Mattel MOTU Chronicles Movie Figures

[Damien]

Looking closely at the pics for the female characters I think their articulation is going the kind of mid. Looks like there’s no waist cut at all, but they do get a torso cut and double jointed elbows…. So it’s better, but would still like a ball jointed waist

Not sure how that makes their articulation 'mid' - even if they lack a waist swivel that most people don't even seem to use when there's upper torso rocker/swivel. That would still put them on par with some of the best-articulated non-import figures like Joe Classified and Marvel Legends.

Tri-Klops was disappointing to me. The butterflies don't do enough and that gun is a nightmare no matter what. Even a Joe Classified figure designed to hold guns will struggle with that monstrosity. I blame - presumably - the movie for that nonsense.

 

[Poe Ghostal]

I will say that while I prefer Tri-Klops as a barbarian swordsman, having the one-eyed guy be a sniper is rather clever.

 

[Damien]

I will say that while I prefer Tri-Klops as a barbarian swordsman, having the one-eyed guy be a sniper is rather clever.

I get where they were going with it, I think. But I hate it on basically every level.

I don't even really think I get where 'Eternian Sniper' fits into the mythology. More than the laser guns and rocket jet skis, having a sniper off somewhere taking down targets feels very 'Earth military.' Also, I love the idea that his eyes allow him singular focus on his target in a swordfight, but also allows him perfect 360 awareness in a fight, making it impossible to surprise or sneak up on him. Two things that are infinitely valuable to a swordsman, I'd say.

But that's also just my bias for 'techno-barbarian swordsman.'

 

[docsilence]

Cracked open the new Battle Cat and He-Man just now. I've got MaA but won't have time to open him til tonight. I think I got lucky after hearing about some QC issues on He-Man - hair and eyes aligned just right. Really shockingly nice paint work on the leather parts, another thing they're shaming Masterverse with since the dry-brushing and wash do a great job of giving it texture.

Battle Cat is magnificent. I've got a bit of a frozen knee (knee? What the hell do we call joints on digitigrade cats?) on one of his back legs, but I'll try some heat on that later. Hoping it's just some paint sludge in there. Otherwise, great range of motion, LOVE the glass eyes that follow you predator-like around the room, nice heft... I'd put him on par with Zabu, which I'd consider the toppest of top-tier for Hasbro's animal companion work. I won't say he's better because I'm not sure the cheaper plastic they used for him will hold up to the heat fix I'm going to ned to do to fix that leg (I'd feel better with a different type of plastic about that, feels like the type of stuff that breaks rather than gives) but anything that matches Zabu in my eyes is pretty unbeatable.

 

[Alt]

The Stifle Joint is the Knee. Then it's still an Ankle below.

 

[Alt]

Tri-Klops was disappointing to me. The butterflies don't do enough and that gun is a nightmare no matter what. Even a Joe Classified figure designed to hold guns will struggle with that monstrosity. I blame - presumably - the movie for that nonsense.

Butterflies and wrists ('cause of the gauntlets) are my main annoyances with the line. Shy from true greatness. But still great, especially coming from everything else Mattel I know.

Hopefully the line can iterate and evolve.

I agree that the figures aren't mid due to the articulation. Ball joints are great, but I don't engage with waist cuts because they look dumb, so its already a wash to me. As long as I can get personality with the head/neck and arms and legs, I'm happy.

And regardless, I wanna customize Camila Mendes into Veronica Lodge.

 

[Poe Ghostal]

I get where they were going with it, I think. But I hate it on basically every level.

I don't even really think I get where 'Eternian Sniper' fits into the mythology. More than the laser guns and rocket jet skis, having a sniper off somewhere taking down targets feels very 'Earth military.' Also, I love the idea that his eyes allow him singular focus on his target in a swordfight, but also allows him perfect 360 awareness in a fight, making it impossible to surprise or sneak up on him. Two things that are infinitely valuable to a swordsman, I'd say.

But that's also just my bias for 'techno-barbarian swordsman.'

Personally I always hated him being Skeletor’s gadget guy in 2000X. That didn’t make any sense to me at all. Trap Jaw was a more logical choice for that.

And yeah, this sort of thing doesn’t always work out. Geordi La Forge was developed as “what if the pilot was blind?” But then they just abandoned that whole thing and made him the chief engineer.

 

[AceofKnaves]

Y’all:
Chronicles Trap-Jaw is *outrageous*. Just fucking fantastic.
. . . although I am glad I grabbed two because one had a helmet glued VERY askew. Pretty sure I can fix it but damn I’d have been pissed if that was my only copy.

 

[Alt]

Y’all:
Chronicles Trap-Jaw is *outrageous*. Just fucking fantastic.
. . . although I am glad I grabbed two because one had a helmet glued VERY askew. Pretty sure I can fix it but damn I’d have been pissed if that was my only copy.

Fine QC abounds, mom.

But hopefully this is just because it's the first wave out of these factories and its growing pains.

My Stringer At Arms had a floppy neck at the torso joint.

 

[docsilence]

Just cracked Stringer at Arms. Probably the most solid likeness Idris has gotten from a toy line so far - not perfect but better than other lines have given him. Overall I like the figure, but the neck is... weird? Like I truly can't tell if the neck is on backwards or not. I tried rotating it and it didn't look better. That being said, I ROTATED IT. The joints are that smooth, I could just spin it to try a different angle. He's the first one I really noticed the lack of a thigh cut, because I wanted his leg armor to be slightly more to one side, but it's fine, great ROM otherwise.

My only real beef is seriously, a gun where the trigger is filled in and no trigger fingers? We have entire lines that give trigger fingers to characters who have never held a gun in 50 years. I'd almost prefer he didn't come with the pistol than one that doesn't work. But I'm going to display him with the mace so it's not a HUGE loss, just a silly one.

 

[Damien]

My only real beef is seriously, a gun where the trigger is filled in and no trigger fingers? We have entire lines that give trigger fingers to characters who have never held a gun in 50 years. I'd almost prefer he didn't come with the pistol than one that doesn't work. But I'm going to display him with the mace so it's not a HUGE loss, just a silly one.

The handle is also way too wide for his gripping hand. I genuinely think that was originally intended to just be a piece that's connected to his leg, but the way it's manufactured basically had to have it be separate, and it's easier to sell it as another accessory than as an assemble-it-yourself-and-then-don't-take-it-off costume piece.

 

[docsilence]

The handle is also way too wide for his gripping hand. I genuinely think that was originally intended to just be a piece that's connected to his leg, but the way it's manufactured basically had to have it be separate, and it's easier to sell it as another accessory than as an assemble-it-yourself-and-then-don't-take-it-off costume piece.

the peg IS very secure, not one of those "oops I'm never seeing that accessory again" type pieces, but yeah, this figure does not look like he was ever intended to wield this gun. But it's fine, the mace looks rad on its own.

 

[Mr_Saver]

Not sure how that makes their articulation 'mid' - even if they lack a waist swivel that most people don't even seem to use when there's upper torso rocker/swivel. That would still put them on par with some of the best-articulated non-import figures like Joe Classified and Marvel Legends.

Tri-Klops was disappointing to me. The butterflies don't do enough and that gun is a nightmare no matter what. Even a Joe Classified figure designed to hold guns will struggle with that monstrosity. I blame - presumably - the movie for that nonsense.

Mid compared to like the Jada line.

Imo, of course. I suspect that the female figures aren’t going to be that much of an upgrade to the Masterverse female but… but we will see.

My suspicion is for the female buck no form of butterfly, no waist articulation, no drop down legs but we do get the better arms and two piece neck/head.

Yeah, that’s standard to what you get with ML… but their female figures suck too imo

 

[Niko (protozoalord)]

The butterflies are not quite there yet, for sure. It's not a huge deal with the figures we have, but we better not get any guys with two handed weapons before they do. Not a huge fan of the torso range either, but I believe both of these will be iterated on soon enough.

No waist cut is fucking spectacular also, especially on female figures. I don't want to see toys regressing to outdated schemes. Keep it away from male figures as well. I think Evil-Lyn and Teela have some janky looking joint cuts, especially the thighs, but otherwise they look to be the best domestically released female figures we've ever gotten. Ball hinges should be THE ankle articulation of choice for all toys.

I get a different read on this. To me, it's obviously just Mattel wanting to make use of their intellectual property. You own these characters, you want to use them. Also, doing something like throwing Pig Boy and Goat Man into a new movie, and then making toys of them based on that appearance, is excellent fan-service. It shows the audience that you know and care about the history of the franchise. It's incredibly smart.

But Gwildor was in the Kevin Smith cartoon on Netflix and it went precisely nowhere for any movie stuff. We didn't even get a proper MOVIE VERSION of Gwildor himself in Masterverse because of it. That cartoon also had a few other verbal references to the movie, as well as having both Blade and Pig Boy make appearances. Again, it's just fan-service to get you excited when you see/hear it.

I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Goat Man or Gygor either. They are characters that Mattel owns and wants to make money on if they can. And there would be a lot of interest because those haven't been made since Classics and were -NEVER- made before that. But movie-specific versions of characters they have a bunch of other versions of to make - like He-Man himself? Right after they just did some movie stuff for Masterverse? I actually would be very surprised.
Would love to be wrong, though.

100% the main intent is fanservice, but with how consistently "around" the characters have been since Revelation in all media and Masterverse, I think they're the favorites of somebody at Mattel.

Next year is the 40th anniversary of the film. Yes they have been drip feeding those characters in Masterverse over the years, but I'd find it really weird if the one year they make nothing (excluding this year) is an anniversary year. Whether that be briefly unshelving Masterverse to complete the roster, or starting from scratch in Chronicles, I expect at least something.

 

[Alt]

Just cracked Stringer at Arms. Probably the most solid likeness Idris has gotten from a toy line so far - not perfect but better than other lines have given him. Overall I like the figure, but the neck is... weird? Like I truly can't tell if the neck is on backwards or not. I tried rotating it and it didn't look better. That being said, I ROTATED IT. The joints are that smooth, I could just spin it to try a different angle. He's the first one I really noticed the lack of a thigh cut, because I wanted his leg armor to be slightly more to one side, but it's fine, great ROM otherwise.

The back has a little v cut on the traps that the neck sculpt seats into for a definitive front and back, but looks half assed in profile. He's got an open face balaclava from the neck, but the separate head and articulation makes it look awkward with the jawline connecting to nothing.

The mono neck-head piece, maybe with faceplates, may have been better.