{"id":20092,"date":"2012-08-06T03:00:23","date_gmt":"2012-08-06T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20092"},"modified":"2012-08-06T11:36:09","modified_gmt":"2012-08-06T16:36:09","slug":"motu-classics-com-spikor-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20092","title":{"rendered":"MOTU Classics.Com:
Spikor Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>When I was a wee tot, I sorta hated Spikor. I could bore you with why, but the specifics aren\u2019t really important. Suffice to say, this wasn\u2019t a Masters of the Universe Classics figure I was really looking forward to; and that was before he debuted as basically a vintage rehash. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have a lot of memories of toy shopping when I was a kid. My parents accumulated presents for my birthday and Christmas throughout the year. The results were some of the most awesome Christmas mornings and birthdays a kid could have, but very few stories of being in a store getting a new toy. I remember some \u2013 the awesomeness of seeing black Spider-Man for the first time as a Secret Wars figure, foolishly turning down Metroplex for the Joe Swampmasher (or was it the Dogfighter? I don\u2019t even remember, but duh\u2026 Metroplex? I must\u2019ve been on crack)<\/em>, not wanting Spikor because he had a dumb trident hand, my Mom being annoyed that the capes came off on Super Powers Batman & Robin (I was always losing the accessories)<\/em>, or my parents & I searching high & low across the state for an Optimus Prime. And, after not finding him, letting me pick out whatever Transformers I wanted. I chose a blue corvette, Tracks. <\/p>\n

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I loved that Tracks. I loved his stickers off, his paint thin, and even his arm\/door right off (and yes, I did lose his missile battery & missiles). To this day, Tracks is still one of my favorite Autobots, but unlike Ratchet, whom I loved because of the comics, or Hot Rod, whom I loved because of the cartoon, I loved Tracks because he was a great toy that will forever be associated with that awesome day. And as I got older and ended up a toy collector, that affinity for Tracks easily morphed into a Tracks collection. The pricey Milton Bradley red Tracks. The yellow Alternator. The blue Alternator. The Generations Tracks. And, of course, a Reissue so I can have an original in pristine condition. And\u2026 for me, I would ultimately realize that there was really no point to having all of those, but that\u2019s a much longer story for a different day.<\/p>\n

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Anyway, so this is a Spikor review, right? Well, give me some credit, I did mention Spikor up there, if you\u2019ll recall. I remember not wanting him. He was purple (which strangely didn\u2019t keep me from getting Adam) and he had a trident for his left hand, which I have to admit I still<\/em> think is out of place & lame. And are the spikes his armor or his skin? The head and chest tell two different tales… I couldn\u2019t tell you which figure I came home with from Sears instead that day, but my dislike of Spikor carried over for awhile. I have never been once disappointed that we didn\u2019t get him in MO2K. And, while I always knew he must have a Classics figure, I never really cared about it. When he showed up with his trident hand and cartoony face earlier this year, I felt vindicated in my disinterest. I had hoped that the Four Horsemen would do something to him to make him more worthwhile, but as the line slowly caves slavishly into nostalgia, it seems increasingly unlikely. <\/p>\n

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With Spikor coming via my subscription, I had intended for him to be one of my \u201cgrin & bear\u201d it figures. It wasn\u2019t all bad, I no longer really much care about the color purple anymore, and probably more importantly, if I\u2019m going to have a toy, I may as well inspect it for unseen coolness instead of writing it off (that may apply more to me as a \u2018professional\u2019 toy reviewer then to the average collector, but getting out of our collecting comfort zone and seeing what\u2019s out there is something we could all use a little practice at)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Classics Spikor is just about exactly what any one of us would\u2019ve expected. He\u2019s got the basic MOTUC buck, only sporting new forearms to get the bracers right. To round him out, there\u2019s the new prickly armor and the new head sculpt. The head sculpt appears to be much more to my liking in person than what I saw at Toy Fair. I doubt it was tweaked, perhaps it\u2019s just materials or bad lighting at the show, but Spikor\u2019s head isn\u2019t as goofy and Cl-awful as it first looked. And if you’re willing to take out some paint and remove those googly pupils, his menace factors grows exponentially! Continue to Page 2<\/a><\/p>\n

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Speaking of those googly eyes, there’s another paint issue with Spikor that is downright confusing. Spikor’s limbs are molded<\/em> black and painted light purple. I have no idea why this was done, whether it was planned by Mattel or the factory being chincy (purple is a difficult color to match across diffrent plastic consistencies), but it kinda sucks. As you can see, I’ve already got some paint damage on the joints and there’s a scratch on the right hand already too. It just seems like an odd thing to do and kinda makes Spikor feel like a custom figure in that regard. It’s a shame too because other than his eyes (which were better on my second Spikor) this is a nice looking figure that time and use will really wear on. <\/p>\n

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Ah, so here we are at the trident hand. The action feature being impractical for this line, it requires three newly tooled pieces to accomplish. You can imagine my joy at the use of those tooling dollars! The red attachment and then retracted and extended versions of the trident. I\u2019m still not a fan, but Mattel did do something I wasn\u2019t expecting – Spikor comes with a regular ol\u2019 left hand. This was done so that he could also look like he appeared in the cartoon (which is apparently an episode I missed)<\/em>, but I don\u2019t really care about why it’s here. I’m just happy to have it. <\/p>\n

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When I opened Spikor, I played with his interchangeable parts (all of which are deliciously Robot\/Trap Jaw compatible)<\/em> and ultimately configured him exactly as you\u2019d suspect I would and put the trident pieces to the side. He\u2019s been sitting here for a couple weeks and during that time, something has clicked in my head. Sans the \u201cnoisy-offensive\u201d trident hand, Spikor looks pretty cool. He\u2019s got a fun color scheme, the spike-theme is about as basic\/fun MOTU as you can get (even if it makes absolutely no sense)<\/em> and his head sculpt looks like he needs a day off. Toss in his big-giant-orange-kill-you-dead club, and Spikor really rose up out of the ashes of my disinterest. I even find myself wondering just how cool the NECA staction might\u2019ve turned out, maybe he would\u2019ve been awesome enough to overcome that silly trident hand too? <\/p>\n

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The point is that the trident was getting in my way. I knew this was a figure that other people wanted, that they loved as a kid, that were really excited to finally have happen the way I wanted all those Tracks updates. But I just wasn\u2019t with those folks, at least in spirit. As a subscriber, I wholeheartedly accept that some months you get the bull and some months the bull gets you. I got mine earlier this year with Kobra Khan earlier and I was able to cobble together a gorgeous Man-At-Arms from Snake MAA; but not every month can be a winner for me, or for any of us for that matter. This month belonged to Spikor fans. <\/p>\n

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But, the subscription insured that this figure made his way into my collection. My purchase subsidizing him for his fans (not that he neccesarily needed it, though many others do). Still, I know enough to know I should give each figure a half a chance. In this case you could say Mattel gave me an extra hand if you prefer, but a figure I originally didn\u2019t want has turned into something I\u2019m happy to have. Sure, he doesn\u2019t hold the same nostalgic affinity as Kobra Khan or Man-At-Arms for me, but he bought himself a nice spot in the collection nonetheless. <\/p>\n

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For more MOTU reviews, check out our
MOTU Classics Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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When I was a wee tot, I sorta hated Spikor. I could bore you with why, but the specifics aren\u2019t really important. Suffice to say, this wasn\u2019t a Masters of the Universe Classics figure I was really looking forward to; and that was before he debuted as basically a vintage rehash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[7,34,10],"tags":[1616,20,29,16,2558,1554],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-5e4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19069,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19069","url_meta":{"origin":20092,"position":0},"title":"First Look at Spikor& Sir Laser-Lot in Package","date":"June 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Mattel revealed two more MOTU Classics Bios yesterday with packaging reveals for July\u2019s Spikor and August\u2019s Sir Laser-Lot. Spikor gave Mattel an interesting opportunity to provide back story to a relatively clean-slate vintage character, but it was Sir Laser-Lot\u2019s bio that snagged the fan\u2019s attention. Spikor is currently scheduled for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28572,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28572","url_meta":{"origin":20092,"position":1},"title":"Interview with Mattel Brand Manager, Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich!","date":"July 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Event Coverage"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20552,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20552","url_meta":{"origin":20092,"position":2},"title":"MOTU Classics.Com: SDCC Vykron Review (18 Pics!)","date":"August 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, so some unforeseen circumstances slowed us down last week, but don\u2019t look at this Vykron review as late - just think of it as Reviewapalooza going an extra day! I\u2019ll be finishing off our theme week with a look at Vykron, Mattel\u2019s Masters of the Universe SDCC offering this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18605,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=18605","url_meta":{"origin":20092,"position":3},"title":"MOTU Classics News Round-Up Bios, Packaging, & Video!","date":"May 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The first week of May featured a slew of MOTU Classics news: New packaging reveals, new bios released with some interesting tidbits of the He-mythos, and accessory spotlight videos from Toy Guru. We watched it all with interest, but it was Nekron Week, darn it! That\u2019s all done, so let\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29150,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=29150","url_meta":{"origin":20092,"position":4},"title":"MOTUClassics.Com New Adventures Flogg Review","date":"August 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19792,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19792","url_meta":{"origin":20092,"position":5},"title":"Truetorial: Let’s all freak out about MOTU Classics!","date":"July 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"My least favorite time of year is here! The Subscription sign-up time! The excitement of the reveals gives way to the arguments over the merits of subs and character selection, opinions become facts, conspiracy theories are abound, and bad marketing is considered terrorism. I should pop some popcorn. I'm teasing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20092"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20092"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20109,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20092\/revisions\/20109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}