Heh heh! The Mayans were wrong...

Another day, another bullet dodged... We survived the last big "End of the World" scare.

I survived The Thundarr Apocalypse, Judgement Day, Hercolubus, The KY Scare... I mean the Y2J  Y2K scare. I was left behind on 2 allegedly fake Raptures... Now I can add Mayan Apocalypse to this list... I suppose that this would be the time to celebrate... Saturday and then the Sunday that comes afterwards!

Speaking of Hercolubus... Look what I found!

That's a piece of the Hercolubus II: El Exodo by Joseph Lando... The guy from El Poder de Shakti...

This guy...

but even better here's THIS!

The Aliens are hacking Youtube and vandalizing the video! In any case we Survived! We can laugh at these failed prophesies... also the weird ass harness that Joseph Lando is wearing.

Looking at the 30th Anniversary Figures.

Going on a written pseudo- review this time... Swift, easy and my voice is a little hoarse now...

I said HOARSE... not HORSE!
I'm giving one LAST LOOK at the 30th anniversary line... I know I kinda made one already, but that was before I had all the figures.

This is a bit too unfair... Then again it would still be unfair if it was everyone vs Castle Grayskullman!

So let's Start with The 80s Create a Character Winner: the Fearless Photog. It sounds like a Review, but this is not a review. The reviews are going to be linked throughout this post... so remember to open the links in a new tab...

These two make a perfect team: The Peeping Toms

Eternia's Paparazzi have nothing on Photoneck

Nathan Bitner's creation is a bit Bizarre... He's a dude with a camera head that weakens his enemies and traps them on the TV on his chest... Reality shows before Reality shows... I'm glad to have gotten him on Cyber Monday! Even if it's just to make Peeping Tom jokes.

Next on our list is a guy... well he is not a guy... He's a Homo Draconicus... and

That was a bit harsh!

Even his name sounds like a Mega Man character!

To be Honest, I wasn't looking forward to this guy at first. to me he kinda looked like one of those knock-off lines from the 80s. The Four Horsemen did their magic and once I got him in hand, it all changed... He improved even more when the Weapons pack gave him his missing accessories! I LOVE Draego-Man even if he's a Doucehbag...

Next comes one figure that I've talked a LOT about... Scott Neitlich's creation, The Mighty Spector.

I can't have him with that Deadpool mask!!

I guess I can say I have a love/hate relationship with the character. A few Tweaks here and there make him a bit more bearable... 

He can get Twinkies whenever he wants... Sneaky bastard!

Mainly, eliminating the Deadpool mask... Cause Chimichangas and Bea Arthur do not exist on Eternia! Seriously though, his Facelessness  and Modern Earth Sci-fi Spy look makes him feel a bit out of place with the rest of MOTU... He'd fit better in Primus with the New Adventures folks though. Seriously though, I've abused the comedic potential with this guy...

Now here comes a character that I LOATHE...

I still dislike SLL even if I was objective in the Review.

Sir-Laser-Lot, Geoff Johns' creation, who I'm not a fan of. Man-E-Faces Shoulders and Trap Jaw Biceps would have made him a bit more appealing for me. I'm not going to lie, his mace is cool! If it wasn't for Cyber Monday he would have never "graced" my shelf.

I can't be the only one who thought of this pair like this!

Also the superman-esque color scheme and the Hasbro Toy face are major turnoffs for me with this character! Need to make a Cobra commander pic with him soon...

Next comes a guy who males Cutman not look ridiculous... and Sir-Loser-Lot look cool!

It's Mr.Microman-wannabe! Speaking of Microman

All we need now is blonde monkeys!

As you can see I'm not that fond of Cy-Chop either... It's mostly due to the uselessness of Cy-Chop outside
of his Theoretical action feature (spring loaded "shears") aside from that, he's not that great... I still haven't even put him with the Horde's temporary display until  Granamyr arrives, then they'll have to migrate somewhere else.

But now here comes the bookend to the 30th. A figure that, like Photog, I've beaten their only joke to the death... Well, Castle Grayskullman has a second joke, but it would be in poor taste if I post awkward moment pictures of CGM, King Grayskull and Skeletor whenever the latter rambles about wanting to be inside Grayskull... SO, Here we go with another Grayskullmania reference!

I am a real Eternian! Fight for the rights of every man!

That's all the figures of the 30th Anniversary line...
I love Draego and Castle Grayskullman. I Like Photog and Spector... So my loathing is saved for Sir-Loser Laser-Lot and Cy-Suck Chop!

It Came from the Toy Chest: Mattel DID keep their promise 20 odd years later

And I'm tackling the FIRST of the 30th Anniversary Figures last... but if you do it like Spector all this wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff is more confusing.

In any case that's the video review for The Fearless Photog...

It Came From the toy Chest: How does he eat, pee or poop?

Cause he has Gigantic Hedge Trimmers for hands... I'm tackling Cy-Chop, the fifth figure of the MOTU 30th Anniversary Sub-Line!

It came From the toy Chest: He is Hal-El of the House of Kal-Jordan

Eh... I uh, have a Review for another MOTU 30th Figure... MY Cyber Monday Package has arrived so let's start the review Marathon before The End of The World...
 Long live Sir-Loser-Lot!

It Came From the Toy Chest: This is going to be a bit awkward for Skeletor now...

Since now Castle Grayskull has suffered from a case of anthropomorphism...

Here's the Castle Grayskullman Review, brotha!

It Came From the Toy chest: Rohad Who?

It's Dekker Time here at the House of Rants and here is the Dekker Review...
Yes, it's a Video Review...

It Came from the Toy Chest... I am not whining I am complaining

And the size of my complaints are even BIGGER!! Since you provably have seen the Fluttershy Review (Rarity was made first, but published later due to the Fluttershy Video Experiment!) Now Rarity is whining... not really but I needed an excuse to post a Rarity Whining video

I need a Fashion Style Scale Spikey-Wikey!

So, I have a Fashion Style Rarity... One Applejack and I complete the set... no, that Fashion Style Celestia doesn't count!
She's pretty much normal Rarity, but bigger. the only different thing is the accessories, which tend to be frilly, girly stuff that little girls would enjoy, but not me... Also she has a saddle... for someone to ride her... Fashion Scale Spike?

That's enough small talk about Miss Wa Haha!

I really love her Wa Haha! So now let's move on with the Ratings! As Always 1 = crap and 5 = awesome.

Articulation:
Rarity only has 1 Point of Articulation and is due to the rooted hair. I already complained about the Ponies' lack of articulation before. Almost 30 years and no improvement in the POA!As an Action Figure collector Rarity would get a 1 here... but since it's the MLP Standard that would translate to a 4 in a MLP collector scale.

Paint and sculpt:

So many Barrettes... 5 of them... Then again she IS Rarity.

Well there's not much to talk here... She's pretty much molded in White and the extra stuff is tampographed. Her eyes are tampographed and Look like Rarity's unlike rainbow Dash's too sweet and gentle eyes. Her sculpt is similar to the standard MLP stuff...The rooted hair makes her look Completely NOT show Accurate...she's got two different shades of Purple AND it looks a bit off...

See, I wasn't joking about the Saddle... Wait you could see it
on the MOC pic...

4.0 for Rarity!
Accessories:
Here's where the Rarities show their differences. The Fashion Pony has lots of Barrettes, Horse, uh shoes... her comb, her saddle, a necklace and a bracelet. Everything suits her since she's the Fashionista Unlike most of the other Fashion Style Ponies, I MAY do something abnormal...

 
 EXACTLY! So I may dress her up every now and then. I have to say that Rarity gets a 4.5 cause I kinda wish the accessories she has were more show accurate.

Overall:
Rarity gets a 3.17 but if I use the Pony Curve she gets a 4.17 and that's a pretty good score. While Rarity is not my Favorite Pony, her accessories suit her a lot better than what the other ponies have.

Rarity Body Care Products, because She is Rarity!

BONUS Review!!
MLP: Bath on the Go kit... Yes, it's an apple scented shampoo, body wash and body lotion set in a cute Rarity bag. It smells like Apples... In fact I smell so much like Apples that I wanna chop myself and make an apple pie!

It Came from the Toychest: In the House of Burgers only the Randor is King!

Obvious Burger King Joke alert! King Randor is the next victim of my Guerrilla style video reviews...

Next review will be a written one that I had in the back burner for a while... or a Pink Aisle video... still thinking which one to release first. For now Enjoy the King Randor Review.

It Came From the Toy Chest: Taking a day off at the Spa!

No, it's not a Barbie Review, but it IS from the Pink Aisle...

I'm still debating if going to the video league or staying on the written league...

It Came from the Toy Chest: My Tree is even bigger

If you're a follower of this blog, you'd probably guess what I mean by that...

If not, then look at the video...
So, by Bigger Tree I must mean a BIGGER FLUTTERSHY!

Yes, I have a Fashion Style Fluttershy... which is similar to normal Fluttershy, only bigger!

So, let's move on to the ratings part... wait a second!? Where are all the pics and funny comments and all that?

I tried a video review... for a change. So there you have a quickie of what she's got.

Now if you are too lazy or just want the ratings:
Here they are:
2.67 normal curve 3.67 using the Pony curve. Obviously having 1 POA hurt her. Not being as Accurate to the toon did hurt her a little and the worst offender was her inaccurate Angel. (which is most likely a repaint of her small scale animal friend.)

It Came From the Toy Chest: No wonder Shredder lost all the time!

I was going to make these next two reviews as individuals, but you can't split Rocksteady and Bebop.

This one I DID Have as a kid!

What can I say about these two buffoons? They're the 2 top underlings of 80s Shredder and two of the earliest bad guys in the line. They were exclusive  to the 80s cartoon and they don't show up on the TMNT game that was "25 years" in the Making...

My Friend Leo had this one... but lacked Rocksteady.

 Now I rectified a mistake from my childhood and got myself a Bebop... I wish I could find a Shredder... I got me a Rocksteady too cause Rocksteady and Bebop go well together like Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

Bebop's gear... a lot less than the Toitles...

 So, let's take a look at them!
Obviously they all have their distinct buck with no shared parts... Only the Turtles get to share parts and that's on their default looks. This line is made mostly of new sculpts... THERE IS SOME Parts that are shared, but like I said before, it's mostly on the Turtles and the occasional accessory.

Melee weapon, gun and makeshift shield... both of them have the same things!

 I'd like to point out that most non-Turtle characters don't get that many accessories, as you can see with Rocksteady and Bebop.

I keep forgetting the insane amount of detail that these figures have!

These guys have a LOT of detail going on... Especially Bebop. he has a leg brace, bunch of stitches on his pants. His jacket is frayed at the edges and his Shoulderpads have turtle bones dangling from them. While Rocksteady doesn't have as much details as Bebop, his body has some wrinkles and bumps reminiscent of a Rhino's skin.

**** You! Tokka and Rhazar! Also the 2012 mutants the dog and the fish dude...
Rocksteady and Bebop is where it's at!

I guess I should just rate them now... I must remind everyone that these are 80s toys, so technically their score will be rather low if compared to a modern era figure such as Marvel Legends, or MOTU Classics.

Articulation:
Rocksteady:

He has 7 points of articulation and his neck articulation is severely limited.
Bebop:Like Rocksteady he has 7 points of Articulation. The neck articulation is not limited, but the way his head is positioned his head looks weird when turned.
80s score: 4.5 for Rocksteady 5.0 for Bebop
2012 Score: 1.5 for Rocksteady 2.0 for Bebop
Paint and Sculpt:
Rocksteady:
Like I said earlier, Rocksteady is less detailed in sculpt than Bebop. but he's got some nice detials on him that make him pop! He's pretty much sculpted in the appropriate colors and has minimal paint applications. That translates into clean lines and no paint mess. His left Eye is a bit sloppy, but it's noticeable if I look at it up close.
Bebop:

Bebop has a LOT of details in his sculpt that are almost unnoticeable due to his minimalist paintjob. Sadly, Paintwise Bebop is not that great. Most of the issues are on his face. I like the idea of having the pinkish tones from his snout slowly fading into the brown of his body, but the way the paint is applied kinda looks like Bebop over-powdered his nose! There is also a bit of slop around the edges of all the areas where he has a chain.
80s score: 5.0 for Rocksteady 4.5 for Bebop
2012 Score: 3.0 for Rocksteady 2.5 for Bebop

Accessories:
Here I don't have to separate them since they have the same type and amount of accessories.
A blade for Close Quarters combat, a Gun for Long range and a makeshift shield to defend. Sure it's a LOT less than the Turtles but normally non-turtle characters don't get as many accessories.
80s score:  4.5
2012 Score: 1.5

Overall: 

Rocksteady AND Bebop make a nice set for old-school TMNT fans. Sure they are not as articulated as modern figures, but I'd rather have them than the Fish guy and Dog guy from the new toyline, cause Nostalgia... and I wish we could get updated versions of Rocksteady and Bebop...
I'd say that Rocksteady gets an 80s 4.67 vs a 2012 2.0
Bebop gets an 80s 4.67 vs a 2012 2.0

 Like I said before, the 2012 scores are a bit low because I'm comparing them to the normal standards of a 2012 figure.
 
Recreating this was the best part of having Rocksteady and Bebop (and April) as a kid!

April is tied with Cooking Twine, just like I remember...

Thanksgiving was Thursday, then it was Black Friday... we we we so excited

Thanksgiving is already over... So I spared you of the Horrible video by the Creepy Rapping Stalker from Friday dressed as a Turkey hanging out with a bunch of kids at one of the kids' house... There is no adult supervision aside from the Turkey-Man...


Patrice Wilson does it again! He ruins the life of another 12 year old girl in order to become famous as a producer. I mean look at the video above and compare it to Rebecca Black's Friday...

OK so you saw these two videos and two things are probably going through your mind:

Gee! These two videos are very similar... also F*** you, Nefty for making me look at these crappy videos made by the same creepy dude!

Sorry for the double dose of ARK Music Factory crap, but after Thursday it comes Friday... and what's on a Thursday? It's Thanksgiving!

I feel bad for the girl on this video... The Thanksgiving one... Rebecca Black was a fluke that got such massive amounts of hatred, most of it undeserved, but sadly, that's the nature of the beast. Now, with this song, Patrice Wilson KNEW what he was doing... Can you see what his plan is? OK I'm starting to sound like the host of one of those Pre-School shows like Dora the Explorer...
He's trying to recreate Friday, or at least the media storm that Friday created. Now all of the hatred this song (It's Thanksgiving) and the girl singing it are getting are part of Patrice Wilson's Master plan! (Which obviously involves getting a buttload of money from It's Thankgsgiving merchandise and all that... like ringtones and crap) Meanwhile, the girl singing will only get massive amounts of hatred and possibly death threats like it happened with Rebecca Black.

Also, if the Mayans are right, the world ends on a Friday... Fun, fun, fun?

 But before Thanksgiving, Mattel had a "Better than Black Friday" Sale. It started on Wednesday, it ended today. Like Last Year's Black Friday to Cyber Monday sale, Mattel had some items at a discounted price. Others not so much. Like an idiot I missed out on Temple of Darkness Sorceress, that was supposed to come in December, but the guys at Mattel thought that December was too overloaded and sold her on this sale without any advice. She sold out and she's gone! It kinda sucks, but at least I have regular flavor sorceress and maybe 2 falcons to repaint. Yesterday was Cyber Monday and US Residents got like super mega bonuses if they shipped their stuff through USPS... 50% off in shipping and almost everything was 30% off. As an added bonus there was a 15% discount on checkout... I got myself a Sir Laser Lot... Cause he looks like Cobra Commander and some other stuff that will be revealed at its proper It came from the Toy Chest. I got one HELL of a deal on the Matty stuff. Sadly no Zodac... That's one gap that I haven't been able to fill yet!

Dental Hygiene has become 20%  cooler! My Little Pony Great Smile Set is here! It contains all you see here. I wonder if it's only Twilight Sparkle or if there is one for each of the Mane 6!

Dear Princess Celestia: Today I learned that Dental care is Magic, Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle

It's really cute... but I kinda find it a bit weird having Twilight Sparkle looking at me while I'm brushing my teeth. Then again I'd say the same thing if I had He-Man and/or She-Ra looking at me to make sure I brushed my teeth!

It's official: The MLP:FIM people are checking the fansites... I mean, they HAVE to otherwise, how can you explain this:

The Bronies' hatred towards G3 is kept mostly on boards. Somepony had to be checking MLP fansites to notice that... and how about this:

I mean really... If Pinkamena returns and asks Rainbow Dash to make Cupcakes with her and RD runs away, then we know they're throwing bones at the bronies.

It Came From The Toy Chest: Adoptive Father, Future Dead Snakeman, knows Adam is He-Man

Who's your daddy?

I shall correct a mistake from the past and Review Man-at-Arms: Original Flavor. Thanks to the guys at the Dubious Zone. So, Duncan was one of the earlier figures originally released before I began collecting MOTUC. My first encounter with Duncan was on 2010 when he was reissued. I did not take pics of him cause I opened the heck out of him. His Techno Sword eventually lost the silver paintjob and was repainted for Faker. His mustache head got a Filmation paintjob and I stole a Place Guard's right armor to turn him into Filmation MAA His vintage toy head ended up on a Palace Guard who I made the Drill Sergeant for the Eternos Palace Guards. Then when Snakeman-at-Arms showed up, the Filmation MAA got the Snake Head and the SMAA buck got the Stache-at-arms head. what a mess, right? So, let's see what Duncan brings to the game. Do I really need to explain Why Man-at-Arms is Important?

He's on the same body as He-Man, but Painted in Man-at-Arms colors. So If you want to make a Jungle Camo He-Man, pop the He-Man head and Harness on the MAA buck and you have He-Man on a green bodysuit.

Sorceress is very happy or confused since she doesn't know: WHO IS TEELA'S DADDY?

The new stuff he brought to the plate:
HEADS: Stache and no Stache
MAA Arm armor 2 pieces, one for the shoulder and bicep and the second piece covers the forearm. (Which must be removed if you want to give him the arm cannon from the Weapons pack!)
Torso Armor: 2 Pieces. The back piece of the armor is a detachable piece that you can attach his weapons to keep then on him without him holding anything.
Leg Armor, Removable and completes the Vintage MAA Toy look.
He's got the MAA mace
He's got the Castle Grayskull Weapons Rack Gun (Duncan brought it first on MOTUC)
He's got the CG WR Short Sword
He's got a Silver version of the Techno Sword!
13 new pieces on this guy... and some of these saw some reuse in the future.  Also 4 WEAPONS! Remember the days where figures came with accessories and were not cut to sell weapons packs? Duncan is a grim reminder of those days... When Mattel allowed the 4Horsemen to go BEYOND recreating a super articulated version of the 80s toy...

So, let's get it on with the Ratings part! 1= crap and 5= awesome!

Articulation:
Same old MOTUC Articulation. The chest armor is a bit tough and restricts the ab crunch a little bit.
4.5
Paint and Sculpt:
I HAD to take a look at the Vintage Man-at-Arms (thanks to He-Man.org cause my Vintage MAA died a long time ago... never use nail paint to add a mustache to a soft head vintage MOTU figure) HOLY Crap! the horsemen pretty much did ALL the vintage details and enhanced them a bit for this figure! Except the hair under the helmet... They never seem to do that, but in this case the figure looks so much better without it!
They also went beyond the original design and gave him a "backpack" of sorts. He has a non removasble satchel (with small tools and or a possible Medi-Kit, two tools and a small ammo crate. He can also hold his mace AND the two extra weapons from the Castle Grayskull rack that he got! (the short sword and ray pistol... possible nods to the sword he used at times in Filmation and the Freeze Ray from Prince Adam No More)
Paintwise, he's pretty good. (a bit of issue with the paint mask on the Fur on his armor, but that's a common error with all MAAs) 4.5

Meanwhile his Snakeman version only has a Tambourine!

Accessories:
Holy crap! We have a LOT here!
Mace, Gun, Short Sword, 3 pieces of additional armor... If capes are an accessory, I'm counting the heck out of his arm and leg armor! Also the Techno Sword!! Seems that Duncan started the tradition of bringing stuff for other people...
5.0

Overall:
4.67 for Man-at-Arms! Which is pretty good!

 I mean HOLY Crap! He comes with a buttload of stuff and THEN SOME. Not to mention that he has 2 HEADS so you can choose your look, or pop his Stache head on the Snake Man-at-Arms body and make 200X MAA, or you can steal a palace guard's arm and leg armor to make a Toy/Filmation Hybrid. Or if you wanna go with a more Filmation accurate look you can use the chest armor on the palace guard buck and only use the arm armor to get a more Filmation Accurate version... Paint may be required for a Full Filmation look on him. the guy is FREAKING Versatile... You can also use the spare head from Dekker (Review, hopefully coming between late November or early December) on this body to make a Young Dekker: Man-at-Arms (He was Duncan's Predecessor)
Did I forgot to say how much Duncan rules!

All I can hear is Man-at-Arms...

Odds and ends Pre Turkey Day 2012

We're one month until the End of the World and all that, so we're having a Pre-Thanksgiving odds and ends here at the House of rants... (mostly cause I've not done too many rants that do not involve toys.) So, let's start with Katniss Everdeen rear-ending a car cause of Honey Boo Boo. I mean really, she thought she saw Honey Boo Boo and rear-ended another car?

All my knowledge of Honey Boo Boo comes from this picture and from what little I've glimpsed when skipping TLC when channel surfing.

I dunno which is worse, Crashing a car, or Crashing a Car cause of Reality TV... I think that playing Katniss would've, I dunno, make here DETEST Reality TV? But what do I know, Actors are a cowardly and superstitious lot...

Speaking of TLC and the lame crap they have now... Hmmm TLC = This Lame Crap! I KNEW it!
I miss the time when that Network was The Learning Channel... and you learned stuff. Now we have crap like Krang and Android Body, the whole Jon and Kate plus 8 crud, or Toddlers and Tiaras, which was K&AB's origin, or the worst of them all I didn't know I was Pregnant (now off the air according to the Internet.) I mean How in the heck can't a woman NOT KNOW she's pregnant... From educational to Trash...
Here's a video from the OTHER TLC... I remember back in the 90s when they showed up and My good friend Gerry was trying to get me into them he was all like:
"Nefty, dude, you got to check out TLC!"
my honest reply was:
"The Learning Channel?"
-"No you asswipe, this group called TLC!"

Then I heard Waterfalls and that's the only thing I remember about the other TLC...

Evil Lyn, is that you? Oh, it's just ANOTHER lady who was arrested for boning a Skeletor Skeleton.
In that case it would be Evil Lyn boning Scareglow, but still... it's kinda creepy boning a Skeleton... Insert Mandatory Marc Anthony joke here...

I dunno if this guys is stupid or has adamantium testes. Going to an airport while wearing a watch that looks like a bomb detonator. He should have gone with the TNT vest to make things more entertaining!

Looks like Grayskull made it... Bring on Snake Mountain!

Mattel actually received enough preorders for Grayskull and its coming on late 2013 (If the world doesn't end... Mayan Calendar ending on 2012 and all that.) If you haven't preordered one yet, go to Matty Collector and do so...  

While I have not preordered one (Logistics as of the time of this article, space and other issues prohibit me from doing so) I'm excited that this is happening... Don't get me wrong. If I had the resources, space, etc. I'd buy the Heck out of it... but I honestly cannot commit to something if I'm uncertain on my ability to comply with my part of the deal (that's mostly why I do not sub)

This is the only way I can describe the feeling... Not just cause Castle Grayskull got made, but what's the name of the playset that FOLLOWED Grayskull in the Vintage Line?

Snake Mountain: choose your version of the imprisoned Snake God

Motherlovin' Snake Mountain!! Hopefully this Snake Mountain will ignore the vintage toy and look more like the Cartoon Snake Mountain (Either Filmation, MYP, or a hybrid version is fine by me!) Cause let's face it: The Vintage playset was cool, albeit a bit empty on the inside and was a bit lacking on the SNAKE part of Snake Mountain... It was more like big stone Demon Face and other stuff Mountain, but yes, there is a Snake on it... I know the line is Nostalgia fueled, but Snake Mountain DEMANDS that Mattel make a REAL snake Mountain, emphasis on the SNAKE part of the Mountain.

Now I know that some of you might be thinking:

If you're such a big She-Ra fan, why aren't you promoting a Crystal Castle?

Ah, I was expecting that. I love She-Ra even more than I love He-Man, but speaking from a canonical point (based on Filmation mostly) NO ONE KNOWS about the Crystal Castle. Obviously the Neitlichverse downplays Etheria's role when the Rebellion moved their war to Eternia after Hordak went there.)

Now with that said, there's the matter of Barbarian Barbie Dreamhouse vs Weird She-Ra Headdress tower... The strong fear of the color pink that some collectors have... 

My name is Pinkie Pie and I'm here to say:
Don't fear me cause I'm pink! Your masculinity is not diminished if you look at me.
\

Crystal Castle: Fear it! It will make your wee-wee fall off and turn you into a little girl.
If you believed that story, you may have some serious issues.

Where was I? Some people do not enjoy Princess of Power, that I respect. The only problem is that it seems that the bulk of the MOTUC collector base is afraid of She-Ra and pals. They fear her so much that they want to keep her as far away from Appearing on the Castle Grayskull boxart... and this would make getting a Crystal Castle an uphill battle that will most likely lose.
Now since canonically, the Crystal Castle isn't important, it gives Mattel an excuse to skip it, (while dodging the real reason which is to avoid the wrath of those MOTUC fans who fear She-Ra and pals.) There are more chances of us getting Eternos Palace than getting a Crystal Castle... and that is the sad truth.

Back to Snake Mountain. We need this MORE THAN Grayskull, and we need it to look more like the cartoon than the vintage toy. Since Snake Mountain seems the most likely choice for the Second Playset, I say BRING IT! (But seriously, Mattel should consider making a Crystal Castle... or at least an interior Light Hope diorama... if the castle is too "eww! girly!" for them to make.)

It came from the Toy Chest: Mattel's dirty tricks or love for the fans?

Weapons Pack 3 is here everypon everybody! The most expensive weapons pack yet, but it has the second least amount of stuff, at the same time it has a lot of the items that were cut from some figures... NO SPECTOR! You get no whip! Go cry in the corner, you big purple baby! That I love...

#3 is here or is it #4 cause of the Rack?

I will go in depth with each item on the pictorial part of the review.
Clawful Mace
Clawful shield
Carnivus Sword
Carnivus Shield
Teela Shield
Teela Snake Headdress
Teela Staff
Teela Sword
Zoar
Draego Whip
Draego Shield
Draego Metal Sword
Keldor Swords
Man-at-Arms 200X Handcannon
Horde Prime Staff

17 items for $18 + Shipping. 8 out of those are newly tooled items. Let's take a look at them before passing on  a verdict.

Difference is so minimal...

Let's start with Clawful's mace first... The biggest fail of ALL the Weapons packs... That includes Whiplash's erotic spork of doom! I mean LOOK AT IT! It's pretty much the same thing as Clawful's Normal Mace... Had it been red or aquamarine like the shield, now THAT would be a different story.

now this is more like it!

Next up is Clawful's Sheild repainted in Aquamarine or Turquoise... not sure of the exact color, but it's a blueish green or greenish blue... It's NOT RED like the original Clawful shield!! I'd say that it would look good on Dekker!

Let's move on to the Icy Sword of Omens or Carnivus sword repaint. It seems that this weapon could also fit Dekker. It's not that bad, but it isn't that great either.

Shield looks kinda Hylian-ish... The sword looks more Sword of Omens-like now...

The Repainted Carnivus shield has the same issue as the Sword... If King Miro doesn't come with cool weapons, he'll probably get these.

I'm also using her Red Headdress.

Let's move on to the Teela stuff and start with her shield. As you can see on the pic above, her bedsheet look can be made with a Normal Teela and the stuff in the WP#3! To be honest this is my second choice of usage for this. The shield is meant for Yellow Evil Lyn. (as a nod to a piece of vintage artwork depicting Evil Lyn with a shield) The blues don't match that well...

I normally don't wear women's clothes but when I do I wear Teela's

As shown in the pic above, there is a third figure who can wear the snake headdress... Which is now more Vintage Toy-like... and come on! This Snake Headdress is suited for the Purple one! which makes this the Unofficial Spector Variant: snake Armor Spector... His eyes match the position for fangs! 5.0 in all accounts!

I like both versions of the staff... my second red staff may "accidentally" fall in a bottle of rubbing alcohol so I can have a blue staff as well.

The staff is red for the same reason as the red Snake Headdress. I must warn you that the staff is blue, but painted red... It can chip off paint and reveal the color beneath.

The 200X Sword in red seems to have 2 functions:
to have a vintagized version of that sword, and/or give Battleground Teela a less generic sword for her.


The next Item is the "white Zoar" The link on "white" is Mattel's reason for not using white... I disagree with it, but it's better than the bothersome canned answers by the Neitlich...

Well... Everybody's heard about the bird
Bird bird bird, bird is the word

This Zoar is the "cut accessory" from Temple of Darkness Sorceress. If you don't have him, he'll probably go to the spare parts bin/baggie/whatever, or become someone else's pet...
Now we've ended the repainted stuff and enter uncharted territory: NEW ITEMS!!
Let's begin the new stuff Marathon with things that belong to a douche... and I mean Draego-Man... and you could have guessed since the items are following the list...

The Flaming Whip of Draego-Man: while stiff like Demo-Man's Flail it has a LOT of Personality. I'd Love to see a fully extended whip as well.

Back to work! Make sure those shoulders are NOT reversed!

Shield looks cool from the front.

 Draego-Man's Shield... Now this is a mixed bag item for me. It looks cool with the flames and all that and without them. but I'm not a fan on how the flames work. As you'll see on the pic above.

Flame On! Flame Off!

Now his Flamed Off Sword... This sword is awesome... and a bit generic, so if you got multiple packs, you could arm evil warriors with them... I'm almost tempted to give them to my Keldor... (I bought 2 WP)
Speaking of Keldor... He Finally gets his swords... and I HATE THEM!! I can accept the handles being different than the 200X version, but what I detest is the way they are put together... It's a hot mess of pegs and holes and to make things worse the copper side is unpainted purple. On the other hand this hot mess of blades allows me to do THIS!!

Compare 200X vs MOTUC... The bigger one is NOT MOTUC!

but in any case it's the Classicized 200X sword!

Anime Hyper Detail for the win!

I may keep the 200X ones on Keldor while Skeletor uses the MOTUC ones!

 Now riding on the Anime Hyper Detailed bandwagon, Man-at-Arms get his 200X Cannon! Holy crap!

Until Dekker comes and I steal his mace, my 200X Battle Glove MAA  is weaponless.

I think I'll take over your world, but first I'm gonna hit the slopes!

Now for the Final Accessory: Horde Prime's Staff! This article was cut out and now completes the Mecha Koi! Since I have two my HP carries them both, though he looks like he's going to be skiing down some slopes soon instead of looking menacing....

Now the Ratings part. Let's be honest There is no Articulation here... But I need to split this review in 2.
Repaints vs New Parts!

Repaints:
Paint and Sculpt:
Sculpt well, we've seen these pieces before, the Paint is where the action is at.
While these pieces have slightly less paint apps on the weapons vs their original parts. On the other hand, I haven't been tempted on calling Captain Paintbrush for the weapons (aside my second white Zoar) 4.0

New Parts:
Paint and Sculpt:
The Sculpt on these new parts is amazing: The paint is pretty sweet. If I was to complain about something is the way Design chose to attach the Keldor blades or the Fire on Draego's Shield.
3.5
Overall: 3.75 due to the combined powers of repaints and new parts.
Now this is what bugs me. I get that adding the Keldor swords that weren't made is a cool thing, but Horde Prime and Draego-Man got cut items that made it in the pack. I fear that Mattel may do figures with tons of stuff to then cut stuff so they can sell more weapons packs. I hope that this was an exception and not the norm.

It came form the toy chest: GAK is back! wait that's not it!

 I'm reviewing Ms. Lyra Heartstrings... Another

Small sized Equine of my possession.

Lyra sits strangely for a Pony...

It's the green-ish one... the one with the Lyre Cutie Mark

A Background pony got invited? Better than TG&PT Wait! She's a Bridlemaid!

Let's cut all the chit-chat. Lyra is a Unicorn from Canterlot. She somehow ends up in Ponyville and is seen often in the background... From her first appearance we know she knows Twilight Sparkle. She Mysteriously ends up in Ponyville after Twilight Sparkle was sent there by The Troll Princess, Celestia.
can we say STALKER? She's popular with the fans cause she sits like a human.

Here's Lyra Loose in all of her Pony Glory!

She has no presents for the Bride or Groom, only a pic of the Mane 6... Stalker anyone?

Ratings part: 1 is crap and 5 is SO AWESOME!
Articulation:
By know you should know that My Little Ponies have 1 Point of Articulation.
1.0 normal curve, 4.0 using the Pony Curve
Paint and Sculpt:
Sorry if I'm a bit clinical in this review, but it's the same with pretty much everypony. Plastic Molded in appropriate colors, reusing the unicorn buck, cutie mark and eyes Tampographed, rooted hair that is not in a character accurate hairstyle.
3.5
Accessories:

Lyra comes with a comb, like every pony is supposed to, a Wedding Invitation, due to her being a Royal Wedding wave pony, and a Picture Frame with a sticker of The Mane Six.
4.5

Her Mane 6 Picture Frame lends itself for some great uses.
Spector: I KNOW you are my very best friends!

Overall:
Before I give the final scores with and without the Pony curve, I must say that She's another of the reasons why I wish we had Super Articulated MLP. If I could have her sitting like a Human I would have taken tons of pics of her sitting at the most inappropriate places.

Now to the Final Scores!
Lyra gets a 3.0!? With the Curve she gets a 4.0!? I suppose that the usefulness of her Picture frame helped her compensate any flaws in her score...