RockinHard's Top MOTUC Pictorial/Review Countdown!

[Matthew K]

Evil-Lyn is one of my top figures. Out of all the figures using that body, hers works the best because they actually got the soft plastic tunic right.

[RockinHard]

#56

He-Man

Neither this figure nor King Grayskull, the first two released, convinced me to buy into the line. When I first saw the Classics He-Man, I wasn’t very impressed. The problem? The face sculpt. It has never been the ideal He-Man face sculpt (I think Vykron may have actually achieved this, ironically, or at least be closer to it). If a figure is the flagship character and representing the brand, it should be close to flawless, helping to sell the brand. Even worse, the very first version of He-Man had allergic-red eyes and backwards shoulders, with the eyes being the most noticeable detriment. Mattel later “corrected” this issue and re-released the figure and, though an improvement, could not realize a face that fully captured the character of He-Man. Even some vintage He-Man figures’ hair and faces seem to be better sculpted than this one. Fans have ragged on other figures’ face sculpts/paint apps, but one that perhaps doesn’t receive the amount of criticism it deserves is He-Man. Doubtlessly, the rest of the figure and the weapons are all great (minus the perpetual loose ankles that plagued the line early on), but the head could have been much better.


Catch me a the right angle, Mr. Cameraman.

[Cottonwood]

RockinHard keeps it real w/ He-man at 56...
That swollen face... Like he has a peanut allergy.

This is not a fluff piece thread.
Scandalous!
Loving it. Keep going...

[RockinHard]

#55

King Randor (FILMation)

This figure, along with the Palace Guards, Cringer, and Queen Marlena, is a dream come true. I have wanted this figure for so long. As a child, I couldn’t understand why in the world Mattel released the vintage version of Randor we received over this cartoon-accurate version. This is THE version of Randor. And the figure turned out pretty darn good (and I absolutely love the chalice accessory!). Where this figure is a disappointment is with certain points of articulation: the upper legs do not have much range of motion due to the skirt piece and, even worse, shoulder rotation is hindered because of the sculpt. Both of these issues with articulation could have been avoided. Now if they would just release those FILMation Hover Robots for Skeletor and my dream’s complete . . .


Who needs to be able to move when you look so Kingly?

[Micro-Man]

My work schedule is pretty grueling this week but I'm glad that I have this topic to come back to, relax, and discuss this fun collection! I'm kinda falling behind, though, so I better keep it short and sweet...

Megator was the first of the giant MOTUC figures that I bought when I decided to finish off the gaps in my collection. The giants looked cool and I didn't know they had any in MOTU but first, I needed enough space for them. While I rank Tytus just slightly higher than Megator (He bred and herded techno-dinosaurs!), I do like all the improvements you mentioned. Best of all, is his vicious weapon...Forget vacuum cleaning; Megator will bash your head in! The extra zombie head is a neat extra but I keep him with his regular ugly face for my POG displays.

Poor Snout Spout! He's such a goofy looking character but being able to squirt water in the vintage days made him a memorable figure to have back then. He's a great representation of the classic old design but the issues with his trunk really hurts him. Fortunately, I read about all this here before I bought him so I don't mess with his trunk. So far, it's still in great shape and good old Hose Nose spends his days with the beautiful Etherian women, as part of the Great Rebellion, since the Eternians were so mean, heheh! Snout Spout reminds me of when quirky, silly designs were fun and make it easier for me accept figures like Cy-Chop.

Wow, I rank Evil Lyn pretty high up on my list of essential characters but have to admit that I was never really a fan of her yellow look. I like BG Evil Lyn better and almost skipped this version. I put her off until there were only 5 or so figures left to collect so I can understand how she can rank lower as a figure. Still, she's a beautiful update of her vintage counterpart. Her face is prettier and the improvements to her tunic is cool.

Geez, He-Man isn't even in the top 50 too?! But...It's He-Man! I mean...Y'know...C'mon...HE-MAN!! Ok, I didn't think too much about his new face sculpt because I actually felt that it was a good update. I tend to favor Filmation influences in this line so this new face seems like a step in that direction to me. Seeing Vykron does make me miss that old vintage face a bit but I'm still happy with the Classics version. Coming in so late in the game, I was also spared of the red-eyed, reversed shoulders mishaps of the original release so He-Man ranks very high. Although, my favorite version right now is the TRU exclusive with the Filmation-esque paint deco!

I'm with you on this one; Eternos Palace King Randor is the definitive version that I dreamed about. Ever since I bought Queen Marlena, the royal family didn't look right without him. I think skirt cuts, and especially the bicep swivels, would've really improved this figure but I'm happy to have him. The inability of "throne" characters to sit down doesn't bother me because, like I mentioned earlier, we don't really have any thrones for them. The only quick tweak that I did was swap his head with the vintage version so that his golden crown matches Marlena. He can keep his plain yellow crown for the battlefield, heheh!

[Whiplash7]

Wait until you see the next one . . .

Can't say I find the He-Man placement controversial. I don't mind his face sculpt, but it doesn't always look the best. The backwards shoulders automatically rank it far down the list. But, Evil-Lyn is still one of the best figures in the line, and the fact that Bathrobe Randor is ranked above her (and above almost everyone else you've listed) is criminal

[Lich Leech]

No way I'd put He-Man lower on the list than the Burger King. I think he's quite a good figure. I'd have preferred a more vintage correct face, but there's nothing really wrong with the one he got. Overall a good sculpt and a good update on the classic design. The sharper collar bone area of the Classics male buck makes the power harness look a little funny from an angle (it had a nice round curve on the original), but He-Man should easily be in the top 10. IMO. The first version did have the allergy eyes, but I don't think it should be pinged too much for that since they did correct it.

[RockinHard]

RockinHard keeps it real w/ He-man at 56...
That swollen face... Like he has a peanut allergy.

This is not a fluff piece thread.
Scandalous!
Loving it. Keep going...

Ha, ha! Thank you.

[He-Dad]

I completely agree with your placement of He-man. He's awesome, but not what made me a MOTUC believer either! I'ld but BK...er....Filmation Randor higher though....all kidding aside he's amazing.

[Clawful Ofit]

Alright Rockin', I didn't abandon ya, I just wanted to see a bunch of new ones all at once.
Wow, just amazing pics. You really pic great locations & your poses are always great.

Now to catch up...

PD He-Man- Kinda meh, but I like the key. Low on my buy list.
SLL- My 3rd fave 30th character. Figure wise, I would change/add 7 things, so I agree with the placement. Middle of my buy list.
Vykron- Barbarian is the only one I'll ever display. Just a He-Man to me. Very low on my buy list.
Leech- I own, he's cool, but missing that something. I agree with his place in the countdown.
BGT- She's hot, a cool figure, but a variant so expected to be low. I have her higher, but not by much. LOL @ MGM's reaction.
Tytus- I just got today. He's neat, least fave giant though. Weapon is ridiculous, so I gave him Shadow Beast's club. 100% better.
Panthor- I really would have loved flocking, but he can "lay" down so that makes up for it. Just need a throne for him to lay next to.
Faker- Another variant, yet there is something about him that just makes him cool.
Swift Wind- I really like. The colors are bright very bright though. Oh the insults I suffer when my friends look at him.
Slush Head- My favorite NA mutant. I love the character. Different feet & a turnable head would have gone a long way.
Cy-Chop- It's the choppers. I can live with him looking like a junkyard threw up, but those are way too big & really hinder posing.
Optikk- Looks great. No real nostalgia for me. High end of the middle of my buy list.
Marlena- A character I always liked. So glad to have her in plastic form.
Sorceress- Vital. Very high on my buy list.
He-Ro- Great figure & it's cool to finally have him.
Clawful- 100% thrilled with him. I have him much higher as he was my first vintage & I made sure he was my first MOTUC too.
Gaurds- Lots of accessories, but 2 plates & 2 heads I'll never use, plus having to cover TG's mug puts the 3 packs I want very low.
Frosta- Well it's been covered a thousand times. While she's not bad, she falls embarrassingly short of her potential.
Snakes- I hate the brown one in yellow guys armor. It looks bad to have super detailed arms & legs with a bare torso. So just 1 for me.
Megator- Comparing him to the other giants, he's right in the middle. No compliants 'cept his articulation.
Snout- I hold dear for some unknown reason. He was 1 of my Mom's faves so that might be it. I showed her when I got him & she loved it.
Evil-Lyn- I dunno about her. Great update, good accessories & Screech, but she only wowed me as an A-lister, not so much the toy.
He-Man- Just on name & who he is puts him waaay higher for me. Figure wise I completely understand his placing.
EP Randor- 30 years & he's here. A few design tweeks & he'd be perfect. I'm so glad to have him, but falls shy ofwhat could have been.

Whew! Sorry for the book! While getting a ton of new pics at once was great, I'm back on this thread daily now. Learned my lesson. Keep up the amazing pics. You definitely have an eye for it.

[Vikor]

Filmation Randor is super lame. Would have been so much cooler to get a 200x Randor, but we got this fluff instead.

[MegaGearMax]

Only one fix for He-Man and it is Oo-Larr with an Alcala He-Man head. I'm hoping that head would revitalize He-Man as the Alcala Skeletor Head that came with Demo-Man revitalized Skeletor.

[RockinHard]

#54

Bubble-Power She-Ra

This is the variant made to counter fans’ disappointment and Mattel’s past errors regarding the first Classics’ release of She-Ra. This one correctly made the figure’s outfit “white,” as well as giving it the proper waist-twist and leg articulation needed for more dynamic posing and play, and to sit on Swiftwind. There are also added details to the boots and gauntlets, and this time around, there is no hole in the center of the forehead. Instead, on this figure, we can pop the head and cape on from the first version and have a much more articulated and functional FILMation She-Ra. All of these are great updates. We can also add the “Bubble-Power” armor and clip-on mask for the toy-style Bubble-Power She-Ra variant. Though, this is pretty garish and silly-looking. I really dislike it. Even sillier is the bubble-blowing wand (I’m sure Skeletor is shaking in his hood over that one!). Further, the “variant” is not even toy-accurate, as the design on She-Ra’s dress/skirt matches the cartoon over the vintage figure. Even worse than that, the figure almost has no head articulation—still. Consequently, many welcome improvements were utilized on this figure, but between the lack of head articulation and inaccurate/silly Bubble-Power gimmick/weapon (and the fact that both of the figures I purchased have loose knee/ankle/leg joints), the figure is not the knockout it should have been.


A chiropractor's nightmare patient.

[shadowfall1976]

I love He-Man and BP She-Ra..... #10 and #18 out of 54 for me.

Randor ended up being #48, but only because of the lack of articulation, the sculpt I do love, but articulation scores higher than aesthetics.... What is an "action" figure, without posability? I never owned the Vintage Randor, nor do I wish to, EP Randor, is Randor to me, not Vintage, not 200X.... Filmation, is the mainstay I go by.

[Weasel]

Only one fix for He-Man and it is Oo-Larr with an Alcala He-Man head. I'm hoping that head would revitalize He-Man as the Alcala Skeletor Head that came with Demo-Man revitalized Skeletor.

I hope this happens one day MGM.

[RockinHard]

Alright Rockin', I didn't abandon ya, I just wanted to see a bunch of new ones all at once.
Wow, just amazing pics. You really pic great locations & your poses are always great.

Now to catch up...

PD He-Man- Kinda meh, but I like the key. Low on my buy list.
SLL- My 3rd fave 30th character. Figure wise, I would change/add 7 things, so I agree with the placement. Middle of my buy list.
Vykron- Barbarian is the only one I'll ever display. Just a He-Man to me. Very low on my buy list.
Leech- I own, he's cool, but missing that something. I agree with his place in the countdown.
BGT- She's hot, a cool figure, but a variant so expected to be low. I have her higher, but not by much. LOL @ MGM's reaction.
Tytus- I just got today. He's neat, least fave giant though. Weapon is ridiculous, so I gave him Shadow Beast's club. 100% better.
Panthor- I really would have loved flocking, but he can "lay" down so that makes up for it. Just need a throne for him to lay next to.
Faker- Another variant, yet there is something about him that just makes him cool.
Swift Wind- I really like. The colors are bright very bright though. Oh the insults I suffer when my friends look at him.
Slush Head- My favorite NA mutant. I love the character. Different feet & a turnable head would have gone a long way.
Cy-Chop- It's the choppers. I can live with him looking like a junkyard threw up, but those are way too big & really hinder posing.
Optikk- Looks great. No real nostalgia for me. High end of the middle of my buy list.
Marlena- A character I always liked. So glad to have her in plastic form.
Sorceress- Vital. Very high on my buy list.
He-Ro- Great figure & it's cool to finally have him.
Clawful- 100% thrilled with him. I have him much higher as he was my first vintage & I made sure he was my first MOTUC too.
Gaurds- Lots of accessories, but 2 plates & 2 heads I'll never use, plus having to cover TG's mug puts the 3 packs I want very low.
Frosta- Well it's been covered a thousand times. While she's not bad, she falls embarrassingly short of her potential.
Snakes- I hate the brown one in yellow guys armor. It looks bad to have super detailed arms & legs with a bare torso. So just 1 for me.
Megator- Comparing him to the other giants, he's right in the middle. No compliants 'cept his articulation.
Snout- I hold dear for some unknown reason. He was 1 of my Mom's faves so that might be it. I showed her when I got him & she loved it.
Evil-Lyn- I dunno about her. Great update, good accessories & Screech, but she only wowed me as an A-lister, not so much the toy.
He-Man- Just on name & who he is puts him waaay higher for me. Figure wise I completely understand his placing.
EP Randor- 30 years & he's here. A few design tweeks & he'd be perfect. I'm so glad to have him, but falls shy ofwhat could have been.

Whew! Sorry for the book! While getting a ton of new pics at once was great, I'm back on this thread daily now. Learned my lesson. Keep up the amazing pics. You definitely have an eye for it.

Thanks, man. I appreciate your contributions!

- - - Updated - - -

Only one fix for He-Man and it is Oo-Larr with an Alcala He-Man head. I'm hoping that head would revitalize He-Man as the Alcala Skeletor Head that came with Demo-Man revitalized Skeletor.

That would be interesting.

[Vikor]

Loving this thread. Keep 'em coming! Great work.

[Micro-Man]

Like many others, I got Bubble Power She-Ra to make Ultimate Filmation She-Ra. When it comes to POP, I became more of a Filmation fan last year and have no nostalgic connection to the vintage figures. Hey, my toys were involved in vicious battles and adventures...There was no time for brushing anyone's hair, heheh! However, I recently discovered a box of my mom's old stuff and found that she had several vintage POP toys. She loved to build doll houses and they must've been in the right scale or something. It's kinda funny to think of her displaying Frosta and Catra setting up meals in a miniature dining room with Double Trouble. It's cool to realize that we shared an affinity for this franchise all these years without even knowing it, though.

Anyway, the vintage She-Ra accessories at least make this figure more than just a body to swap. The old headdress is improved as a clip-on piece rather than that awkward peg that goes into her forehead. The vintage sword and armor is cool too but I agree that the bubble wand/gun thing is kinda silly. For now, She-Ra 1.0 is acting as the BP variant in my POP/Horde shelf. While I'm ok if no more vintage POP variants get made, I'll admit that I do want to see a vintage toy Catra in MOTUC!

[IrrepressibleDH]

Really diggin' the pics, but I'm not sure about your rankings though.

[Lich Leech]

Only one fix for He-Man and it is Oo-Larr with an Alcala He-Man head. I'm hoping that head would revitalize He-Man as the Alcala Skeletor Head that came with Demo-Man revitalized Skeletor.

I'm waiting for this as well.

[kwgriffi]

great thread! love all the fantastic pictures

[shadowfall1976]

Been a few days....where's the countdown?

[Vikor]

Been a few days....where's the countdown?

Looks like he paused. Too much attention on the reveals. We all needed time to absorb them.

[shadowfall1976]

Looks like he paused. Too much attention on the reveals. We all needed time to absorb them.

I know, I was trying to BUMP!

[Micro-Man]

I miss the countdown, it's fun! Hopefully now that all the NYTF frenzy is simmering down, we can continue enjoying RockinHard's awesome pics soon!