{"id":24755,"date":"2013-09-04T00:11:39","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T05:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24755"},"modified":"2013-09-04T00:15:37","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T05:15:37","slug":"smc-the-weaponeer-review-w-o-m-o-m-f-g-gohlem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24755","title":{"rendered":"SMC The Weaponeer Review
(& W.O.M.O.M.F.G. Gohlem)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> There weren\u2019t many SDCC exclusives I had to have this year. Some of it was that the big guys really seemed to mail it in, but I\u2019d also like to think I\u2019m being a little more refined in my purchases. (My wife will assure you that it isn\u2019t the latter). There was one SDCC piece that spoke to me though. It was a great mix of cleverness & nostalgia. Of course, like most of us, I can\u2019t really get over to San Diego. <\/p>\n

Luckily, this particular SDCC exclusive drops TODAY over at the SMC store (along with some other cool colorways) and to help promote the release the fine guys over at SMC were kind enough to send along a sample for me to review. So, let\u2019s kick off with a big thank you to Spy Monkey Creations<\/em> and then get to the meat of this review. <\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve reviewed the basics of a Weaponeer of Monkaa a couple<\/A> times<\/a>, so I\u2019ll just give a quick overview of the basics. WoM figures run between 3\u201d & 4\u201d tall when they arrive (but you\u2019ll notice in the pics that I tend to like customizing them to be a bit taller) and feature about 30 pieces all held together by fantastic Glyos joints. The sculpts are solid overall with one key feature being the multi-purpose heads & hands that can double as extra pieces. Sometimes a fist may pop up and be smiling at you, but I find that to be part of the charm. It\u2019s also just fun to look across the figures and see little homages to classic toys throughout the design. WoM is designed by toy lovers for toy lovers. They ooze \u201ctoyeticness\u201d (I don\u2019t know how far I\u2019m getting away from a real word there).<\/em><\/p>\n

The initial offerings last year won me over, but it was their previous figure, the DX Umbreus that knocked it out of the park. He featured more detailed paint apps and just looked fantastic. I ended up converting my original figures into various other folks (that\u2019s one of the most fun things about the line) and that Umbreus is the baddest of bads on my WoM shelf. <\/p>\n

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For SDCC, SMC went full-on with the paints on a new WOM figure, the Weaponeer, Monkaarian Lord of War. And if he looks familiar, that\u2019s on purpose. One of my favorite DC Comics properties, Warlord, featured an Air Force pilot that ended up trapped inside the Earth, in the mystial land of Skartaris. He learns their ways, gets the girl, uses his \u201cadvanced\u201d knowledge to be badass, you get the gist. Getting him in toy form has been more difficult. Mattel made him, but only as a JLU and not in Classics (Boo!*). DC Direct made a figure, but it was in the short-lived 2006 costume (toy companies are dumb like that). The best figure is still an old 1982 figure from Remco. It\u2019s sorta a MOTU knock-off, but it\u2019s still the real deal. I have one still in storage from the move, but couldn\u2019t find it for this review despite serious digging.<\/p>\n

* – Mattel absolutely needed to make a DCUC compatible Warlord first, but I would\u2019ve died and gone to heaven had they also done one in MOTUC style.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Anyway, that ol\u2019 Remco Warlord is important because if you look at that comparison shot between The Weaponeer\u2019s cardart and the old Remco packaging, you might notice a similarity. And that\u2019s the thing that sealed this figure being awesome for me. And that\u2019s just the packaging! <\/p>\n

The figure itself is well done too. What really helps on these painted DX figures is that the initial elements sculpted on the basic buck and how the paint is used in conjunction with them. On Weaponeer, they blend in as armor for the most part, but I\u2019m also spying a possible MOTU homage for Powercon on the back and if you look at the figure, you might get a good idea just how they\u2019ll paint that up. I just wonder if the design was always there for that if the SMC guys just spot a good opportunity when they see it. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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While the standard Empyreus head is repainted (with a sweet, white goatee) to achieve the Weaponeer’s look, all the heads are included in some fun decos. My favorite deco (the main one aside) is easily the Umbreus deco that’s been painted to look like a normal dude wearing a skull mask! That’s excellent!<\/p>\n

The figure featured tight joints all around and the aforementioned paints were sharp. I did receive a slight misassembly \u2013 I almost didn\u2019t notice it, but some of my brilliant readers may have already spotted it \u2013 the recessed area of \u201cboot\u201d piece is silver on one leg and white on the other. I thought that might be on purpose, but it doesn\u2019t appear to be. No biggie there. Oh, and there are two new tampo pieces \u2013 the faction \u201cSticker\u201d plate with the Gohlem logo and the other with a cheetah print (though my wife says it\u2019s his chest hair!). <\/p>\n

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The Lord of War includes the stands sword blade and sickle accessories, but he also comes with a full Close Combat Accessory set in fleshtone. With that set, his accessory list jumps to include a second sword\/sickle set, two serrated blades, two pistols with removable handles, two additional handles, and two curved blades. Edit:<\/strong> If you order the Lord of War from SMC today and choose the \u201csuper deluxe\u201d option for $5 more you\u2019ll also get a set of close combat gear in white. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Also available at SDCC, I\u2019ll tone the gushing down for this one, I promise was another homage figure, the W.O.M.O.M.F.G. Gohlem. He\u2019s sort of homaging a homage really, both evoking the awesome current series, OMFG!, while also calling back to the good ol\u2019 days of M.U.S.C.L.E.! The OMFG Gohlem feature is essentially a basic release of the Weaponeer with fewer paint apps that have accompanied pretty much all of their releases. The little Gohlem is a great homage to the aforementioned lines, even if he\u2019s technically naked. I mean, he is naked, right? The little guy also includes a full set of heads with basic details painted, the sword\/sickle set, and a close combat accessory kit also cast in fleshtone. Oh, and he gets a sweet “OMFG!” fashion sticker to boot!<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to break up my builds (I really need to track down some spares on the early SMC figs), but I also want to give a special nod to the fleshtone pieces as they really ramp up some of the figure designs you can put together, just check out this pic<\/a> from DoomKick’s Weaponeer Review<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Overall, I couldn\u2019t be happier that SMC chose to give the old Remco & M.U.S.C.L.E. lines a shout out with these SDCC releases and Weaponeer has quickly shot up to be my favorite WoM figure. I will be on the lookout for an all-white WoM figure someday to give Weaponeer some white \u201cwings\u201d on his helmet, but I love everything else about the figure. Little details like the painted-on \u201cgoatee\u201d and the hand-cut cape make this yet another fantastic SMC figure. <\/p>\n

Limited quantities of the Weaponeer and the W.O.M.O.M.F.G. Gohlem will be on sale at the SMC STORE today at 12pm PST. The Weaponeer will run you between $15 & $20 depending on how many weapons pieces you want, while the Gohlem will only set you back $12! Along with these releases, there will also be a really sweet glow-in-the dark set of figures too. Keep an eye on IAT for a review of those here soon, but don\u2019t miss out on the sale today! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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