{"id":12757,"date":"2011-06-03T02:30:21","date_gmt":"2011-06-03T07:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12757"},"modified":"2014-09-28T23:35:09","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T04:35:09","slug":"motu-classics-com-vault-review-catra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12757","title":{"rendered":"MOTUClassics.Com
Vault Review: Catra"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This review was originally published on June 3rd, 2011.<\/strong>
You may have noticed we\u2019re running a bit behind.\u00a0 After all, Catra did come out last month.\u00a0 The irony here is that this review isn\u2019t late due to the horribly destructive tornado that hit our town, but because of a mix up with Digital River.\u00a0 Luckily, everything got sorted out and Catra arrived in time to kick off our first week back.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the tornado, I just wanted to take a moment before getting into the review to thank all of our readers for their support while we were gone.\u00a0 Noisy\u2019s done a great job summing up our feelings about this whole disaster and I really couldn\u2019t say it any better.\u00a0 But it was truly amazing to see the amount of concern and well wishes that popped up among the different toy communities, and I just wanted to give you all my own personal Thank You.<\/p>\n

Now, on to Catra!<\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t recall ever seeing the She-Ra cartoon when I was young.\u00a0 Even though I wasn\u2019t really into \u201cgirly cartoons\u201d I still remember seeing ones like Jem or My Little Pony.\u00a0 So I\u2019m pretty sure that our local TV stations never aired Princess of Power.\u00a0 Looking back on it, I\u2019m actually glad they didn\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s given me a chance to discover some of the surprisingly deep plots, unintentional hilarities, and truly interesting characters that I just wouldn\u2019t have appreciated as a kid.<\/p>\n

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Probably the most remarkable thing I\u2019ve discovered about Catra is that she wasn\u2019t really a member of the Horde because she believed in their cause, but because it would gain her more power.\u00a0 Like an early version of the 200X Evil-Lyn, Catra was willing to betray Hordak in order to rise higher in the ranks.\u00a0 That\u2019s a level of complexity that most MOTU characters just didn\u2019t have back then.<\/p>\n

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The first thing that really jumps out at you when you see Catra is that she\u2019s basically the Filmation version of the character.\u00a0 The Horsemen did a really great job of capturing the look of her style guide.\u00a0 Like the Adora figure, you\u2019d swear Catra just popped right out of the cartoon.\u00a0 I\u2019m really keen on the long flowing hair and super short mini skirt.<\/p>\n

Although I do love the look of this figure, I\u2019m curious to see if we\u2019ll get another Catra based on her original action figure. With her ribbed corset, furry skirt, and metal gauntlets she definitely would have enough of a different look to justify a second figure.<\/p>\n

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Catra\u2019s paint job is decent, if not a bit sloppy in certain areas.\u00a0 Her face seems to be the most affected spot with her lipstick not really conforming to the area of her lips and her eye liner being just a bit uneven around her right eye.\u00a0 Something else I found a bit odd on this figure was the heavy use of the darker flesh tones as highlights.\u00a0 Unlike previous figures, the color they used didn\u2019t blend as well on Catra and gives her a bit of a spray-on tan look.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t ruin the figure, but it\u2019s definitely noticeable.Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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What I really loved about the paint job was the different reds used on her costume.\u00a0 Sometimes using various shades of one color doesn\u2019t always turn out well when a character is translated into 3D.\u00a0 But Catra turned out just fine.\u00a0 Her dress has a dark matte look, while her belt, symbol, and mask have a metallic sheen to them.\u00a0 But my favorite part is that her bracers and boots were given the glossy look of patent leather.\u00a0 All these various shades really work well together and are nicely separated by the purple of her cape.<\/p>\n

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Catra\u2019s got the same basic articulation of the female MOTU Classics figures.\u00a0 I was trying to figure out if she had any of the new female buck pieces incorporated into her design, but I don\u2019t think she does.\u00a0 What she does have is a consistent attention to her poseability.\u00a0 The 4H designed her long hair to be up in a ponytail, which allows her ball jointed head a good range of movement.\u00a0 Although her dress is too firm for her torso to move, it\u2019s just rubbery enough to allow her hips a full range of motion.\u00a0 Unlike She-Ra, Catra can actually kick or even sit down.\u00a0 This is something I hope will be duplicated in all future female figures.<\/p>\n

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\nCatra comes with way more accessories than I expected.\u00a0 Not only do you get her Filmation mask, but there\u2019s also her original toy mask with its cat-like face.\u00a0 Both fit over her head and stay in place perfectly and without the use of a peg.\u00a0 This is the type of design work I like to see.<\/p>\n

Weapon wise, Catra comes with her sword, shield, and whip.\u00a0 The sword and shield were designed after her older figure\u2019s weapons, and they really have that great MOTU Classics updated feel.\u00a0 Her whip has its own unique styling and the Horsemen were even able to add the comb feature which I really love.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to see what future POP characters will get as weapon\/combs.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s the part of the article where you get to hear me complain.\u00a0 This figure has some truly great aspects to her, but then there are also some really questionable design choices also.\u00a0 First of which is her left hand.\u00a0 You all know by now that it\u2019s made out of a super soft and rubbery plastic.\u00a0 Matty claims this is because of safety regulations, and maybe it is.\u00a0 But these regulations seem a bit suspect to me when the hand sculpt isn\u2019t as sharp as Mer-Man\u2019s left hand or even the Power Sword, which we all know could easily poke an eye out.\u00a0 Also, if this is a Matty regulation, the Horsemen should have known about it and adjusted their sculpt to a hand that wouldn\u2019t require inferior plastic.\u00a0 Catra\u2019s hand already feels like it will rip loose when you swivel it, I\u2019m just hoping that it also doesn\u2019t start excreting that white plastic dust as it ages.<\/p>\n

The second thing I wanted to address is Catra\u2019s rubbery weapons.\u00a0 Toy Guru originally said that they had to choose between having a hard or rubbery plastic because the weapons were molded at the same time.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you folks, but I\u2019d rather have a hard sword that isn\u2019t ruined by the packaging rather than a whip that \u201creally works\u201d.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need a whip that really works because my toys can\u2019t actually whip things.\u00a0 Also, if the whip had been molded out of hard plastic it could be in an action pose like it is being cracked.\u00a0 Instead, we\u2019re left with this limp noodley thing that doesn\u2019t even lie like a real whip.<\/p>\n

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Lastly, there wasn\u2019t even a need to choose to make the whip or sword out of one plastic.\u00a0 Catra\u2019s cat mask, which is molded in silver like the sword, is made out of a very hard plastic.\u00a0 So hard in fact, that it\u2019s beginning to scratch the black paint off of her hair and I\u2019ve only put it on her a couple times.\u00a0 If anything needed a softer plastic it was this mask.\u00a0 But since they chose to use hard plastic, why didn\u2019t they just mold the sword with the mask instead of the shield?<\/p>\n

Overall Catra is a good figure.\u00a0 Even with the design flaws, she\u2019s still got a great look and fits in nicely on the shelf.\u00a0 I just wish design team would pay a bit more attention to the details.\u00a0 This is supposedly an adult collector\u2019s line, and the decisions that go into making it should reflect that idea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[7,1026,34,10],"tags":[850,795,20,1025,2592],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-3jL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11099,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11099","url_meta":{"origin":12757,"position":0},"title":"Updates to MOTUClassics.Com Catra, Zodac, & Reissues thru May","date":"January 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"ToyFare #163 (on-sale today) has images of the newest MOTU Classics figures: She-Ra's adversary Catra and a Hal Jordan vs. Zodac 2pk for Toys R Us. 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The figures came packaged in two boxes: a giant one for our Panthor order and a less giant one for our Sy-Klones. Once I had everything opened up, I was suprised to find that not all the Sy-Klone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12450,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12450","url_meta":{"origin":12757,"position":3},"title":"SDCC 2011 Exclusives: Official Images from Mattel","date":"April 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Since Attack of the Show's strangly decided not to focus on the He-Man items last night, it fell back to Mattel to give us our first good look at the 2011 exclusives. They've come to our aid early this morning with images and information on the upcoming San Diego Exclusives\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21914,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21914","url_meta":{"origin":12757,"position":4},"title":"MOTUClassics.Com Vault Review: Frosta","date":"November 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "MOTUClassics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/fros1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12699,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12699","url_meta":{"origin":12757,"position":5},"title":"ItsAllTrue & The Daily Thor will resume tomorrow","date":"May 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"First, I want to let everyone know ItsAllTrue.Net & TheDailyThor.Com will both officially resume operations tomorrow, but I do want to use this space to dole out and a few thank yous and also to give out a couple of links about what's going on here in Joplin before we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Housekeeping"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12757"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29289,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12757\/revisions\/29289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}