He-Man [MOTU Core Class]

The new Masters of the Universe Core Class toys are pretty great, as I said when talking about that initial Skeletor figure a little while back. Now that the movie is here, the size class is hitting shelves hard with a really solid line of figures that I really enjoy.

I picked up the initial He-Man figure over Memorial Day weekend and can't put him down. It's a solid representation of Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man that looks pretty good. Like, it's a good representation of him that isn't a higher-priced Chronicles/Masterverse, or Mondo figure. This is literally the base model, and it's pretty nice. Decent paint, sculpting, and articulation.

Core Class is a lower-priced line, so He-Man only comes with his Power Sword as an accessory, but it's also nicely sculpted and can store on his back.

Like I said in the Skeletor post, I hope they include more than just the new movie characters in this line because it's perfect. I'd love to see original Masters of the Universe or New Adventures of He-Man characters done in this format.

As I'm writing this, the movie hasn't come out yet, but it will have by the time you read this. Hopefully opinions of the new film are as positive as these toys are.

I can't wait to get the Core Class Battle Cat to pair him with. These are so good that I'm not even thinking about Origins or Chronicles/Masterverse. I'd be more than happy to buy Mighty Masters and Core Class figures for my MOTU toy fix.

That's just me, not a flex... He-Man does enough of that on his own.

Skeletor [Mighty Masters]

Skeletor is a lot of things. Originally an evil demon before his origin was later rewritten into him being the former Keldor, who had been transformed into Skeletor, a skull-faced man. I've made countless jokes before about He-Man fighting an army of Halloween decorations, but the thing with Skeletor is... he was actually inspired by a haunted house prop.

Mark Davis has said that when he was designing Skeletor, he took inspiration from a neon-painted skeleton that scared the crap out of him as a kid in the Laugh in the Dark haunted house. Turns out, that skeleton was a little scarier than anyone knew. The same prop was later discovered not to be a dummy, but an actual corpse that had somehow found its way there. This was discovered when an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man was being filmed and the crew accidentally broke its arm off. Turns out, it was the body of Elmer McCurdy, a Wild West bandit whose corpse became a sideshow attraction that eventually found its way into that haunted house. Skeletor doesn’t just look spooky, he’s tied to a legitimately spooky true story.

This Mighty Masters figure of him is great and, just like the others, is a nice little replica of his original toy. He has the same swinging waist gimmick He-Man has and comes with his trademark Havok Staff to swing around while using it. It’s an extremely likable mini figure of Skeletor and... you know what? I always liked his demon origin better. You didn’t ask, and that was abrupt, but thug life.

I’ve always been a fan of Skeletor’s armor. Faker uses it in orange colors, and it looks fabulous. This is a great little figure to keep you company at your desk or even carry around in a cargo pocket. Just the right size and neatness.

Unfortunately, it’s also the last of the Mighty Masters for the time being. I really hope Mattel continues making these and that there are future series with more Heroic and Evil Warriors. I’ve heard talk of 3D prints of Castle Grayskull out there that are in scale with this... and honestly, that’s awesome.

He-Man [Mighty Masters]

He's the most powerful man in the universe, he's He-Man! The main hero of Masters of the Universe of course is in the initial Mighty Masters series and looking great.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he doesn't have the same swinging arm gimmick Man-At-Arms and Beast Man have. Instead, he features a pull-back waist similar to the original Masters of the Universe figures! I had wrongly assumed the swinging arm gimmick was line wide and am very happy to see variety like this. Considering the size and price, I'm impressed they even included gimmicks.

He-Man, like the others, is a fairly decent reproduction (there's some differences) of the original toy in mini figure form. He's got his trademark Power Sword, which even has a little holster on the back of his hardly-there armor.

So here's where I make an admission. MOTU came out when I was very young... and I totally thought he was the bad guy at first. Yep, you heard me. I thought Skeletor was the good guy.

That first commercial featured a skull-faced castle with a skull-faced guy and some normal dude threatening him. To be fair, I was 4 and completely not listening to or comprehending the dialog. I also liked monsters, which clearly has never left my system.

Well, it didn't take me much longer to realize He-Man was the good guy and the army of Halloween decorations were the villains. Who knew?

Oh... yeah. This Mighty Masters figure of the apparently good guy is pretty great.

Man-At-Arms [Mighty Masters]

Like Beast Man, Man-At-Arms was one of the first MOTU toys I ever got, even before He-Man and Skeletor (my older brother got those). So I’ve always naturally gravitated towards him, just like with Beast Man. His inclusion in the initial batch of Mighty Masters was pretty obvious, and welcome too.

This is a pretty nice mini figure recreation of the original toy, with the addition of his mustache. That’s something that was lacking on the original figure, but ever since its addition in the cartoon, it’s been present ever since. I actually used to draw it on mine with a felt tip pen. I say used to because as a kid I had no clue the ink wouldn’t rub off and redid it multiple times. For a while, Duncan found himself with a variety of different colored mustaches... which, to be honest, would be awesome if he did that in fiction.

A neat thing I’m finding with this toy is how his armor piece rides high, allowing the face guard to partially cover his face. That was something usually featured in the earlier mini comics that I always thought was neat and normally doesn’t happen on his toys. In fact, I don’t think it’s even intended on this one and mine could possibly be defective. It’s not on any pictures I’ve seen of these guys online. If mine does have weirdly molded armor... it’s welcomed.

Like all Mighty Masters figures so far, he has the swinging arm gimmick, which works well with his trademark mace. I’ve always enjoyed MOTU’s weird mixture of fantasy and sci-fi, and Man-At-Arms was an early example of that.

This little line has been a case of “Whoops, all bangers,” and I’m holding out hope that this will be an ongoing series. I can see it becoming my main MOTU toy focus.

Skeletor (Alcala Face) [Masters of the Universe]

I’ve been looking forward to this new “kids core” size class in Masters of the Universe—which, interestingly enough, is just labeled as standard MOTU without any extra branding like Origins or Masterverse.

These figures are slightly smaller than Origins. They’re still around 5.5 inches tall, but physically less bulky. It’s hard to describe exactly—they just feel closer to a more typical action figure in terms of mass. A big part of that comes down to the price. At $9.99, Skeletor is a welcome break from the higher costs of Origins and Masterverse/Chronicles figures. Despite the lower price, he’s not lacking. You still get around 14 points of articulation. There are fewer paint applications, but honestly, I didn’t really notice. He’s a good-looking figure—but we’ll get to that in a bit.

As for accessories, Skeletor comes with just his Havoc Staff. That might be the standard going forward at this scale. His armor is removable, and he includes a soft goods cape, which may be taking the place of extra accessories. There’s also likely some shared mold use here to keep costs down, similar to how the original MOTU line operated. Skeletor has the classic “bad guy” hands and feet, while the rest of the body appears to use more standard parts.

From what I’ve seen so far, a lot of this line is focused on movie versions of the characters, but this particular Skeletor pulls from classic MOTU. Specifically, this is a Walmart exclusive featuring a head sculpt inspired by the artwork of Alfred Alcala from the original mini-comics.

I’ve always preferred that earlier, more demonic take on Skeletor over the later Keldor-based version, so this really hits for me. He’s done in his traditional colors, but this exclusive version adds gold-painted accents and a gold skull. The packaging follows suit with a black-and-gold presentation, which looks really sharp.

For what is essentially a budget figure, this is a very nice release. The cape is pretty basic—doesn’t bother me at all, but I can see it being a sticking point for some. Mileage may vary there.

Overall, my first experience with this new MOTU format is a positive one. I’ll still be picking up Origins and Masterverse/Chronicles figures, but I can definitely see this line—and Mighty Masters—becoming my main focus going forward. The price is right, and the toys are fun. Not to mention… they feel just right for a Wednesday post here on the Base.

I’d end this by saying something like “they have the power”… but seriously.

By the Power of Grayskull!

Michelangelo [Turtles of Grayskull]

Mikey may be a party dude with pizza on his mind, but he has a new purpose: be the Most Powerful Turtle in the Universe. He grabs a blonde wig and begins emulating Eternia’s greatest warrior, He-Man.

I've probably mentioned it before here on the site, but Michelangelo is my favorite of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've also mentioned before that the late 80's/early 90's incarnation of TMNT is my favorite. That being said, my specifically favorite version of Michelangelo is perfect for an adventure on Eternia. Not because I particularly prefer him... he just fits. Perfectly.

After meeting the MOTU gang, Michelangelo decided he wanted to be just like He-Man. So here he is dressed just like him, yellow wig and all. Neatly enough, he kinda resembles Flying Fists He-Man in this armor (the colors are off, but the idea is there) and his nunchucks could be considered similar to the spinning weapons that version of He-Man used. Michelangelo's turtle shell can become a shield like all the other turtles, but I wish it had some sort of spinner on it as well. Just to play into that some more. There was the Rock 'N Roll Michelangelo figure from the original turtle line that had a spinning hand. Of course his nunchucks were the ideal weapon for that gimmick, but he also had a shield that worked well with it. That's where my mind is going with this guy. Of course the similarity might not have been intentional. Regardless, this is another excellent figure in an awesome line. The wig is removable in case that's too silly... but that's why I like it there.

Beast Man [Turtles of Grayskull]

Beast Man did not trust the alien outsiders. Rather than become Krang's next mutated experiment, Beast Man escaped to strike a bargain with He-Man. What he found instead left him shell-shocked.

Beast Man is one of the classic MOTU characters that no series feels complete without. So of course he makes a showing in Turtles of Grayskull, but a rather unique one. Beast Man, who isn't feeling like the Foot Clan and their Mutagen are the best idea, isn't mutated like the other Evil Warriors. However, Beast Man has taken up the ways of the Samurai as his cool new armor would imply. This figure is a straight forward reprint of the Origins Beast Man toy with the additional armor and weapon.

Every toy line has cost saving figures and this is one of them. Fortunately the Origins Beast Man is an all around solid toy and the new stuff included makes for a nice cherry on the top. Replacing his trademark bullwhip whip is a cool new razor chain whip. Clearly taming the animals under his control inst Beast Man's focal point at the moment. The Samurai armor fits neatly over the figure, though I found the helmet to be a little loose. Not a deal breaker, but I'd prefer a slightly better fit. Beast Man is also carrying a turtle shell shield which keeps him matching the other figures (Teela comes with a similar one) and the theme. I did notice some official stock photos displaying a different shield instead of the one that comes included. I don't know if that was a running change or a variant. Fans in MOTU groups haven't pointed it out to my knowledge, so it may be the former. This is a fun figure of a classic character. He has a more simple approach to the theme and that's ok, because it still works. The gold armor contrasts nicely with his oranges and reds. Frankly, I think the whole looks suits him really well.

Battle Armor He-Man (New Eternia/Masterverse)

The New Eternia Concept is a fun extension of Masters of the Universe. Based on a blend of concept art and more mature takes on the characters, we're able to get some neat new twists on some classic designs. Masterverse is a nicer MOTU figure line in that coveted 6" scale so many toy collectors love these days and the perfect outlet for these cool figures. Battle Armor He-Man takes the classic Battle Armor and adds a Celtic or Nordic slant to the design. This plays well as they've also made He-Man more mature looking with a beard, clearly representing an older version of the character. Like other New Eternia figures, you can remove the additions to create a more traditional version of He-man if you choose. The packaging's included text creates a fun scenario of this toy of He-Man on an adventure. It's definitely fun to give the armor a reason fictionally.

The Battle Armor has exchangeable plates to recreate the original toy's gimmick without any springs. There's also extra armor pieces and a cool new shield design that's seen some battle. Of course the extra hands, which is a requirement for this sort of toy. Then there's the Power Sword and Axe. I feel the axe fits this look a lot more. The shield can be worn on his left arm via a peg, or mounted on his back. There's a little dagger that can be stored in He-Man's boot. It's a small thing, but I always appreciate when it's included. I believe there's 30 points of articulation, great for all sorts of dynamic poses. This is a great figure of He-Man and I really enjoy the New Eternia series. It's a cool concept that makes for some neat looks for the characters. I was fortunate enough to score this one on clearance off the Walmart app and with some saved rewards points he worked out to be only $2. To be fair, it's really hard to find anything to complain about when you get it for $2. However he really is a cool toy. He has the power and a neat outfit as well.

Leonardo (Turtles of Grayskull)

An explosion has sent the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles across dimensions to Eternia. Now augmented with tech from Man-At-Arms' armory, Leonardo leads his brothers into battle for the Power of Grayskull!

Since He-Man has been mutated into a monster leaving Eternia without it's biggest hero, what are we to do? Enjoy some pizza of course! Because the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have teamed up with the Heroic Warriors to save the day. Leonardo is here lead the way! Making up for He-Man's missing power sword, Leonardo has the Katana of Power. The sword can be split in half like He-Man's classic weapon, but both halves are to be wield by Leo and can be joined into a single blade.

Leonardo also features some way cool armor created by Man-At-Arms that's a little reminiscent of Dolph Lundren's outfit from the MOTU movie. Come to think of it, the sword looks a little like that one too. This is an awesome figure. Leo uses the same MOTU Origins TMNT body that Donatello and I presume the other Turtles have. It's a great base for the Turtle Teens in this line and really brings the concept to life well. His shell can be used as a shield, like the other Turtles, but I feel like it really fits here. Leonardo is clearly the TMNT version of He-Man (aside from Michelangelo) and the classic visage of him with the sword and shield comes into play. For extra dramatic purposes, the bandanna has some articulation. This line is awesome.

He-Man (Turtles of Grayskull)

What happens when the most Powerful Man in the Universe is doused with mutagenic ooze from another dimension? Nothing good. With He-man now a mindless pawn in Skeletor's hand, will this be the end of Eternia?

Turtles of Grayskull is a VERY cool addition to the already awesome Masters of the Universe Origins toy line. Blending retro looks with modern toy engineering and adding the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the mix. Is a crossover that sounds insane (and is) but works perfectly. You've got TMNT characters looking like the Heroic and Evil Warriors with Mutated Masters. It's crazy and it works.

We'll be looking at He-Man from the line today and he's not what anybody expected going in. He-Man has been mutated by the Foot Clan in cahoots with Skeletor into a MONSTER! Now He-Man, the Most Powerful Mutant in the Universe is a real threat to the Heroic Warriors and Turtles. This toy is AWESOME. Now a translucent purple freak with green hair and red eyes... He-Man is really neat looking. He has green veins running through his body that look sharp against the purple skin. Not to mention, the traditional outfit is now covered in spikes for extra danger. I really enjoy his bandanna, it fits in with the theming but also is articulated for dramatic posing. While having the standard amount of articulation for an Origins figure, his arms are extra long and big adding to the mutation. For extra fun, one foot has busted through it's boot. Noticeably absent is the Power Sword which I expect to be addressed in the mini-comics (Leonardo sure has a solution). The Evil Warriors have equipped him with a spike covered mace which fits pretty well. Mutated He-Man could almost pass as an Ogre. This cool monster version of the classic hero feels really refreshing and all around neat. Turtles of Grayskull is a really imaginative take on two older ideas and I REALLY like it.

Mighty Man of Moss

I've had Moss Man on my mind a lot lately. Which is odd, because in the past I never paid him much attention (until I got the Origins one for Christmas from the wife). In some folks eyes, he's something of a cheap repaint/line filler type toy. Which is fair as many mold reuses as Masters of the Universe has, toys like Mossman can seem even more blatant. However, Like Stinkor, sometimes a 'cheap repaint' can still work out to something special. Moss Man, the toy, is a green Beastman with some extra details to differentiate the two. Most notably, he's flocked. This gives him that cool 'mossy' look. Also like Stinkor, he's scented.... but doesn't stink. Moss Man is pine scented, something I never noticed much as a kid. Of course I never had one of my own and most of my time spent with one was my specifically grubby cousins toy. So... maybe he was initially pine fresh.

I've always loved how each MOTU character has their own gimmick, even the 'cheap repaints' and this one is pretty inventive. Moss Man is a pretty decent reinvention of an established figure. For example, they put a little extra detail on his face. Beastman had an open mouth with fangs. The fangs are painted over a little to give Moss Man flat teeth (some versions still have the fangs) and his eyes are painted to be looking to the side. Now that open mouth looks more like a reaction to something over there. Pose him to the side and it could look like he's looking directly at whomever is about to get hit with his mace. Which was a brown version of one of the weapons originally included with Castle Grayskull.

In the orignal line, Moss Man was kinda just there. He had a bigger role in his introductory mini-comic, but was mainly an extra from there on. He did appear in the Filmation cartoon, but in mostly smaller appearances. I'm not the biggest fan of the 2002 MOTU, but do like how they used Moss Man. He was a bit of a bad ass. Not to mention, also something of a cryptid that joined up with the Heroic Warriors. It might just be the paranormal fan in me, but I look at Moss Man and that's exactly what I think. Some local legend that turned out to be true and joined forces with the good guys. He has a good bit of toys. I've mostly focused on the smaller ones until the more recent Origins release which is really awesome despite still being another Beastman repaint. For a 'just there' guy, Moss Man is pretty awesome on his own. That's a neat thing with MOTU, there's so many characters that ones I've prior looked over can be fun little rabbit holes on their own. 

Meteorbs- Watch the Battle Unfold!

Masters of the Universe Meteorbs, 1987

Demolition He-Man

I'm endlessly interested when toy companies reuse various molds for other lines. It's a common practice that can sometimes be very obvious when done... and not so much other times. Toy production is very expensive and these companies are out to make money, so it makes sense to reuse what assets they have. Movie tie in toys are going to be short lived on shelves and attention spans are likely going to shift quickly. Sure, Star Wars or other long running franchises are a different story. However something like Demolition Man from 1993... even the companies knew it was a gamble.

The toy line heavily reused molds from The New Adventures of He-Man. There were new head sculpts and weapons, but considering the prior line had recently wrapped up (1989-1992) this was pretty brazen for Mattel. Some of those figures were probably still on toy shelves at the same. The Battle Baton Spartan figure featured in the commercial was clearly a repaint of the standard He-Man and impossible to ignore next to each other. Some of the other figures are harder to tell... but that's impossible once you see it.

The Sliming Skull

I've spoken before about my love for The Slime Pit. Simply put, one of the coolest play sets ever made. At first glance, it just looks like a stone wall with a dragon's skull on top. Is it some sort of altar for magic rituals? However, you might find yourself lead there, a captive of The Evil horde! Hordak commands Modulok and Leech to put you in the device as a skeletal claw holds you tight. The skull tips forward as slime pours down coating every inch of your body. Your mind is no longer your own as you become a Slime Pit Zombie!

Mega Construx has finally gotten around to releasing a Slime Pit set for their brand of mini figures I so enjoy. It took awhile to get one, so imagine my surprise to find it in the pile of gifts from my wife Christmas morning. The Slime Pit is a Skeletor skull style set, normally restricted to recreating the accessories from classic MOTU. As the original play set was pretty small... it works pretty well. Included is enough blocks to recreate the Slime Pit within the inside of the color matching skull (including simulated slime!) and a translucent green He-Man as it's victim.

The included He-Man figure is along the same idea as the the Micro Action Figure I talked about last week. However, as a Mega Contrux mini figure, it's a much nicer toy. Heavily articulated and larger... it's kinda amazing just how nice these mini figures are. I've honestly have always been a little amazed by that. He-Man has his Power Sword here which can be stored on his armor. This armor originally gave him a force field... that doesn't seem to have helped. It's a really cool figure that's just a simple color swap... but effective. The set itself is pretty simple, but extremely awesome overall. It's hard not to like slime, yet alone a mind controlled slime zombie. The idea kinda sells itself.

A little Green with Evil

When I initially started talking about Micro Action Figures here, I intended to do group posts on various series. A Transformers post, a Masters of the Universe post, etc, ... and I totally failed to do that. So in attempt to talk about these cool little figures I like quite a bit, instead I'm just gonna talk about one at a time. Just to keep it simple. Today, we're going to talk about Slime Pit He-Man.

Slime Pit He-Man is a basic repaint of the already released He-Man figure. However, it's a pretty interesting one. Obliviously He-Man is representing himself recently slimed via Slime Pit (it's in the name) and is now a mindless zombie under Hordak's control. To emphasize his slime coated physique, He-Man is cast in translucent green plastic. I don't know why being covered in mind controlling evil sludge would turn you translucent... but it looks awesome. Meanwhile He-Man's clothing and axe are opaque. The mixture of can see through and can't see through looks fantastic.

The pictures probably don't convey that this figure is TINY. At just around an inch tall, He-man had movable arms and waist with an axe that can be held. The original use of this mold had more accessories, but I guess inflation affected that as the cost is still around the same. They still come with a stand. I really like these little toys, but finding them can be a pain. Thankfully, the Mrs found me this one. Slime Pit He-Man is from the newest series of Master of the Universe micro figures and represents a deeper dive into the series than the expected characters. I do hope to find more as I like these little guys quite a bit. There's even a micro Castle Grayskull now. Slime Pit He-Man is a great example of a well done repaint. Just changing some simple colors turns something completely recognizable to something really novel.

Merry Christmas from Zone Base!

It's Christmas on Planet Zone! I hope all of you reading has a happy holiday and I'll be back Tuesday with more robots, monsters, and misadventure! Thank you for continuing to support Zone Base. Hey, you know what would make a great Christmas present? Sharing with your friends!

...ok... that last bit was lame...

Jungle Warrior Man

When it comes to He-Man, we've all pretty much know what to expect. However, it wasn't always that way and was a more grim affair initially. He-Man himself was a barbarian from a jungle tribe off on adventure to fight evil when he ran across the Sorceress who gave him weapons to fight Skeletor (said evil). If you've ever wondered about the mix of mid-evil fantasy and sci fi in Masters of the universe, the original setting had Eternia left as sort of a wasteland and all the high tech stuff was leftovers from the previous more advanced society. He-Man's power weapons were some of these leftovers.

The Power Sword originally wasn't really that much of a big deal. It was literally half a sword. The full Power Sword had been split in half as it is the key to Castle Grayskull. Skeletor has the other half and really wants control of the magical castle. The armor provides He-Man with a protective force field. There's another identical set of armor that makes him stronger. I have no clue how he tells them apart. He-Man mainly used his battle axe, and shield as he was a barbarian. You know like that guy he totally isn't supposed to be. In the first mini comic appearance, He-Man has a knife stowed away in his boot. If you get his Micro Action figure, it comes with that little knife. Neat huh?

Weekly Update 7/25/22

 

Another new week has begun here on Planet Zone! Thank you all for joining me again for another week of robots and monsters! Little programming note for you all, Halloween begins next week! Before it all begins, the new episode of Transform Squadron is diving into spooky season territory! Hopefully it'll be available soon for your listening pleasure!

This weekend was spent  eating sushi, playing games, robot cartoons, paranormal television, and Bluey. The Mrs likes Bluey and I'll admit the toys look pretty neat. While shopping I happily picked up Terrorsaur and the Creatures Collide set from Target. They didn't have Dinobot, so I'm still on the hunt. Not like I don't pop in Target often anyway. I also picked up a great little Bandai Star Wars X-Wing model at the local Hobby Lobby. They have an awesome model section and I really should spend more time there. I also need to spend more time building. 

I've got a fun week in store for you all. Just another week untill the pumpkin spice mayhem flows! Speaking of, my At Home was officially setting up their section. Finally! Usually my store starts stocking mid-June-July. They're a little late this year, but I guess I can let that slide. For now. Thanks for reading Zone Base. The most fun time of the year is near and I really appreciate your support. I hope you enjoy and please share with your friends!

Weekly Halloween: The Haunting of Grayskull

 

Castle Grayskull is a spooky place. It's a big, old,and decrepit castle with a freaking skull for a front door. Inside is all sorts of magic and sorcery. Hard to believe this is the good guys place, but it is... well unless Skeletor takes over and becomes Master of the Universe. While there's all sorts of scary things within, one particular ghost serves a purpose. The Spirit of Grayskull is the voice of the castle itself. He serves to guide those within on matters like the power sword and becoming King of the Castle. 

Originally the spirit was depicted as a cloud like skull face and was a more involved  fictionally in the early days, but did stick around. He appears in the original Filmation cartoon as a disembodied head. Later in Classics, it was established to be the ghostly form of King Grayskull himself. Personally I prefer those earlier depictions. Eternia and all it's citizens were more raw and that floating skull coming out of a skull shaped haunted castle was just perfect.