{"id":24381,"date":"2013-08-05T02:20:13","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T07:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24381"},"modified":"2013-08-05T03:48:17","modified_gmt":"2013-08-05T08:48:17","slug":"motu-classics-fighting-foe-men-3pk-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24381","title":{"rendered":"MOTU Classics Fighting
Foe Men 3pk Review (20+ Pics)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> If you ask me, this set has the ability to separate the collectors that know how to have fun from the ones that don\u2019t. Oh, I\u2019m sure there are collectors out there who simply don\u2019t like the Fighting Foe Men for a variety of legitimate reasons, but I\u2019m going to just come right out and say it: the fact they weren\u2019t around when a collector first discovered Masters of the Universe will never be one of them<\/em>. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ll try to rein this in quick (this is a review, not a Truetorial after all)<\/em>, but when each of us first encountered MOTU, we were open to the possibilities. For some, those possibilities came to a screeching halt after the mini-comics, for others they ended during the languishing period prior to New Adventures. Others held on to those possibilities longer. Some are still holding on to them today. And it\u2019s that last batch that my favorite collectors spring from. <\/p>\n

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Again, not every new character added to the new Classics mythos & toy line has been amazing, but, let\u2019s face it, not every vintage character is amazing either (can age really remove \u201cdud\u201d status?)<\/em>. I know if you\u2019re waiting for Rio Blast, then every character that\u2019s not Rio Blast comes with a tinge of fear. Fear that you might not get that one toy you want most. I understand that, but I can\u2019t say that it matters much to me. I would be sad if Ram Man had never made it. If Two-Bad ended up in some horrid, cancelled-sub, limited release. If Extendar never joined Classics proper. But I don\u2019t think that should weigh in on the pros & cons of figures like Vikor or the Foe Men. My Dad wasn\u2019t Ward Cleaver, but he was still a pretty great dad, y\u2019know? <\/p>\n

Anyway, so the Fighting Foe Men. They\u2019ve been in our review backlog for awhile, but it\u2019s not for lack of coolness. I\u2019ve been a little too busy for MOTU reviews and Vault was daunted at the prospect of a three-figure review. So there they sat until this weekend, when they caught my eye on that shelf and I just had to get them done. Nite-Owl & Clamp Champ be damned! <\/p>\n

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For those not familiar, the Fighting Foe Men have a lot of mish-mashed behind the scenes back story going on. The name, Fighting Foe Men, comes from an early working title for MOTU thirty years ago. The basic look of the figures hail from \u201cmade-up\u201d drivers for the box artwork on the Monogram model kits back in the 80s (though the Attak Trak driver has switched genders). And the names are all taken from the Four Horsemen\u2019s Horsemen nos. 5, 6, & 7: Shane Dittsworth (Ditztroyer), Owen \u201cO-Dawg\u201d Oertling (Dawg-o-Tor), and Sherri Lynn Cook (Shield Maiden Sherrilyn). <\/p>\n

Now, the names for the characters do give me some pause. While I think it\u2019s an awesome thing to name the characters after such great people (well, I\u2019ve met two of them and they\u2019re great, and I\u2019ll bet the third is pretty awesome too), I just don\u2019t like the names. Sherrilyn sounds good, so I\u2019ve been using that one, but I want to rename the others. <\/p>\n

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I\u2019m also not a fan of the back story. First, they\u2019re villains that don\u2019t look particularly villainy. Second, the figures have been upgraded with armor & accessories that match the model kit they were originally drawn for (the Roton, Talon Fighter, & Attak Trak respectively) and so they were naturally given those vehicles. That would be fun, except these guys live 5,000 years before He-Man & Skeletor go racing around in those very same vehicles. Those are some old designs, eh? And then, after being frozen in ice for 5,000 years, Hordak thaws them out and makes them Horde. I just want some 5,000yr old people to just be dead, I think. I mean, I\u2019d be sad, but it\u2019s okay to be dead after 5,000 years. I\u2019m sure the Ancient Egyptians would agree if they weren\u2019t all, well\u2026 y\u2019know. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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But here\u2019s the best thing about MOTU, if you can just let yourself do it. You can forget all that. You can call these guys whatever you want. You can switch their allegiances. You can do whatever. It\u2019s okay. The only things I don\u2019t like about these figures are in that bio. And, guess what? That was printed on a box I threw in the trash! I\u2019m free!! <\/p>\n

And what I\u2019m free to do is really enjoy these three figures for what they are. Three great \u201cnew\u201d additions to the universe (I have to put new in quotes because these three actually pre-date a lot of the vintage figures)<\/em>. Out of three, Dawg-o-Tor (green guy w\/ the yellow visor) is probably my favorite and I\u2019ve decided he leads this little faction. In fact, I guess I\u2019ve kinda patterned how I see this trio after Thundarr the Barbarian. Dawg-O-Tor leads the group as Thundarr, Sherrilyn makes a great Ariel (a kickass female lead that holds her own), and Ditztroyer and his blue skin kinda make him Ookla the Mok. It sounds mean, but everyone wants to make him evil it seems, so he\u2019s better off with me! I don\u2019t know what the three of them go around doing \u2013 other than singing. They just seem like they\u2019d be pretty merry as they go around doing their business if you ask me. <\/p>\n

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In terms of sculpt, all three of these figures make extensive re-use of previous molds. There\u2019s very little new here (see, I said there were valid reasons to dislike \u2018em)<\/em> and that does the characters a bit of an injustice. Each figure basically sports a new head and a chest armor or a cape, and then the interchangeable chest plates. Luckily, those few pieces along with some parts culled from other figures do still get the job done and make the figures look unique. My favorite part of the sculpt is the clear visor on Dawg (something I wish they would\u2019ve replicated for Sherrilyn, though I do love her hyper-anime helmet. <\/p>\n

With all the reuse, articulation is exactly what you expect. Dawg & Ditz feature the same articulation as every other basic male figure, while Sherrilyn has the limitations of the Battleground Teela body \u2013 it looks good aesthetically, but the lack of an ab crunch & thigh swivels do hinder poseability. <\/p>\n

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The paint work on my set was pretty good overall. I do get worried whenever Mattel wants to package multiple figures together, that\u2019s some scary QC luck right there. I did have some issues, most notably was around Sherrilyn\u2019s mask & nose. That\u2019s a tough area to paint since the head is one piece. There was also an errant silver swipe of paint on Dawg\u2019s back. The extra silver doesn\u2019t bother me, but I would like to do a little repainting on Sherrilyn. <\/p>\n

Finally, we get to where all the tooling went for this set: the accessories. I already mentioned the interchangeable chest plates. Each of the three has a unique chestplate that matches up with their vehicle and then also comes with a Horde Symbol for when they\u2019re thawed out years later. The Horde thing is neat, but I\u2019m okay. I had more fun switching the armors around, notably giving Ditz the Talon armor and Dawg the Roton armor. Some of the later pics in the gallery will feature that arrangement, so I could share. (I wonder if anyone will only look at the pics and comment that I\u2019ve \u201cmistakenly\u201d switched them up? You know it\u2019s gonna happen!!)<\/em><\/p>\n

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The real tooling went to the two weapons that came with each figure. Some of the gear is cooler than other pieces \u2013 some looks like it was swiped directly off the vehicle they were piloting. Ditz includes one of the front-mounted cannons (neat) and a staff that\u2019s head fits in with the Roton theme (really neat). Dawg has a Talon-inspired shield and then one of the blasters (which seems more like a club for the figure). Finally, Sherrilyn includes a shield & dual-barreled blaster also lifted from the Attack Trak. I like the weapons to varying degrees with Ditz\u2019s staff at the high end and Sherri\u2019s shield at the low end. The pieces are all night and the six accessories and three extra chest plates did help with the $75 sting a little bit.<\/p>\n

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Alright, I know I started this review off a little preachy, but I get a little downtrodden when I pop onto a forum and read someone bashing this set. I know there are reasons to do so, but I found the ser pretty enjoyable overall. I love the overall look of the three figures. I love the bright colors. I think these three are some of the best additions to the mythos yet and I hope more & more collectors can overlook any bias towards them and discover that too. <\/p>\n

The other good thing for me about getting \u201cnewer\u201d characters is that I can slot them in to the mythos more easily. Like I said above, I’m not a fan of their bio. Now, even I would have a hard-time going out there and trying to use Mer-Man like a hero, but that\u2019s just not true for these new guys. They can be blank slates. That’s exactly how I treated them for this review and I had so much fun with them, I ended up with 20+ pics and a little strip for everyone to enjoy. If I took 20 pics, I must have had a good time! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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