Review of Sorceress action figure
Masters of the Universe Classics

Introduction

I normally don't do two MOTUC reviews in a row, but I couldn't pass up the chance to look at the latest lady in the series, the Sorceress. Matty Collector has been a little slow getting this figure to buyers in February, but it's worth the wait.

If you're wondering who The Sorceress is, don't feel bad - I had to look it up as well. Hey, regular readers know I'm not much of a He-man/Princess of Power fan, but I do love the figures.

The Sorceress is Teela's mom, the guardian of Castle Greyskull, and the one to give He-man his powers initially. It's taken us an awful long time to get a figure of her in this series, considering the importance of her character.

Still, better late than never. She was a February release at Matty, and carried the new $22 price tag.

Packaging - ***1/2
Nothing really knew here, but more of the same is far from a bad thing. The nostalgic look and feel of the packaging was a great idea when they started, and still works after several years.

Sculpting - ****
It looks like there will be no shortage of lovely ladies in this scale for 2012. The Horsemen have given us another beautiful sculpt, accented by the cool eagle themed costume and headdress.

The eagle theme is really what sells this figure, and the inclusion of the white feathers on various parts of the costume adds consistency. The detailing on the feathers is quite amazing as well, including those used as part of the multi-piece wings.

The wings are a slightly unusual design. There's one large center piece that's attached permanently to her back, and runs straight down. There are three more sections on each side, and these move independently of each other, all on a peg on the shoulder - not the back. The arm and wing also move independently of each other, allowing for quite a bit of variety in the posing of the avian appendages.

I did have one top wing that was stuck at the post by the paint, and it took a little careful effort to break it free. But once it was, all the sections moved smoothly and posed well.

Paint - ***
This isn't quite as clean as the recent Photog, but the issues are all pretty minor.

There's some gloppiness to the skin tone, as well as the trouble with the 'eyes' on the eagle headdress. The black isn't well centered, riding to high on one side and too low on the other.

But most of the rest of the work is good, especially the slightly reflective look of much of the white.

Articulation - ***1/2
She has all the usual articulation that we've come to expect in a MOTUC female - ball jointed neck, shoulders and hips, pin elbows, ankles and knees, cut biceps, wrists, waist, and boot tops. Add in the ability to pose each of the six outside sections of the wings, and you have a very well articulated bird-chick.

The head dress does interfere quite a bit with the neck though, due to the stiff feathers.

Accessories - ***
She comes with three extras, although two have been seen before.

The unique accessory is her staff, done in a pearlescent white with a cool bird theme. Fits in both or either hands nicely, and looks great in bright light where it's reflective properties can show off.

The other two accessories are Zoar, the bird, and her perch. The bird we've seen several times - the Wonder Twins, Evil-Lyn, and Teela have all had a version. Evil-Lyn's is pretty much identical, including the perch, but done in a different color scheme.

Here, Zoar is done in the same blue, white and orange as the Sorceress, which makes complete sense, since they are one and the same character. In other words, my final shot where Zoar is on her arm makes no sense - but you can still pose them that way if you'd like. As with past releases of the bird, the wings are articulated, and like the Evil-Lyn version, it's wearing a weapons rig around the body.

Fun Factor - ****
These figures are great fun for kids and collectors alike. Don't make the same mistake Mattel made in the eighties by assuming boys wouldn't like female characters - they thought that with She-Ra and found out they were very wrong.

Value - **
Jumping the price 10% hurts this score. I know I'll end up growing accustomed to the price hike over the next few months, but right now my wallet is still stinging.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - ***1/2
She's not going to bump Evil-Lyn off my top spot for MOTUC females, but the Sorceress comes mighty close. I love the colorful wings and bird-theme, and the variety of poses you can get from feathered appendages really adds to the attraction.

The slightly sloppy paint and increased price are a buzz kill, but overall she's still one of my favorites females in the series.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Obviously, the smart bet was to pick her up earlier this month at Matty Collector when he was $22. She's sold out now, however - don't make the same mistake next month. Other options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Yep, I've looked at quite a few MOTUC figures.

- the recent Demo-man is one of my favs, and I just covered Fearless Photog earlier this week.

- I also liked the recent Snout Spout and Wind Raider.

- Spymonkey Creations did more weapons recently.

- other figures include the large Megator, the giant Tytus. Leech, Icarius, Clawful, the Faceless One, Catra,  Sy-Klone, King Hssss, Vikor,  Buzz Off, Grizzlor, Roboto, Gygor, Chief Carnivus, Whiplash, Orko, Count Marzo, She-Ra, Optikk, Evil-Lyn, Moss Man, Trap Jaw, Adora, Scare glow, Teela,  Man-at-arms, Hordak, Zodac, Faker, Mer-man, Stratos, Webstor, Tri-klops, and starting out with He-man, Skeletor and Beastman together in one review.

- I also covered Battle Cat and  Panthor, the big kitties.

- check out the cool MOTUC Display stands.

- I've also looked at the cool custom swords and shields you can get from SpyMonkey Creations.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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