{"id":24486,"date":"2013-08-15T00:05:21","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T05:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24486"},"modified":"2013-08-15T00:31:51","modified_gmt":"2013-08-15T05:31:51","slug":"motu-classics-spirit-of-hordak-review-14-pics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24486","title":{"rendered":"MOTU Classics Spirit
of Hordak Review (14 Pics)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Frustration is a curious concept for a collector. We want our collections to have some amount of difficulty. Something that makes us feel a little more savvy or gives us a story to regale others. Maybe we hunted something down. Maybe we got stupidly lucky while we were out picking up milk. We say we\u2019d like to walk into a store and just find everything we want, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s always true. That sentiment only comes out after a long drought for most of us. <\/p>\n

But collecting \u201conline\u201d is exactly the opposite. There\u2019s no romance to collecting online. It\u2019s acquiring in a pure sense. We accept no frustration. We don\u2019t want to hunt. We don\u2019t want to have to get lucky. We just want it to be orderable and it better damn well ship fast with minimal handling time. We want it virtually hassle-free (and we often pay more for it becuase of that).<\/p>\n

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While I lament the loss of that romance (honestly, part of my collection does feel a little less meaningful without it), I do appreciate the hassle-free toys. I subscribe so that MOTU just shows up at my house. And I tell you, all of you, that no matter if you love subs or begrudgingly sub, the day that MOTU figures aren\u2019t coming every month is going to be a sad day indeed… but I digress. <\/p>\n

See, the thing about online toy collecting lacking that romance, that \u201cfun\u201d, was something that Toy Guru and the folks at Mattel tried to address this year. They added an extra, non-subscription figure to their MOTUC rolls this year, the Spirit of Hordak. (See, I may be ramble, but I\u2019ll always get there…) <\/p>\n

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The problem though was the idea behind this “fun” addition to MOTUC collecting was inherently flawed. It wasn\u2019t a completely bad idea. It has potential. So I offer this advice to Toy Guru should they do this again (and they should (and probably will)). Do more of these unannounced chase figures. Maybe not a bunch, maybe 1-2 a year at most. Do keep setting out to surprise us. Put the chase figures up on the site like you are, but then leave them there<\/em>; no quotas on how many to sell before it\u2019s taken down or a time limit in minutes. If you must \u2013 make it available for only half a day or six hours. But long enough so that the information about it can get out on social media and folks can come buy your wares.<\/p>\n

No more of this 10 minutes here or 20 minutes there. It wasn\u2019t fun. I didn\u2019t enjoy it. I won\u2019t enjoy it if you do it again. The loss of romance is regrettable, but this is toy collecting online and hassle just isn\u2019t supposed to be in the vocabulary anymore, romantic or not. The surprise was wonderful, but, Mattel, you just need to keep things a little easier going forward.<\/p>\n

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Before I get any further in this review, I need to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT<\/strong> to Jon over at Preternia.com<\/a>! See, I didn’t* catch ol\u2019 SoH when he was available on Matty and Jon was kind enough to give me hook up last week. So a big thank you to Jon and if you guys aren\u2019t checking out his site<\/a> every day, you should be. He\u2019s doing some of the best toy reviews out there (that aren\u2019t on IAT, of course)<\/em> and he covers news like he’s several people working on one site. We have two and we still can’t find time to post any damn news! <\/p>\n

* – Ironically, after Jon sent Hordak my way, I did manage to see the figure not “in hiding” on Mattycollector and snagged one for Vault. It’s funny how life works… <\/em> Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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As a figure, Hordak is pretty straightforward: he\u2019s a repaint. A repaint that features very little paint. This is the classic release Hordak cast in a translucent reddish\/pink with minimal paint apps on the symbol and his eyes. On the bright side, his awkward availability was less of a sting because he\u2019s not the most necessary figure, but he\u2019s really won me over since he got here. You\u2019ll note that I had a ton of fun with him (and his parts) in the pics. Sometimes I love figures because they\u2019re amazingly done (see yesterday\u2019s Green Ranger<\/a>) and other times you can really love a not so amazing figure because of the novelty they present. Hordak here falls into the latter category. He\u2019s just a big, fun, pink mess. <\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not going to spend too much time reviewing the figure itself in case you haven\u2019t noticed. I\u2019ve reviewed Hordak before (it was an awful, early review here at IAT – for some reason I thought taking outdoor pics at night was genius<\/em>), so I\u2019ve covered the sculpt, articulation, and all that good stuff before. This figure works and looks exactly like the first one, just with new colors and less accessories. <\/p>\n

This Hordak only gets two accessories. A removable Horde armband, which I include here as an accessory mostly because it\u2019s not cast in clear pink like the rest of the figure, it’s solid red. And the trademark Horde Crossbow cast in white. This is the traditional color for the vintage Hordak\u2019s accessory, so this was a smart inclusion here. I bet some folks want this guy just to get their hands on that piece. Ironically, I remember when this crossbow was placed in the case at NYCC. Speculation ranged from it signaling a Filmation Hordak to a new Horde figure that didn\u2019t originally have a crossbow (like Modulok). Well, nope, it sure didn\u2019t. I wonder if anyone guessed it would come with this guy?<\/p>\n

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Overall, this is a fun little addition to the Classics shelf. I love the idea of it and it has me wanting more like this. I\u2019d jump at the chance for a Spirit of Grayskull in a new, non-ultra limited shade of blue (or green?). A Spirit of He-Ro to match. Or a Slime Pit He-Man would really rock! The only pause I have is the shipping. When I did spot Hordak on Matty, I ordered one for Vault as I said. Shipping was $14. Yeah, Vault got his Spirit of Hordak for $40. I think it was probably cheaper just to get it off eBay. Oops. <\/p>\n

So while I\u2019m not thrilled at having to order a single figure off of Mattycollector again anytime soon, I do want this chase figure thing to continue. I fear that Toy Guru & Mattel might be taken aback by the valid complaints, but all they really have to do is increase the availability a notch. This is a great way to get cheap or low production cost figures into the hands of fans, just make sure we can get them easily. I\u2019m just too old to be driving all over creation for Mer-Man, Roboto, & Fisto these days, okay?<\/p>\n

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