Masters of the Universe SDCC Vykron Revealed
Go now to this post at Poe’s site and this post at It’s All True for thoughts on the recently-announced Masters of the Universe Vykron, a toy that almost got me excited. You see, this is designed as the pre-pre-He-Man action figure and comes with enough accessories to construct one of the three characters that Roger Sweet (read Sweet’s Mastering the Universe* for his take on the situation and read my Art of Masters of the Universe Toy Design review for info on another book about the creation of the line) used to pitch the Masters of the Universe line to Mattel execs way back in the early eighties. (Or late seventies? I’ve always been a bit fuzzy on the timing.)
What makes me less than excited about the toy? Well, almost everything that Mattel reveals in their video (below) makes me not want the toy. Running through the points:
- Packaging – The same damned toy in THREE different packages? Yeah, that’s a blatant money grab targeted at the MIB collectors. I’m am so very happy I don’t collect MIB toys — especially this line — but seeing Mattel do this makes me ask: How many of you will try to buy all three versions?
- Clip-On Accessories – This is just bad. So one of the things I disliked about the nineties Iron Man toys returns . . . and on toys that will cost a hell of a lot more than those Iron Man toys did roughly 16 or 17 years ago.
- Heads – A helmet with hair built in? No. Why couldn’t Mattel have just packed three heads in the box?
I’ll pass. Which is sad, because I think I could have gone for the set if it wasn’t so poorly done.
Related articles
- Review – Masters of the Universe Classics Demo-Man (battlegrip.com)
- Spotted Online – Silver Skeletor (battlegrip.com)
- Spotted Online – Custom Man-E-Faces by Adam Pratt (battlegrip.com)
Totally agree. Matty rape! I consider myself a life-long He-Man fan but I had to give up on buying the Classics line because of stunts like this and the increasing prices/subscription service. It is cool that this character is being made though.
Holy crap, I never realized that the hair is included in the helmet. I didn’t like this before because the character designs are so incongruous with the rest of the MOTUC line, but I like it even less now.
Personally, after this month’s Stinkor, I’m hanging it up in regards to MOTUC. They’ve already addresses all the characters that were my favorites as a kid, and now they’re just doing weird, obscure stuff that only interests the most rabid MOTU fanboys. Gygor, Fearless Photog, and now this? It’s time for me to move on.
Well, this is just me talking guys, but this IS an exclusive, not something that’s going to be out everywhere or even something you NEED to have in a MOTU collection. And as for coming packaged three different ways being nothing but a grab for money from MOC collectors, well isn’t getting THREE different versions of the same figure that you’re never going to open anyway a little extreme? Like, do you really NEED three different versions, one in each costume, if you’re never going to open them ever? Isn’t just the knowledge that your figure could look like any of three enough? And what about He-Ro? My understanding was that he was packaged with a random color choice for the stone in his staff and the only way to really tell which was which MOC was to shine a light through it. Do you guys have three of each of him, still sealed, with reassurances that each staff does indeed have a different color crystal in it? I can’t defend clip on accessories or hairy helmets but the whole “this is just mean ol’ Matty trying to screw MOC fans” is a bit silly.
I like Masters of the Universe but have not enjoyed this toy line because of the leg joints. I hate that you can’t move the leg forward in a front kicking motion. However, I have noticed how much the ToyGuru guy has interacted with fans through videos, blogs, etc. He seems like he cares and is doing the best he can with what he has.
I haven’t given up on the line yet, but this figure just doesn’t look good to me. His design isn’t that strong and the snap together parts just make him look cheap. Of the 3, the military one looks the best to me. But it’s also the least MOTUC looking one.