The Masters of the Universe Mini-Masters line continues in June with the third release, featuring the heroic Stratos and the evil (and creepy!) Scareglow. This marks the halfway point in our quest to build the widdlest Castle Grayskull yet, and I have to say, after a little bit of controversy at the start, this line is shaping up to be pretty fun.
We all know that the “Build-a-Castle” Mini-Masters don’t fit in scale-wise with the He-Man and Skeletor figures released at SDCC last year, but now that we are putting together a larger set of characters, this is becoming less and less of an issue, at least for me. Sure, we will probably only have He-Man and Skeletor in their Battle Armor attire in this scale, but all of the characters are shaping up to be pretty cute, and, as I said last time, I think this smaller scale actually works better for this execution.
While Mer-Man still remains my favorite figure in this line thus far, this third set with Stratos and Scareglow is actually the strongest release yet. Let’s take a look at them.
STRATOS
Stratos has been a staple of the MOTU universe since its inception, but over the years, his action figures have always left something to be desired. Not the figures themselves, the vintage and its Classics update have done a great job in capturing the the character, but poor Stratos has always been expected to take off without any kind of weapon. So, here is where Mini-Stratos has a leg up on the generations that have come before him: he comes with the trusted Staff of Avion — and he can even hold it! Score one for the big bird-gorilla-man!
I am actually a big fan of the head sculpt on this figure as well. It captures Stratos’s likeness well (it’s a Four Horsemen sculpt so, duh) but it is exaggerated just right and has a certain sense of playfulness in the expression. He comes with his trusty wings and jet pack and both of these are proportionally larger than in previous incarnations. The paint is solid, especially for this scale, and it looks like Stratos introduces the “beast” body for this line (it might be there under Moss Man’s flocking, though), so I bet Beast Man will make use of at least part of it. I do have to say that Stratos is the first figure from the line that I have gotten that has a little trouble standing, but strangely enough, I don’t think it has to do with the backpack. His feet are slightly turned up, so I am hoping a little time under the hairdryer will get them repositioned properly.
SCAREGLOW
Scareglow has been a MOTU fan-favorite ever since his late (and mysterious) entrance into the vintage line, and the Horsemen always seem to be able to knock him out of the park in any style. His design and paint scheme translate well into this Mini line and I think we will be hard-pressed to see a more appropriate and adorably evil expression in the line.
All of the cues that make Scareglow “Scareglow” are well represented here, from the crack in his dome to his bones-on-a-buff-body paint scheme. His cape retains the slightly translucent look from the Classics figure, and it is kept in draft of spectral air. He does, of course, have his glow-in-the-dark feature, and it is very strong on both his body and his scythe weapon. About 30 seconds under a light charged him up well, and he glows brighter than just about any other glow-in-the-dark feature action figure I own.
Along with these tiny Masters, we also get the third piece of Castle Grayskull, and for the first time, you can actually start to piece the thing together! The top left turret comes with this set. It connects with the base (one time assembly, I believe), and you can attach the top portion of the “skull” as well. The turret has a built-in stand so the Heroic Warriors can stand within to defend it. The jaw-bridge is up next, so things will really start to materialize as we move into the latter half of the year.
We are halfway through this year’s Mini-Masters and I have to say that the further we get, the more I like them. Stratos and Scareglow are certainly nice individual editions, but the sum of the parts of this line is starting to get really strong. Plus, we are going to get a Grayskull to go with them! I am now hoping that the line will be successful enough to carry into 2015 so we can get a complimentary Snake Mountain as well. What can I say — I am fan of the bad guys. Plus, with all of the colorful characters in this mythos, getting little versions of Fisto, Ram Man, and Trap Jaw would be too much fun.
*Thanks for reading and thanks to Toy Guru and crew for sending these lil’ Masters along for a First Look!
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