The first subscription figure of 2010, Vikor arrived last Friday nice and prompt just ahead of the holiday weekend. I’m going to try and get through this write up without mentioning Conan…Dammit. Anyway, click through for more pics and thoughts.
Bio
Real Name: Vikor
Shortly after King Grayskull’s death, Vikor, a great warrior from the north was chosen by the Goddess to help protect the Sword of He while all of Eternia waited for a true heir to be born. Already a master of the battleaxe, Vikor’s legend soon spread across Eternia as he quested to vanquish evil – battling the remaining renegade Snake Men and defending the Valley of Gnarl from the Fighting Foe Men. Although his time as a He-Man was relatively short, his contribution to the legend will never be forgotten in the great archives of Eternia.
I actually really like this bio, especially the reference to the Fighting Foe Men. Is it merely a throw away reference to the working title for the Masters of the Universe toy line, or will we be seeing figures of the fighting foe men? Maybe some more concept art figures are on the way? I love how they translated this concept art into a figure, so more would be welcome. It makes for nice variety. Or better yet, some all new 4 Horsemen designs? Probably not, but a 4H fan can dream, can’t he? I also like how it sets up an open ended premise for adventure.
Accessories
Vikor comes with a remove-able cape, a shield, an axe and a sword. The sword fits nicely in a hoop on the back of his belt. I’ve heard this referred to as a sword frog on-line a lot recently. Whatever you call it, it holds the sword well and looks pretty stylish to boot. Not to mention it fits the artwork perfectly. The weapons are cast in a nice solid plastic and aren’t warped or bent. The detail seems a little sharper than some of the other weapons from this line that are based on the original toy line weapons.
Sculpt
The Four Horsemen have done an exceptional job in translating the original Mark Taylor concept art into the MOTUC style. The detail from the Mark Taylor drawing is all there, but he looks like he fits in fine with the rest of the line.
Articulation
Vikor has the standard MOTUC articulation. You would think the longer loincloth would hinder articulation more than the standard figures, but the plastic they used is pretty flexible so as not to hinder articulation more than usual.
The cloak is made from a really stiff plastic, though the design keeps it from interfering with movement. Vikor’s hair is pretty stiff and hinders head movement a bit. It also keeps the cape on and in place pretty well .
The newly designed ankles look quite a bit nicer than the old since they don’t have the peg holes. I’m happy to say that they are also quite sturdy.
Paint
The paint work is also very nice. I think they have hit on a great combination of colored plastic and spray-on low lights to make for a more realistic flesh tone. As odd as this sounds, I think Vikor has the nicest skin in the line so far!
I like the gradation on the helmet horns from dark to light. The paint isn’t perfect on my Vikor as they didn’t quite fill in all the blue section on the helmet. That’s a pretty minor blemish, though.
Overall
Vikor is a solid figure and I’m pleased with how he turned out. I like how they are expanding the mythos of MOTU with concept characters. It’s like a tribute to the past at the same time as creating something new.
Vikor also brings in more of the sword and sorcery side of MOTU. Since that’s one of my favorite aspects, I couldn’t be more pleased. If I had to pick one nit, he seems a little placid for a barbarian. I’d love it if they had done an alternate more snarling face, maybe one sans helmet. I’m all for more display options.
Oh yeah, he also makes for a decent Conan stand-in if that’s your thing.
Previous reviews:
But you did a heck of a job telling a great visual story.
Don’t stop, you do great.
Thanks for the “terrain tips”.
Thanks again guys.
Cap – the mountains are a bunch of pieces of scrap styrofoam ( I had accumulated a large amount of oddly shaped bits from other projects) piled up high and glued together in a vaguely mountain shape. I covered the foam with a paper mache. I didn’t love the texture that gave me, so I covered that with a mixture of elmer’s glue, joint compound and sand for texture. It still didn’t look quite right until I hit it with the snow flock.
The blood is some scrap left over from an experiment I did trying to make lava. I took some crystal clear bathroom Caulk and mixed it with red food coloring. It ended up looking a little bit like blood and I had it lying around in the garage, so I added it to the shot.
Thanks for the movie comment, btw. I had actually wrote some little captions to help tell the story (inspired by the story Ibentmyman-thing wrote in the 2010 piece we did), but I deleted them as I felt they kinda sucked! I’m not much of a writer.
Salt for snow… OK, Matt, … but what or how did you make those wonderful mountains as backdrop!!????
Really nice job!!
Yes, Cromm!! This was a really nice “movie” (in still shots).
Can I ask what you used for blood?? (Besides how you got those great boulders.!!??)
The photos by the Bronze Grayskull are probably my favorite photos of this toy line ever.
This is even more impressive considering there aren’t any vintage style characters around to tug the old heartstrings. I really love the pics. Beautiful work.
WOW JUST WOW BRO!!!
The DIO really makes VIKOR look more BAD AZZ than before. GREAT SHOTS AS WELL AS A BAD AZZ DIO BRO.
CROMMM!!!
W O W!! He must have been up in the Northern Mountains. Cool pics!!
Thanks for all the comments, gents.
Henryjvs – Understandable
VB – Thanks! The snow on the floor is actually a couple of different types of salt. I felt a little liberal guilt using food for something other than sustenance, but it was a cheap way to make a snow floor. The snow on the mountain is ‘snow flock’ from woodland scnenics. You find it in model train stores.
Damian – I think it’s more to do with the Goddess and Vikor figures being cool than my photography, but thanks!
Smiley – I’ll post something in my custom thread when I get a chance. It’s actually pretty simple stuff.
Noisy – Ha! I take that as the highest compliment as I know pics and reviews from you, VB and SD2 have made me feel the same.
Mind blowing pics!
Matt… I feel like I should just wave a white flag and not even bother reviewing Vikor. 😀
Oh my god…… Tutorial time if you ask me!
Matt’s photography can even make a blue power sword look cool. That’s the highest praise a man can be given about his photography skills.
Crom… as awesome as Vikor is, I’m awestruck by yet another fantastic diorama and beautifully shot photos.
Awesome pics Matt!
Gotta say, nothing makes me want to collect these more than your super amazing awesome photography!!!! I AM IN AWE! 😀
My head just exploded! Absolutely stunning pics, Matt. Is the snow white sand?
Excited to get mine in a few days… I don’t care what other people say this is CONAN period!