Review – Grave of the Cosmic Wizard

After It’s All True posted a couple of reviews of unofficial Masters of the Universe Classics accessories last week (mentioned here) I just had to share this Grave of the Cosmic Wizard micro-playset with all of you. Released earlier this year (mentioned here), the Grave of the Cosmic Wizard is a hand-crafted resin piece from Alvis Underground (Facebook page). And even though it was pricey when first released — $80 for the micro-playset — it’s a gorgeous work of art and now I wish I had some of the other Alvis Underground accessories.

A Grave Encounter

Standing roughly 5.5-inches tall, the Grave of the Cosmic Wizard micro-playset may appear to be a single piece, but once you start examining the design closely you find a total of five different hand-painted parts. Below is the grave fully assembled (click the image to enlarge) and it looks incredible along with any Masters of the Universe Classics action figures.

By lifting the tombstone straight up you can reveal a small notched section and an arcane design. A Masters of the Universe Classics action figure can insert his sword into the notch to unlock whatever cosmic secret you can imagine. A neat look, but that’s not the best part of the micro-playsets design.

A Removable Plate

Look very closely at the tombstone in the below photo and notice that the central vertical segment just beneath the “teeth” of the design looks slightly different from the surrounding area. That’s because this part pops out to reveal another notch. A secret? Let’s explore!

Inserting a sword into the revealed notch pushes something inside the tombstone . . .

. . . and looking at the back of the tombstone we can see that a secret compartment is opened when you push a sword in through the front. And inside the secret compartment is a small book . . . is this the deceased wizard’s spellbook?

An Awesome Micro-Playset!

This is exactly the sort of thing I was kinda hoping to see when I wrote “Masters of the Universe: Will Third Party Manufacturers Fill the Void?” back in 2012 and everything about the diorama piece is so perfectly crafted that I want to try another Alvis Underground accessory. Maybe the Dark Rider Accessory Set v2 which is shown as “coming soon.” Maybe I should play the “I have a site!” card and try to buy a copy before the set is released. For review purposes, of course. 🙂

Closing Thoughts

The Grave of the Cosmic Wizard piece would make a nice diorama element just on its own, but it’s the hidden features that push the design from good to amazing. Keep an eye on the Alvis Underground Facebook page for news of future sets, and explore the Alvis Underground store for an idea of what you have already missed. Lots of very cool stuff.