Review – Masters of the Universe Classics Lord Dactus

Lord Dactus* turned out far, far cooler than I was expecting . . . and after seeing pics of the toy I had some pretty high expectations. Fortunately, everything came together shockingly well and I am pleased to report that Lord Dactus is easily in my top five favorite Masters of the Universe Classics action figures of the last few years.

Hey, More Support for Outfit Sets!

I know I just mentioned this in my Masters of the Universe Karatti review a few days ago (review here), but with this figure Mattel again demonstrates how the snap-on armor accessories can dramatically change the look of the base figure. Check “Outfit Set vs. Accessory Set” for more on the idea of outfit packs for the Masters of the Universe Classics series, but basically what I’d like to see Mattel do is:

• Create a pack of snap-on armor/clothing pieces that can be used with almost any of the basic buck Masters of the Universe Classics action figures. Say an “arctic” pack with appropriate weapons, armor, and gear to turn most of the standard figures into a winter-equipped version of the character.

Now this isn’t the same thing as adventure sets, which are bigger and more elaborate packs of toys and accessories, but outfit sets would be significantly easier for Mattel to make than any of the ideas I’ve offered before — see “Wanted: Adventure Sets for Masters of the Universe Classics” and “Wanted: More Adventure Sets for Masters of the Universe Classics” — though the way things are going I’m more likely to make a set than Mattel is.

Anyway, we were talking about Lord Dactus* . . .

Fantastic Mix of Old and New!

Mattel does it again, presenting Lord Dactus* as a mix of older pieces and enough new to make things interesting. Now the wings we’ve seen before — see my Draego-Man review — and as the DoomKick review states the wings work amazingly well in a new color.

“We see Draego Man’s wing come into play for the 3rd time (the second being on Granamyr), but in the light blue they manage to look different while also adding some size to the overall figure.”

– DoomKick review

The other parts reuses are all basic, but it’s the new parts that make Lord Dactus* truly spectacular:

• Armor – Which I’ve already mentioned (see above), but it is so cool the armor needs mentioned again. Great sculpt, and those shoulder guards really help bulk up the character.
  
• Head – The review at The Fwoosh points out that the head sculpt is more 200X than Classics, but reviewer Matthew K points out the head sculpt isn’t a direct translation of the old cartoon character design. Personally, I love the head and think it really makes the toy better than if they had tried to make a more “realistic” head.
  
• Hands – Just look at them! Incredible work! Yes, I am using too many exclamation marks. I said I like the toy.
  
• Feet – And insane ankle design that helps the toy to tower over most other figures in the line. Between the weight of the wings and the strange ankles the toy can be a little tough to pose, but it looks so neat I don’t mind spending some extra time working out poses.

Paintwork

I’ve got no complaints at all, but at this point I must admit that my happiness with the figure may be overshadowing any chance I’ll be objective when it comes to Lord Dactus*. There are a few slightly rough spots, but generally everything when it comes to the colors is great. The Lord Dactus review at ThEpic Review covers this nicely with:

“The paint work is neat, clean, and creates a fantastic looking figure. The blue of Dactus’ skin really meshes nicely with the reddish brown armor. I love the armor as it not only has a great color scheme and design but features some cool little metallic details as well. There’s some light shading on the wings as well as a shiny grayish black sheen on the various claws and nails.”

You should totally check out that review for another opinion.

Closing Thoughts

For something made up of parts that have been accumulated over the last five or six years — plus some new! — Lord Dactus* stands out as one of the winners of 2013, and maybe even makes it into my top five of all of the Masters of the Universe Classics figures Mattel has produced.

I love the colors, the design, and am extremely happy with how everything blends together perfectly. Definitely recommended if you don’t already have this guy in your collection.