Mattel MOTUC Point Dread with Talon Fighter and Teela

When Masters of the Universe Classics first came out, it was uncertain if not doubtful that we would ever see vehicles in the line, and then the Windraider came along and changed everything. Now it seems like vehicles are becoming a yearly thing for the line and in 2014, we were given not just a vehicle, but a playset as well, as the Talon Fighter and its perch, Point Dread, made their modern day debut.

The first thing that needs to be noted on this set is the packaging, because it is gorgeous. The front of the box features a beautiful artwork of the Talon fighter with battles going on all around it. It’s truly a breathtaking sight. The back has some simple line art of not only what’s in the box, but of other figures in the line as well. It is a nice nod to the packaging of the original MOTU toy line, while also providing a much more interesting delivery of the cross-buys.

Before we look at either Point Dread or the Talon fighter, let’s look at the included Teela figure. Yeah you are getting a figure as well. This is as complete of a package as it gets.  This version of Teela is based on her appearances in the Filmation cartoon, which is oddly appropriate given how a new Filmation based line was released this year. Now despite what many reviewers and fans have said, I honestly like this Teela. While the lips do seem a little thicker than they should be, the head sculpt is not nearly as bad as it was made out to be. I’ll admit that it is easy to find a bad angle for it, some even make her look like she played Marsha Brady for the football scene. You can get good angles for her as well. The body is pretty much Teela’s outfit from the cartoons, and it looks pretty good. Much like Filmation He-man, it has a very simple vibe, but not quite as simple as He-man is. Teela really does look her best with Filmation He-man. Having them together makes all her flaws seem far lass noticeable.

 

For accessories, Teela has a sword and shield. Very simple in design, again going with that Filmation vibe. Still, it’s nice to be able to arm her up and have her able to go into battle. She also includes an alternate head with pilot’s helmet. The face on this head is very pretty, better than the normal head’s face, although it’s hard to say why. The helmet looks like a standard royal guard helmet with wing designs sculpted in. It also has a removable visor. It’s a fitting add on and I’m glad to have it.

 

The Talon fighter is gigantic. This may be the biggest vehicle we have gotten in the MOTUC line to date. It’s a big fat fighter jet that probably wouldn’t stand a chance of getting off the ground in real life. I’d say it would have a better shot of being a Thanksgiving turkey than a jet. But the fiction says it works, so I guess it works for He-man and Teela. All joking aside the sculpt is pretty good. Many bird like details in the wings, head and feet. I really do like the bird head on the front, very fierce. This thing is armed too, four guns ready to take out enemy aircraft or ground troops. There is also a satellite dish on top which makes me wonder if Man-at-arms was drunk when he designed this thing. I mean, is it supposed to be a radar dish or an air-break? You can rotate the dish a full 360 if you desire, but it’s still a weird place for it. Inside is amazing. Just about everything is sculpted in and painted. Lot of control panels on the front seat while the back has tools and a first aid kit sculpted in. I kinda wish these were removable, but that would be asking a lot. There are also some decals on the sides of the back seat for more control panels, and you get a choice of three more for a monitor in the front. I like having the option, but I’m also sad that I can only choose once. Again asking a lot, but swappable panels would have been awesome.

 

The Talon fighter is typically a two seater, although there are ways to get 3 in there. The back seat is actually quite spacious, giving you plenty of room for two female figures, or if you wish have a male and female figure get cozy in the back. Honeymoon scene anyone?

 

Last but not least let’s have a look at Point Dread. It looks like a small fort that’s meant to be on a mountaintop, which is how I think it’s supposed to look so good job there. There are stairs sculpted on the front but they are completely superfluous because good luck getting anybody to stand on them. They are too thin and too small to be used which is a shame but with how much went into the Talon Fighter I can let that slide. The interior is quite simple, a single room with a wooden floor, with the only piece of furniture being a computer control panel. Still get a nice couch and decent satellite service in here and He-man has a man-cave away from home.

 

On top is a perch for the Talon Fighter. It’s a nice perch which can rotate freely, making it easy to take off in any direction. The Talon Fighter actually clips into the perch and you need to pull a small release lever to get it off. This is a great feature given how heavy the Talon fighter is. Without that clip I could easily see the bird taking a nosedive in a moment’s notice.

 

Point Dread can actually split into two parts, with the top half able to clip onto castle Grayskull. It fits on snugly, but doesn’t clip in as solidly as it does onto its other half. The castle also looks quite ridiculous with Point Dread and the Talon fighter on top of it, given how big the fighter is.

 

All in all, this set is quite nice, if a little odd. The Talon Fighter does look cool, Point Dread makes for a good small base, and this may be the best chance newcomers to the line have at getting a Teela. It does come at a steep price, but I do feel it’s worth it, and if you’re a fan of the line, this will be a great addition to your collection.

Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Serpentine King Hssss

Way back when Battle Armor King Hssss vs Snake Armor He-Man was introduced, Hssss was designed to include an upgraded version of his snake form. Unfortunately, due to higher than acceptable costs, that piece had to be cut from the set with the promise that the piece would be included with a future release. As time passed, fans like myself began to wonder if we’d really see the new snake form. Around Comic-con, it was announced that the new snake form would indeed be released, as part of its own figure, and on February of 2016, we at last have Serpentine King Hssss.

 

This new form of King Hssss is quite interesting from the get go, being in his Snake form, his torso is entirely comprised of serpents of various sizes. Six of these snakes flare out to be arms for the figure, with some open and some closed, while a much larger one is in the center serving as the main head. This design is wicked awesome. While it’s not accurate to the 200x version of Hssss, I would dare say it’s an improvement over that concept. It most certainly is an improvement over the Snake form of the first release of Hssss in this line. When comparing the two, this new snake torso makes the older one look rather dull.  Each snake arm is bendy so you can move them quite freely, the main head has a swivel around the neck to move it left and right, but the mouth cannot open and close. Still, the head sculpt is amazing.

 

The legs are fairly simple. A pair of snakeman legs painted up to match the torso, a golden brown with green patterns, all on a King Hssss codpiece. Basically it looks like Hssss is in his undies, as if his minions stole his pants to hang them on a flagpole or something. Articulation is standard, universal hips, thigh swivels, 90 degree knees, and forward and backward on the ankles.

 

The snake torso is fully compatible with either form of King Hssss. Simply remove the normal torso and peg in the new snake form one. It’s a simple design that works quite well and offers up a few nice combinations. Given how the 200X cartoon was what really hooked me onto Masters, I prefer using the 200X legs with the new snake form torso, although I’m probably gonna be displaying Serpentine Hssss as a whole next the 200X figure.

 

To make up for the wait, Mattel has gifted this toy with a few interesting accessories. First off, he includes repainted versions of the weapons from the Snakeman 2-pack, giving us a new mace, sword, polearm, and shield done in gunmetal grey and metallic green. These will go great with your Snakemen, particularly warriors like Rattlor. We also get a new head for King Hssss, one that looks to be in the middle of transforming into snake form. It's just a repaint of one of the Snakemen Warrior heads, but still a cool add in none the less. This new head will work with either version of Hssss, but the green on the back would suggest it was meant for the vintage styled version of the character. It looks great and can really provide an interesting new look for Hssss.

 

All in all, Serpentine King Hssss is a great figure, which can either complete Battle Armor King Hssss or just as easily stand on its own.  Whether you want to Upgrade your existing Hssss, or just want a snake monster to attack your heroes, Serpentine King Hssss is a figure worth hunting down.

Hasbro Transformers Combiner Wars Buzzsaw

With Combiner Wars coming to a close, Hasbro has decided to give us a sneak peek into what the next line, Titans Return, has in store. This sneak preview is actually in the form of one of the last Legends class figures in the line, Buzzsaw.

 

Buzzsaws alt mode is a smartphone, which is a major update from his cassette mode of old. I’m sure there are those of you who don’t even know what a cassette is, but to make it simple they were the precursor to CDs. In any case, this smartphone mode is just as much a brick as his G1 counterpart’s was. The front does have some nice decals on it to make up the screen, but unfortunately some are prone to fraying simple due to how Buzzsaw transforms. I still do appreciate the effort made on the decal art, it really does look nice.

 

Interestingly enough, Buzzsaw was also given a vehicle mode of sorts. This is more to go with the Titan Masters of the next line but it’s a little odd to see now. I’m not even sure what to call the thing, it’s just a little brick on wheels with prongs on the front. One could argue it’s just there so he can get around, but his beast/robot mode can do that better.

 

Speaking of which, Buzzsaw’s robot mode is a bird. Big surprise right. Honestly though I wouldn’t have it any other way. Buzzsaw has been a bird since his G1 days and it’s been his default robot mode. This iteration is done fairly well, but it’s also hard to mess up really. I like how there are flip out extensions to the wings to make them more wing like and how the tail tries to emulate the back cannons/thrusters, although those 5mm ports look like there were plans to give him actual cannons at some point in his design. Perhaps Shapeways can make that happen in the future. It’s also possible to fan mode a jet form for Buzzsaw by simply rotating the wings 180 degrees and closing them up. It looks decent and far more appealing than the official rolling brick mode.  Sadly, no articulation to speak of on this guy, all joints seem to be for transformation. In this case I’m not too bummed by that, but it’s worth noting.

 

Compared to previous versions of the character, there is an obvious departure from the original design, but there is still enough here that I can recognize him as that G1 character. I honestly would have loved to see Hasbro incorporate the Masterpiece transformation to this new alt mode because I think it could have worked so well.

 

All in all, Buzzsaw is an interesting and logical new take on the character and could fit well into a Classics shelf. His rolling brick mode is entirely forgettable, but not needed to enjoy the toy either, more of a bonus feature that didn’t work out. I think he would be worth picking up especially since the rest of the cassette team is coming later in the year or next year, but if they went coming, this toy would be easier to pass on.