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Mossman
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Regular guest
reviewer Coheteboy got a special package in the mail this week - Mossman!
Here's his detailed review: With
every successful toyline there will be a slew of exclusives that are either
a) somewhat easy to find, b) difficult to find, and/or c) impossible to
find. Of course Mattel's latest exclusive was neither of those.
This online exclusive was more of a pain and hassle to obtain than most
other exclusives. Getting Moss Man itself was actually fairly
inexpensive at $5 to ship. The hard part was buying THREE regular MOTU
figures on the same reciept and sending that along with the proofs of
purchase from those same figures. Most of you may be saying,
"well, that isn't too hard, there are tons of MOTU figures on the pegs
now." Sad to say, when this deal was offered, it was near
impossible to find anything other than new versions of He-Man and Skeletor.
The chances of finding the newest figures (Prince Adam and Syclone at the
time) was incredibly slim, and chances of finding any normal figure (Mekanek,
Teela, Orko, etc) was difficult as well. So the question was if it was
even worth shelling out $32+ for figures you don't want or already have to
get this exclusive figure. While I was lucky that a friend found three
figures and let me have the POP and receipt for Moss Man, many of you
weren't as lucky. So those who are curious, is an in depth look at the
HEROIC GUARDIAN OF NATURE.
Just to recap, the vintage Moss Man is essentially the same as the vintage
Beast Man, but with added flocking. This updated Moss Man pays tribute
to that original figure by doing the same.
MOTU exclusives to date: He-Man (SDCC version), Faker (Toyfare), Wolf
Armor He-Man and Snake Armor Skeletor (TRU), Keldor (SDCC).
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Packaging - ***1/2
For an internet exclusive without that much hoopla, Moss Man gets a very
respectable box that is similar to the Toy Fare FAKER but with some changes.
The box itself takes on a different shape than the usual MOTU item but still
stays within the boundaries of the basic design elements. The window
is nice and wide, showing the figure clearly while the backside of the box
explains the action gimmick and accessory. What is refreshing about
this exclusive is that they even went so far as to add jungle artwork to the
background, giving us a better sense of what the figure is capable of.
The box is shipped within a standard white shipper box with a large logo on
the side. There is no mistaking what this is when it arrives in your
mailbox!
Sculpting
- ***1/2
Though
the sculpting is essentially the same as Beast Man from the first series, it
doesn't look bad in the slightest. In fact it looks quite awesome.
The head appears to be new but closer inspection shows that it is still
Beast Man's head. What else is there to say? The sculpt
underneath all the flocking is identical to Beast Man, and since Beast Man's
sculpt was fantastic, the same must be said for Moss Man.
Paint - ****
It really wasn't too difficult NOT to get a perfect score since there
wasn't much to paint. Moss Man is entirely green with the exception of
his belt and his 'skirt'. The eyes are painted looking off to his
left, which is an interesting decision. The paint ops on the rest of
the face are exactly how they should be so no real complaints here.
For this figure to have less than four stars would have been pathetic.
Articulation - ***
Again, being exactly identical to Beast Man, Moss Man carries the same 12
points of articulation: neck, two in each shoulder, wrists, waist,
and two in each hip. Nothing out of the ordinary which is good
enough in this line.
Accessories - **1/2
Moss Man comes only with a repaint of the Battle Club (seen previously with
Mekanek).
Action Features - ****
While I don't consider Moss Man's flocking to be an accessory, I do consider
it to be somewhat of an action feature. Extra care was put into this
figure's appearance, to blend into nature with that much more ease and
Mattel has done a pretty fine job with that.
The second action feature is virtually the same as Beast Man's. A peg
on the back allows Moss Man to swing his Battle Club at enemies with the
push of the button. It works well and the arms are still good for
positioning in other poses.
Value - ***
Depending on how lucky you were in finding three figures, Moss Man would
range from being a great deal to being a very expensive exclusive. If
you had to get three figures you already own, then the value of Moss Man can
be dropped to one star. If you picked up three figures you wanted
anyway, then the value would be a pretty solid four stars. But then
again, seeing how much you'd have to pay on Ebay, getting three figures you
didn't want was still a better option.
Overall - ***1/2
Initially the idea of flocking Beast Man to get Moss Man sounded like
a bad idea to me, but the end result was a pretty impressive figure all
around. The sculpt used was great and the flocking was just icing on
the cake. All of this inside a nice exclusive package makes this a
solid exclusive that no MOTU fan should be without.
Where to Buy -
Looks like EBAY is the only place to pick up Moss Man now. Prices are
shooting up towards $60 so this figure will not come cheap!
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR LOTS MORE PHOTOS!
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Figure from the collection of
Coheteboy.
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