{"id":24735,"date":"2013-09-01T08:30:09","date_gmt":"2013-09-01T13:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24735"},"modified":"2014-09-28T23:33:33","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T04:33:33","slug":"motu-classics-castaspella-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24735","title":{"rendered":"MOTUClassics.Com
Castaspella Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>This review was originally published on September 1st, 2013.<\/strong>
I know Vault\u2019s been handling the MOTU Classics review of late. That\u2019s mostly because we\u2019ve hit a point where the characters appeal to him a bit more than me (except Clamp Champ, I was just too busy for him). And truth be told, Vault would be doing Castaspella too, if not for the fact that his broke. The left arm clean snapped off. Oops. <\/p>\n

I thought about having him review it, but you know how one or two bad QC stories can quickly become an epidemic, so we thought it best to only mention it instead of beating it death with multiple pics. I assume Vault just got a bad egg (& DR is slowly getting him a replacement) and we\u2019ll be taking a look at my Castaspella for this review. <\/p>\n

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Castaspella, as her name implies, is the primary mage for The Great Rebellion in the Princess of Power cartoon. She only appears in\u2026 maybe a dozen episodes out of the whole series I believe, but she ends up pretty well fleshed out as a character despite the limited appearances and has ended up as one of the more popular members of the supporting cast. In addition to being a powerful mage, she rules her own kingdom and has a long backstory with Shadow Weaver, the primary evil mage for the old cartoon. <\/p>\n

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Now, I haven\u2019t reviewed a lot of the POP girls because I haven\u2019t really liked a lot of them. I absolutely think they should be included. The vintage line, like most vintage lines, was pretty much a sausagefest. The Classics line is doing far better with the POP-injection. I just wish some of the figures had been better. It\u2019s mostly just my experience with the POP figures, I suppose. Some of it has been QC (my She-Ra\u2019s head never stays on) and other times it\u2019s wonky design. I\u2019m still not a fan of Frosta\u2019s head sculpt & clear blue hair or Netossa\u2019s unwieldy cape. In that regard, Castaspella has been a breath of fresh air. <\/p>\n

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Simply put, she\u2019s awesome. The overall sculpt is typical of the line. The basic 2.0 female buck is still running strong and the newly sculpted bits for Casta are all on par with it. The dress pieces are sharp and the new gauntlets and boots get the details down just right. On top of all that rests one of the better head sculpts this year. It is obviously a Four Horsemen head sculpt, but it looks unique enough to give Casta her own identity. The giant ponytail is similarly well done \u2013 and even better, doesn\u2019t block the neck articulation much at all. <\/p>\n

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Speaking of the articulation, Casta is pretty well done with only one minor complaint. The 2.0 buck fixed most of the early issues with the figure. The ball-jointed neck has good range, as do the ball-joints on the shoulders & hips. There are swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs and hinges at the eblows, knees, and ankles. Rocker ankles top of the leg articulation, but one thing is missing: a swivel at the boot cut. This particular area isn\u2019t a dealbreaker and most of the POP figures (with the unique boots) have lost it as well, but I still miss it. It does limit the range of the leg somewhat, but I also miss it for the custom options. Swapping the boots between some of the figures took a little effort, but it helped make the figures a little more fun to mix & match. <\/p>\n

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Paintwork was one area where Casta wasn\u2019t quite as spot-on as I wanted. While most of the figure is molded the appropriate colors there are a few mismatched areas like the painted faced to the body and then some slop on the torso. This piece is molded in orange for the collar and then painted. It\u2019s the yellow \u201clightning\u201d bolts that are the source of most of the slop. It\u2019s a tough paint op and it shows on the final results. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Casta included three accessories: a magic blast, shield, and a magic \u201ceffect\u201d disc. The wheel is the most fascinating. I\u2019m not sure how the original disc attached to the figure, but Mattel chose for this one to clip around the waist and I think that was a fantastic decision. Yes, the clips look a little clunky when it\u2019s on, but I don\u2019t mind being reminded these figures are toys now and again. <\/p>\n

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That said, I\u2019m probably happier with it removed though and glad that the figure has no evidence of a piece being removed or missing when it\u2019s not on. I also want to give Mattel a shout out for the rough texture of the clear plastic disc emulating the hold holographic sticker. That was a pretty smart design call and it looks great. I do wish it would spin a little more freely, but I\u2019ll leave that complaint to folks who plan to keep it on the figure more often than myself. <\/p>\n

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There\u2019s also the standard shield cast in clear yellow, but the real gem is the energy blast. Much like Thunder Punch He-Man, Mattel was casting clear yellow parts anyway so the fiscal stars aligned with the creativity to give us an energy blast. I love it. I wish more figures could have pieces like this as the line would be both more fun to play with and display. Getting little tastes of it is a little aggravating, but some is better than none I suppose!<\/p>\n

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If anything, this figure kinda makes me wish that the line were healthier and we could get multiple versions of the characters. Casta\u2019s vintage toy was done up in orange instead of blue and I think the figure would look great as a repaint. We would need some thigh-boots sculpted, but we should end up with those soon anyway. While I think an orange Casta would look cool, I can\u2019t argue with the blue. I think the cartoon looks should be taking precedent and the figures looks awesome in this color scheme. <\/p>\n

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I dare say Casta feels like the best female figure in the line yet. Perhaps it was that the figure didn\u2019t pose as much a challenge as some of the previous figures, but I choose to believe it\u2019s more that Mattel is finally getting the hang of the ladies. The sculpt looks fantastic and the disc was wisely made removable. The use of the spell-casting hand is another nice touch (& further reinforces that Mattel needs a better library of hands). If you\u2019re like me and the POP figure you\u2019re most looking forward to, Mermista, hasn\u2019t been made yet, things are looking up. There should be more than a few POP figures in the line\u2019s future and the more we get like Casta the better things are going to get!<\/p>\n

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Recent Reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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