Review of Scorpia - Masters of the Universe Classics action figure

Introduction

If you're like me, you're probably amazed that the Masters of the Universe Classics line is still cranking along with a release (or two) every month. It's been more than five years now, and a complete collection will dominate a display.

The May release included another beautiful femme fatale - Scorpia. She was somewhat of a regular on She-Ra, Princess of Power, and worked for the Evil Horde. While a very cool looking character, no action figure of her has ever been produced before, perhaps because old school Mattel felt little boys didn't want figures of female characters.

While she's sold out at Matty Collector, you can pick her up on the secondary market. She was going for $27 on release, but I suspect prices will be a bit higher, at least for the near future.

Packaging - ***
The packages have become their own classic at this point, with their retro design and standardized shape.  I've always said that the header inside the bubble tends to block your view of the head sculpt, but otherwise the design has been solid from day one. If you're a MOCer, you probably appreciate the consistency with the package look and feel over the course of the entire series.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is a very cool design, right from it's origin on the old Filmation cartoon. The long scorpion tail and claw hands give her a lethal appearance, and the face is harsh but quite beautiful. She looks like a woman who will claw your heart out, but you'll enjoy every minute til she does.

The large helmet works with the overall concept too, and the entire design speaks to the better quality work on the show. Sometimes they came up with some pretty lame ideas, but Scorpia was one of the winners.

I do wish the claws were just a smidge larger. Not a lot, as they are only slightly undersized. Another of those minor nits of mine that will probably not bother anyone else.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is fairly clean and sharp. No sloppy edges or cut lines, and the make up is particularly well done on the face.  The lips and eyes look terrific, 

I'm a little disappointed that the color of the discs in the shoulders doesn't quite match up with the red of the armor, but overall it's a minor nit within a bigger picture of quality. There's also a minor issue with the skin tone not quite matching between the body and face, but you have to pay particular attention to notice it.

Articulation - ****
There's plenty of useful articulation here, more than enough for the joint junkies in the crowd.

The ball jointed neck works great, with plenty of tilt and lean action to add that special personality to any pose. There's pin/disc ball shoulders, cut biceps and wrists, pin elbows, knees and ankles, a cut waist, and her very well designed ball thighs.

The long deadly tail is not bendy, but it does have one cut joint to allow some basic posing.

I was able to get her to take some nice, fluid stances, and the hips and neck were the real selling points. If they added rocker ankles, they'd be perfect, but that's a minor complaint.

Accessories - ***
She has one extra - her scorpion influenced rendition of the usual winged Horde crossbow. Since her claws don't allow her to grasp anything, there's a round clip on the bottom to attach it to either forearm.

The sculpt is solid, with a nice bright red paint job. One accessory is a little light for the price, but at least this one you can use with just about any stance.

Fun Factor - ***
This entire series are tons of fun, and certainly some of the best true action figures on the market today. It's a pity they will never get played with, or that Mattel can't seem to translate this overall quality to their movie licenses.

Value - **
$27 is a lot of cash for a 7" scale action figure with one accessory. Add in shipping, and you're really paying a steep price. Still, this is the only way to easily get her, and the production runs are still fairly small, at least when compared to the usual mass market toy.

Things to Watch Out For -
Noda, zilch, zippo.

Overall - ***1/2
The MOTUC releases over the last few months have left me lukewarm, losing some of that excitement of the early days. That's to be expected with a line that's gone past five years, as there's only so many characters they can do, and the later releases tend to be the B and C listers.

But Scorpia gets back to basics, with a great design and excellent overall quality. She looks terrific with the rest of the series, and feeds into the more mythical monster side of the line. On top of that, it's nice to get a great looking female figure in any series, especially in this scale. There's far too few of them, but Scorpia proves it can be done.

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

Where to Buy 
I hate to state the obvious, but you should pick these up on release day (normally the 15th of each month) to avoid paying a premium. Scorpia was available at Matty Collector on release day for $27, Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Just last month I looked at Blade, and prior to that I looked at the huge Castle Grayskull. Before that it was Lord Dactus, Icer, Octavia,  Snake Face, Jitsu, Ram Man,  Mosquitor, Castle Grayskullman, Rattlor, Mekaneck, Sir Laser-Lot, and before that we had the cool Griffin, Slushhead, the excellent Draego, Kobra Khan, 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.

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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