(A is the Best while F is Failure) as I give my thoughts on the figure and explain its grade:
Netossa: (PoP) C-
Ah, The Exotic Mistress of Capture. Mattel dropped the ball with her here. They pretty much gave her a shield as her only accessory and tried to pass off her awful cape as a second accessory. As much as I detest Fabric Capes, Netossa NEEDED A Fabric Cape to act as A NET... (My Leech's net broke Recently...Stored Flat with nothing near it that could tear it.) That would have saved us from the horrible fins on her head. The one thing that would have helped fixed that issue was not delivered to us (her Headdress) We are waiting for it MATTEL...
On the other hand her Face Sculpt is BEAUTIFUL!! I'd dare say she is figure with the most Beautiful Face in the line.
Even though her score seems LOW, I REALLY REALLY LIKE THE FIGURE! The sword from the Weapons Pak #4 helps her a little bit, but she needs at least her Headdress to complete her.
Jitsu: (MOTU) B-
He is a great Figure. Very few issues, and many can be considered nitpicks or disagreements with design. For some he is not Vintage enough (The face is less Asian Stereotype, but not THAT Asian); for others it's Too Vintage when compared to Poing Super Combat! (No Extra Belt, also the topknot is too short.)
Ram Man: (MOTU) A
The First Quarterly Item of 2013. I lucked out and got one before he sold out. (I was a picker by then). I must admit that he was the first figure of 2013 to be a victim of Captain Paintbrush. Because I had to tweak him more to my liking (a more 200X palette for him) His Articulation is a bit Limited, but SEPARATE LEGS, yo!
Fang Man: (filmation) B
The first "Screw you Cherry Pickers" Item of 2013. Since I was a Cherry Picker, I was screwed out of getting one. Funny thing is that even if I HAD been able to get one, he was going to be skipped by me. Now, How can I rate him if I don't have him? I can rate and comment on him, not review him.
The sculpt looks awesome. I love the tongue Articulation and his Extra accessory (the sword of the Ancients) His Weapon (The cattle Prod/Stun gun thing) looks rather nifty. The Infinity Wheel is OK-ish, but that's an accessory for Skeletor. While I don't care about the character, I must admit that he is cool looking, but 2 out of 3 accessories are NOT for him.
King He-Man: (Neitlichverse) D-
He's supposedly from the He-Ro: Son of He-Man era and 2013's Club Exclusive. Whole the Horsemen's sculpt is great as always, the Design of this figure is an Absolute Mess! He has a Blue Randor Cape with a weird dark brown "furry neckpiece" on the cape. Almost like the Furry end of an Eskimo hood pulled back. He-Man's crown has his Iron cross on it as if saying "This is He-Man's crown!"
He-Looks more like Sam Elliot than he does He-Man.
The Torso Armor is another Mess. A Modified He-Man Iron Cross with a Blue Randor gem adorns the center of this Gray and Gold Armor. The gold accent tries to evoke the Harness and the little red squares on it while being an Armor with abs at the bottom. If you take off his armor, He-Man has a Hulk Hogan Wifebeater in gold...
The "He-ro inspired Loincloth" has He-Ro's H on his crotch. While he runs around pantsless and wearing Gray He-ro greaves and Keldor feet.
Instead of Making He-Man his own character he's carrying tributes to other characters. Furry Cape as a tribute to King Grayskull, He-Ro inspired Armor, Loincloth and boots as a tribute to He-Ro. The Crown, Blue Cape and Blue Gem on his chest are tributes to Randor. The gold and blue colors are nod to He-Man's period in space, but it looks awful and more like a hodgepdoge than something well thought out. The Often mocked by me "Iron He-Man" suit would look far better on King He-Man than the suit he currently has.
If there is one good thing about him is the beat-up Techno sword.
Strobo: (MOTU Magazine) C+
The one character from the MOTU Magazine that was a Traveling Convention item. Most bought it for his Zodak head more than anything. He is a 90% Reuse. (Cape, Accessories being the new stuff)
When the figure came out, he only had a prop piece (The stand) and a head for Zodak. His gun was later delivered with a Weapon pak. At first he did nothing for me. Goofing off and calling him the white ranger was what got me more excited about him. (To the point that I wish for more enforcers in the next MOTU cartoon) If he had not had the Zodak head he would have been skippable.
Spirit of Hordak: (Neitlichverse, inspired by 200X)C
It's not Technically a Spirit, but more of an Astral Projection or Holographic Projection of Hordak.
That is me being more than fair. I've complained about the way he was distributed. I think he was overpriced for a translucent reissue with a lot less paint apps and accessories. Had this figure been released in 2010 or 2011 then it wouldn't feel that much like a rip-off. Heck, back then I would have bought 2 or more to use as Hordak's Kage Bunshiin no Jutsu... but with blood. He is one of the few 2013 items that have given me a degree of "Buyer's remorse".
Snake Face: (MOTU) B
The 2013 Snakeman and last item from the Cherry Picker version of me.
He also was a victim of Captain Paintbrush to make those snakes on him cooler. I do have a few issues with him being straight up vintage figure redone, since the 200X Elements from the waist down, would have made him cooler. Not to mention that the Staction's shield kicks all sorts of ass. I had to ditch his weapons and give him Whiplash's spork of doom so he could have something awesome.
The Fighting F-Men: (Monogram Model kits)F! (Whoa! I felt like Mr. Crocker there)
THE Controversial quarterly Item of 2013... The figures are nice on their own.(Dawg gets a B Shield Maiden gets a B Dittzroyer gets a C) It's the combination of these super obscure characters PLUS the Dramatic Price Increase of 2013 and tacked on a month with one figure that made these guys a $75 or $81 Punch in the wallet. I like Shield Maiden and Dawg better than Dittz (but I had to change Dawg and Dittz' names in order for them to work. I also had to discard Mattel's canon completely.) If it hadn't been for the Sub, I would have skipped them (and miss out on Shield Maiden)
Karatti: (New Adventures) B
Karatti came with The Fighting Foe Men, making the already hard $75-81 punch increase to a $100- $102 Punch in the wallet. As a "Sub-Lite" Subscriber I was hit the first month with a 4 Figure month...
He's not that Bad, but the Trap Jaw leg Reuse is starting to Piss me off. 2 out of 3 Space Mutants have Trap Jaw Legs... (When we get Flogg in 2014 that statistic will change to 2.5 out of 4) His weapons needed a bit more of a paintjob... His articulation was hindered by his armor and he cannot hold both weapons that well due to his Trap Jaw left hand's wide grip. He is not that bad, but he is not THE Most wanted NA Mutant.
Octavia: (Filmation) A-
The Filmation PoP Tentacular beauty of the Horde... Octavia's face is really pretty, which is weird since she's supposed to be the ugliest Female of the line... (Frosta wasn't dethroned). While she has a few articulation issues and a Ginormous Codpiece.
Clamp Champ: (MOTU) A
The Duncanslayer... He was the second "Screw you Cherry Pickers" of 2013. That is a shame since the body would have lent itself for a Sunman custom. While there are a few minor nitpicks like the Pincer feeling like a 3D Printed item with a gummy handle or the big gaping gap on the back of his armor; the figure is SOLID!
Galactic Protector He-Man: (New Adventures) A
31 years... It took Mattel 31 to make a He-Man that can hold his sword aloft...
The figure has a few issues (Head mostly hollow, some people don't like the way his wrists were made, the soft grip on his hands.) but it's a Decent representation of the New Adventures Era for He-Man. This figure was one of the ones I wanted to see made and with Skeletor in 2014 We have the main 2 on 2 out of 3 eras... Part of me wishes for repainted NA He-Man sword and Harness in cartoon colors.
Icer: (Filmation) C
The first Figure of Club Filmation, who I don't give a damn about as a character.
The sculpt is accurate to the character. I'll give them that. It's just that he does nothing to me as a character. The Staff of Avion is cool, but it's molded in light blue and painted gold... I've seen a few staff's flaking off and that's not cool!
Rokkon and Stonedar: (MOTU) D+
Hoo boy! This is the second time in 2013 that I've gotten a case of Buyer's remorse. I'm supposed to be wowed by them, but sadly, I'm underwhelmed. The sculpts are cool, but the rock pieces are big, clunky, awkward and limit poseability way too much. Removing them, kills the whole rock people thing they have going for them.
Castaspella: (PoP) B
Casta has a pretty face! She looks Filmation (Thankfully, so I didn't have to repaint her. She's one of those PoP exceptions where I prefer Filmation to the Toy) The Articulation being hindered on her legs cost her a little bit. Other than that she's the most solid POP Figure of 2014.She's a core POP member and that makes 2 out of 3 "Special Friends" according to Mattel.
Shokoti: (Filmation) C
I had to skip her for Logistical reasons. She was one of the two Club Filmation figures that I wanted.
She looks fine (Codpiece aside) but there's a few things that bug me. With all the rage of giving Females a "Spellcasting" hand, Shokoti can Dual wield weapons... Well, she could if she HAD ANY.
Her single accessory is a Single Darkling that has no stand to put it on. Then again if it HAD a stand it could not be plugged into it. So, OK, no stand, but why not 2 Darklings?
Shokoti is seen using a crystal skull in the toon, but she didn't get one of those here either.
Sky High w/Sky Sled: (MOTU Poster and MOTU) C (Figure) A (Vehicle)
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!! The two times this was offered, I was slightly Logistically impaired. The second time I was Geoblocked, so I didn't bother in the end. This made me regret Stonedar and Rokkon a LOT More... well, the Sky Sled half made me regret the comet warriors. The Skysled looks awesome! It kicks all sorts of ass and it's a shame what Mattel did to it. Pairing it up with a Unique character so army building these is pretty much impossible. I believe that they could have sold a set of 2 sleds easily.
On Sky High... He's OK-ish. I like his Wingblade!! He looks cool. Though he reuses the Trap Jaw legs, he seems like a suitable base for a Custom Gar Cosmic enforcer (if you use the Fuchsia Armor from WP#1)
Batros: (Filmation) B-
I skipped him... He's one of the cooler Club Filmation characters but Mattel committed the Ultimate Sin for him... No BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKS! Or Reusing Snake Face's snakes in white to make his Snake Magic. He's not a bad figure...
Nepthu: (Filmation) F-
What? It's obvious that I despise Nepthu with a passion! OK, I'll be "fair" and "unbiased"...
The Zoar is cool, except the yellowing that makes him look as if he was made out of a yellow crystal.
The Figure is Meh, at best. I've ranted a lot already about him and I may get him if he's sold at a ridiculously low price next Black Friday.
Weapon Pak#4: (various) B+
Kowl here steals the show. The reduced paint apps on the weapons (Granamyr, HH, TJ, He-Man, SLL, Strobo, Netossa weapons i'm looking at you) did hurt the score a bit. Kowl makes up for it even if he;s bizarrely made in Vintage Toy Colors.
Lord Dactus: (200X) B
Ah, the oft ignored Lord of the Speleans. The issues that some have is that he is "Too 200X" when he is not. Others have the issue that he is not 200X enough. My main issue with him is balancing his weight WITHOUT rocking ankles.While I'm a 200X fan, I could have lived without Dactus. But since he came in the sub, I do not regret getting him. He is a lot cooler in person.
Horde Troopers: (MOTU)A+
My childhood dream has finally been completed. I FINALLY OWN a Horde Trooper (4 to be precise). These guys are nearly 100% new tooling. They are awesome. I had to tweak mine to remove the Battle Damage and I wish these guys had come out in 2011 instead of the Palace Guards... that way I would have gotten More... Mattel not making more of the H.Troopers is a boneheaded move indeed.
Mantenna: (MOTU) A+
MY Hordesman has finally arrived and I'm glad they weren't slaves to vintage when translating him into a MOTUC. Yes, the toy has a few issues (The black plug on the mouthpiece breaking and the red paint on his neck sticking to the head and showing the black neck.) but Super poseable Mantenna with 4 Separate legs!!
Geldor: (Mini comics) C
I'm not too excited for this guy. There were better choices to be made with the figure that were not made. (Glass warping hands, the urine-like color on some glasses). The figure is decent. Not my cup of tea, but the new parts work on him.
Sea Hawk: (Filmation) B
We know that I'm not a fan of the Pirate (Team Bow FTW) but I NEED Sea Hawk in my Rebellion Roster. He's the THIRD "Screw you Cherry Pickers" of 2013. I still believe that making the Second most wanted Filmation Rebel a Sub Exclusive is a dick move. I have mentioned his issues already (Mostly the Chubby vest) but overall he's a decent figure and important character for PoP fans.
Standor: (NEITLICHVERSE) C
Excelsior! the Controversial act of Butt Kissing made into plastic. The lack of weapons hurts him a lot. Some may find Stan's likeness not being that accurate, which would be correct. a 100% Accurate to Stan's face would not work on the Buff buck... Though I'd love to have a scrawny Standor to use as Depowered Standor.
Strong-Or: (Filmation) C
This is another Filmation character that I don't give a flying feather about.The arm looks cool and the gun is nice, but I have very little to say about him
Plundor: (Filmation) C-
Silly Rabbit, Tricks are for hos and Trix are for kids! Apparently mine should've taken a left turn at Albuquerque... While I don't think that Plundor should have been on the main sub, better him than Nepthu... He is an iffy choice (like Nepthu) but since I am getting one, I have to live with him. The Gummy Ax worries me.
Now, the Big one...
CASTLE GRAYSKULL: (MOTU) A-
I know what you're thinking." You can't rate the castle fairly if youdon't have one. The photos don't do it justice." I have to say yes, you're right. But I still stand by my belief that the castle is too small and a tad too expensive. (It's not THAT Big compared to the 200X Castle. Sure, THE one side is deeper than the 200X one, but for the asking price I'm staying with the 200X one) Size "nitpick" aside. My MAIN Issues against the castle are:
-Dungeon/Trap
-Wind Raider Hole
-Throne
I'm pleasantly surprised that a MOTUC Grayskull exists, but it needed to be 20% cooler. I was even more excited to PLAY with one, but the issues with the castle are more glaring in person. Some people can ignore these flaws, but I can't. With that said, the castle IS AWESOME. It's a shame that the customers have to rely on third party custom items, butcher a Sorceress figure and/or their castles to fix some of these flaws.
I'm pleasantly surprised that a MOTUC Grayskull exists, but it needed to be 20% cooler. I was even more excited to PLAY with one, but the issues with the castle are more glaring in person. Some people can ignore these flaws, but I can't. With that said, the castle IS AWESOME. It's a shame that the customers have to rely on third party custom items, butcher a Sorceress figure and/or their castles to fix some of these flaws.
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