Mattel MOTU Chronicles Movie Figures

My Grayskulls arrived with pretty much no warning. I got unidentified FedEx notices from the app, that had no movement til the box was on my porch.

With a figure this quality, it will be very easy to buy a whole collection over again and not feel regret or redundancy. He feels just as fluid and smooth as Scareglow (does this character have another name?) But what’s also grabbing me is the detail - in the leather straps and boots, the fur trim, the weapons. His face doesn’t look at all like a stroke victim, rather he’s thinking through what his fatal blow will be.

There are still flaws. He’s got that chintzy fabric cape with no wire, his axe or sword can be stored on his back but either and the long hair get in each other’s way. (When will we get better hair technology? Long hair needs articulation!) But that’s it. Just two flaws. The rest is golden. He and SG are gonna live on my desk for a while!
 
NORM said:
There are still flaws. He’s got that chintzy fabric cape with no wire, his axe or sword can be stored on his back but either and the long hair get in each other’s way. (When will we get better hair technology? Long hair needs articulation!)
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The technology has existed for decades!
zeus.jpg
 
I guess I never really thought about how underserved the market is for posable hair. I remember it being such a novelty for Spinmaster's Aloy figure to have the posable hair, but I can't really think of any other figures- before or since- that have more than maybe a swivel joint for a ponytail or something. Bendable ponytails feels like an obvious thing to do, but has anyone done it? Let alone beard mechanics? I'd want some company to perfect the posable beard, if only so someone could give us a new Davy Jones or Cthulu-esque figure with separate bendy tentacles.
 
I don't know if articulation is the solution. I know I suggested it, but I also don't love it and how obvious layers of it can be. Also how unnatural it can look, with the recent ML 2pk Medusa. If it won't blend into HER hair, I can't imagine much luck for regular length long hair. I think maybe long hair just needs to be made of a more flexible material. Or there should be more forethought into how the hair can get in the way of things like movement or accessory storage.
 
Got King Greyskull in.

Pretty, pretty rad. I like this direction of MOTU. Reminds me of Classified in the best way possible.

For all the shit that Mattel catches (and trust me, a lot of it deserved), they have shown a willingness to adapt, improve, evolve, and cater to the adult collector. And since we know that they do love reuse, I am a-okay with this being the buck for the next however long.
 
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My King Grayskull figures arrived today and I was honestly surprised. I didn't think I'd get them until after the weekend. Like Scareglow, another excellent figure. These Chronicles figures so far seem amazing. I only have 2, but the 2 I have are 2 of the best looking and functioning MOTU figures there have been.

And King Grayskulls face does look so much better in person. I wasn't sure about that smirk in the pics of the figure. In person, it's fine. I honestly agree with everything NORM said in his post.

Also, while I open my figures, it has to be said, the packaging for this figure is incredible.
 
I think a lot of Mattel Creations exclusive packaging is gorgeous. It’s hard for me to get rid of it. In fact, I’ve saved too much of it!
 
I honestly keep some of the packaging as well. it's just too amazing to get rid of. I really wish they'd let out a Volume 2 of the artwork of MOTU from Dark Horse. That first Volume covered even current toys artwork like Origins and Masterverse. A new edition covering the rest of Origins and Masterverse, as well as now Chronicles would be nice.
 
Personally, I really want them to release collected editions of the Origins minicomics as well. Yes there's fan scans online for most of them if you look on MotU forums, but it'd be nice to have them properly preserved and accessible.

Universal (and well earned) excitement and enjoyment of a Mattel collector's line almost has me feeling like I've stepped into a bizarro universe. I hopped into proper collecting during the era where Mattel DCM had crappy 4 inch figures and peg-warming CW figures. Hopefully this momentum gets carried over into TMNT and DC next year.
 
It kind of scares me how good these Chronicles figures are, just because of the other 2 properties Mattel recently secured in DC and TMNT and wondering if they will get figures in similar quality as Chronicles. I just recently stopped collecting a few lines just to try and not accumulate as much stuff. I just really tried to prioritize what was most important. And of course, MOTU was amongst the most important.

But I was happy to cut stuff off and be buying less.

But I love DC and TMNT. If Mattel's collector figures of DC and TMNT are like Chronicles.........I am in big, big trouble. It would be hard to resist that. Especially TMNT.


And especially if they made TMNT figures, like Chronicles, but they looked like the vintage Playmates line. Kind of like Super7's Ultimate's, but Mattel TMNT Chronicle style.

So, after cutting things, I may end up picking up two new lines come next year lol.

But I might be able to hold off. I have a ton of TMNT and DC stuff. So, I don't need more. But we'll see what Mattel has to offer. Maybe I will need to get rid of some DC and TMNT stuff to make room for Mattel's new offerings.
 
Super Camel said:
It kind of scares me how good these Chronicles figures are, just because of the other 2 properties Mattel recently secured in DC and TMNT and wondering if they will get figures in similar quality as Chronicles. I just recently stopped collecting a few lines just to try and not accumulate as much stuff. I just really tried to prioritize what was most important. And of course, MOTU was amongst the most important.

But I was happy to cut stuff off and be buying less.

But I love DC and TMNT. If Mattel's collector figures of DC and TMNT are like Chronicles.........I am in big, big trouble. It would be hard to resist that. Especially TMNT.


And especially if they made TMNT figures, like Chronicles, but they looked like the vintage Playmates line. Kind of like Super7's Ultimate's, but Mattel TMNT Chronicle style.

So, after cutting things, I may end up picking up two new lines come next year lol.

But I might be able to hold off. I have a ton of TMNT and DC stuff. So, I don't need more. But we'll see what Mattel has to offer. Maybe I will need to get rid of some DC and TMNT stuff to make room for Mattel's new offerings.
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This is almost exactly where I am. I was happy to call TMNT done with NECA and DC done with McFarlane and gradually wind down collecting those lines. But if the Mattel stuff ends up as good as Chronicles looks? Definitely could be trouble for my wallet and my shelf space.

Only difference is I was happy to call MOTU done with Masterverse/New Eternia as well but now I'm getting very tempted by Chronicles. At the very least I'm getting He-Man to test the quality for myself (which is probably a very stupid decision given it could lead to collecting 3 new lines :ROFLMAO: )
 
Super Camel said:
It kind of scares me how good these Chronicles figures are, just because of the other 2 properties Mattel recently secured in DC and TMNT and wondering if they will get figures in similar quality as Chronicles. I just recently stopped collecting a few lines just to try and not accumulate as much stuff. I just really tried to prioritize what was most important. And of course, MOTU was amongst the most important.

But I was happy to cut stuff off and be buying less.

But I love DC and TMNT. If Mattel's collector figures of DC and TMNT are like Chronicles.........I am in big, big trouble. It would be hard to resist that. Especially TMNT.


And especially if they made TMNT figures, like Chronicles, but they looked like the vintage Playmates line. Kind of like Super7's Ultimate's, but Mattel TMNT Chronicle style.

So, after cutting things, I may end up picking up two new lines come next year lol.

But I might be able to hold off. I have a ton of TMNT and DC stuff. So, I don't need more. But we'll see what Mattel has to offer. Maybe I will need to get rid of some DC and TMNT stuff to make room for Mattel's new offerings.
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I think I could cherry pick DC from Mattel if they're this quality. That's what I've been doing with McFarlane. Pretty much just Trinity, and their families. Couple of GLs and Flash to round out small versions of the League. Bat rogues. Mains from my fav DC movies for representation.

BUT if TMNT was this quality, I'd probably go all in. I'm realizing it's easier to go all in on a TMNT or MotU line, because the character selection is far more finite than Marvel or DC, which could go on indefinitely, infinitely. However, I don't think I'd need vintage TMNT redos all over again. I know S7's offerings often left some to be desired, but they scratch that particular itch for me. And if Mattel did it again, even at a better quality, THAT to me would feel the most redundant. I invested plenty into S7, and I don't want to negate that. S7 had as many killer figures as they did bombs.

If they could bring something newish to the table, like they've done so far with MotU Chronicles, then I'd probably be all in on TMNT. But it's gotta be something new, something that scales well with other lines, something affordable, something distinctly collector oriented. That's what I'm feeling so far with MotU Chronicles. These feel like the best MotU figures made for mass market, not in an apologist way either. I've been a big advocate for Masterverse, and they had some gems, but to have never made a GREAT He-Man head sculpt? That's like not making ONE good Spider-Man, Wolverine, Superman or Batman figure.

Classics had the best aesthetic and character breadth, but were the least accessible. I don't like jumping through hoops. Origins is truest to the original aesthetic, affordable AND accessible, but more kid friendly and less collector oriented (though we all know who the audience is). Masterverse, again, had some gems, AND was affordable and accessible, which was the biggest draw for me. But they didn't outdo Classics in terms of aesthetic. They've all been excellent runs though, and from what I'm seeing, feeling, Chronicles has the potential to surpass that.
 
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