Saw Boss
Wheeled Warriors (Mattel) - Monster Minds
Rated 4.50 stars by Karl T. Face
Wheeled Warriors was wonderfully weird. A young hero, a wizard, Basically Han Solo, a human/plant hybrid, and a dwarfish warforged pilot crazy vehicles in their quest to defeat a bunch of evil plant monsters that produce cyber-plant war machines. The 80s! Saw Boss, here, is one such machine. Technically, it's one of the type produced by Saw Boss, but they all seem to be able to project their consciousness into any given unit, so it counts. The general layout for this line is a unique body and main weapon, with the wheels, axles, and additional weapons interchangeable between them all. Saw Boss is basically a smooth techno-dragon head in jet black and gold chrome. The axle bit is a trike, with two pairs of wheels and a couple triangular tank treads. Nominal placement is treads up front,...[See More]

Dreadnok Air Skiff (with Zanzibar)
G.I. Joe - Classic Collection (Hasbro) - Series 6 - Accessories
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
I love the Dreadnoks. They're equal parts wacky and threatening, and have a lot of visual personality. Some even have pizzazz. Smuggler, pirate, and if Jack Black is to be believed, a pretty versatile chef, Zanzibar lends some much needed amphibious air support to the 'noks. Sporting a unique sculpt that brings Waterworld to mind more than anything else, he sports two grenades, a pistol, and a knife, all sculpted on, plus a pistol, billhook and mallet. The ponytail is usually in dire need of some straightening. On to the ride! The Air Skiff is one of those improbable contraptions that crop up at this price point, a hilariously tall hydrofoil with a seat plopped on top like a zero-turn mower. It's got a lot of swooping shapes, and looks pretty good in green and yellow in spite of itself....[See More]

Crystar
Marvel Legends - Infinite Series (Hasbro) - Void Series
Rated 5.00 stars by Karl T. Face
If you cherry-pick this line as severely as me, your choice this time is clear. Crystar is one of those oddballs that's eked by on guest appearances and miniseries for like 25 years. A sword-and-sorcery adventure filled with strong character arcs, fun designs, and a bit of a throwback feel even then. Our protagonist here was one of two princes, turned into mineral through various magics, and forbidden to ascend the throne until they stop trying to kill each other. I won't go into it all, but the story is great; it's just lousy with infodumping. Credit where it's due, Hasbro has delivered what I believe to be 100% new sculpt. And they did not skimp, covering every inch with multiple facets. The art in the comic wavers a tad, but this seems to be taken from one of the splash pages, with the...[See More]

King Grayskull
Masters of the Universe - Masterverse (Mattel) - Revelation - Deluxe
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Revelations was quite a thrill for me. Really shook things up, gave us nerds a lot to geek out over, and the toys were mostly pretty good. This one hit deep clearance, though, so I assumed it wasn't the best, but it was cheap enough to roll the dice, so here we are. And y'know what? It's not too bad. This version is pretty dark-skinned, which probably turned off a few people, but oh well. It looks fine, and across a few generations, it's not unheard of to go from this to Little Lord Fauntleroy, so I'll take it. The outfit is roughly what we got in the MYP series, basically He-Man with a few add-ons. This includes a tattered softgoods cape (with bendy wires in the hem!) and a fur mantle. Said mantle is one of my gripes here, as it's nearly impossible to get it to lay down properly. Maybe...[See More]

Tri-Klops
Masters of the Universe - Masterverse (Mattel) - Revelation - Deluxe
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Ladies and gents, we have hit peak Tri-Klops. Okay, I can't say that definitively. This is the first I've owned since 2K. But I really am liking the progression from preternatural swordsman to tech guy/swordsman to Dark Science Tech Bro/swordsman. And here we get two of the three! We'll start with the reason I bought this: Cult Leader Trike. The mitre works well with the red visor, the shoulder pads add a bit of flair, and the robes hang nicely, the plastic tabard keeping the softgoods tunic from flopping about. I love the visor pattern on his stole. And the sword tucks nearly into it behind the head, if you like. All that is removable, of course, and we also get a fairly classic head and harness. The harness is sporting three shades of green, which really adds to the look. Unfortunately,...[See More]

Screech
He-Man - Masters of the Universe (Mattel) - Creatures
Rated 3.50 stars by Karl T. Face
Y'know what kids loved in the 80s? Animal sidekicks. Every team had one, a lot of toys came with them, many were big enough to be toys on their own. Usually sporting impractical arms and armor that never appeared in media. Here's one now. Screech was Zoar's opposite number, the evil pet of Skeletor (or Evil-Lyn, depending on continuity). To that end, they pulled a Panthor and duped the hero's stuff in evil luchador colors. Either way, it's an eagle. Reused from Big Jim, if I'm not mistaken. It's a good sculpt for the era, apart from the oddly large feet. The wings and back are rubber, and even today, can freely be flexed to flap the wings with a press on the back. Sadly, the talons are open slightly too far to fit a figure's wrist, so she (?) gets the same slightly art-deco perch as...[See More]

Slime Pit
He-Man - Masters of the Universe (Mattel) - Playsets
Rated 4.50 stars by Karl T. Face
The Horde was spooky. Their logo was a bat monster. They had two bloodsucking freaks and a Bigfoot on the payroll. And while most 80s villains used mind control here and there, only Hordak used dinosaur skeleton puke to do it. Our boys from Etheria favored smaller bases, and the Slime Pit was the little one. A very 80s fantasy set piece, it's a stone wall behind an empty pool, topped with scrollwork and bearing Hordak's face. A massive reptilian skeleton clutches the wall from behind, poking a hand through the it along the floor of the pool. The skull peers over the top. Paint is entirely airbrushing: a few black shadows, and a lot of brick red on the wall. The bones get a dusting of brown as well. The Slime might be more famous than this thing. It's the classic 70s recipe, now in a...[See More]

Purgatori
Chaos! Comics (Moore) - Series 1
Rated 4.00 stars by Karl T. Face
Chaos! was one of the powerhouses of the Exxtreme 90s comic book boom, turning out a respectable crop of cheesesteak titles dripping with mysticism and mythology. The characters generally look about how you'd expect, and here's a fine example. Purgatori (an ancient Egyptian vampire empowered by demons) is a decent study in the art of Clayburn Moore: leggy and cut, top-heavy and contraposto. The lines are clean, the pose isn't overdone, it's just a damn good sculpt. The paint is tight but minimal, with the only wash being on the wings and skulls, but the plastic is dark enough to cast its own shadows. Bonus points for the clean apps on her boot stitches. Articulation is... incidental. It's just there to get her out of the mold, and maybe tweak the arms a little. If you want to try, you get...[See More]

Shadow Weaver
Masters of the Universe - Masterverse (Mattel) - Princess of Power
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
Finally! Evil-Lyn may be a badass goth sorceress, but Shadow Weaver was just spooky as hell. Her private quarters are called Horror Hall, man. The magic, the mannerisms, that voice- it's a crying shame she never made it into the old toyline. I refused to buy into Classics, missed out on the Super 7 release entirely, and finally landed this one. And brother, she doesn't disappoint. Right off the bat, the sculpt is just detailed enough- it is mostly flowing cloth, after all, with vertical piping. What paint there needs to be is applied well, with nice clean eyes and almost no slop on the nails. The cloth mantle and sleeves are apparently a point of contention. I don't mind the transition myself, but I do wish we got a skosh more material around the shoulders; one or both ball joints will...[See More]

Panthor
Masters of the Universe - Origins (Mattel) - Accessories
Rated 2.50 stars by Karl T. Face
Bad kitty. I didn't even buy this for Skeletor; it just seemed like something HHH would ride into the arena on, given the option. And it was only ten bucks, so the bar is a little low. But like any cat, it snuck under. I must commend the sculpt. The original mold was famously well sculpted, and this one, while a tad beefier, ramps up the fine detail and looks far better than flocking ever did. Paint is of course minimal; some dark airbrushing would be nice, but it's a deep enough purple to make its own shadows. The saddle buckles securely and looks great from all angles, which isn't always a guarantee. Articulation is nice on paper: tail, shoulders, hips, knees, elbows, neck, and jaw. But while the head is remarkably flexible, the limbs are all but useless. The swivel/hinges at the knees...[See More]