This month sees the release of the first figure of the Collector’s Choice subscription, Lord Masque. Masque’s delivery was delayed a bit by production issues, and I received my figure on Thursday. Let’s take a look at Masque!
Bio
There is no bio. I’m assuming that the bios are done for this line, but I suppose we’ll know for sure when the next figure ships without one. I liked the bios. At the very least they served as a kickstart for me to think about the nature of the character.
I’d imagine that Masque’s bio would be very much about the one episode of the Filmation series where he appeared: “House of Shokoti Part I.” In this episode, Masque takes several steps to dissuade Eternians from disturbing the tomb of his demonic mistress, Shokoti.
Accessories
The figure comes with a sword and a shield.
The weapons match up with Thunder Punch He-Man from The New Adventures of He-Man line.
You can give the weapons to your NA He-Man to make a facsimile of that NA He-Man figure, though you would be missing the harness.
I just use the accessories for Masque, especially the sword.
When I think about Masque, I don’t really think of a guy who wields a sword and shield, I think of spell casting, so some spell casting hands or effects would have been preferred — something like that rather than the sword and shield we got. The accessories we have have sort of made me re-think what Masque could be.
Sculpt
The sculpt is good, but Mattel’s penchant for dulling the sharp parts of figures really hurts the look of the horns on Masque’s mask.
It’s just not imposing as it could be. The harness and cape are two separate pieces, which is nice if you want to customize.
The mask and hood look like they might be separate pieces, but if they are, they are glued tightly together. I would have liked the mask to be removable to mimic the scene in the episode where Orko beats Masque.
Articulation
The articulation is standard for MOTUC, and the head has slightly limited neck movement since it’s a fairly wide hood.
Paint
Paint is a little off to my eye as I feel that the brown of the main body should be a little darker and warmer, and the blue of the gloves should be a little darker as well.
Overall
I was a little sad when we originally had to choose between Huntara and Masque for a slot in the Club Eternia subscription, so I’m glad to see him in this sub now. I do find him a bit underwhelming between the off accessories and colors. Still, a disappointing MOTUC figure is better than most figures on the market, so it’s not all bad.
