One Beeeeeeeeeee-lion dollars! A quote from a crappy movie aside, a billions dollars is pretty close to what you would have to pay if you want to get your hands on an official, Mattel-made Princess of Power Spinnerella figure. That’s right: the unicorn of the She-Ra line can (and usually does) command more money in online auctions than even the mythical vintage Tytus and Megator figures. Oh, you say you want one mint-on-card, do you? Plan on taking out a second mortgage. So while it has only taken about 30 years (come this December), you are going to finally get a chance at owning an official Spinerella figure that is not going to cost you your kid’s college fund. The Masters of the Universe Club Etheria subscription is wrapping with this dizzying beauty, and if you have been waiting all your life to add Spinny to your shelf, I am happy to say, she is worth the very long wait.
As I mentioned in my Look at the new MOTUC Mermista figure, Princess of Power fans (and MOTU fans in general) have had a pretty good run of it during this, the year of She-Ra’s 30th anniversary. We have gotten a bevy of Rebels in both clubs Eternia and Etheria, and as we head into the fateful stretch of 2015, we only have three vintage characters left to complete our collection. Getting Spinnerella is different, though, as most collectors have never had much of a chance at owning her, and for all of their waiting, fans are finally going to receive a deluxe figure given the Four Horsemen treatment that has resulted in one of the nicest Rebels to be added to the line yet. There is so much to like about Spinnerella, and, as it stands right now, she has surprised me by moving into my favorite December 2014 figure, even in the face of some stiff competition.
As you may know, one of the likely things keeping Spinny out of our hands for so long in Classics is the fact that Mattel knew she was going to be a pretty expensive figure to produce. Her different hair styles and elaborate ribbon tassels were going to require a lot of paint and tooling dollars, so having her be a standard figure in the Club Eternia line was going to present a set of logistical challenges. In the end, Mattel went with the simplest solution and instead of sacrificing tooling or deco, they just charged a little more for her and gave us (pretty much) the figure we deserved. To be perfectly honest, I like this approach because I will gladly pay more for a figure if I think the value is there, and it is needed to give a figure what it needs to be the best it can be. Sure, it could be a slippery slope, but like with Ram Man before, Spinnerella proves that she is worth the extra dough.
Character-wise, I will admit I knew very little about her prior to getting into the Princess of Power cartoon several years ago. Aside from She-Ra and the Horde, PoP was not really on my radar as a kid, and even if it was, since Spinny came out so late in the doll line, there was not really much given to her in terms of character development. However, even though she was given very little time on the Filmation cartoon, several interesting things came from the character. First, she is powerful, REALLY powerful, and her spinning and whirlwind powers that recall Sy-Klone pretty much put the latter to shame. I mean, girl almost destroyed the entirety of the Whispering Woods because she was tricked into believing her (very) close friend Netossa was imprisoned by the Rebellion.
Speaking of Netossa, she has been portrayed as a very important character to Spinnerella, and in my opinion (even amidst sometimes heavy overall association to the brand), those two make up the most directly intended gay couple within the brand. This comes from their characterization on the Filmation program, and if you think about it, that was VERY progressive for a 1980s kids’ show. Sure, they never really came out and said it directly, but the relationship these “sisters” shared was pretty pointed, much more so than just a bard with a mustache (with an obvious crush on just about every female on the show). Personally, I really like the idea and it carries over into my own personal canon with this property, despite not being addressed in either of the bios. So, from an historical and characterization standpoint, Spinnerella is a great figure to get, but you know what? You could ignore all of that and you would still be left with a great addition because she is fantastic figure.
Her costume is complicated and it is the driving force behind her up-charge, but it has been pulled off pretty well, especially considering the challenges. Prior to his departure, Toy Guru explained that all of the ribbons/tassels were very expensive to produce due to the complicated tooling and large amount of paint applications. They were able to pull them off nicely and the paint in particular is nice overall on the figure with only a few slip-ups on the bodice. Since soft goods do not exist in Classics (thank the Elders), her ribbons have been recreated in plastic, and, overall, they are just fine. The plastic used for them might be a little too thick, but they do not really inhibit anything being so. I do wish the slits on the skirt ribbons did go a little further up than they are as I think it would have helped with better leg movement, but the good news is that if you feel the same way, it will be an easy fix with an Exacto knife and a steady hand.
She also has ribbons that dangle from her forearms, and if I were a betting man, I would say these would be the most discussed part of the entire figure. The anxiety over these obviously comes with how much they are going to inhibit posing options, and while the do so to some degree, it is not NEARLY as much as I thought. Having her arms held out parallel to the ground is probably the best option, but she can also hang them from her sides with some success. Furthermore, due to the wrist twists and the fact the twisting biceps look so similar from right to left, she can be posed in a convincing “twirl” as well. You can see it in the pictures and she is able to do so even without the twisting gauntlets.
However, my favorite part of this figure is her head and hair sculpt, and, particularly, her face. I will go ahead and say it – she turned out BEAUTIFUL and she has some of the softest and most feminine features in the entire line, and that is a great thing. Whereas Mermista is bit more stern and stately, like a woman, Spinnerella looks more innocent and young, with a definite “girlish” quality. That is cool due to her contrast with other characters, but also for the deceptive nature of her powers – it seems like she would be underestimated at every turn. Even though it changed a bit through production, I think her face is stunning and the paint work is flawless, especially about her eyes. They have a more slender shape than many of the figures, but both the Horsemen and the factory did amazing jobs in the work done for the final figure. Her lipstick color has changed to a lighter pink as well and this is something I support as it adds to her younger look. I am absolutely thrilled with all of this and these well-done qualities have helped bolster this figure to a high spot on my favorites list.
Her hair is kind of a watershed moment for the line as well as it marks the first time that we have ever had hair styling options for a figure. You read that correctly, the Four Horsemen actually made it so you can choose between her vintage doll hair look and her very different cartoon style. That is unreal, and while I thought it was a bit extraneous at first, I am glad it was done because I have had a total shift in my preferred style for the figure. At first I was 100 percent cartoon style, but now? I like the more elaborate toy look even better. The base of the hair is built off of the cartoon look, and it has some very unique curls in the back. However, due to an attachable top tiara piece and ponytail, you can create the doll look too. That is kind of wild, right? And the best part is this: the figure pulls off BOTH looks perfectly. I am still a little dumbstruck by this, and while there are collectors that won’t really care about this, a lot will, and the fact that you can even do this, and do it so well is kind of remarkable.
Finally, Spinnerella comes with two accessories: her standard issue PoP shield (in pink) and a nice repaint of the Goddess’s spear. You know what you are getting with the shield, so that should pretty much speak for itself at this point, but even though it is 100 percent reused, I really like the spear for her and the colors that were used for it. She is one of those characters that is a weapon unto themselves, so it is not really required, but I am glad it is included and I will put her on the shelf with it because it looks great. I wish Netossa would have been given as much consideration…
So I never would have thought that Spinnerella would end up being my favorite figure to come out of Club Etheria, but here we are. Furthermore, in the face of Mermista, I never would have thought she would end up being the better of the December figures, but here we are again. Classics has made it a habit of surprising me with character and executions, so Spinerella joins a long list, but she is most certainly near the top of that list as he is absolutely one of the best overall figures in the line. Not just female figures, but figures, period. She is certainly on the more “girly” (sorry, I hate that term) side of the PoP spectrum, but I think she will surprise even the most ardent of apathetic mindsets. I think she is absolutely worth the extra cost, and she is the perfect way to end the year. Thirty years later, PoP fans can finally have their Spinnerella, and that is ultimately okay, because she was well worth the wait.
*Thanks for checking this out and thanks again to Mattel for sending her along for a First Look. Stay tuned because a character from the stars, now comes to Earth in our next segment!
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Love the hair options. I really wish the tassels were skinnier, and that they would have made the wrist guards swivel so the tassels on them didn’t go up and down so rigidly. But overall a very pretty figure.
Ugly face and hair, and uninteresting character. Mermista is better.