SDCC: Mattypalooza 2014 (Post-Presentation Review)

[Nemisythe]

OK FOLKS!

So this thread will review critique or whatever you would like considering you have seen the SDCC 2014 presentation from Matty.

Let's hear what you thought or things you caught that inspired a thought...

For instance from what I saw far I found it humorous that Scott felt giving us time til October to begin signing up for the Minis Sub was so thoughtful considering we are getting Eldor, Entrapta another Minis set, a Giant Figure and drum roll...... the pricey as hell Battle Ram! (and for people like me the NYCC which they are not even attending so no more Goatmen at this time).*

Funny how the giants had near no reaction after the reveal....
Oh yeah and it was hilarious to hear him explain the Traveling on Exclusive which really won't be traveling.... :twobad:

*Although he did say that possibly all the Goatmen kept from NYCC and now removed from Power Con may be at Stan Lee's Comikaze...

Oh Scott your thoughtfulness knows no bound! seriously! :bang:

Well guys have at it!

[RoboSteveo]

MOTUC:

Battle Ram - AMAZING!!! I like the Man-at-Arms that comes with it too. 200x head looks great, and the body is perfect for the Filmation look.
Tung Lashor - Awesome addition to the Snake Men.
Gwildor - Fantastic figure. Movie fans will be happy. The two Cosmic Key look great.
Galactic Protector She-Ra - A very cool new figure. Looks great.
Mermista - The swappable torso is cool, and her human form looks great.
Spinerella - A nice looking POP figure. Kind of expensive, but she looks good.
Lizard Man - This one surprised me. He was always a fun character. A nice addition to the Filmation line of figures.
Ninjor - My favourite reveal of the show. Great figure!
Huntara - My favorite POP character. Figure looks great.
Oo-Larr - I was always liked the original mini-comics, so this was a nice surprise. The heads are great.
Snake Armor He-Man vs Battle Armor King Hsss - Simply amazing! Both figures are awesome. The new snakes are great.
Skeletor's Hover Robots - Awesome toys, but having them as the "Travelling Exclusive 3 pack" is an odd move on Mattel's part.

[Mechanizor]

I'm still waiting for an actual video of the panel and also the walk through video with TG to see what he spews on us with his annoying character... Meanwhile here are my very quick thoughts on the reveals:

The Art Of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe art book: I just pre-ord it just in case it sells out fast!

Light Hope (Club Etheria): Looks amazing, too bad I won't be able to get him because I haven't subbed, however I'll try to see if I can grab him on the secondary market if I find him reasonable!

Sweet Bee (Club Etheria): She's ok but lacks excitement! She is underwhelming for me and I'm happy she won't be in my collection. Her weapon looks great though.

Eldor: Amazing looking figure and accessories IMO.

Battle Ram: Best surprise for me, and I'm all over it despite its high price and the inclusion of the unnecessary new variant of MAA, although he looks great being 200X/Filamtion hybrid!

Tung Lashor: Looks great even though I like his 200X version more, however I'm happy to see him coming soon.

Arrow: Really? Another lame reveal that sucks ass! I mean how many fans actually demanded this crap over the highly demanded mechanical horses!

Gwildor : Second best surprise! I really never wanted him, but man, this figure looks as Fantasy as it gets. Love that little dude!

Galactic Protector She-Ra (Club Etheria): Why in hell she is in that sub? She looks good though!

Mermista: Although she is POP (which usually I'm not too fond of), she rocks, and I'm happy to add her in my collection.

Spinerella (Club Etheria): A very nice looking POP figure, but I won't be getting her!

Lizard Man: He is great and the accessories that come with him are also great even though they aren't his!

Ninjor: Duck feet or not, he looks amazing!

Huntara: Never cared for her, but I'm not against having her, plus she looks cool!

Oo-Larr: The reason why I subbed. He's a nice and a bland variant, but his second head, the mini comic and CG blue print convinced me to sub for the last time, plus I cannot say no to Alcala. Now if the remaining sub times suck, I might just cancel after getting him!

Snake Armor He-Man vs Battle Armor King Hsss: Third best surprise! King Hssss alone is worth getting two of this item!

Skeletor's Hover Robots: Travel item sucks on many levels, they're hard to grab and expensive on the secondary market if you missed on them. The robots look okay, not great, but I like their interchangeable hands and it's nice to army build with those (if you're lucky that is!)

[Barnster]

Eldor:
I like him.

Arrow:
Where is my Stridor Mattel???

Light Hope:
Awesome, but I knew that long before SDCC.

Battle Ram:
Love that it comes with swapable heads - very nice and unecpected move. I honestly could live without MAA, but I think I is the best possible way for them to unload the army of Palace Guards which are stuck at their warehouse.

Tung Lashor:
Perfect figure - no complaints

Gwildor:
Never wanted this little sucker. The two versions of the cosmic key are the only thing I'm interested in.

Galactic Protector She-Ra:
Love how the figure turned out.

Mermista:
She is not very high on my most wanted list. I think she's okay

Spinerella:
Very nicely done, but I could live without her.

Sweet Bee:
Underwhelming. Don't know why her wings are pinkish.

Lizard Man:
I know alot of people wanted him and I'm happy for them, but for me he's just a dull creature that doesn't do anything for me.

Ninjor:
This fig is DA BOMB! I'm not even dissapointed because of his demon feet. The 200X belt and the unmasked 200X Jitsu head (yes, I said it) are welcome aditions.

Huntara:
I like her! Hopefully the final product will have the proto's naughtiness.

Oo-Larr:
He turned out very well. I love both heads. I'll even try to get a second one because of those heads.

Snake Armor He-Man vs Battle Armor King Hsss:
THIS. IS. INSANE! So unexpected and so amazingly well done. To me the best reveals by far. I'll need another set to display both versions of Hiss.

[barrasco]

Here's my appreciation of the reveals:

Sweet Bee: I don't know the character that well but I guess it came out ok. At least she doesn't wear a leotard for Mattel design to ruin it.

Eldor: I don't like the fact that the folded out hood is always there but that's a minor issue. Once again a figure which fell victim to the bloated armor and whose feet are those horrible sculpts they keep using on characters with boots.

Battle Ram: To me the vehicles are the absolute best thing when I think about MOTUC and this one is no exception. It's a shame that we can't get more of these and have to endure garbage like the giant MOTU figures... give us a Landshark instead of those horrible pieces of junk!

Tung Lashor: I have mixed feelings about this one. He looks ok overall but the hand and feet sculpts could've been better.

Arrow: A well designed horse figure, but I'd rather see this slot filled by another character.

Gwildor: He looks cool but I never cared for the character. Would he look better with rooted fur like Grizzlor for instance? I'm sure some other companies would be able to pull it off just great, not sure if Mattel would though.

Galactic Protector She-Ra: I like her design on the comic but I don't like the action figure. Maybe it's because I'm used to japanese lines female figures, so some of the more "filled" MOTUC females look very clunky to me. Regardless of that, I think it's a fiasco to put characters no one knew or asked for when people had to vote for leaving out Lord Masque, Darius or Tuskador, but I guess we wouldn't have a Trollguru if he wasn't allowed to troll the fans here and there.

Mermista: Skirtgate (yeah they didn't fix anything but at this point were you expecting otherwise?). It's a pretty cool figure though and it's also a great way to show how they could've added King Hsss's snake form to the two pack... or do you think Mermista costs the same to produce as Netossa (which couldn't even get a sword because it was too expensive)?

Spinerella: Also looks good. I don't buy that each fringe had to be painted, I'm betting the plastic used was a blue colored and they only had to paint the purple ones. It doesn't look like it would cost more to produce than Mermista. Can you spell "taken for the ass"?

Lizard Man: I like the figure but the head looks slightly off. The accessories are cool but I can already see Skeletor's sword molded in gummy plastic so why bother...

Ninjor: Another candidate for the bloated armor treatment, this figure would look great in production form... if release independently by the 4HM.

Huntara: I like the figure and the design, but I have the same criticism regarding this figure as well as all MOTUC females.

Oo-Larr: I don't care for the character but the extra heads are awesome. This is the only figure I'm interested in, just because of the heads.

Snake Armor He-Man vs Battle Armor King Hsss: I like the idea of a fixed version of Hsss but I never cared for Snake Armor He-man, I think the design is simply atrocious. I'm now expecting to hear the apologists complaining of how Mattel decided to ditch that ridiculous "unified look" rule... I hope to hear Scott complaining about that too seeing how he was so supportive of FAILmation Hordak...

Skeletor's Hover Robots: I love the characters on the cartoon but these figures look very off, they are too thin. Possibly the most disappointing reveal to me. I won't get them anyways so the fact that they are exclusives doesn't bother me, but if people think Mattel will have enough units for everyone just remember what happened with the Horde Troopers.

[Draego-Man]

Light Hope
Awesome figure

Sweet Bee
Looks ok, not great

Eldor
Pretty cool figure. I like him.

Battle Ram
Excited to be getting this, but not at that price, and not with another MAA.

Tung Lashor
Turned out ok. Not liking the open mouth head and those nubs on the tongue look stupid.

Arrow
This instead of Stridor or Night Stalker? What a bloody joke!

Gwildor
Hate this character, don't like the figure and at $35 this is an insult!

Galactic Protector She-Ra (Club Etheria)
Waste of a figure and the bio is trash.

Mermista
Looks pretty cool.

Spinerella
Looks pretty cool, but again, overpriced.

Lizard Man
Never understood the appeal of this character. Meh.

Ninjor
Looks great!

Huntara
Great character, boring figure.

Oo-Larr
The heads look cool but I can't get over the fact that we now have an official character named after Lie-Or's copyright claim mistake. He will NEVER admit it, but we all know the truth.

Snake Armor He-Man vs Battle Armor King Hsss
King Hsss is great, but I'm not so keen on yet another He-Man variant. The fact that we don't get the snake attachment is another kick in the nuts from this company!

Skeletor's Hover Robots
Worst reveals of the SDCC. These look like junk and are a wasted opportunity. We should have got 1 of these, 1 skelekon, and 1 movie trooper in a 3 pack. That would be the ULTIMATE army builder pack, but instead we get three cheap looking little junkers with stickers we put on ourself. Plus I bet these will be priced more than a regular figure just because there are 3, when really they should cost less. Trash, just trash.

[zombihamma]

Yeah I here you about the Oo-lar, total garbage ( great figure) he should have been called 'Alcal-or' a much better name IMO

[Mechanizor]

Yeah I here you about the Oo-lar, total garbage ( great figure) he should have been called 'Alcal-or' a much better name IMO

Alcal-Or! That's definitely better than Oo-Larr!

[Guest]

Battle Ram - Overpriced, uninteresting and I have no use for another MAA figure.
Tung Lashor - Awesome addition to the Snake Men.
Gwildor - Fantastic figure. Movie fans will be happy. The two Cosmic Key look great.
Galactic Protector She-Ra - A very cool new figure, but I'm going to pass.
Mermista - The swappable torso is cool, and her human form looks great, but I'm going to pass.
Spinerella - A nice looking POP figure, but 'more' expensive than a regular figure? Thanks Trollguru.
Lizard Man - This one surprised me. He was always a fun character. A nice addition to the Filmation line of figures, and I"ll pass.
Ninjor - Pass.
Huntara - My favorite POP character. Figure looks great, and I'll pass.
Oo-Larr - By far he cheapest looking, least detailed version of He-Man they could cook up. Pass.
Snake Armor He-Man vs Battle Armor King Hsss - Both figures are awesome. The new snakes are great and then along comes Trollguru.
Skeletor's Hover Robots - Awesome toys, but having them as the "Travelling Exclusive 3 pack" is an odd move on Mattel's part. Trolled.

PS: If you are willing to buy Oo-lar (just for the extra head) then you're really just giving Mattel a free pass to give you all the cheap over-priced crap you complain about.

If you demand more at a $30 price point, but cave when you see a little head, or a shiny Blade chainmail, well then, your cheeks are spread. Enjoy the ramming.

[_RZ_]

Battle Ram - They should have put this out years ago- first. Not really into the extra MAA, I have 2 already, and you can make a decent Filmation MAA out of the easily available Palace Guards. But I guess for the very hardcore he's cool. The 200x head is a nice edition, but this really should have been included in a 2.0 Reissue of MAA- sadly still very needed.

I like the Evil Warriors style front, that is great! The price on this is a bit steep, IMO- especially since tooling is shared between 3+ already released and successful items.

Arrow - Great for those asking for more horses. Let's just hope they can remember their right from left and front from back this time

Tung Lashor - He looks great and one of my childhood favorites. I hate the tongue teeth, they look silly to me. But otherwise it looks like a nice update. Overall a nice looking figure.

Gwildor - One of my must haves. But there's something off, and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's that he looks *too* realistic? He just doesn't look right next to He-Man and the other basic MOTUC figures. And I hope the staff is cast in clear or GITD so the gem isn't white like it is now.

No bucket of ribs?

Galactic Protector She-Ra - This looks nice, I really like the design.

Mermista - I wonder if her fin legs will be "costed out" It looks ok in the case but I'll wait for in-hand reviews to really judge on this one. The stand should be clear, the blue will be ugly.

Spinerella - I don't understand why this is more expensive than other figures? Am I missing something? Those armbands are going to be hated/annoying just like Sorceress' wings.

Lizard Man - This is a guy fans have talked about wanting for years… not really a fan but it looks pretty good. The Diamond Ray would have been a nice bonus… four years ago, before 3rd parties offered up ones just as nice as this one! But I am glad to see more filmation swords coming.

Ninjor - He looks alright. I'm disappointed that he doesn't feature his "action feature" of cloth goods, but since 4H aren't into cloth in this line it's not like I expected it to happen. I don't know, he has less of an 80's Ninja vibe and more of a 90's Style to him with the armor and stuff, not so into that. I always kind of pictured him as this freaky mutant guy in a simple ninja costume, and not the beefy armored warrior look. I always kind of had more of a 70's Sonny Chiba ninja movie vibe from him, as opposed to a 90's Jet Li villain thing. Also, I would have preferred the original Evil shins and Skeletor arms as opposed to these.

Huntara - I don't know this character… not really interested but good for those who want her…

Oo-Larr - My favorite reveal hands-down… Maybe I am the only dude who REALLY wanted Oo-Larr? I always loved the minicomics most and loved the "origin He-Man" barefoot barbarian look. It's the first image we see of our hero's story. The name and concept is dumb as nails- but Alcala is one of my favorites so the extra head is a plus for me. Both heads look really good to me. I totally would have bought this guy day-of, customizers and fans probably would have bought extras for the heads, and it seems most people don't like it... so is he really a sub incentive? To me it's money on the table that Matty is missing out on.

Snake Armor He-Man vs Battle Armor King Hsss - For 200x fans this is great. I never liked either of these designs much, but they look good. So now fans can cobble together a 200x He-Man, which is great. I was never really into 200x style Hiss (he's kind of 90's same-y generic to me whereas the vintage has a creepy supervillan vibe, but that's just my view.) but many have been asking for him, so this is a good 2-pack.

The snake form looks really nice… why not include it? Displaying it with these figures is misleading the customer and frankly dishonest to a new degree. If you're going to sell it another way, then show it to us that way, not implying to the SDCC audience that it is included by putting it in the display with the 2pk. Buyers and fans who are not on the forums every 5 minutes are all going to think it's included. And isn't this the 200x variants I was told a mere three years ago were "impossible"? I think if there is a lesson in here, it's that whenever someone at Mattel says something you want to buy is "impossible" it just means their ego is hurt because you thought of it before they did

Skeletor's Hover Robots - Just like the Horde Troopers, this is another missed revenue opportunity. These guys should be regular releases. People are going to want to army build these. Making them exclusive is just plain stupid. I wish someone up on high would actually take a minute and take a look at how much money is left on the table by bonehead moves like this. The arms look a bit funky, personally I would have preferred them to not have those elbows to keep a nice look on the shelf, but otherwise they look good.
Best shown: Oo-Larr
Missing In Action: Gwildor's ribs- a major oversight in this fan's opinion. Even I would subscribe if the bucket was there. If Randor gets his pimp chalice, then Gwildor must have his rib bucket. He was going to share, but how can he now?

And of course the usual suspects are out again, putting down anyone who disagrees with them. Real "positivity" there