Mattel MOTU Chronicles Movie Figures

It's not hyperbole when I say that I genuinely think the three Chronicles figures I have represent some of the best MOTU figures ever made in terms of being a quality action figure. I still think Origins is the best MOTU line that has ever existed, and probably will remain so for the rest of my life unless the movie kicks in a whole new Renaissance for MOTU product and Chronicles expands to cover every classic character, vehicle, and playset. And even if it does - if they're not vintage-based, I'll probably still think Origins is better.

But as individual figures; we've never had it this good. Not with Classics, and not with Masterverse. And from what I've seen, I'm even willing to say these are better action figures than the upcoming 1:12 Mondo stuff which, if the 1:6 stuff is any indication, will look pretty and articulate about as well as my arthritic grandmother.

The biggest road block for Chronicles, in my opinion, is going to be the collapse of collecting as a hobby due to the destruction of a healthy economy and the constantly rising prices associated with luxury (and all other) goods. When Masterverse first came to Canada, I was paying 24.99 for them, I believe. Chronicles here are 39.99. That alone could kill this line in its crib. But if it doesn't, these will simply be the best MOTU figures we've ever had, domestic or otherwise.
 
King Grayskull arrived. Confusingly, not in a box with the other figure I ordered. (Who isn't shipped at all yet despite being in-stock...? 200X He-Man. Whatever!)

Absolutely love it, though. Excluding the obvious complaint of "I really wish he had the bangs!" and a few bits of range that are a little lackluster, it's the smoothest feeling domestic figure I have ever owned. Anatomy feels a lot more natural and less rigid and square than Masterverse, as well.

On kitbashing, I heavily dislike the waist capes and loin clothes being glued down. Hopefully they're not too bad to heat up and force off later. Torso is very easily popped apart, at least. I imagine this new joint style will make way for easy swapping of specific arm/leg parts as well, but I don't care to test full disassembly just yet.
 
I’ve been looking for options to make Scareglow more Skeletor, since I’ve never had an affinity for SG. I looked around for hoods, but none in my collections fit the way I wanted, or required paint if they did. So instead I tried out a helmet from an extra New Eternia Skeletor. I had to heat to pry it off and dremel out some of the plastic. It also doesn’t sit quite the same way as it did on the original head since SG’s head is much bigger. But I kinda like how it came out.
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On the posable hair thing, Toybiz used to do really nice soft plastic hair on their LotR line. Not all the figures had it, but on the ones that did, it could easily flex out of the way of articulation. And the plastic still held good sculpt and paint. And that plastic still holds up today!

I don't understand why no one does it nowdays. I recently got the ML Warbird and she has so much hard hair that she simply can't move her head around! And it's not even that well detailed anyways!

Many companies do cut up the hair into separate parts, in order for it to move around the head, like SH Figuarts. That helps a bunch, but it's not really articulated, and it can look off depending on the sculpt.
 
spinc said:
I don't understand why no one does it nowdays.
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I -think- it's two different, but related, things that really come down to durability. Modern safety testing, to my understanding, does not like really thin, soft plastics because they can be chewed off or ripped off pretty easily (comparatively), and most companies are also still generally wary of that type of plastic's ability to hold up over time.
And, to be fair, it does seem to be a crapshoot. Some stuff with that material has held up exceedingly well. Others have had issues where they get tacky, or pick up paint from other objects really easily, or lose their own paint very easily, or were damaged over time from being flexed too much, or fuckin' melted (Cave Troll, for instance, but also the original ML Mobius's face). Companies these days are playing it safer and experimenting a lot less - at least with materials.
 
Man I still have not seen Scare Glow at any of my Walmarts. Nothing new MOTU at any of them, even after they reset the toy aisle. Just ordered King Grayskull so I can try out the new Chronicles line for myself.
 
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Went to four different Walmarts this weekend. Three of them had the Core golden Skeletor, but none had Scareglow. Damn...this sucks!
 
TheGillMan said:
Went to four different Walmarts this weekend. Three of them had the Core golden Skeletor, but none had Scareglow. Damn...this sucks!
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But at least you now have the beginning of a (literally) small army of golden Skeletors.
 
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