I've always had a fondness for character variations. It's a love I was able to thoroughly indulge with the original Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, but it probably originated with the Masters of the Universe. See, I didn't get around to playing with He-Man toys until 1986 (I was still playing exclusively with my Oscar the Grouch and Pound Puppies plushies in 1984), and at that time the most prominent He-Man and Skeletor figures on the shelves were Flying Fists He-Man and Dragon Blaster Skeletor. Sure, I had a few friends who had the originals, but I thought my He-Man with his shiny chromed chest and Skeletor with his water-squirting dragon were so much cooler.
Fast-forward to 24 years to the release of Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Armor He-Man. Even though Flying Fists He-Man was my guy, the visual similarities between the two were sufficient to make the new Battle Armor He-Man seem almost like a special anniversary collector reissue. I just had to have him -- but did my enthusiasm for the figure endure once I had it in hand? Keep reading to find out!
Name: Battle Armor He-Man
Line: Masters of the Universe Classics
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: January 2010
Price: MattyCollector: $20 (before tax and shipping), Online: $25+
Scale: 6.00 in. (assuming MOTU characters tower over mere Earthlings)
Accessories: Battle armor w/ three chestplates; battle axe
Sponsor Listings: Ka-Razy Kings of Toys-$34.99, Past Generation Toys-$34.95
If you're familiar with the MOTUC line, you know there's nothing new to see here -- while Battle Armor He-Man's head sits a little higher on the body in order to accommodate the armor, the base figure itself has no new parts. That's not a bad thing, though, as these figures are fantastic recreations of the original MOTU style. In fact, while their torso and leg proportions are a little better, the MOTUC figures' arms and heads are roughly the same size as those of the original toys! (I've even seen some nifty customs made using MOTUC bodies and the heads of 1980s MOTU figures.) Battle Armor He-Man does have unique pieces in the armor, however, and they look fantastic. The general design and various chestplates strongly recall the original figure's look, and added details like the rivets around the chestplates and segments at the shoulders are great updates to the design.
Some minor flaws are the only reasons Battle Armor He-Man isn't scoring a perfect 10 in this category. For instance, there's a noticeable gap in the armor halves on the figure's right side (I didn't get a great picture of it, but you can kinda see it in this Cool Toy Review photo), and there's some mold flash on the hands. I'm also not a fan of the tiny hands. They're pretty much the exact same size as the original figures' -- and while that means that they're largely in keeping with the style of the original figures, they just look too small given the larger size of the MOTUC figures' bodies. I mean, the guys look like they could thoroughly pick their noses with their thumbs! Of course, the problem isn't nearly as noticeable when the figures are holding their weapons, but Battle Armor He-Man only comes with an axe. As such, unless you've got extra accessories for him to hold, he's always stuck with one pathetic mitt and pea-sized thumb fully exposed.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
Although Battle Armor He-Man's paint is pretty much mass market fare, it's attractive enough and complements the sculpt nicely. The colors are dark yet vibrant, there aren't any particularly noticeable stray splotches of paint or distracting errors, and there are some impressive touches like the silvery plastic used for the armor and the subtle airbrushing on He-Man's arms and legs. That said, while I wouldn't call the work on areas like the arm guards, belt, boots, and chestplates sloppy, the painter definitely had difficulty staying within the sculpted detail lines and/or painting to their edges. And while the face paint is great and matches the tanned flesh color of the mostly unpainted limbs well enough, for consistency's sake I kinda wish they'd just molded the face out of the same plastic used for the rest of the bare skin. Anyway, all in all, Battle Armor He-Man's paint is perfectly serviceable -- even though you should be getting better at this price point.
Paint Score: 8 / 10
There aren't any surprises when it comes to Battle Armor He-Man's articulation: he's sporting the same model as all previous MOTUC figures, which is pretty much the same as the DCUC model (the pieces are shaped differently, but the hip and thigh articulation contains the same types of joints). It's a decent model that allows for lots of interesting poses, and all of He-Man's joints are tight yet move comfortably. However, there are also some problems. The hip articulation is somewhat hindered by the furry loincloth; the forward motion of the ab hinge is largely restricted when He-Man is wearing the armor; and the combination of bulging biceps and sculpting around the joints prevent the elbows from achieving a full 90 degree bend. And while the ball-jointed neck and rocker ankles are useful -- He-Man can look down fairly well and up a bit, and the rocker ankles allow for somewhat wider stances -- they fail to achieve the full range of the best examples of these joints.
Articulation Score: 8 / 10
Incidentally, the thing that made the 1984 figure so darned much fun -- the chestplate damage feature -- is one of the the relatively few things keeping Battle Armor He-Man from achieving a perfect score here. In fairness, having to swap the chestplates manually isn't tedious or frustrating, and for the first two weeks that I had the figure I probably changed the chestplates twice a day. That said, it does come with the worry that eventually the tabs will break (though obviously I'm not as worried about it as most collectors, since I still change the plates fairly often), and it wasn't quite as accessible in the beginning due to the lack of instructions. See, splitting apart the chest armor and swapping the chestplates it seems intuitive enough, but there are definitely better and worse ways to go about it -- and ways that are probably more and less likely to hasten the breakage of those tabs -- and it would've been nice if Mattel had provided some instruction on those grounds. Of course, it would've been even better if Mattel had engineered the figure in a way so as to make breakage worries a non-issue.
And speaking of the armor, that gap on the right side -- which seems to affect all of the Battle Armor He-Man figures (as opposed to simply resulting from flash and/or molding imperfections on mine) -- bugged me to the point that I set about trying to correct it. At first I thought maybe it was caused by flash around the right tab and cavity, so I shaved that off. When that didn't rectify the problem, I shaved down some of the interior struts that help to fit the figure to the armor. That did reduce the gap by a millimeter or so, and I imagine if I shaved them off completely (which I am hesitant to do) it would close the gap entirely. Admittedly, it did provide a good starting point for removing the armor, so it's possible that it was an intentional defect intended for that purpose. However, without instructions, there's no way of knowing that.
Aside from those problems, Battle Armor He-Man is about as fun as any collector action figure can be. He suffers from none of the flaws that diminish the enjoyment to be had with other such toys -- stuck and/or broken joints, flaking paint, etc. -- and looks great in different poses and with his chestplates displaying varying degrees of damage. He also hit me with a wave of nostalgia in a way that Hordak (my only other MOTUC figure besides Adora) didn't, such that I was moved to dig up many old figures I had boxed and bagged just so they could join Battle Armor He-Man for this review's photo session. MOTU 200X Orko had been relegated to a plastic bag in a cardboard box with other forgotten toys, but now, as long as I have MOTUC figures out, he will remain among them. (Take that, Mattel and your ridiculously difficult-to-acquire SDCC exclusives!)
Fun Score: 8 / 10
Despite my fondness for Battle Armor He-Man, a 7" figure just isn't worth nearly $30 (after tax and shipping are added to the $20 MattyCollector price) no matter how well made it is (certain Japanese offerings notwithstanding). Moreover, while I can tolerate the absence of the Power Sword, the inclusion of a shield would have been ideal given that much of the artwork featuring this He-Man variation depicts him wielding an axe and a shield. As it stands, even with the battle armor, the figure feels particularly light on accessories -- otherwise Battle Armor He-Man would've scored a bit higher in this category.
Value Score: 5 / 10
9 / 10 - An excellent recreation of the original figure diminished only by a gap in the armor and tiny flash-marred hands.
8 / 10 - Standard mass market fare, but it still looks pretty good.
8 / 10 - A great articulation model with tight joints, but a handful of limitations diminish its score.
8 / 10 - The chestplate swapping could have been implemented better -- and should have come with proper instructions in any case -- but this figure is otherwise a nostalgic delight.
5 / 10 - At nearly $30 after shipping, Battle Armor He-Man costs two times what he should.
80 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
Battle Armor He-Man is a sturdy, great-looking figure and an excellent addition to any MOTUC collection. If you have Battle Cat, I imagine this figure will look especially fantastic riding atop that beast in a recreation of the classic painting (especially if you've got an extra shield for He-Man to complete the look). Even if you lack an extensive MOTUC roster, however, you might find Battle Armor He-Man especially appealing for other reasons. Holding this toy reminds me of long-forgotten days of romping over the grassy knolls and dirt hills of West Germany with MOTU figures in tow -- and while all MOTUC offerings take a significant score hit due to the high price of admission, I'm forced to admit that Battle Armor He-Man is the first one that I've gotten and felt was "worth" the price of admission from a nostalgic collector's standpoint.
-Wes
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