The Masters of the Universe Classics 2012 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive was Vykron, a new character based on the original three presentation prototypes for the Masters of the Universe line. Click through for more pics and thoughts on this new Masters of the Universe Classics figure and enter to win your very own Vykron figure! Oh, and since the fate of the line is currently in the balance, get over to Matty Collector and SUBSCRIBE!
Vykron™ Bio
Real Name: Vykron™
Fifty years before Prince Adam® was born, Vykron™ the Warrior fought in the gladiatorial arena of Lord Choloh, ruler of the Vine Jungle. Learning from each defeated opponent, he became a master of many combat techniques and weapons. As much a champion as a showman, he would often dress in outlandish garb to rouse the crowd and show off his skills. In his final match, he fought against the great Gygor™. Before a cheering crowd, the evil fighting gorilla ripped Vykron’s body in half – at long last defeating the arena champion. Following this match, Gygor™ claimed not only the arena championship but rule of the Jungle itself, forcing Choloh to abdicate his throne. In life, Vykron™ was the greatest of Choloh’s gladiatorial warriors, fighting in any environment at any time.
Wow, Vykron’s story is a pretty brief one, isn’t it? I kind of like that in a way. It’s like the equivalent of a done-in-one-story in the comic world. I like this because there have been a few new characters that get mixed into the MOTUC canon as important players, given pivotal roles in the overall story. It’s nice to see a character just have his own personal story in the MOTU universe that doesn’t really connect at all to the overall struggle for the Power of Grayskull.
The real reason to get these guys is because they are based on the concept figures that Roger Sweet created as part of his original He-Man pitch to Mattel’s brass. I had previously read Sweet’s book, which had a description of these prototypes, but I had never actually seen them until the Power and Honor foundation released a pic of the original trio.
Emeliano Santalucia also posted his take on the Sweet Trio that piqued my interest in getting these as MOTU figures. They are a pretty outlandish group, but I was primed by these three sources to look forward to them and pleased to hear them announced as an SDCC exclusive.
Accessories
Vykron really is all about accessories. It’s basically one figure with a bunch of snap on parts to get three different looks. The SDCC version has the figure packed out wearing his barbarian gear. Mattel has different names for the different pack-outs on these figures on Mattycollector.com, so for ease of understanding, I’m going to call each look by a different name to keep it straight, and I’m calling the Barbarian look “Vykron,” the military tank-headed guy “Tank Top” and the Boba Fett-inspired space man “Space Ace.”
Vykron has a removable chest harness that plugs into his furry cape, two snap-on leg armor pieces, and an axe. The axe is made of a nice stiff plastic and the chest harness is flexible, as you would expect. The furry cape is a little shorter than I expected it to be, but it attaches well to the figure and does not hinder articulation. The leg armor snaps on easily and securely, though it does impede ankle articulation.
The Tank Top parts include a chest armor overlay, snap on boots, snap on forearm armor, a rifle, and a head shaped like a tank turret. The tank top armor overlay is very flexible and attaches easily to the base body. The boots and armor both snap on easily and securely, though the boots eliminate ankle articulation completely. The only downside to Tank Top’s parts is that his face cannon barrel is made of soft plastic, so it can be bent. I was able to straighten mine with a little dip in hot water, though. The gun is also pretty gummy.
The Space Ace parts include a helmet that can fit over Vykron’s head, a blaster rifle arm, boot guards, removable chest armor, a belt, and a jet pack. The chest armor is three pieces with the jet pack plugging into the back, while the orange piece slides over the shoulders and the white belt plugs into the orange piece and attaches around the back of the figure.
Space Ace is the least successful piece of engineering here. The boots and arm guards snap on easily and securely, but they don’t seem to really ‘fit’ as well as they should. They kind of float above the figure and give him a more bulky look.
I also don’t feel like the helmet quite fits right. I think it should sit slightly lower on the head so that the eyes are seen through the visor shape. As it is on mine, his eyes are obscured by the tips of the helmet. The jet pack’s plastic is a little bit too soft, so the wings and the fins of the missile can bend. It’s also really tough to get the belt strapped on.
Sculpt
The sculpt on this figure is pretty exceptional when you consider the source material. The original prototypes are not much to look at and the designs are fairly outlandish, but I think the 4H have done a great job making them work. First off, Vykron himself has a fairly unusual helmet.
It’s really the oddest thing for me in the original prototypes and Emeliano’s concept art (which is saying something since the other guy has a tank for a head), but the 4H have rendered it here in such a way that I can finally like the look of the thing. The axe is pretty cool and has a neat little design on the handle that feels like perfect MOTU.
For my dollar, Tank Top just works. For me, he’s in the “so nutty that it’s good” MOTU camp with Fearless Photog and Mekanek. Of the three versions of Vykron, I think the Tank Top armor pieces integrate with the base body the best. I know a lot of folks have put the parts on a Man-At-Arms or Palace guard body, but I like the way the green looks against Vykron’s flesh. It has the vibe of guys like Man-E-Faces with their techno gear contrasting with their bare skin. It’s an odd look when you think about it, but feels very MOTU.
I also love that they sculpted some battle damage cuts and divots in the armor itself. The tank head sculpt has details that give the impression of a ‘face’ that wasn’t in the original proto or Emeliano’s concept and I like the look of it. The gun is a little bit dull and feels like a more modern military weapon, but it matches the source material and seems to fit well with the overall look of this guy.
As a huge Star Wars geek and Boba Fett nut from back in the pre-prequel days, the Space Ace is the design I’m most predisposed to like, but it doesn’t quite work for me here. I like the vest and the belt fine, but the arm guards feel a little awkwardly large. The boot covers are very awkward and it gives the Space Ace an overly bulky look. I also feel like the jet pack is too small.
The wings on the original proto and Emeliano’s drawing were much larger, and I preferred that look. I do like that they have some extra detail to them with the lines in the wings. I also think the helmet would have worked better if it had a visor rather than just showing Vykron’s face underneath, but I can understand that they might want to draw the line at the black visor before Lucas sues them. All that said, it’s leaps and bounds cooler than the original prototype and the more I play with the figure, the more I get used to the bulkiness.
Articulation
Vykron has the standard MOTUC articulation layout, but it is hindered by the overlays in the ankles in all three by varying degrees, with Tank Top having no ankle articulation, Space Ace has minimal ankle articulation, and Vykron’s ankles are slightly hindered. If they had just made the arch at the ankle a little bigger at the front of Vykron’s shin guards, it would have worked perfectly.
Paint
The paint is pretty standard on Vykron. I really like that they added a bit of black shading around all the skuff marks on Tank Top’s armor. It gives the impression of having been through some serious wear and tear. The only issue I have is that the overspray is a little too gray and dingies up the armor. I like it better on the original where it is bright white.
Final Thoughts
Reading through the review again, it looks like I really don’t like this figure, but I’m pretty pleased with it overall. I really like Tank Top and Vykron the Barbarian, but I’m not so hot on the Space Ace. He has grown on me a lot just playing with him for the review pics here, however. I think he looks pretty great with the visor “T” blacked out.
The original concept drawing for this exclusive by Mattel designer Terry Higuchi showed an additional ‘wig’ piece so you could display Vykron without any helmet. I do wish they had included that piece here.
I had originally intended to pick up only one Vykron at SDCC this year, thinking I could just switch Vykron back and forth between looks on my shelf. At the last minute, however, I decided to grab a second set to make some custom characters of Tank Top and Space Ace, but I think I might grab a third set to keep all three versions on my shelf at the same time since I’m enjoying these so much.
Previous Features:
- Snake Man-At-Arms
- Stinkor
- Spector
- Draego-Man
- Thunder Punch He-Man
- Kobra Khan
- Fisto
- Fearless Photog
- Demo-Man
- Battleground Evil-Lyn
- Star Sisters
- Class of 2011
- Class of 2009
- Icarius
- Hurricane Hordak
- Man-E-Faces
- Megator
- Queen Marlena
- Clawful
- The Faceless One
- Battleground Teela
- Catra
- Panthor
- Battle Armor Skeletor
- King Hssss
- Bow
- Palace Guards
- Vikor
- Class of 2010
- Buzz-Off
- Grizzlor
- Roboto
- Chief Carnivus
- Whiplash
- Count Marzo
- She-Ra
- Keldor
- Optikk
- Evil-Lynn
- Moss-Man
- Faker
- Stratos
Additional Pictures
So how would you like a chance to win your very own Vykon figure completely for free? Sounds good, right? Well, just for you, faithful Fwoosh reader, we are going to give away one mint-in-box Vyrkon figure to a lucky fan! The best part is (aside from being free) that winning is super easy. Essentially, all you have to do is post a comment to this article. Okay, okay, here are the official rules, instructions, and fine print. Be sure to read them carefully so that your entry will count.
This is just one little appreciation we want to offer to the best toy fans on the planet and help ensure that Masters of the Universe Classics live on strong for years to come. Okay, get to reading and then enter!
Please read the following entrance criteria and rules very carefully so that your entry will count!
Entrance Criteria
To enter, simply respond to this article below using the Leave a Reply function. In your reply, tell us you love Masters of the Universe Classics and why you want it to live on for years to come. You reason can be anything, we just want to hear your thoughts.
- The drawing will be open to everyone (excluding staff, holders and employees of TheFwoosh.com and Mattel, Inc).
- You MUST include a valid email address when you respond (the winner will be contacted via email).
- You must be over 18 to enter.
- Entries thought to be outside of the above criteria may be removed from consideration without the entrant being notified.
Prize Drawing
1 (ONE) winner will be drawn AT RANDOM from the respondents and the chosen winner will receive 1 (ONE) copy of the Masters of the Universe Classics Vykron figure.
Fine Print
- The entry period will end at 11:59:59 pm CDT on Wednesday, August 8th, 2012. No entries will be accepted after that time.
- Shipping will be free to winners within the United States (USA). International entries will be accepted; however, international winners will be responsible for paying the actual cost of shipping and handling (via PayPal ONLY) determined by location. All shipping fees must be paid prior to the shipment of the prize. The charge is for S&H only, not for the actual prize. If you are unwilling or unable to meet these criteria, your prize will be forfeit and another winner will be selected.
- The selected winner will be contacted via e-mail (the e-mail attached to the reply) and he/she will have 48 hours to respond with their shipping information. If you do not respond within 48 hours, you will be disqualified and we will randomly select another winner.
- Staff members at TheFwoosh.com, and employees of Mattel, Inc. are not eligible for this contest (sorry guys!)
- By accepting the prize, the winner agrees to hold TheFwoosh.com and Mattel, Inc. and their respective directors, officers, employees and assigns harmless against any and all claims and liability arising out of the use or redemption of the prize.
