Trap Jaw was never meant to know true love. First dates never ended with a good night kiss, second base was always a hook hand away, and real physical passion was a distant grease can and hardware upgrade from reality. Trap Jaw knows love through the soft caress of a collector, and the shelter of a wooden shelf. Will you give him this love he so greatly deserves? 

Name: Trap Jaw
Line: Masters of the Universe Classics
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: February 2010
Price: $30.00-$50.00
Scale: 6.00 in. 
Accessories: Left and right shoulder armor plates, belt, alternate normal arm, alternate normal head, rifle arm attachment, hook arm attachment, and claw arm attachment.
Sponsor Listings: Past Generation Toys-$39.95

I love when Mattel actually committs to some new tooling for a character in the Masters of the Universe Classics line. It's like adding bacon bits to your spaghetti, a rare but wonderful treat. Trap Jaw is covered in the metaphorical bacon bits, because there are lots of pieces we've never seen before on this fellow. I'm not going to count them all, but there are exactly 28 pieces (by a quick count) that would have required a new mold. That's a lot of new stuff to look at, and it's welcome in this line that's sometimes rather tiring on the eyes. Trap Jaw doesn't waste the new tooling dollars either, because he looks good. The blend between science fiction and fantasy is stretched further into the sci-fi side with Trap Jaw, and that's a great thing, as the Four Horsemen really sculpted his metallic bits at a level out of this world. They managed to blend the style of the 80s into a sharp and attractive modern sculpt, which must be a pretty difficult thing to do. He's got lots of details, grooves, varying curves and straight lines that all make him look a little more robotic. I especially love the way his boots turned out. They're deadly robotic thigh-highs, and I'm okay with that.

Trap Jaw's general shape and proportions are pleasing to the eye, as are most of the figures', but something about his asymmetry with the robotic arm makes him a real looker. He's got an evil menacing appearance, yet still comes off cartoony, again a perfect blend of classic and modern visuals. There are plenty of details worked into his organic parts as well, including deep-set muscles, wrinkled hands and fingers, and even nipples and a belly button. Whether displaying him in his natural form as Kronis or as the monstrous Trap Jaw, it's a beatiful and detailed figure that's going to command some attention and multiple loving gazes.

His name is Trap Jaw, so the head is a pretty important element. It's done wonderfully well on both counts, and I particularly like the expression on his normal head. It's a tense grimace, that makes it seem like he might already have some inherent jaw problems (see comic), but it's also an evil glare with lots of intricate facial details and perfect expression manipulation that's a testament to the sculptor's talent. The mangled head is a little goofier (with a sinister secret), and only vaguely resembles its counterpart. Its face is more bloated, more creased, with eyes that pop out a lot more, and it's missing one major element, the jaw! Instead of a chin and bottom teeth, his face has instead been carved away, looking more like some rotting green pumpkin on Halloween than a human being. They even included a bloodied chunk of flesh hidden beneath his metal mandible. The bottom jaw is articulated and still fits snugly into the grooves of the upper jaw, making for one silly looking fellow when everything is closed. Long-time fans will also appreciate the vestigial hoop on the top of Trap Jaw's helmet.

I think I've discussed his looks about as much as he deserves, so let's dive into function. With so many swappable and removable parts, I was expecting some of them to be loose or flimsy. In reality though, everything attaches rather neatly and stays in place well. His arm attachments all fit into the socket well, and both arms are easily removable and replacable, allowing you to remove the armor for his Kronis appearance. The heads are just as easy to pop on and off too. The loops on his belt meant to hold the excess attachments don't work so well, as issues with the weight and balance of the attachments keep them from hanging well naturally. That's one very tiny annoyance for an otherwise very nice looking and well designed toy. 

Sculpt Score: 10 / 10

 

Even though this is a pretty eclectic color scheme, it still works for me. Skittles bag or not, he fits into the aesthetics of the line without too much difficulty, and the colors here sell that even more. The blues are rich without being too vibrant or too dark, while the pink/purple is subtle enough to blend in as well. The black is an obvious neutral tone that keeps things from getting out of hand, and provides a nice feel for the robotic elements of the figure. If he had been silver instead of black, this figure would have looked much too bright and garish I think. The green might admittedly be a bit too blatant for me (it's so darned vibrant), but since there isn't a lot, and it does help to bring out the monstrosity that is his mauled face, I can live with it. You may take notice that his normal arms are actually two different shades of blue. It's not always so apparent in person as it is in most of these photos, but there are metallic elements which are rendered in a lighter and shinier blue. It's a subtle variation and looks fantastic. That same blue is also used to accent the black metallic parts of his body as well. 

Moving on from the odd color choices (i.e., the pink skirt (a guy his size can wear whatever he wants)), the difficult detailing is done well with Trap Jaw as well. There aren't a whole lot of spots that require a deft hand and brush, but those that do exist came out clean. The various blue dots and sections on his legs and arm look good, and there are clear separations between the blues on his other arms. Even the thin lines on his shoulder gear and arm attachments turned out crisp. The heads are mostly perfect, with tidy gray lines along the top and clean eyes that even manage to carry some emotion in them. And the chunky mass of flesh that might be his tongue is a glossy red with a black wash to make it look absolutely stunning as a slobbery, greasey, and bloody stump of flesh. The alternate Kronis head is almost as good, but they botched up his teeth a little. It's virtually undetectable in real life, so it's not a big issue, but it's worth noting. He's totally free of any slop or goop that I can see, meaning he fully retains this strong paint score. 

Paint Score: 9 / 10

 

There aren't going to be any surprises here if you're a Masters of the Universe Classics veteran. Despite having a totally unique arm design, the same articulation as usual holds true. That's a good thing, because this is a strong articulation model with a lot of different points and posing options. There is a certain degree of
"muscle boundedness" with Trap Jaw as with any other male figure in the line, meaning that some joints don't bend as much as they otherwise might because the sculpt limits them. It's almost a necessary part of the bulky and classic style, and it's really only ever noticeable to me at the elbows, because his legs seem to be quite flexible. His neck, torso, and even hips all work splendidly, making him fun to toss around on the floor or pose meticulously on the shelf.

Even the limited elbows don't hurt this articulation model too much, because it just looks so wonderful. There's hardly a visible joint on this figure thanks to some great sculpting design hiding joints. All the technological bits hide seams so well, while even his regular elbows seem disguised by the armor. There is very little influence of the joints on the visuals, which goes a long way for a nice looking figure such as this one. 

It seems loose joints are a thing of the past with this line, because Trap Jaw's are the tighest yet. They're still smooth and easy to move, but hold positions and accessories without any problems. There weren't any stuck or flimsy points, and even after multiple swaps of his arm attachments and head, everything feels sturdy. I was especially afraid that his jaw might be a weak joint, but it's well made and looks like it will hold up forever, no matter how many blown first-kisses he has. 

Articulation Score: 9 / 10

First off, this guy has a loop on his head so he can use a zip line. I don't know about you, but if you've ever met a kid who is a biter, the worst possible thing you can imagine is that biter coming at you like a damned eagle with death-teeth from above. That, my friends, is Trap Jaw on a zipline, and that my friends, is fun. Unleashing such havoc on unsuspecting losers like Stratos or He-Ro is pure joy. This toy is just made to be enjoyed. Every single detail is something that the kid in you is going to giggle about in excitement, while the collector in you is going to ...well, giggle about in excitement. He's a robot, he's got a freaking metal jaw implant, and he's a pirate (hook hand, remember?). 

As if the simple idea of the character weren't enough to provide you with hours of entertainment, the figure itself isn't too shabby either. He's well articulated, is very easy to play with, feels great in your hands, and comes with a full assortment of accessories. You've got so many options on how to enjoy this guy. Take out the laser rifle arm thing, or pop in the hook, or maybe you want to grab something with his claw. Maybe you don't want a robot dude at all, and you decide you'd like a regular old blue alien guy with giant metal boots. It's a real mix-and-match feel, making him a lot of fun to mess around with and try different looks. There aren't any frustrations to bring you off your nostalgic high, and you'll have trouble even finding a reason to put this figure down.   

Fun Score: 10 / 10

Trap Jaw is definitely a step in the right direction for this line in terms of value. He comes with a lot of different accessories, is practically two characters in one, and has lots of new tooling to show off. Those are some big positives that help to ease my concerns over paying about $30 for him (which is really about as cheap as you're going to find him after shipping). That said, my concerns aren't eased enough, because Trap Jaw still costs too much. There's only so much that can be said about how these figures are too expensive, but you'll see the evidence in the comments I'm sure. There are lots of people who want to be a part of this line, but would rather get two fantastic figures from somewhere else in the same scale and at the same level of quality than get one figure in this line. And that's really what it all comes down to: that these toys cost twice what similar figures do at retail.

Are there some logical reasons for that cost? Probably so, but that doesn't mean people are willing to pay it. Trap aJaw is certainly a better deal than many past releases, but for the $30 it costs to get him, there are a lot of tempting alternatives. It's of course just up to each individual what Trap Jaw is worth. For me, he's worth it, but I have a lot of different reasons for owning a figure. For you, he may not be quite so worth it. 

Value Score: 6 / 10

10 / 10 - One of the most attractive figures in an already top-notch line yet. 

9 / 10 - A virtually problem free and easy-to-look-at paint job. 

9 / 10 - Lots of points with little fuss. 

10 / 10 - A superbly good time with lots of accessories and a striking character presence. 

6 / 10 - There are lots of better deals to be had, but Trap Jaw fans won't complain too much about this one.

 

 87 / 100 - This is a Great Toy

Trap Jaw managed to avoid any major missteps and made it so very close to earning the glory of a score above ninety. This is a very good action figure that Masters of the Universe Classics fans and collectors are sure to adore. Honestly, almost any toy collector is sure to like this figure, if only they can afford him. 

-The Articulated One

 

This could be the figure given away in this month's Review Commentator Contest. Join the discussion by leaving a comment on this review for a chance to win!

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