First looks at Blade, Goatman, and Scorpia

[Mechanizor]

That Ruben Butchering B****!!!

[Novelty]

Nyaah, you're not a sheep. You're just supporting the line

[Black Zodac]

I always try to focus on the positive. No reason to call people "stupid" or "sheep" because they buy (or bought) subscriptions. That negativity isn't very constructive, and it just serves to make people feel bad. For the most part, I have been happy with the subs. Only two negative experiences in the 5 years that I have subbed. I understand some people have had multiple issues with Digital River, but that isn't the case for everyone. We should not be taking out our issues with Mattel and DR on each other.

[TechTrek]

alot of details on blade, i can see how it might feel a bit much as well.

[Captain Atkin]

On the plus side, thanks to the pictures of the original prototype paint master, Blade should be an easy figure to customize. When I have the figure in hand, I'll make sure to post a tutorial in the customs section for anyone who wants to touch up their Blade figure.

[Anti-Guru]

Well, Neitlich's scare tactics, false quotas, and random "no day of sale" figures is why I got the sub. It works for me to have the sub because I want mostly everything minus 200X stuff. The rest of the crap goes on ebay. If that makes me a sheep then "baahhhh."

[Widukind]

Of course you "don't think it's fair" : you bought those subs too ! People who bought those subs like good little sheep had to face the bad sides, though (what you call the "less than stellar execution"), with damaged items, delays, expensive shipping costs, items that never arrived, DR & Matty's inept "customer service" etc. The sub, which was a possibility in the beginning, quickly became a compulsory (= totalitarian) sub. That's when the sub experience should have stopped. Alas, the followers blindly accepted this terrible plan...

[Captain Atkin]

The subscriptions have had their pros and cons. I don't think it is fair to say that people were "stupid enough" to accept the idea of a subscription line, as it did sound like a very good plan at first. Unfortunately, the execution of the subscription line has been less than stellar in recent years, which has caused a decline in sales.

[Widukind]

Why should they even care ? People were stupid enough to accept the idea of a compulsory subscription. Well, now they get the result with all the bad consequences : the Mattel guys got extremely LAZY. They are GUARANTEED a certain amount of money throughout the whole year, SO they don't feel like they have to work to earn that money anymore ! Ruben is an incompetent and arrogant douchebag who should clean up Mattel's toilets instead of being in the Mattel design team. The line has suffered a lot since he was appointed to his position...

[Anti-Guru]

There is no legitimate reason why they can't make the outfits more like the paint masters. It has already been achieved with figures like Prince Adam. Doesn't Ruben or whoever the hell is running things over there at Mattel know that this is an ADULT collector line??? As adult fans, do we not expect these figures to reflect the price tag and have the best possible paint apps??? It's bad enought the guy running the line is totally useless... but to constantly see the finished product month after month look more like a kids retail line is just annoying.

[Dark Horse]

Ugh. Wht do they have to do this EVERY time? Fing Ruben! What an incompetent moron. Any fool can see this is directly down to him and his clear ineptitude at his own job.

[Draego-Man]

Way too bulky... looks like he could barely move in that. Another prototype ruined by poor execution.

[Anti-Guru]

lol... absolutely, since he is directly responsible for how the final figures look.

[Robzilla]

Thanks for posting this. It perfectly illustrates what I was saying about the issue with the armor. Ruben fails again.You know,maybe the thread about Scott being moved off the line should be about Rueben instead.

[Battle Ram Man]

Yeah, blade's swords look like toys - in a bad way. Looks like they made his legs a lot darker than the prototype too. Otherwise looks neat.

Goat Man suffers from Sky High puffy underarms syndrome, although not quite as bad, I don't think. I still like him a lot.

Scorpia looks cooler than I though, although she could use some red to flesh tone paint transitions ala Clawful

[Berserker79]

You clearly see the design crap Ruben came up with

[Anti-Guru]

[Koutetsu]

I can cope with cost cutting, it is bad design that bothers me. A lot.

[Anti-Guru]

Those are the final figures.

[Anti-Guru]

As usual we are seeing the bulky armor issue here. Blade's armor is bulkier than the prototype and is lacking in paint detail. His swords were made with a silvery plastic obviously to avoid using silver paint, which would have made the swords look more real.

Goat man... again, his armor wasn't engineered properly resulting in bulky sides. I'm convinced that Ruben continues to make the outfits like this out of spite. Fans vocally expressed their displeasure with the bulky armor and diaper pants issues years ago, clearly he doesn't give a crap.

Scorpia looks fine to me. Yeah, her diaper pants are not what the 4H intended but... she came out alright.

So... looks like it will be another year of poor design decisions and cost cutting from Mattel.

[GREP-A-TOR]

Blade looked amazing at Power-Con. Now he's got bulky armour and those unpainted swords look cheap as hell. I'll be really disappointed if this is final.

I agree, There are some rabid fans for Blade, they better make sure he is ready for production - or they will hear it.

[paulioscorchio]

Blade looked amazing at Power-Con. Now he's got bulky armour and those unpainted swords look cheap as hell. I'll be really disappointed if this is final.

[Widukind]

Scorpia's tail is a fail. She'll look very static. No "tail attack pose" will be possible. Her flappy crotch piece is not a success either. But I must admit she looks OK nevertheless.

Blade looks cool, but I must say that his swords look weird and unfinished, and that his chainmail seems too big. I also wonder about the hinderance that the chainmail will be for the arms and legs articulations...

Goat Man looks fantastic ! I hope he won't be too hard or too expensive to get, because I'd like to buy him.

[Greenskull]

I think they all look great! I can't wait to get them in hand!

[Captain Atkin]

I think Blade looks the best of the bunch!