Packaging - ***
The packaging hasn't changed a whole lot over the course of the series, and even these Anniversary figures use the same design. There is a star burst on the insert that says "designed by the Four Horsemen", but that's about it.

Only downside here is that this upper insert tends to hide the face of this larger, taller figure.

Sculpting - ****
The FH just know what they're doing when it comes to animal warriors. Once again they've knocked it out of the park with this dragon fighter, with a ton of small detail work on the scales and teeth. There's also a lot of new sculpted pieces, including cool three fingered hands.

These hands hold the sword nicely, and work pretty well with most poses. This guy is pretty big, coming in at about 7 1/2" tall (8" all the way out the horns), making him one of the largest regular release figures in the line.

The cool wings attach with posts that fit into hold on his back armor. They're nice and big, quite impressive and sure to intimidate the other wingless bad boys.

Paint - ****
A lot of the color this time is cast, but it's still consistent and clean, with no swirls. The painted pieces are all clean, with nice cut lines, especially the teeth and eyes.

I am a little torn on the eyes, though, but not because of any quality issues. There's no pupil of any kind. At first, it bugged me, but as I worked with the figure it grew on me, and I think it was probably the best choice in the end.

Articulation - ***1/2
Most of the articulation matches other figures in the series. There's a ball jointed neck, but it's a bit restricted. There's ball jointed shoulders, cut biceps, thighs, wrists, and calves, pin elbows, knees and ankles, cut waist, hinge hips, and even an ab crunch.

As I mentioned earlier, the wings fit on the back with two posts. These posts have pin/disc style joints at the top, giving the wings a ton of articulation.

There's also a cut joint on the tail where it attaches to the armor. The tail is not bendy, however.

While this is all an impressive array of joints, they tended to be on the loose side this time around, especially the ankles and knees.

Accessories - ***
He doesn't have the usual ton of extras, but with the number of newly sculpted pieces I'm not surprised.

He does have a very cool flaming sword however, apropos for a dragon warrior. I love the translucent color, and it fits nicely in his right hand.

Fun Factor - ****
This series of action figures is always fun, but a big, nasty dragon fighter? That's just too damn cool.

Value - **
Sorry, but I'm still not good with the 10% price hike for 2012. Call me cheap, and you'd probably not be too far off.

Things to Watch Out For -
Zippo!

Overall - ****
Yea, I might not be thrilled about the extra two bucks, but that's not enough to wipe the cool off this figure. From his dragon skull and crossbones emblem to his huge wings, he's just bad ass all around, and one of my favorite figures in the series. I suppose that is some form of MOTU heresy, since he's a brand new concoction, but I love him just the same.

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

Where to Buy -
There's not a lot of online options this time around, since he sold out at Matty Collector. But you can probably find a deal on ebay.

Related Links -
Lots of other MOTUC reviews:

- last up was Kobra Khan, a terrific figure.

- other figures include Sorceress, Demo-man, Fearless Photog, Snout Spou, Wind Raider, 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 more weapons recently.the cool custom swords and shields you can get from SpyMonkey Creations.

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