I am not going to lie, 2012 has been a good year for me in terms of getting some long-awaited characters in the Masters of the Universe Classics line. Spikor and Fisto have been my second and third most-wanted figures for about as long as I can remember. Plus, getting figures like Kobra Khan, Slush Head, and the Griffin along the way is a pretty good deal unto itself. But when it rains, it pours, or more appropriately for this case–when it snows, it blizzards because October is finally bringing me my most wanted MOTU female and my current most wanted figure overall in the form of the icy empress of the Great Rebellion Frosta. The Rebellion has been sparse in the line so far (to say the least) and I have been getting very antsy for more member to join stalwarts She-Ra and Bow and sometimers The Star Sisters. However, whenever you await a most-wanted figure, it can be an anxious time. I have been so lucky so far in that my favorite characters of Mer-Man, Spikor, Fisto, Whiplash, and Moss Man have been knockouts, but Frosta’s preproduction history has been a little more sketchy. How did all the snowflakes land? Well, let’s take a look as my all-time favorite blue-haired babe.
I am not 100% certain what got me to liking Frosta initially, but she is far and away my favorite member of the Great Rebellion. I really got into the She-Ra cartoon as an adult (it is way better than the He-Man series) and I really love the Rebellion and the story of Etheria. Plus, and I will dodge the tomatoes on this one, in my canon, she is He-Man’s main squeeze! So, as you can imagine, I am an ardent PoP supporter and am slightly impatient about adding new members to the organization in Classics because my Crystal Castle display has been looking very sparse. I am still tapping my fingers for Mermista, Castaspella, Glimmer, Peekablue, GENERAL SUNDER (hint, hint!), and a lot of others. However, having my favorite member of the Rebellion (she happens to be my wife’s favorite too) is a nice way to tide me over.
If you are not familiar with Frosta, I suggest you check out the FilMation episodes call “Black Snow” and “Sweet Bee’s Home.” Both are really fantastic and give Frosta a lot of great (and often hilarious) characterization. So, while those had something to do with my fondness for her, like a lot of my favorite MOTU characters, I think a lot of it also comes from her character design. I love the ice theme, and the blues (my favorite color) and whites make for a sharp and classic combination for an action figure. Plus, she has the classic high cheek bones and bangs that makes her facial structure unique among a lot of the other females. So yeah, anticipation for her has certainly grown since she was moved from my birthday month of August (drat!) to October.
I don’t think I need to trot out Frosta’s entire past history and where she has taken us from reveal to release because, if you are reading this, you have probably been paying attention. Back in February when she made her debut at Toy Fair, I was instantly elated. I mean, it is hard not to be when one of your favorite characters is revealed. However, that quickly turned to anxiety as the paint job on her face was not up to part. Well, the Horsemen took her right back into the studio to rework her before sending her off to start the production cycle. It was a long wait until SDCC to see the progress and while she look 100% better (to me), Toy Guru told us that the deco was still not final. As you can imagine, when she arrive on my doorstep a couple of days ago I was literally holding my breath as I opened up her white mailer box.
And for the most part, I think she is a great figure and I happy and relieved beyond belief that she is FINALLY a part of my Great Rebellion display. She is not as nice as the previously reviewed Rattlor, but I think the final figure has turned out better than what was represented (as least as far as her face goes) than the prototype shown at Toy Fair. For starters, I am not in completely in love with her face sculpt, but I think it does represent the character pretty well. The more pointed chin and the high cheekbones give Frosta her very unique (FilMation/Style Guide) look and those are done very well with this figure. Actually, it might be the paint on the face that I am noticing on the face and not so much the sculpt.
However, the issue I have is with the expression of the mouth, it just looks a little awkward to me. We have gotten figures like Adora and Starla in the past that have slightly pursed lips with showing teeth, but I think Frosta has a few too many teeth showing to look completely natural. I know it is a minor thing, but it kind of draws my eye to it. The good news is that it looks like there is a small part of the inner lips that is actually painted white instead of red, so perhaps adding a couple daubs of red paint will make a nice difference. Like I said, it is not a deal-breaker by any stretch; it is more of an awkward expression. The thing is, while she certainly looks like Frosta from the front, her profile is a dead ringer for her. Hopefully you can see it in the pictures, but man, that side shot is about as close to a likeness that we have seen thus far in this line.
Her eyes, however, are much improved over what we saw at Toy Fair and they have the more classic almond shape to them. She has the slightest bit of white eye shadow and her brows are pretty prominent, but those were a strong trait as well in the FilMation show. One thing I noticed is that she has very large pupils, so it actually makes it look like she has larger doe eyes than she does, but the icy blue goes from lid to lid without any space underneath. Her face is actually cast in flesh-colored plastic so there is little shine to it (think Starla) but nothing noticeable under normal lighting. The cool thing is that the flesh tone used for her is much paler than, say, She-Ra so some range of tone is starting to happen a little bit amongst the Rebellion.
Her hair is indeed cast in a very slightly translucent plastic just like we saw at SDCC, but it is not nearly as clear as it was before. It really adds depth and dimension more than anything since you cannot really “see” through it, save a bit of light being able to pass through. I know the hair sculpt has inspired some conversation since the start, but I actually really like it–it is pretty much a spot-on model of the FilMation design.
Frosta also follows Bow and the base of Bubble Power She-Ra in that her costume design is FilMation and style guide in spirit, but has little details here and there. I am so glad that the 4H went this way with the PoP collective as I strongly feel that it preserves the essence of the character, and makes these action figures fit in with the MOTUC style and not look like dolls. I love Frosta’s costume and it has always done a great job of showing off her abilities. You know she is the ice lady before learning anything about the character. There is a range of blues from the darkest used in the bodice and thighs, to the lighter cape and the sky blue skirt piece. I really like the snowflake design in the latter and it helps represent a color change on the skirt, much like the old toy. Her longer skirt also helps to hid the original female hip joints.
I am not going to lie, I wish the white in her costume was BRILLIANT white as she is the Mistress of Snows, but the color is not bad here. I know some are thinking it is more gray and while it does have hints of that, it is certainly more white than gray. I think most people will look at the figure and call her costume white and not gray, if you take my meaning. A strange point is that the front of her bodice is blue, but the back is white and it splits right in the middle of her side. I have no idea what the motivation for this was, but it is different from the original prototype.
Her bracers have the rigid toy detailing to them and even though they have been speculated upon, I am 99% positive that they are assembled correctly (see: NOT reversed), but I am sure it will be pointed out if that is not correct, going by the pictures. I CAN tell you that since the female biceps don’t have a lot of definition, it is easy to flip those around so that might be a problem right out of the package, but to me, they look like they are correct. Now, I did see pictures of my pal Pixel Dan’s Frosta and his looks INcorrect to me, so I am not sure what is going on. Hopefully he got the short straw and his are reversed, but we will only know for sure once she start hitting.
The cape is cast in a solid blue plastic (I know there was a call for the “Jewelstar effect” but, alas, it was not meant to be) and the cape collar is a very dark blue. I am not completely sure why the color was changed from prototype to production, but this is the only place it shows up in the costume. It adds more blue to the color palette, I suppose. The shape of the cape matches very well with the FilMation guides as it bows out the lower on the body it goes. I rather like the shape and it is certainly unique after Bow and She-Ra having hanging standard red capes.
My most favorite ice maiden also comes with two accessories: the staff to call upon the icy winds and a repaint of the standard “PoP” shield. I think the staff is one of the coolest (har, har!) and the most unique accessory/weapon in the entire line. It is modeled after her classic toy weapon, but it has been given a lot more detail. The “whistling blades” have ice details added to them and the circular piece does turn, although you cannot blow through it to make it rotate. The staff is also much longer proportionally than the old toy so she can hold it with both hands, it is also painted white instead of the entire thing being a solid color.
While I would have LOVE to have seen some cool ice blast attachments included with this figure, I have to say that I actually really like the repainted version of her shield. It is cast in a translucent blue plastic and painted in white along the accents with a clear jewel. Just as an aside, I know that the shield was a recurring weapon in the PoP vintage line and a lot of the dolls had one, but this is the first time Frosta has ever had it.
After waiting almost 30 years, we finally have a brand new Frosta figure to add to our collections. Overall, I am quite pleased with the final figure and while she is not 100% perfect (did I set the bar too high?), my wife and I agree that is it good to have a new and frosty presence in the house. I really think she is a slight paint touch up in the face away from being fantastic, so I might explore a talented Robo option that might be willing to help me out like he did with Marlena. I must say that she is growing on me more and more the longer I have had her. When she first arrived, I really liked her but I am liking her more and more the longer she is in the display. I cannot wait to add more Rebels to my shelf and the wait between Frosta and Netossa will be much more bearable than the time between the Star Sisters and now. The decision will be split on her amongst the fans I am sure, but that is almost always the case. Bring us more females! Bring us more Rebels! Bring us more GENERAL SUNDER! The Etherian cause demands it!
*Thanks for reading me gush about getting my favorite MOTU female, my He-Man figure won’t be able to resist her, I am sure. Also, thanks to Toy Guru for sending her along for our First Look! Next up: back to September!
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