like after the 2009 subscription program, Matty and DR have learned how to do this right. On the quality control front, my Adora is near perfect, with the exception of some red slop on her left forearm. I have to say that she has the best and tightest joints of any MOTUC figure that I have purchased to-date.



Adora is a welcome and long overdue figure. She's a great debut figure for Princess of Power in the MOTUC line and gives me hope that the Horsemen can give us a truly amazing She-Ra figure later this year. Her stunning sellout is a testament to the popularity of both the POP line as well as female characters in MOTUC.

Patrick Garone
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Toy Review: Battle Armor He-Man (Mattel)

January's Masters of the Universe Classics bonus figure was the ever-popular He-Man variant, Battle Armor He-Man. This figure is the fastest selling bonus figure to date, having sold out in about three days. For many kids growing up with MOTU, Battle Armor He-Man was the version of the character to have, due to his very cool action feature, which used a spring-loaded rotating barrel to simulate damage to the figure's chest with one of three armor plates. As has been said many times, the Classics line does not do action features but that didn't stop Mattel and the Four Horsemen from taking on this character and attempting to simulate his classic feature.




Battle Armor He-Man comes with a new bio that explains his Battle Armor as a special power bestowed upon Adam by the Power Sword to help even the odds in special situations. This is a neat little touch that will help to explain the future versions of the character that we will no doubt see. I'm quite enjoying the evolving story presented in these bios. They do a great job reconciling and explaining various facets of Masters of the Universe lore.



So, instead of the spinning barrel mechanism found in the vintage figure, BA He-Man, the classics version of the character has removable snap on torso armor into which you can insert three different chest plates simulating the three damage levels of the original figure. To switch out the plates, you have to go through a rather long and involved process of removing the armor, popping out the plate, popping in a new plate and snapping back the armor. So the need to do a costume change is the fundamental and basic disappointment of MOTUC Battle Armor He-Man. Once you get past that, he's a pretty cool figure.


He's basically the standard He-Man figure with his torso painted silver/gray, so you can't just throw your extra He-Man harness from your Goddess figure on him. The armor itself is nicely sculpted with lots of detail. The Horsemen seem very fond of rivets and they are found on this figure around the "H" logo on the armor plates. The armor seems to have an almost biomechanical look, as it seems to be an exaggerated metallic representation of the muscle and bone underneath. This was present in the original figure as well but, as expected, it taken to a new level here. I know that there was some concern regarding the snaps and that they might be too brittle to allow repeated use but the plastic quality seems high and it is not so hard that it is likely to break on you.

Fortunately, He-Man uses some of the improvements that came with the recent reissued version of the character: a less glossy paint and no red under the eyes. In fact, the overall paint is really nice on this figure with the armor painted a nice metal-flecked gray. Another point of controversy was that BA he-Man shipped with only one weapon, his battle axe and not the sword which is referenced in his bio. I guess Mattel was counting the armor and plates as accessories.


My figure arrived in good shape with only a few quality control issues. There is some brown paint spots on the back of his head and also some weird gloss or glue in his hair. Overall his joints are okay, he does have weak ankles which makes him not want to stand up.

Battle Armor He-Man is a great addition to the line and will be replacing my original He-Man on my shelf. In fact, in the couple of days that I've had him, I keep pulling him down from the shelf to pose him and examine him. He's actually quite an appealing figure. While I am not a big fan of variant versions of these characters (frankly I'd like to see Snake Armor He-Man and that's it), the Battle Armor version of the character is an iconic Masters of the Universe design and I'm glad he's been released, which means that Battle Armor Skeletor can't be too far behind. If nothing else, Battle Armor He-Man will look great atop next month's Battle Cat figure.

Patrick Garone
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Toy Review: Retro Action DC Super Heroes Green Arrow Figure (Mattel)

I grew up in the 70's, and in the 70's, the action figures to have were Megos. World's Greatest Super-Heroes was the line to buy. Multiple points of articulation, real cloth costumes, and accessories, these were the action figures to have. 8 inches of super-hero glory. Just couldn't beat it.

Now Mattel has decided to bring the Megos back with their Retro Action Super Heroes, starting with Green Arrow. This reviewer is just a happy camper. Let's see why.



First here's a side by side look at the original Mego to the one from Mattel. (Thank you to the Mego Museum for loaning us the Mego pictures)




There are a lot of changes & improvements to this Green arrow figure. The costume is not made from cloth this time around, but rather spandex. There is also greater detail in Mattel's that is closer to the comic version. But there is still a snap in the back to remove the clothing, which is always great for customizers.




With accessories, on the original Mego, the quiver had a belt & 2 arm loops to hold it in place. Mattel's version is an improvement with a strap across Green Arrow's chest. The bow comes with a boxing glove arrow attached to it. And finally, like I remember, that hat is removable.



GA still maintains the same multiple points of articulation and if anything, has been improved. The joints are a lot tighter than I remember.



Green Arrow in the first in a series of other figures, that will include, Superman, Lex Luthor, Green Lantern, & Sinestro. Personally can't wait for them to come out, and I hope this line flourishes & grows.

Special thanks to the Mego Museum for allowing us to use their images. Find out more about Megos on their site at www.megomuseum.com

Brian Isaacs
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