Masters of the Universe Classics: Filmation: He-Man
Mattel
Retail: $30.00 @ MattyCollector.com
Mattel is not disappointing me lately. As the MOTUC line winds down, they have offered a new subscription service called Club Grayskull. This line will offer characters we’ve already seen, but stylized after their Filmation counterparts.
The most recent release is He-Man himself!
The packaging on this one is REALLY awesome. He comes packaged in a window-box display with a slip-cover designed to look like Castle Grayskull. When you remove the slip cover, you see He-Man beautifully displayed in his “I have the POWER!” pose inside the mouth of Grayskull. The back shows an image of Filmation He-Man and gives a brief description of the line.
The eyes and nose of Grayskull are part of the window box and look really cool.
He-Man looks really nice out of the box as well.
The buck is similar to the original release and most of the differences come from his costume. His chest armor is less ornate with no orange squares, raised panels, or divots. The cross is bigger and more screen accurate. His belt and wrist cuffs are missing the spherical embellishments. His loin cloth is smoother and less detailed. Finally, his boots are missing the straps from the original release and the fur at the top is softer.
He also has a scabbard on his back to store the Sword of Power.
I’m sorry, I couldn’t find my original release He-Man for comparison pictures.
The biggest difference is the head and face. You can definitely see the Filmation inspiration here. The hair is more in the style of his 80’s pretty-boy style and the face looks more like the cartoon character we all knew and loved. My only complaint is that it seems a bit more rough than cartoon He-man.
He has 20 points of articulation:
- Ball-and-socket joint at the neck (x1)
- Rotating hinges at each shoulder (x2)
- Swivel joints at each bicep (x2)
- Hinge joints at each elbow (x2)
- Swivel joints at each wrist (x2)
- Hinge joints at each wrist (x2)
- Swivel joint at the waist (x1)
- Rotating hinges at each hip (x2)
- Swivel joints at each thigh (x2)
- Hinge joints at each knee (x2)
- Rocking hinges at each ankle (x2)
The most awesome of these is the hinge joints at each wrist. They allow you to recreate his famous “By the POWER OF GRAYSKULL!” pose!
He comes with only two accessories: the Sword of Power and a sword stone.
Breakdown:
- Playability – 5 out of 5. Club Grayskull/Filmation He-Man is pretty awesome! I loved the original release, but this one is straight out of the cartoon. I can’t wait to have him battling Skeletor!
- Collectibility – 5 out of 5. Wow! I am an out-of-box collector, but this packaging blew me away. I almost left him alone.
- Paint and Sculpt – 4 out of 5. I love Mattel’s approach to these Filmation figures! I have no complaints other than the “roughness” of his look.
- Standability – 5 out of 5. His joints are solid and he stands even in dynamic poses.
- Articulation – 5 out of 5. 20 points is nothing to sneeze at. With the addition of the wrist hinges, I almost want to give him a 6!
- Accessories – 2 out of 5. Booo! This could have been so much better! A sword and stone? Really? He-Man could come with so much more. Plus, I had to look up what the stone was for … that’s why there are no pictures of the sword in it.
- Affordability – 4 out of 5. $30.00 is a little steep. I know collectors will shell it out, but casual fans might a bit of trouble justifying it.
Overall impression: 30 out of 35. Not bad Mattel! Club Grayskull/Filmation He-Man is a great figure! His nostalgia and build make him very playable! I can’t wait to see the other offerings in the Filmation style – and make them fight!
** He-Man, Masters of the Universe, and all related characters belong to Mattel. These images are for hobby only. Also, the background images were found on the internet. If one of the images belongs to you, I will gladly give credit.
Action Figure Maniac! 