{"id":20552,"date":"2012-08-27T04:05:37","date_gmt":"2012-08-27T09:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20552"},"modified":"2012-08-27T04:08:46","modified_gmt":"2012-08-27T09:08:46","slug":"motu-classics-com-sdcc-vykron-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20552","title":{"rendered":"MOTU Classics.Com:
SDCC Vykron Review (18 Pics!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>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 year. <\/p>\n

Vykron is one of those middle of the road figures. Though his origins extend back to the earliest days of MOTU as three mock-ups put together by Roger Sweet, he\u2019s basically a new figure. Or, more aptly, a \u201cconcept\u201d figure. Concept figures, to me, add some needed flavor to the line and give Classics an identity unto itself. Unfortunately, not all agree and these concept figures have taken some flak for \u201ccausing the downfall\u201d of MOTU in regards to the slower subscription sales this year. Ironically, there haven\u2019t been many in the line itself, just Vikor & Demo-Man (sorry, folks, the Star Sisters appeared in the cartoon!), so I find that an easy reason to discount. Still, the drama over subscription-sales saw Toy Guru give his assurance that any potential concept figures would be removed from the 2014 line in favor of getting nostalgic figures sooner. That promise appears to have gone over well, but I find it maddening nonetheless. I shed a tear for Red Beast. <\/p>\n

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But, this is Vykron\u2019s review, not a Truetorial. Vykron debuted to mixed reaction back in April\/May. I\u2019m not sure what my fellow collectors were expecting. We, as a group, seem to have invested a little more heavily in SDCC exclusives knocking our socks off. Hasbro has been killing me with much needed updates to classics Joes, Transformers as GI Joe vehicles, and some sweet Marvel choices including an Avengers 4\u2019 long (that\u2019s feet, people!) Helicarrier just this last year. With MOTU, Mattel hasn\u2019t been as flashy, but the last two years have seen fan favorites Prince Adam, Orko, Marlena, & Cringer, so perhaps we had our expectations a little too high for this year. I wasn\u2019t disappointed at all though and I was looking forward to Vykron. <\/p>\n

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The only hiccup along the way was his bio. When Vykron debuted as one man with three looks, my first instinct was to jump to his being three characters. I don\u2019t know why, but he seems cooler that way. When his bio was shown, Vykron was revealed to be a gladiator with a taste for the theatrical; routinely participating in the games in a variety of costumes (including two apparently based on a US army tank and another on Boba Fett, but I digress…). The bio also revealed he met his end after being ripped in half by Gygor. Interestingly, Mattel created a cool looking illustration<\/a> of this final battle for SDCC, but has never posted it online (marketing… why bother?). <\/p>\n

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Anyway, Vykron was always going to be three people to me. Mattel was even selling him packaged three different ways, each one featuring Vykron in a different set of armor. The traditional barbarian look was available only at SDCC while collectors could choose to order either the Tank or Space versions online after the show. I opted for the Tank Version, as that was my favorite of the three and I wanted those pieces to be in the best condition. A smarter man would\u2019ve taken a picture of the box before ripping it up to open, but I wanted to play with the toys, okay?<\/p>\n

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With my intention of having \u201cTeam Vykron\u201d instead of a single figure, I had originally planned to buy three. Between the reveal and the show though, I started getting more creative. An extra MAA body would be a great base for the tank version (though you do lose some of the campy appeal by going all green), so I would only need two… but, wait! Why not give the Space guy some clothes? Space is cold, after all. An extra Spikor would add mix some purples in with the orange (hey, I think it looks cool). The only problem I had was modded an existing extra head to fit in the helmet. I opted for one of the extra guard heads, but still had to lop off a good chunk of his head to fit it all together. Honestly, I kinda wish the Four Horsemen, Terry, Ruben, or whomever just designed all the ports for the hair and helmets the same. How cool would it be if we could easily break up the glue and put the blonde He-Hair on Vykron here? I think that\u2019d be a pretty classic look. And that\u2019s not to mention giving anybody guard helmets, or alternate hair, or all sorts of fun things. Things this figure is kinda trying to bring to the line? <\/p>\n

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Okay, so I\u2019ve been talking about everything but Vykron\u2019s figure so far it seems. At his base, we\u2019ve got the basic He-Man body we\u2019ve come to love as it comes with nearly every figure. The only new tooling here is on the forearms and hands to get the basic Vykron gauntlets right. There\u2019s some excellent detailing on the gloves, but that\u2019s all the base body really adds to the table. Continue to Page 2<\/a><\/p>\n

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There\u2019s also the Vykron face. It really does look kinda like the classic He-Man figure. I kinda regret only getting one Vykron simply because I could use the extra face! As it is, you\u2019d have to lop off a considerable chunk of the plug for the helmets to get the He-Hair to fit and I can\u2019t do that to my one and only Vykron head. Maybe something to look into if I can find some loose pieces cheap. <\/p>\n

Vykron, the barbarian, is finished off with clip on shin guards and his harness. The shin guards help round out the figure, but they do block the ankle articulation a bit. The harness to me is the prize piece because it so close to the traditional harness and I love the fur covering on the back. It\u2019s a shame it\u2019s not a separate piece from the harness as we\u2019d be a little closer to an Ice Armor He-Man (though I wouldn\u2019t care if this whole piece ended up being Ice Armor He-Man\u2019s gear). <\/p>\n

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Vykron, the Space Ace, has the most add-on pieces (eight). I love this look, particularly the jacket, but it suffers from thing in particular \u2013 Mattel couldn\u2019t\/didn\u2019t including interchangeable loincloths. As it is, the Space add-ons have to go over the barbarian loincloth and it just looks bulky. I don\u2019t mind the continuity, so many of the figures have loincloths, but had Mattel opted to make the space belt and loincloth a combined piece, I think the figure would look better overall. Still, I enjoy the backpack and the helmet. The only drawback to this armor is the clip-on boots pretty much freeze the ankle in place. <\/p>\n

Vykron, the Tank, is easily the silliest of the three. I fell in love with it instantly. I understand that the \u201cEarth markings\u201d being out of place rears its ugly head again here, but it doesn\u2019t bother me like the space on Spector\u2019s chest. I love the colors. I love the battle damage. I do enjoy the head sculpt (a completely alternate head, the Vykron face isn\u2019t used in this configuration), but I have to agree with the contractors that it\u2019s a bit too cartoony. I think the 4H would\u2019ve done fine to just make it a turret-head and worked \u201ceyes\u201d into the design and avoided the giant grill mouth. Again, the main two problems are present, this boot totally encapsulates the leg and makes the ankle articulation redundant while the furry loincloth looks out of place. When I get around to doing more custom work on these guys, I might add a Roboto-type loincloth in a matching shade of green. <\/p>\n

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On the surface, the paint work on my set appeared to be mostly okay. There were a few little issues like the blue \u2018jewel\u2019 on the barbarian armor being off or the paint on the space belt being lumpy, but nothing that really made me feel put out. But there is one major problem with the base body. <\/p>\n

Vykron\u2019s arms and legs are molded black and painted in skin tone. Spikor had the same issue and so does Laser Lot this month. I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s behind this. If this is something Mattel is trying out, something Ruben is doing differently than Terry, or something factory thing, but it\u2019s stupid. On Spikor & Laser Lot it\u2019s an annoyance, but it really stands out on the light flesh tone of Vykron. Moreover, this is a figure we\u2019re supposed to be handling, clipping on and removing pieces, and painting flesh tone over black plastic is just asking for problems. I honestly don\u2019t get it. <\/p>\n

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In addition to the armor pieces, Vykron included three accessories. The barbarian gets a fun new axe and the other two receive rifles. This is all based on the vintage prototypes and is probably the only place where I\u2019m really disappointed with the figures. The rifles are boring and even more so as they\u2019re unpainted and just don\u2019t seem to really fit. I think the axe is a fun design and looks great, but the space figure could\u2019ve used a futuristic laser or some sort while the tank figure could have a fun shield thanks to his primary weapon being head-mounted. Still, we\u2019re homaging here, I guess? Can I find fault with the original three mock-ups then? <\/p>\n

In all, we can still put me down as a fan of Vykron. Like any good toy collector, I\u2019ve gone my own way, opting to ignore the back story and find a way to add all three figures to my shelves. And I can\u2019t really complain too much when I\u2019ve done exactly that. I do wish the accessories were a little better and the paint over black plastic absolutely has to stop, but I like the direction Vykron took the line, albeit momentarily.<\/p>\n

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The line can only be made better by having more interchangeable pieces. MOTU Classics has almost always featured swappable armor, but imagine if all the helmeted heads had compatible ports? Some if it may not be canon, and it may be silly, but it\u2019d be fun if He-Man could sport a guard helmet, if Lt. Spector could wear King Grayskull\u2019s locks, or if this very Vykron head were easily compatible with the regular he-hair. Why can\u2019t all the wrists be pegged like Spikor (if nothing else, Mattel could make a He-Man hand that holds the Power Sword aloft)? I will always want an \u201cUltimate He-Man\u201d with the various armors, the Adam head (and hopefully a new head), with swappable wrists, with different weapons. It\u2019d be awesome \u2013 and it\u2019d blow out at retail, let\u2019s face it. So that\u2019s my takeaway here for Mattel. Make more interchangeable stuff (and quit painting over black plastic)! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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