And now the good MOTUC news…

July 23, 2009 | Poe

(Before I forget to mention it, the 2010 MOTU subscription is now available at Mattycollector. I know you’re probably way too mad right now to order, but you’ve got until August 7.)

While you’re stewing over Scalpergate, here’s some good news for MOTUC fans that was revealed last night. (Pics mostly from He-Man.org poster evenflow).

  • Battle Cat looks great, is well articulated, will be out on February 16th, and will cost just $30. $30! Seriously! Look!
  • In that previous link with the price, you’ll also see what appear to be MOTU vinyls called Attitubes (a la Mighty Muggs).
  • There will also be some seriously awesome display stands designed to look like part of Castle Grayskull, also available February 16.
  • Looks like Teela will come with Zoar.
  • Speaking of Teela, there are two heads: skullcap (for wearing the snake helmet) and short hair.

Attack of Scalp-Or at SDCC

July 23, 2009 | Poe

I need to preface this with the warning that this is all hearsay, even with the photographic evidence. I know some will be tempted to believe it immediately based on their own cynicism about/pathological hatred of Mattel, but before you go down that path, just try to keep in mind that all we have right now is the word of some anonymous people on the Internet.

Now then. As you know, there are a mere 1,000 MOTU art books available at SDCC. The limit on them is supposed to be two per customer. Also, vendors, exhibitors, and professionals were not to be allowed to buy any of Mattel’s SDCC items during Preview Night last night.

But there have been reports of vendors not only buying books, but buying twenty of them–and then announcing it to those waiting in line. (more…)

Happy Man-At-Arms Day!

July 15, 2009 | Poe

motuc_manatarms4

I think I’ll be a little sad in September, when these MOTUC days will lose a lot of their significance due to the subscriptions kicking in. But just a little.

Anyway, enjoy your Mattycollector.com refreshes today. I stand by my assertion that Duncan will not be as popular as Hordak was (though I suspect he’ll still sell out within two hours).

Also, He-Man.org has some tips about ordering. Here are the important points:

Don’t get frustrated, don’t keep hitting refresh on your own! Doing this is part of the reason for the server overload!

You may experience the red screen more than once, or even after every step of the ordering process! Try not to let it frustrate you.

We have also discovered that most fans who have experienced 15+ minute waits on the red screen logged in to Matty Collector before 12:00 noon EST (GMT -5)!

It is in your best intereste to login right as the figure goes on sale, at 12:01 EST (GMT -5) or even a few minutes later.

Toy Guru has pointed out that if you DO manually refresh, you are put at the end of the list for those who are currently placing orders. So a manual screen refresh may result in you missing out on the figure.

So in our opinion, it’s in your best interest, if you have logged in after 12:01 EST (GMT -5), and you are experiencing the red screen queue, is to wait it out.

MOTU Art Book

July 10, 2009 | Poe

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Mattel has revealed their special MOTU-themed SDCC exclusive, and it’s pretty incredible–and, sadly, incredibly limited.

We know a lot of fans are very excited about the Designed @ Mattel Vol. 1 book on MOTU being offered at SDCC. A few more details: The book will be softcover, 53 pages, with a numbered foil stamped ribbon across the cover. It will be $50.00 and limited to 2 per guest per line wait. It will have sections on all the major MOTU lines and a look at the future of the brand.

Now we know a lot of fans are asking why only 1,000 copies and will we ever reprint? The answer (at least for now) is that this was actually a number required. For a variety of legal reasons we were restricted to only create this book if we kept it as a limited edition. That was part of the bargain for getting to do the book itself. It was 1,000 editions or nothing He-Fans.

A big thank you to Toy Guru for pulling together a lot of the research and material as well as all the Mattel artists over the years for so generously giving of their imaginations to create lasting characters in the world of MOTU!

Long time fans and new comers alike will be sure to enjoy all of the surprises in store at SDCC!

See you in two weeks!

Matty

The book sounds fantastic. The 1,000 limited edition aspect is painful, as is the Holiday Hal Jordan-like intimation of “legal restriction.” Great bonus for fans, or Gleek-like tease? I have a hunch I know where this comment thread is going…

Webstor pops up on eBay

July 10, 2009 | Poe

Those wacky Hong Kong thieves have struck again, this time posting an auction for Webstor (who I’m thinking has to be September’s figure, despite the recent confusion, right?).

The auction’s already over, but we did get a look at his bio:

Webstor
Evil Master of Escape
Real Name: Araneus son of Raknus

One of the last remaining members of an ancient Eternian race of Spider Warriors called the Arachna, Webstor was awoken from hibernation beeneath Snake Mountain and occasionally allies himself with Skeletor. In ancient times, the Arachna were an advanced dominant race until driven underground by the Snake Men. Araneus retains much of the knowleedge of his people and while seemingly savage, is an expert mathematician and strategist as well as an accomplished escape artist. He often arms himself with a grappling hook Fast Pack and uses his climbing power to escape capture!

Review > Hordak (Masters of the Universe Classics)

June 26, 2009 | Poe

By 1985, the original Masters of the Universe line was three years old–a pretty long time for a boys’ action figure brand, if not that impressive next to its big sister Barbie. The He-Man cartoon was at its peak and She-Ra was just about to hit. While He-Man and his arch-nemesis Skeletor had already become cultural icons, Mattel decided the skull-headed necromancer might be getting a little long in the tooth. It was time to up the ante against He-Man and his allies–it was time for the Evil Horde.

While Skeletor and his minions were all based on the same two or three body types, Hordak and his Evil Horde benefited heavily from MOTU’s success: all five of the original 1985 Evil Horde figures received brand-new tooling (and except for Hordak, they were all entirely new sculpts). What’s more, the ancillary fiction (the mini-comics and, later, the She-Ra cartoon) established Hordak not only as being more powerful than Skeletor, but as having been Skeletor’s master (or at least mentor) at one point.

Masters of the Universe Classics Hordak arrives as one of the most anticipated figures in the line yet. While he received an impressive “staction” from the Four Horsemen and NECA, this represents the first new Hordak action figure in twenty-four years.

(more…)