{"id":25085,"date":"2013-10-02T21:06:10","date_gmt":"2013-10-03T02:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=25085"},"modified":"2013-10-02T23:11:52","modified_gmt":"2013-10-03T04:11:52","slug":"motu-classics-sky-high-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=25085","title":{"rendered":"MOTU Classics:
Sky High Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> I\u2019m not going to beat around the bush here. Sky High represents what MOTU Classic is all about. Either you get it or you don\u2019t. And if you don\u2019t, I can\u2019t really explain it to you\u2026 but I\u2019ll try anyway. <\/p>\n

Usually, I prefer to close a review with the declaratives instead of open with them, but Sky High here has me feeling a little bold. Last year, the MOTU line was fading from my attention. The line was producing solid figures, but they could\u2019ve used a little more love, a little more detail. Character selection was vintage heavy. The heights of Demo Man & Vykor appeared behind us as the vintage line must be finished before we could get a little crazy. I need crazy. Crazy can be the hallmark of a great toy line. <\/p>\n

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Every MOTU toy line, if successful, will crank out Mantenna, Two-Bad, & Ram Man. (Don\u2019t believe me? I can head out to Wally World right now and grab updated versions of Baxter Stockman & the Rat King right now!). To worry about those characters is to worry about the health of the line, not the quality of it. And while I admit that a MO2K Scareglow would have probably kicked so much ass it still hurts to think about it, I\u2019d rather live dangerously than check off names from vintage toy lists. As I toy collector, I know that what will make Classics unique in the coming years will be the characters it gets to that might never happen again. Batros. Vykor. Wun-Dar. Castle Grayksull Man. And, yes, Sky High. <\/p>\n

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I love that we\u2019ve come this far. Yes, Ram Man is awesome & Two-Bad looks swanky. Yes, the two vehicles are fantastic. And the fact there will shortly be a Castle Grayskull is amazing. But, what gets me excited for the line will continue to be characters like Sky High. Classics is a summation of all things He-Man, so what better than a thirty-year old obscure illustration to finally get his due? <\/p>\n

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While this is his first figure, Sky high is hardly new. He has the distinction of being the only item on the 1983 promotional poster that didn\u2019t have a toy. I\u2019m not sure what the deal was when he was painted in as the Wind Raider pilot. Some of the pictured vehicles had no driver. Others were piloted by a different version of He-Man the one featured in the foreground. But, for some reason, the Wind Raider got a prime spot in the center of the poster and, therefore, needed a pilot. Was everybody else already penciled in? Was there some obscure plan to give the Wind Raider a pilot? Was this just a one-off by the artist? I\u2019d love to know, but it doesn\u2019t really change the romantic\/nostalgic presence of Sky High. I\u2019m just glad he\u2019s here. <\/p>\n

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The figure itself came out nicely despite having mostly reused parts. I should note that he was packaged with the Jet Sled (reviewed yesterday<\/a>) and I imagine most of the tooling budget went to the vehicle. Sky High gets by with only new armor and a new head. The new head is a great realization of the helmet featured in the post and looks sharp. <\/p>\n

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I will admit that the Roboto lower half is rather tiresome at this point. Some o f the novelty is back thanks to the color. Much like Batros, the dark navy blue color used on Sky High and mixed with the red and light blue does adds some life to pieces. But whatever company makes those boots on Eternia must have cornered the market. It\u2019s probably time for Mattel to invest in some new stock armored boots. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Above the waist, Sky High features the gloved arms and the smooth ab piece which don\u2019t feel nearly as overused. The new armor is a great piece \u2013 I love the amount of detail \u2013 and I like that the 4H gave it a Wind Raideresque makeover instead of the simple red line the poster tinily depicted. The symbol does echo the Fighting Foe Men somewhat. It\u2019s a big, raised piece and looks like it\u2019d be easily exchanged for a Horde Symbol had they wanted to go to that route. I\u2019m glad they didn\u2019t, but let\u2019s hold that thought. <\/p>\n

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The paintwork on Sky High was really the only area that I had some concerns, mostly do the red paint. Red paint can be a little gloopy at times, but it feels like it was only done in thin layers on my figure. A lot of the edges in the armor symbol are thin enough that the black starts to show through and the red on the legs is fairly sloppy considering there\u2019s easy sculpt lines to follow. The helmet is thankfully painted well and I still the color scheme looks sharp with the dark navy blue. <\/p>\n

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Accessory-wise, technically, he does include the Jet Sled and I think $50 for the figure plus the Jet Sled was a steal! I don\u2019t think I would\u2019ve even noticed if Sky High had gone unaccessoried, but Mattel didn\u2019t take the easy way out. They opted to give Sky High a personal weapon\u2026 though it just kinda reinforced the Fighting Foe Men connection. It\u2019s a giant dual-bladed weapon that looks like it came off a junked Wind Raider. It\u2019s cool. He can pose well with it and, hey it clips on his back too if you want it too. It does leave me thinking if Sky High\u2019s sculpt is a little older though. Was there any intention to include him with the FFM or are the similarities just a fluke? He doesn\u2019t hail from the Monogram Kits, of course, so he would be an odd fit with them, but it\u2019s interesting. <\/p>\n

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Overall, Sky High got a solid figure. He\u2019s a little light on the tooling but packaging him with the Jet Sled was ingenious. Oh, since I forgot to mention it, Mattel was also smart to essentially call him an \u201cAir Force\u201d version of the Palace Guard so you could army build him with the Jet Sled. I still can\u2019t help but view him as a unique character though. My Wind Raider finally has his pilot.<\/p>\n

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And it\u2019s that uniqueness that lets me enjoy him so much. Classics has been such an unmitigated success these last few years that I\u2019m still in awe that we\u2019re getting a character like this, a no-name guy from a thirty-year old poster. I\u2019m with the \u201cNo Rio, We Riot\u201d crowd. I cannot wait to get Rio Blast in Classics (Extendar likely makes Rio a 2015er, though), but the real flavor for me as a toy collector comes from figures like Sky High. It gives me hope that the line still has a little more flourish to it. We have to get Eldor. I want Red Beast. I know he won\u2019t win that NA poll, but I\u2019d love to get Darius. The cutting room floor characters, the one-offs, the obscure guys all do their part to help make a toy line seem greater than just a lineup with the 23rd Batman or a complete A-list group. Sky High is really the cherry on top for me. <\/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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