Poe’s Point > Why Tytus?

Rob Bricken of Topless Robot, a Masters of the Universe fan who’s nonetheless on the record as being disappointed in the MOTUC style here and here, issued me a challenge this weekend.

You have one week to try and convince me why I should pay $50 for a figure without a ball-jointed neck or shoulders.

He’s doing this partly because I talked to him into getting the Weapons Pak.*

First off, I have to ask: why the hell would I want to encourage any competition for what will probably be a ten-minute sellout? I should tell him–and you all–that Tytus sucks and you should avoid him like the plague. But I would be lying, since that’s not my opinion, and I’m nothing if not self-defeatingly honest. (more…)

Contest > Choose Your Weapon (Prize: MOTUC Weapons Pak)

You too can turn your He-Man from a gray harness-wearing barbarian with only mild fashion issues to a full-blown atrocity that would drive Tim Gunn to use his namesake on himself. How, you ask? By winning the PGPoA “Choose Your Weapon” contest! The prize is a brand-spanking-new, still-in-the-white-mailer MOTUC Weapons Pak. (Read the official PGPoA review!)

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below naming your favorite action figure accessory of all time. Feel free to go into detail as to why it’s your favorite, but all you have to do to enter is name it and the figure it came with.

RÜLZ:

  1. Contest ends on Sunday, May 9th at 11:59pm.
  2. The winner will be selected at random.
  3. Only U.S. and Canadian residents are eligible. I know there are lots of Poesters in other countries and I love you all, but those shipping costs are getting painful.
  4. Only one entry per person. I check IPs and so forth, but really, just don’t be a jerk.

Odds ‘n Ends > News Roundup

  • So as everyone probably knows by now, the Four Horsemen have teamed up with toy legend Mel Birnkrant and Matt Doughty of Onell Design (makers of the Glyos figures) to bring back the 1960s sci-fi toy line The Outer Space Men. I was going to do a write-up about it, but NoisyDvL5 already wrote the definitive post about the whole thing. Damn whippersnappers totally stealing my thunder and taking advantage of my laziness. Anyway: my opinion. Like many, I have no nostalgic attachment to the property, but retro-looking 1960s aliens are something most self-respecting geeks should appreciate. 3 3/4″ isn’t my favorite scale but was probably inevitable given current production costs. The decision to work with Onell Design was a savvy move on everyone’s part. So will I be buying these? Definitely–they look great and represent a great step for everyone involved. Also, if it’s successful, perhaps the Four Horsemen will be able to license Power Lords from Revell…
  • Speaking of the Outer Space Men, look for some cool features about it here on the site soon.
  • He-Man.org has a revealing interview with Mattel brand manager (and recent new dad) Scott Neitlich, a.k.a. Toyguru. I didn’t realize Adora’s laser pistol was based on Teela’s gun from the 1987 movie.
  • Super He-Fan James Eatock, a.k.a. Busta Toons, is publishing an unofficial guide to the Filmation He-Man cartoon. Eatock’s blog is necessary reading for any He-Fan, and the book will no doubt be great, too.
  • I added a new plugin called WPTouch that optimizes PGPoA for Iphones/Ipod Touches. I think it’s pretty cool, but it does prevent you from seeing the site as it looks on the Web. Has anyone else tried it out yet? Thoughts?
  • Pre-review roundup: Fwoosh has Optikk, Walter Peck and Tytus; AFI has Tytus; CoolToyReview has Optikk; Pixel Dan has Optikk and Tytus. Disappointing discovery: Tytus has swivels at the shoulders and neck, not ball joints.

Review > Weapons Pak (Masters of the Universe Classics)

This won’t be my standard review, for obvious reasons. Mostly just pics and some discussion. I’ll go through and talk about each new weapon or weapon set, and you can check out the accompanying pics.

I didn’t take photos of every weapon/accessory with a figure, mostly because I found about half the contents of the pack uninteresting, but I did take a photo of the remaining accessories at the end. (more…)

Ask Mattel > Answers for May 1 [roundup added]

Mattel sends in their answers early this time around. This batch consisted entirely of my own MOTUC-related questions. Yes, sometimes I’m selfish. I’ll be submitting only reader questions for the May 15 round.

1.) Are you expecting to have many non-subscription SKUs for MOTUC in 2011? (For example, the army builder two-packs.) (more…)

Count Marzo pics and general MOTUC updates

Yesterday Mattel released images of the packaged Count Marzo, complete with the bio, which reveals the fate of King Miro and a surprising alliance.

Implication: Randor and Keldor teamed up to kick Marzo’s ass. (Then Randor became a racist.)

I like the figure and the bio, but I do have to ask: the prototype had the Tri-Klops-style matching bracelets. Why does the figure now have the He-Man style different ones? I think the matching ones looked better. But that’s a minor, geeky nitpick.

They also posted this bonus Q&A on Mattycollector, in an attempt to put to rest some questions that I think we can all agree (some) fans will never let rest, i.e., pre-orders, Anime Hyper Detailâ„¢ and sell-outs. (more…)

Review > Evil-lyn (Masters of the Universe Classics)

I recently watched the three-part pilot episode for the Millennium MOTU cartoon (the creatively-titled “The Beginning”), and it reminded me that on that show, Evil-lyn was badass.

I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Evil-lyn never destroyed a square mile of forest on the Filmation cartoon.

For her first Masters of the Universe Classics appearance, Mattel and the Four Horsemen chose to duplicate the 1980s figure by making her a repainted Teela with a new head. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m disappointed by this. Mattel and the Horsemen have made a lot of effort to stick to the original cross-sell artwork from the 1980s, sometimes despite the wishes of fans. And yet, when it came to Evil-lyn, well…there’s no other way to put this: Mattel cheaped out.

The vintage artwork below shows Evil-lyn with a different bodysuit than Teela. If you’d asked me before we saw the prototypes whether Evil-lyn would look like her cross-sell artwork rather than being a repaint, I would have said “definitely.” And I would have been wrong.

(images from Masters Unbound)

For the record, I’m perfectly happy with the blue costume and yellow skin. It’s more visually interesting, if less “realistic,” than the pale skin/purple outfit of the cartoons. (more…)

Review > Wun-Dar (Masters of the Universe Classics)

Wun-Dar was offered as an incentive to those who subscribed to the 2010 Club Eternia plan. But who is Wun-Dar, you ask? His origins lie in the mists of time, when Masters of the Universe was still in its infancy. Fans have attempted to piece together his story, but no definitive answer has ever been found.

Here’s what everyone agrees on: sometime in the early 1980s, probably just around the time Masters of the Universe first debuted in toy stores (and two years before the cartoon), a promotion was offered whereby those who entered received a He-Man action figure. The figure came in a baggie, possibly with a small paper insert for other Mattel products. Unlike the normal He-Man figure, it had brown (not blond) hair, black boots, a black belt, and a more brownish loincloth, giving it a decidedly Conan-esque look.

Despite what you may have read, he did not come with any weapons. Over the years, various weapons and armor became associated with the figure, for unclear reasons: the black Zodac armor and gun from the Weapons Pack, the axe and sword from “Man-E-Weapons” (a rare variant of Man-E-Faces that came with multiple weapons). There is no evidence that the “Savage He-Man” came with any weapons at all. (more…)

Poll > Did you get an Evil-lyn?

I’m curious as to exactly how many people who wanted an Evil-lyn, but didn’t have a sub, were able to get one.

[polldaddy poll=3083322]