Build me an army worthy of Snake Mountain!
You know what’s cool? Pretty much writing off a concept or release in an action figure line because you think that the release opportunity has passed you by and then — BAM! — it shows up after all. That is kind of where I was with the Masters of the Universe Classic Hover Robots until they were unveiled at SDCC last year. Since 2015 was going to be the time to wind down the vintage line, I did not really see an opportunity for their release in the midst of everything else that MUST come out this year. Ah, but they found a way!
While the Club Eternia Subscription is busy with cranking out (mostly) those vintage guys, Mattel has already made it clear that some “out of sub” items would be released this year, and that is where we got our “in” for the Hover Robots. These are the 2015 “Traveling Convention” item, which means that they will be available at any convention that Mattel attends (if any) that is NOT the San Diego Comic Con (though, last year, Goatman was available at SDCC) and then online for day of sales at the end of the year. Your first crack at them, if you are a Club subscriber anyway, is during the Early Access period in April, and as I make preparations to get a set, I am doing so knowing full well that these guys are not going to last long.
I say this because the Hover Robots (or Robot Knights as I have been calling them for my entire MOTU life) are important army builders and, well, this set turned out really, REALLY nice. Frankly, I usually find something to nitpick or comment on based purely on preference for most figures I get, but with these, I have to admit that I don’t think I would change one thing about them. Yeah, Mattel and Four Horsemen really nailed these little guys and all of the parts and accessories have come together to give you an opportunity to make these mass-produced minions pretty unique.
So, while it looks like you are getting three of the exact same figure in a package (and technically, you are), all of the included pieces will help you diversify your display in a hurry. In addition to the three “bots” you also get three flight stands, two sets of hands for each figure, and a sticker sheet containing all kinds of “battle damage” options. That last one alone will give so many possibilities that you can collect a LOT of these guys and still never have two on the shelf that are exactly the same. The sticker sheet includes lots of nicks and dings and dents, and there are even some that recreate exposed wires. I realized that I did not take any pictures of them with the stickers applied because I wanted to shoot the video (below) first, so I will be updating this article with more pictures later on today, so check back.
The aforementioned hands do a good job of recreating the Robot’s primary attack: choppy (or slicey) hands. This was done on the show with little success in terms of effectiveness against He-Man and his pals, but to be fair, no one really had a good attack back in the Filmation days. Again, I am glad that they included two full sets of hands for each of the included bots because that helps further the value of this set a bit more. The hands can be changed out easily but stay firmly in place once snapped in. It would have been really cool if you could recreate the spinning feature, but that is getting pretty demanding.
These are (obviously) all-new sculpts and even though they are small, the Horsemen have (once again) captured all of the details perfectly. I am sure I am going to get tired of saying that one day, but it has not happened yet. The cartoon form is definitely in place, but there are some added sculpt and paint details here and there to bring them into the Classics aesthetic. Their exhaust ports at the bottom have been plussed-up as have the panel lines and some added features on the back. There is also some metallic paint used here and there to give some color variety, which is a nice touch.
This new sculpt brings a good amount of articulation with it, but as you can imagine, not as much as your standard MOTUC figure. The figures have partial ball shoulders, hinge and swivel elbows and twist wrists. Their “heads” the piece with the eyes, can also turn so they can look in different directions, something that I did not know about until I had them in-hand. I think you might be able to detach the head piece, but it might take a little work since there is nothing to grip and I don’t think the dome is meant to come off.
My favorite feature of these little guys though, is the lenticular “mouth” panel. As is the case with this effect, the look changes to one of three different forms depending on the angle and it recreates the effect from Filmation perfectly. This is a really fun addition and I want to tip my hat to Mattel designer Brandon Sopinsky (of the recent MOTUC video fame) for coming up with this. It might seem like a small detail, but it adds a whole other dimension to these little figures.
There are three clear plastic stands that are included in this set as well and I have to say that for all of the little stands like these that we have gotten in Classics thus far, these are my favorite. They are all clear and light, but sturdy and the base has a wider diameter to help with the balance. The stands allow you to recreate the titular hover effect, but you don’t have to use them if you don’t want to as these stand just fine on their own. I think if I get about six of these guys I will have some on the stands and some not, just to create some variety on the shelf.
If you are like me, you have not only been waiting for the chance to get these Robot Knights, but to also build an army for Skeletor. I can tell you that they work perfectly and I love them more than I even thought I would. I love the mention that these are a further advanced design of the Horde Troopers (perfect for Skeletor to rip off old Hordak) and they add a great new dimension to the Evil Warriors shelf. The only question is, how many sets will I buy because even though these guys are small, they feel like the meet the value of the price due to getting three and the inclusion of all of the accessories. I hope Mattel will see this as a viable execution and we can get a nice Trollan pack (using the Orko body) of Montork, Dree-Elle, and Yuckers in the future, or maybe even a Twigget set to round out the Rebellion.
This set will be available to Club Eternia 2015 subscribers during April Early Access, so be logged into Matty Collector right on time, I think they will go fast!
Oh, and don’t forget to check out our video review!
*Thanks to Snake Mountain Crew at Mattel for sending these little tin cans along for a First Look!
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