MOTU Classics Dragon Blaster Skeletor Video Review by Pixel Dan

[Pixel Dan]

Alright, DB Skeletor review is LIVE! Only one more to go!



Additional questions, just ask!

[Beastmaster]

Wonderful! Keep 'em coming! Your Cy-Chop review will make me decide whether I want him or not!

[Grayskull's Heir]

Awesome review, thanks Dan!!

Wow, more poor design decisions
1. Black plastic again.
2. We knew before this review that the dragon would not be articulated. What I don't like, however, is the fact that the chain is not removable and the dragon just dangles around on the chain.

Can we please have Terry back?

[Dragonblaster]

FINALLY !!!
YEEEEES !!! Dragon Blaster Skeletor !!!
Thanks DAN!

Boooooo regarding that darned black plastic...

[cbomb23]

I would agree an articulated Dragon would have been cool, but if they would have done that it probably would have moved Dragon Blaster Skeletor into the Orko/Prince Adam or Marlena type slot and pricepoint.

Dan the Dragon head looks excellent on Draego-Man (on Fwoosh), could you see what it looks like on Clawful?

[Tiger-Boy]

I have been waiting for this figure for some time now!!

However, after seeing this review, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. Skeletor being almost 87% light blue skin, I was not expecting to have "painting-over-black-plastic".
Is this happening on the entire figure, or just the hands?

I agree about the dragon, it could have helped if it had more articulation, but since I'm gonna keep him mounted on Skeletor, it does not bug me that much.

But, I have to say, that being able to recreate the Original Skeletor, is a BIG Plus! Makes me want to buy another!

--UPDATE--

I have done some research, and it seems that the hands are not the only "painting-over-black-plastic". The shoulders have this issue, and probably the legs.

This greatly takes away my desire to own this figure.

[Berserker79]

I like, that the dragon is a solid piece, articulation would just ruin the design.

[Dragonblaster]

I think that collar of the dragon should have been a separate removable piece...
Now the lock will always dangle right in front of the dragon...

[iron_pride]

I think he looks amazing. I like the Dragon too, I was afraid I wouldn't.

[Balthus Dire]

Coolbeans.


I'm pretty meh on this variant, but I think I would've been a lot more excited for him if it wasn't for the (IMO) silly dragon headsculpt. I cannot for the life of me fathom what they were thinking when going with that sculpt. It looks nothing like the original toy and doesn't look menacing or cool whatsoever.

It kinda looks like one of those cheesy 90's Jurassic Park dinosaur toy pack-ins that came with the human figures.

[Prahvus]

I have mixed feelings about Dragon Blaster Skeletor... and I must say I'm a HUGE Skeletor fan, so that goes to show you how disappointed I am !

Mattel went the cheap way once again with the dragon. No articulation, and the only articulation we get is a weird head articulation. This is very sad, because DB Skeletor could have been absolutely outstanding, and Matty just made it an "usual", almost boring figure...

But what drives me out of my mind is the fact that Matty succeeded to BOTCH AN A-LIST FIGURE ! Why ? Well, because there's the dumb, idiotic BLACK PLASTIC WITH PAINT OVER IT, AND IT CAUSES THE FIGURE TO CHIP !

Sorry Dan, but once again, I won't be as forgiving to Matty as you are : your sample got a problem with his PAINTED hand (how many times did we ask SPECIFICALLY to NOT get painted hands ?), which chips ! We also know that the shoulders are cast in black plastic. I'm certain that this will be a widespread issue... no doubt about it. Your sample has bad quality level ? Well, there's a high level risk that the other figures will be bad quality level too.

This is just unforgiveable, and I'll be unforgiving : the design team at Mattel must be changed. Botching such awesome sculpts with stupid design decisions such as this one, kills the figure for me...

I still don't know whether I'll buy this FLAWED A-list figure... but I know for sure I'm going berserk with rage, because DB Skeletor has always been one of my favorite Skeletor variants, and his MOTUC rendition is just flawed...

This makes me fear the worst for the end of 2012 and 2013... and honestly, all in all, when I add up all the flaws plaguing this toyline, I think there are very few figures that I'll buy going forward ! It's a shaker, because I've supported MOTU since the beginning (80's MOTU, 200X MOTU and even NA, and a couple POP figures), but now it's just too many flaws for these costly figures.

I really feel sorry for people who bought one or more subs... they've clearly taken for the ass big time ! The sad part is that even "cherry pickers" are now affected.

I also fear that there mighty NEVER be any 2014 MOTUC figure because of the way this line is constantly mishandled and mismanaged on a recurrent basis ! Sorry to say this, but it's really what I feel : yes, Ruben needs to be sacked, but I begin to think maybe Toyguru should be fired as well.

[Slave2Evil_Lyn]

I think that collar of the dragon should have been a separate removable piece...
Now the lock will always dangle right in front of the dragon...

This was my question, is the collar in fact molded to the figure? I'm some shots it looks like its a spectate piece.

Not being a fan of variants I'm not sure I'll keep this figure. If the dragon was a separate articulated figure that could sit at his side as a pet, I probably would.

Keep up the great reviews Dan.

[Dragonblaster]

I have mixed feelings about Dragon Blaster Skeletor... and I must say I'm a HUGE Skeletor fan, so that goes to show you how disappointed I am !

Mattel went the cheap way once again with the dragon. No articulation, and the only articulation we get is a weird head articulation. This is very sad, because DB Skeletor could have been absolutely outstanding, and Matty just made it an "usual", almost boring figure...

But what drives me out of my mind is the fact that Matty succeeded to BOTCH AN A-LIST FIGURE ! Why ? Well, because there's the dumb, idiotic BLACK PLASTIC WITH PAINT OVER IT, AND IT CAUSES THE FIGURE TO CHIP !

Sorry Dan, but once again, I won't be as forgiving to Matty as you are : your sample got a problem with his PAINTED hand (how many times did we ask SPECIFICALLY to NOT get painted hands ?), which chips ! We also know that the shoulders are cast in black plastic. I'm certain that this will be a widespread issue... no doubt about it. Your sample has bad quality level ? Well, there's a high level risk that the other figures will be bad quality level too.

This is just unforgiveable, and I'll be unforgiving : the design team at Mattel must be changed. Botching such awesome sculpts with stupid design decisions such as this one, kills the figure for me...

I still don't know whether I'll buy this FLAWED A-list figure... but I know for sure I'm going berserk with rage, because DB Skeletor has always been one of my favorite Skeletor variants, and his MOTUC rendition is just flawed...

This makes me fear the worst for the end of 2012 and 2013... and honestly, all in all, when I add up all the flaws plaguing this toyline, I think there are very few figures that I'll buy going forward ! It's a shaker, because I've supported MOTU since the beginning (80's MOTU, 200X MOTU and even NA, and a couple POP figures), but now it's just too many flaws for these costly figures.

I really feel sorry for people who bought one or more subs... they've clearly taken for the ass big time ! The sad part is that even "cherry pickers" are now affected.

I also fear that there mighty NEVER be any 2014 MOTUC figure because of the way this line is constantly mishandled and mismanaged on a recurrent basis ! Sorry to say this, but it's really what I feel : yes, Ruben needs to be sacked, but I begin to think maybe Toyguru should be fired as well.

While I got used to (and now really like) that dragon, I agree with almost everything you said, especially the black plastic and Ruben. I'm just too fed up with all this dookie to bother writing it all down again and again...

[Man-Man]

I have mixed feelings about Dragon Blaster Skeletor... and I must say I'm a HUGE Skeletor fan, so that goes to show you how disappointed I am !

Mattel went the cheap way once again with the dragon. No articulation, and the only articulation we get is a weird head articulation. This is very sad, because DB Skeletor could have been absolutely outstanding, and Matty just made it an "usual", almost boring figure...

But what drives me out of my mind is the fact that Matty succeeded to BOTCH AN A-LIST FIGURE ! Why ? Well, because there's the dumb, idiotic BLACK PLASTIC WITH PAINT OVER IT, AND IT CAUSES THE FIGURE TO CHIP !

Sorry Dan, but once again, I won't be as forgiving to Matty as you are : your sample got a problem with his PAINTED hand (how many times did we ask SPECIFICALLY to NOT get painted hands ?), which chips ! We also know that the shoulders are cast in black plastic. I'm certain that this will be a widespread issue... no doubt about it. Your sample has bad quality level ? Well, there's a high level risk that the other figures will be bad quality level too.

This is just unforgiveable, and I'll be unforgiving : the design team at Mattel must be changed. Botching such awesome sculpts with stupid design decisions such as this one, kills the figure for me...

I still don't know whether I'll buy this FLAWED A-list figure... but I know for sure I'm going berserk with rage, because DB Skeletor has always been one of my favorite Skeletor variants, and his MOTUC rendition is just flawed...

This makes me fear the worst for the end of 2012 and 2013... and honestly, all in all, when I add up all the flaws plaguing this toyline, I think there are very few figures that I'll buy going forward ! It's a shaker, because I've supported MOTU since the beginning (80's MOTU, 200X MOTU and even NA, and a couple POP figures), but now it's just too many flaws for these costly figures.

I really feel sorry for people who bought one or more subs... they've clearly taken for the ass big time ! The sad part is that even "cherry pickers" are now affected.

I also fear that there mighty NEVER be any 2014 MOTUC figure because of the way this line is constantly mishandled and mismanaged on a recurrent basis ! Sorry to say this, but it's really what I feel : yes, Ruben needs to be sacked, but I begin to think maybe Toyguru should be fired as well.

Questioning the design choices is one thing, but advocating someone to lose their job over it is another. That's really not cool.

[Prahvus]

Questioning the design choices is one thing, but advocating someone to lose their job over it is another. That's really not cool.

Maybe it's "not cool", but that's the way I feel, and it's my opinion. Some other people feel the same way, and I think they should be able to express themselves too.

[redsquadron]

Is Dragon Blaster Skeletor an "A" list character? Who'da thunk?

[scott metzger]

Questioning the design choices is one thing, but advocating someone to lose their job over it is another. That's really not cool.

In fairness, the design of the figures IS the design team's job; if it is consistently bad, and figures are having problems related to design decisions almost every month now, exactly what is the recourse Mattel should take?

I'm not saying the responsibility is all on one person as I don't know if all of the choices like the black plastic fell in his lap. But, basically, if someone is doing a poor job at their job, saying they maybe shouldn't be doing that particular job doesn't seem unreasonable...

[krosfyah]

Is Dragon Blaster Skeletor an "A" list character? Who'da thunk?

Skeletor is an A list character so that automatically makes any Skelly variant an A list character.

[MOTU_Maniac]

Man you have been busy! Thanks for getting all of these reviews together! MUCH appreciated!

Looking forward to DB Skeletor.

[bcrduke]

Thanks, Dan, for getting this review up so quickly - and for being honest in it.

I agree... the dragon is a bit disappointing. It could have been sculpted to both cling to his back and stand, so that, at least, we could have had an actual upgrade from the original figure... which is kind of the point of this entire line, in my opinion.

Mattel went super cheap on this variant and it's obvious that he's one of the figures that helps "balance the year."

An extra included accessory, maybe for someone else, like the Havoc Staff in orange for Faker, might have boosted this figure for me... but it's a bit lacking

The head of the dragon is clearly a design choice made to cut costs... it's lot cheaper to fill the mouth with teeth and tool the head as a solid piece than create an open-mouthed or hinged-jaw with that kind of detail I guess.



And, yeah, this Ruben guy needs to go. Sorry... but these figures are starting to look bootleggy. We pay WAY more than enough to suggest that we aren't happy with decisions that "Mattel Design" is making... and Terry was a LOT better... plus, after having met Terry, and hearing Ruben at SDCC, I have to say that Terry was a lot more sincere. Ruben immediately turned me off because he seemed to enjoy feeding the crowd lines that we all knew were from the Mattel handbook lol. That's just my opinion.

[Count Judas]

Great review Dan, as always.
The poor design choices made on DB Skelly is the deal breaker for me as I won't be keeping him. For me, the dragon is one of the few sculpts made by the 4H which I don't like at all and that being the main focus point on this variant makes it lose major points. Now the added awful black plastic (reminds me of Dark Water) is the final straw. How can this be a choice? The years of experience and expertise (now questionable) the design team at Mattel have and they still willingly decide to use this in joints and in overly used body parts knowing full well what the outcome will be (chipping) is an outrage and a slap in the face to we, the consumers.

[JimPansen]

This could´ve been the coolest variant. Opportunity missed

[Man-Man]

Maybe it's "not cool", but that's the way I feel, and it's my opinion. Some other people feel the same way, and I think they should be able to express themselves too.

I'm fairly certain I didn't suggest that I'd like to revoke your right to share your opinion, albeit as malicious as I think it is. I simply think it's disheartening that you and apparently others out there who share the same sentiments are so eager to deal out such bitter judgments upon people you don't even personally know. Just for theoretical funsies, let's say that a cheeseburger I got from Five Guys was cold and gross, or a video game that I spent 60 bucks on was disappointing (i.e. Diablo III). Am I unhappy with these products I purchased? Sure. Do I wish for the individuals who created said products to be removed from their positions of employment that could help support, I dunno, a family in which they love and care about? Nope. People deserve better than that, no matter how much they might screw things up, professionally or otherwise.

[Eternian Poet]

Since seeing that stupid-looking dragon head-sculpt, nothing has convinced me to want this.

[melmoth666]

I'm fairly certain I didn't suggest that I'd like to revoke your right to share your opinion, albeit as malicious as I think it is. I simply think it's disheartening that you and apparently others out there who share the same sentiments are so eager to deal out such bitter judgments upon people you don't even personally know. Just for theoretical funsies, let's say that a cheeseburger I got from Five Guys was cold and gross, or a video game that I spent 60 bucks on was disappointing (i.e. Diablo III). Am I unhappy with these products I purchased? Sure. Do I wish for the individuals who created said products to be removed from their positions of employment that could help support, I dunno, a family in which they love and care about? Nope. People deserve better than that, no matter how much they might screw things up, professionally or otherwise.

Do you feel the same about police officers, airline pilots, doctors, bridge builders, safety inspectors...etc?