I’ve reopened my Ecrater store in an effort to turn over some old stuff I just don’t think I’m ever going to get around to opening. Using that money I’ll be getting new stuff to review–plus keep this website going and so forth. So please peruse my wares. I tried to give fair prices based on eBay completed listings.
If this proves successful, I may put up some of my older loose stuff as well.
I’ve got a new list up at Topless Robot:
9 Misconceptions People Have About Godzilla
I always love writing Godzilla lists…
Just a reminder, the Spy Monkey Armory Series 1 will be on sale exclusively at www.spymonkeycreations.ecrater.com at $20 per set/colorway starting at 12pm Pacific Time (3pm ET) today. Be sure to check out my review, and also check out the neat designs Matt Doughty of Onell Design created with them.
Some notes from SMC:
PayPal will be our exclusive payment provider. We will no longer be accepting checks or money orders.
Shipping costs:
Domestic USA:– 1 or 2 sets ship for $2.82 via First Class Mail– 3-6 sets ship for $5.15 via USPS Priority MailSmall Flat Rate Box– More than 6 sets ship for $10.85 via USPS Priority MailMedium Flat Rate BoxCanada and Mexico:– Up to 6 sets ship for $12.95 via USPS Priority Mail Intl.Small Flat Rate Box– More than 6 sets ship for $32.95 via USPS Priority Mail Intl.Medium Flat Rate BoxInternational:– Up to 6 sets ship for $16.95 via USPS Priority Mail Intl.Small Flat Rate Box– More than 6 sets ship for $47.95 via USPS Priority Mail Intl.Medium Flat Rate BoxWe are charging the exact shipping rates provided by PayPal from the USPS, and tried to go with the most cost effective shipping methods available. We wanted to add a low cost shipping option for small International orders however our current store and payment set up does not allow for that. We will continue to explore shipping options as we grow and will do our best to give our customers the best options available to us.
Clawful has always been my go-to guy for terrible Masters of the Universe names. Along with Two-Bad, nothing reminds you more that this is was a toy line aimed squarely at young children than a name like Clawful.
I never owned Clawful as a kid, or even knew anyone who did. The character could have been pretty cool but for one glaring problem: a ridiculous, cartoonish head. (more…)
Here’s PGPoA’s final (for now) edition of Ask Mattel.
Barbecue17 asks: What does Mattel consider a legitimate QC issue that would warrant figures to be delayed or exchanged in mass? For some figures who customers have perceived as having problems, these have been responses from some Mattel reps: “Mossman is not a bath toy.” “It’s not a big deal! Reviewers didn’t notice the backward shoulders.” “The figure is not defective, it just is not working as perfect as we will like.” Recently, we have seen widespread QC problems with Swiftwind’s legs. How defective or “not working as perfect as we would like” would a figure have to be for Mattel to take action on a QC issue? Missing limbs?
We don’t have a specific rule for this but we do replace any defective product so if a figure is assembled incorrect you can return it for a corrected item.
Mysterious Stranger asks: What is the future of the “Action League” line? I’ve been collecting all the Green Lantern related characters and am only missing Kyle Rayner. What are the odds of him being released? (more…)
Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!
The Faceless One Bio
Real Name: Nikolas Powers
As the ruler of Zalesia, Nikolas Powers was entrusted by King Grayskull to guard the city’s great magical objects – the Havoc Staff and the mystical Ram Stone. Powers was a core member of Grayskull’s Council Of Elders, great mages from across Eternia who had the wisdom to tap into the planet’s hidden magical secrets. But by marrying and having a daughter, he broke the Elder’s treaty with King Hssss to not produce any heirs. Powers was stripped of his humanity, condemned to never leave Zalesia and forced to watch his beloved city destroyed by Serpos. Now called “The Faceless One,” he asked the wizard-warrior He-Ro to use the power of Central Tower to send his daughter Evelyn into the future. There, with his immortality, he hoped to raise her away from the terror of the Great Wars.
In this one biographical sketch, we get far, far more than we ever got about the character from the cartoon. In fact, it strips him entirely of his mystery, even giving him a first and last name (“Nikolas” is most likely a reference to Nicolas Flamel, reputed researcher of the Philosopher’s stone who became much better known thanks to Harry Potter–the Philosopher’s Stone being analogous to the Ram Stone).
I find this bio more interesting for what it leaves out. We were at one point promised an origin for the Havoc Staff–a mystery I wouldn’t mind being explained–but this isn’t it; the Havoc Staff and Ram Stone evidently predate the Faceless One. All the stuff about King Hsss and Powers being a member of the Council of Elders comes from the third volume of the MV Creations Millennium-era comics (which, sadly, I’ve never read, and have never been collected).
Ultimately this bio doesn’t make me any more excited for what was possibly my least favorite MOTUC figure of 2011. I really wish he’d been somehow involved in the creation of the Havoc Staff–it would have added a lot of value to the character for me.
