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Packaging - ***1/2
Still the same packaging we've seen through the entire line, which is a
good thing for the MOCers. That allows for a nice consistency if you
display your figures still on the card. If this line were sold at a
mass market outlet for kids, we'd have seen three packaging changes by
now. And if you're not a MOCer, odds are the package won't mean too
much to you anyway.
Sculpting - ****
I wasn't particularly interested in this figure when I first saw
photos. Even when I pulled him out of the box, he didn't do a whole lot
for me. Let's face it - he looks like John
Belushi in his bumble bee outfit.
Turns out, out of the package,
he knocked my socks off. While there's plenty of re-use - this is the
Masters of the Universe Classics line, after all - the cool sculpted
bee head, with funky wings and textured skin look fantastic. The wings
are called 'electro' wings, and have what looks like electronic
circuitry sculpted on the surface.
He has cool lobster claws too,
unique to the series so far. These claw hands are sculpted to hold the
accessories perfectly.
Obviously, he fits in perfectly
with the rest of the series scale-wise, and stands great on his own.
Paint - ***
There's more slop this time around than usual, which is unfortunate
since this is such a terrific figure otherwise. The molded colors, like
the yellow - look good, but the painted colors have sloppy cut lines
and over spray. Coverage is a bit hit or miss as well, but the colors
are consistent in tone and do add alot of brightness to the shelf.
I liked this figure so much that
I almost cut them some slack here, but in the end I just couldn't do
it. This is a collector's line, and as such we expect better than
retail quality.
Articulation - ***1/2
Buzz Off has the usual Masters of the Universe Classics articulation -
ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders, hinge hips, pin elbows,
ankles and knees, ab-crunch, cut waist, cut wrists, and cut shins at
the top of the boots.
These are all the same as usual,
since the basic base body is the same. The neck isn't quite as mobile
as on some releases, but it's a minor nit, and the rest of the joints are solid
with sturdy pins.
The wings are also hinged at the
body, which allows them to turn and move inward and outward. This gives
you a tremendous number of ways to pose them.
Finally, he has two of the
insect-like legs that we saw previously on Webstor. Makes sense,
since they used the same style backpack to attach the wings and legs.
These have ball joints that allow them to move freely.
Accessories - ***1/2
Buzz boy is well equipped, with a unique staff with a funky topper that
looks an awful lot like a bee's butt, and a large ax to slice through
the bad guys. There's also a smaller ax, as well as a funky helmet with
huge multi-faceted eyes. This soft rubber helmet fits over his normal
head easily, and isn't as bizarre looking as I expected. It's still not
my favorite look for him - I'll be displaying him without - but it's a
better addition than I expected.
The weapons fit in his lobster
claws easily, and he can hold them in a variety of one and two handed - er, clawed -
poses.
Fun Factor - ****
These are mighty fun figures, and this guy is just too cool. The
articulated wings work well, and they are very sturdy. This figure
would withstand real play far better than most figures on the pegs at
Toys R Us right now, and he has a terrific, fun design.
Value - **1/2
Yea, these will cost you twenty bucks. But with the decent assortment
of accessories, the inclusion of the wings, and the limited nature, I
can live with that. It doesn't hurt that prices on regular figures at
the store have started to top $15 in this scale.
Things to Watch Out For -
Nothing major. I did notice that the lower armor was crooked on the
leg, which is how I figured out that they were jointed there. They were
also stuck, and it took some effort to free them up, but once I did
they worked great.
Overall - ***1/2
If the paint were as good as the sculpt, this figure would have pulled
a full four stars overall.
Even so, the paint work isn't
atrocious. It's solid B work, and is likely to vary some what from
figure to figure. For a character that left me cold from the original
description and photos, he turned out to be one of my favorites of the
2010 releases.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy -
This was a Matty Collector exclusive a couple weeks ago, but now your
best bet is probably searching ebay
for a deal.
Related
Links -
Other MOTUC reviews include:
- Grizzlor was November's
release.
- the previous month was the
swapped shoulders Roboto.
- Gygor makes other big
monkeys look silly.
- another character with animal
instincts is Chief
Carnivus.
- just before that was Whiplash.
- Orko was the SDCC
exclusive this year.
- just before the Con, Matty
sold out of Count Marzo.
- before that was She-Ra, Princess of
Power, and the large scale Tytus.
- I've also looked at the cool custom swords and shields you
can get from SpyMonkey Creations.
- prior to that, I looked at the other May release, Optikk.
- seems like it was just
yesterday that I covered Evil-Lyn.
- prior to that it was Moss Man.
- check out the cool MOTUC Display stands.
- just before that
I covered Battle
Cat and Trap Jaw,
and prior to that was Adora.
- I really liked Scare glow, although
he's not exactly what you'd call a key character.
- She-Ra isn't the first girl in
the series - Teela
has that honor.
- before that there was Webstor, one of my
favorite, and Tri-klops,
another one of my favs.
- prior to that was Man-at-arms, Hordak, Zodac, Faker, Mer-man and Stratos, starting out
with He-man, Skeletor and
Beastman together in one review.
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