Hordak v1 ’85 by Xander Martin
Announcing the “Make your MasterPOEce” Contest!
For untold eons, few (if any) have wondered what the mysterious scribe known as Poe Ghostal looks like. But now, thanks to PoeGhostal.com in conjunction with PassionDesignsInc.com, with the help of He-Man.org, not only will Poe’s form be revealed, but you can win a MOTU-themed prize–including a Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man, a 2002 He-Man figure signed by the Four Horsemen, and a custom figure based on your own design, created by Passion Designs customizer Thomas Pitts himself, whose works includes Zombie He-Man as featured in ToyFare magazine.
Here’s what you need to do to enter: just make a piece of art showing what you think Poe Ghostal would look like as a MOTU character. You can use Poe’s logo on his website or the winning bio from the recent “You Need a He-Ro” contest as inspiration, but you don’t have to–your only limit is your imagination!
It can be a sketch, a drawing, a computer-generated 3D model, a painting, a Photoshopped image–any format is acceptable, so long as it’s an original piece and in the spirit of the Masters of the Universe Classics style.
You can submit your entry by emailing it to artcontest@poeghostal.com or by posting it on the He-Man.org forums in this thread: http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/showthread.php?t=176139
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A MOTUC-style custom figure of Poe Ghostal based on the winner’s design, created by Passion Designs himself!
- A 2002 He-Man figure, with the card signed by the Four Horsemen!
One runner-up will receive:
- A Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man figure
The rules:
- Entry period ends at noon Eastern time on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
- The top three entries will be chosen by Poe Ghostal and Passion Designs, Inc. and then put to a reader vote on PoeGhostal.com for one week. The winner and runner-up will have the first- and second-most votes, respectively. In the event of a tie, the winner(s) will be chosen randomly.
- You may enter once per email address.
- Only residents of the United States and Canada are eligible.
- You must be over 18 to enter. (If you are younger, please ask a parent to enter for you.)
Odds ‘n Ends
- Apologies for being somewhat MIA over the last week or so…been busy. And by “busy,” I mean I bought Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and got sucked in. And Batman Arkham Asylum arrived today, so things might get worse before they get better. Just a heads-up.
- Just a heads-up: the plugin I use for the “reply” function in the comments was updated. Now it should appear in the bottom-right corner only when you move your mouse over a comment. I can go back to the previous version if it bugs people, so let me know.
- Fwoosh posted a two-part interview with Mattel’s Scott Neitlich, a.k.a “Toy Guru.” The interview was done back in July during SDCC, but there’s still some interesting stuff in there. For example, Mattel didn’t ask for the ring that came with Tri-Klops, the Horsemen just made it. Also, Walter Peck will have his own new suit, not the Movie Masters one. Part 1, Part 2
- Rambo vs. genetically-engineered werewolves? Yes please. (Via Topless Robot)
- I know I haven’t posted the information for the He-Ro contest yet–I’m just waiting for confirmation on something. Once I have that, it’ll go right up.
- I just wanted to mention how pleased and grateful I am to have Paul, formerly of Toy Bender, posting here. Be sure to visit his other blog, The Robot’s Pajamas.
Review > Isadorra of the Ironspynne Clan
It was ten years ago this month that the fearsome foursome known collectively as the Four Horsemen–Eric “Cornboy” Mayse, Chris Dahlberg, Eric Treadaway and Jim Prezioso cast off the training wheels of McFarlane Toys and struck out on their own to create the action figures they wanted. They were barely out of the iron gate when Mattel swooped in and contracted them to design a radical revamp of the company’s most memorable action figure property, Masters of the Universe.
Thus was born a partnership that would bring ecstatic collectors not only new MOTU toys but also Harry Potter, DC Universe Classics and the Ghostbusters (leaving only one burning question: where the hell are the Thundercats? But I digress).
However, the Four Horsemen were not content to rest on their Mattel-sponsored laurels. In 2005 they created FANtastic Exclusive, a yearly contest in which fans voted on all aspects of a Horsemen-designed character to be produced and sold the following year.
Of course, they’ve had a few bumps along the way. While the 2006 FE, Xetheus, turned out quite well, the Horsemen went through a long run of bad luck in producing the following year’s Ramathorr figure. But now, the FE is back on track with Scarabus (now in production) and this year’s Raven currently in the mid-voting phase.
In the meantime, to keep fans sated, the Horsemen offered Queen Alluxandra, a female figure from the Seventh Kingdom world shared by Xetheus and Ramathorr. Like those two, Alluxandra has had a host of variants.
I can never afford the complete set of variants, so, I look among the options and choose the one(s) I want. This year, it’s Isadorra of the Ironspynne Clan. (more…)
Pic of the Day
Ni by Nickwheeleroz
Poe’s note: I’ve been thinking about the ToyBiz Lord of the Rings line a lot lately…this was an incredible line. Marvel Legends-style articulation on near-McFarlane level sculpting and paint apps, incredibly character variety, all in scale with one another, PLUS NECA made the full-scale Balrog…this is Shambhala, people.
Paul’s Peg > Was G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Decent?
Since I’m more of the “G.I. Joe” guy around here, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that there haven’t been any reviews or input on G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Why would anyone else but me subject themselves to eyeball torture if they didn’t have to? Personally, I put it off for as long as I could, but this weekend I finally decided that my duty outweighed any kind of pain I’d suffer from having to watch this thing. By the time the credits finally rolled I was surprised to find that I kind of liked it.
Spoilers after the jump!
“You Need a He-Ro!” Contest Winner
First off, a big thank-you to everyone who entered. I had a great time reading these, although the recurring elements of Poe being “punished for his crimes” and “doomed to haunt something-or-other” was a tad disturbing. What did I ever do to you people? But I digress.
First off, the runners-up! (more…)
Pic of the Day
Paul’s Peg > Dropping Some Thoughts on Upcoming Joes
Hey y’all, I’ve been looking through pictures of upcoming G.I. Joe figures and I can’t help but share some of my thoughts. I’m mostly sharing my thoughts because I have a huge ego and think everyone cares about what I think, but it’s partly because I like the sound of my own voice. Let’s do this!
Arctic Threat Storm Shadow
Okay on the plus side is the camo pattern brings to mind one of my favorite Storm Shadow costumes of all time. On the negative, it’s a simple repaint that’s hard to buy based on the seemingly unending price hikes with Joes. There’s a lesson here, if prices were lower I’d buy a lot more. I’m also sure there’s a contingent of you gnashing teeth at the big rocket launcher, but in this case it’s kind of cool. I like the idea of having a launching zip line.
