This might open up a can of worms all to itself, but, for the most part, I think Masters of the Universe Classics has done a great job of locking in the iconic looks of the characters from the worlds of He-Man and She-Ra.
That being said, it is not like the line is batting a thousand or anything. There are several figures that could have some tweaks here and there, and production goblins have certainly crept in from time to time, but overall, I am a pretty happy He-Man collector. When I consider my favorite characters from this universe, I have to admit that I am pretty darned spoiled. I find Mer-Man, Whiplash, Spikor, Moss Man, Mantenna, Fisto, and the upcoming Mermista to all be pretty spectacular in terms of execution. So, while that covers the majority of my favorite MOTU-ers, my overall favorite female has a very dubious distinction of being one of the, um, least-liked figures of the entire line. Yeah, you know I am talking about Frosta, right? There is just something about that head sculpt and factory paint job that does not represent the character well, so from the moment she arrived on my doorstep, I have been looking for something better.
I begged Robokillah to repaint the head for me (pictured below) and while his skilled brush made for some vast improvements over the factory piece, the sculpt itself felt off to the point of paint only being able to do so much in terms of improvement. So, while his great work satiated me and made a great improvement, I was still on the lookout for a more drastic improvement, and I knew it would have to start with the sculpt.
It was not long after that I happened upon something that about knocked me over in terms of being EXACTLY what I wanted in terms of a Classics Frosta. I saw a scratch-built head that was a dead ringer for the Filmation design of my favorite Ice Empress. I could not believe it! I knew right away that I had to have it and after about two minute of Internet research, I discovered that it was crafted by an Italian customizer named Alessandra Fucarino. Now, Ale has been a staple of the online MOTU community for a long time, but I had no idea that she was also a customizer. To make a long story short, I reached out to her and now I finally have a Classics Frosta worthy of standing with the rest of the Great Rebellion. The best part, though? “Alessandra F Customs” has now joined standouts like Joe Amaro, Mat O’Toole (Castle of Power), Kevin Kosse, Alvis Underground, and others as a third party MOTUC customizer, and she has all kinds of add-on kits to help supplement your collection! Woo!
This is just part one of two of our featured look at Ale’s work, so we will dive into a few of the things she is currently offering, but be sure to check back soon for more items — and a featured interview! That being said, there was no way I was not going to lead with her amazing Frosta kit.
FROSTA
Like I said, Frosta is my favorite MOTU female, so getting this all-new head sculpt was very important to me. See, most of the female face-work by the Horsemen (especially as of late) is very strong, and Ale has been able to create a Frosta likeness that is not only beautiful, but also gels with the work the proper line is producing; in fact, in my opinion, her Frosta fits in better with the overall line better than the official Frosta. Go figure.
For starters, I think the hair sculpt is a lot more accurate than the official version. I know the hair does not get the amount of conversation that the face does, but the slightly swept and unkempt bangs on the original kind of throws the entire look off in my opinion. Alessandra’s Frosta has bangs that sit more static, and the “piecing” of the hair looks more in line with the other Classics females. Plus, as a Filmation design fan, the hair color for this particular piece is much more accurate. However, if you like the vintage toy hair color better, Frosta is available with that option as well.
Moving on to the most important part, Ale’s Frosta has been crafted to have a very aesthetically pleasing face. That is a trumped up way of saying that this Frosta is very feminine and striking, and it highlights her very pronounced features without taking hard lines. That is to say, Frosta has very high cheekbones and a fairly pointed jaw, and Ale has been able to make these defining features apparent, but in a way that translates into the Classics aesthetic perfectly. This head sculpt retains the “toothy” mouth shape, but does not purse the upper lip out.
Her eyes are also very pleasing and keep with the almond shape, but not the rigid eyelids. I think Eric Treadaway has a great approach to sculpting female faces: he adds shape and form to places like the eyes and forehead, but he also knows where paint can play a big factor in completing the details in a pleasing way. Now, the production cycle can come and take its toll, but characters like Entrapta and Flutterina really show off how paint and sculpt work together well. The production Frosta has some pronounced eyelids that are sculpted in and it throws off the entire shape of the eyes. This new Frosta has smoother lines that keep with the a bit of the doe-eyed look of Filmation, but gives Frosta a shape that fits in with the rest of her features.
The paint on the eyes themselves and the eye makeup is also flawless. I am having trouble deciding if Ale is a better sculptor or painter, but, at any rate, with the skill she shows in both arenas, it is really unfair to the rest of us that do not excel at either. We can, however, benefit from her skills and bask in this great execution of Frosta. I really like the colors that are used and the eye shadow is apparent, but without being overdone; it has a gradient quality to it that looks so natural, I am not really sure how Ale does it. The eyebrows should be noted too, as they are perfectly shaped with no bleeding or odd angles to be seen. This is pretty impressive because those are an area that requires precise application and can show any imperfections; but as you can see from the pictures, there are no flaws to be seen on this piece.
I hope I have done a worthy job in explaining what makes Alessandra’s custom Frosta head so great, but if the words aren’t doing it for you, just check out the pictures. I don’t think there is any argument against the fact that this is a spectacular piece and it does the character of Frosta great justice. This piece is going on my Frosta figure on a permanent basis and I have the Classics Frosta that I have always wanted, and she can stand toe to toe with the absolute best of the Great Rebellion.
MANTENNA
As a bonus, we also have a look at the Ale’s Mantenna kit that can help transform an already impressive figure to a completely different version. I find the Classics Mantenna figure to be one of the best of the entire line, but one thing that it is not is a Filmation version of the character. Well, have no fear as Ale has a kit to bring the scary and ferocious Classics Mantenna to that of the charming (and often bumbling) cartoon counterpart. Mantenna severed primarily as comic relief on the PoP show, and he was one of the very few “happy” members of the Horde. So Ale has created two new maws and two new sets of eyes to help bring to life some of Mantenna’s most memorable expressions.
The mouths, of course, have a very different look and feel to them than the vintage toy version. Whereas the toy was bug-like and monstrous, the Filmation mouth was more humanoid. Ale has brought this look out well and the mouths attach to the plug holes of the production head flawlessly. Again, this is another example where I am pretty much floored by the fact that these seem so much like production. The first mouth is a standard smiling expression that is more associated with Mantenna’s neutral look on the show. It is, of course, sculpted and painted well and it makes for a Mantenna that is set to be bossed around by just about everyone else in the Horde. The second mouth is open and shows off his teeth a bit, but not at all in a threatening way. I have a picture of a screen grab to show you the comparison, but when this mouth is coupled with the included eyes, it makes for a dead-on representation of the expression. I mean, look at it!
Speaking of the eyes, what is important that sets these apart from what we got with the official figure (and what makes them very Filmation) is the shape. Yes, they are yellow like the toy, but they have the flattened “pancake” look which is how they were portrayed in the cartoon. You get two sets, one basic pair that will do for most instances, but also a lidded pair that makes for some AWESOME expressions. Seriously, I cannot get enough of these. The paint on them is nothing short of fantastic as well, and I am stone-cold baffled as to how Alessandra was able to paint the pupils so perfectly round. Such amazing skill.
Here is a gallery of all of the looks you can achieve with Ale’s pieces, as well as the production Mantenna parts. As you can see, there are a lot of options!
In closing, I want to note that, more than just about any other kits I have seen, Alessandra’s work has a remarkable “from the factory” feel to them, and I mean that in a very complimentary way. The sculpts, casting, paint, and overall craftsmanship of these pieces look like they were made in a high-tech factory with professional grade materials and resources. In fact, if I did not know know any better, I would swear they were factory made. Frosta’s head even snaps onto the factory figure neck joint perfectly and requires no padding or adhesives to get it to stay. I am very impressed with the work that she does and getting her takes on these particular characters pushes my need for official versions down to the last rung on the ladder. I really do mean that and I cannot recommend these kits enough. Ale has a Facebook page for her Alessandra F Customs, so I HIGHLY suggest going there and looking about at what she has to offer. At the very least, all of our Classics collections deserve this amazing Frosta, so if you are interested, get over there now, I have a feeling the queue is going to get quite long in the very near future.
I want to thank Alessandra for her work on these pieces, especially Frosta – you have made me a very happy Classics fan. It is very apparent that she absolutely loves these characters and the care and quality in these pieces are a testament to that. Also, please stay tuned right here because we are going to be bringing you a second installment to the feature on her work. Part two will have a VERY demanded version of a pretty important Hordesman, as well as some surprises and an interview with the artist herself. Stick around!
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