Action Figure Friday- MOTU Classics Intergalactic Skeletor!

I have been waiting for this guy for a while! The "New Adventures of He-Man" versions of Skeletor have been some of my favorite design for the menacing bonehead. This Classics version of Intergalactic Skeletor is based off of his first design in the 1989 He-Man toy line. So, like with most of the Masters of the Universe Classics toys, there are good and bad qualities. I am pretty impressed with this one, but do have a few complaints. Lets start with the good. The sculpt on this toy is downright amazing! I cannot say enough about the sculpting on this guy. All of the cybernetic hoses, pumps, and robot pieces sculpted fit so well with the look of a Skeletor that had to use a cybernetic virus to keep himself alive. There are a lot of newly sculpted pieces that really can't be used with any other action figure from the MOTU Classics line which makes him rather unique. Skelly here comes with his newly updated havoc staff that resembles the 1989 "He-Man" Skeletor version very well. Much like the sculpt on the action figure, the sculpt on this piece is fantastic. Lastly, he also comes with a removable helmet that is a beautiful update of the original and is a nice shining piece for this toy. The paint application on all of the sculpt is beautiful. There was a lot of thought that went into the design which kills me when looking at some of the thoughtless problems with this toy. 

Ok, so the main complaint I have for this guy is his neck. Instead of using a new torso for the buck, Mattel used an over armor piece to act as his skin. This is bad in two ways. One, the over piece makes Skeletor look way to big and bulky, and two is that his neck is so thick, it hinders the up and down movement of his head. Since he is no longer able to look up and down, he is constantly looking down. This only works if he is up higher than everybody else and is purposefully looking menacing down at everyone else. 

The next few complaints are minor to the first one. For my minor complaints, the first is that the over body piece is glued at the tabs. In the past, we've been able to take off the body armor or over piece, except on this one. Unless you want to destroy your armor trying to take it off of your Skeletor, it is basically glued into place. I'm not sure exactly why this was a must have decision. The only thing that I can think of is that the tabs don't hold well and had to be glued. The buck could have been changed and that would have fixed this and the first complaint. But, what do I know? Now the second thing is that his shoulders are swapped. They are essentially backwards. It just looks funny and this shouldn't be a problem by now. You wouldn't notice till you really look, but once you see it, its a bit distracting. The third complaint is that his hands are a bit soft, so he has a bit of a hard time holding his staff. This could be a safety fix, and if it is I can live with this complaint. Lastly, his staff does not have the same metallic sheen that his helmet has. Its not a big deal, but it stands out a bit and would have would have been a quick fix. I know its a bit late, but I kind of wish that these things could be straightened up before these go out to ship. For this line being out for many years now and the money that we as collectors pay for these pieces, some of these problems should not be occurring. And that's all for the complaints. 

Now Intergalactic Skeletor also came with a bonus piece. It is the battle damaged head of Faker. Now if I had the battle armor Faker, I'd have a blast with this head! Alas, though, I do not. So I have my extra head in lock up in the Classics Castle Grayskull. I do focus on the complaints sometimes when I look at my new Skeletor. Again, that is due to the cost I am paying for the toys and seeing the silly mistakes that should have been fixed before hand. I will have to say that the overall look and sculpt of this guy is some of the best for what we have seen so far in the Classics line. He is a perfect update to the 1989 "He-Man" Skeletor and really stands out among the Space Mutants of the MOTUC toy line. Now, I doubt that we will get so lucky to really have any more New Adventures characters in the Classics line. It seems that this might be the last year for these Classics run toys. Now, that might mean that they will be released under another name, but I am seriously doubting that we will see too many more of the New Adventures characters. With that being said, I'm a bit bummed because my favorite version of New Adventures Skeletor will probably not be made in the Classics toys. My favorite: Battle Blade Skeletor. Well, I am happy to have this one. Intergalactic Skeletor went on sale with mattycollector.com on August 15th. He is still available on mattycollector.com after almost two weeks. That's usually not a good sign. You can also find his on amazon.com.  


Recently, I was being filmed for a convention documentary called, Unconventional. You can see it here. While you are at it, you should check out Johnathan Paul's other video work here. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

Issue 5 of Xenex the Bug Man is available on indyplanet.com! I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have opened a storenvy.com shop to sell my toys. Here's the link: http://taylorlymbery.storenvy.com/

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other show is The pilot episode, where Jeff and Cory break down the Pilot Episode in TV series. The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:

Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Action Figure Friday- MOTU Classics Flogg!

It has been a while since I have posted an action figure review. I felt that it was time to start sharing again. I have acquired many toys from the last time I have posted an Action Figure Friday, so I decided to choose a recent purchase. Today, I bring you Flogg from the Masters of the Universe Classics toyline by Mattel. Lets dive right in to talking about this New Adventures of He-Man (HE-MAN) adaptation. Flogg or Brakk is the commanding officer of the evil space mutants. I have been waiting for this guy to come to the MOTU Classics run for a while now. I am waiting to get my Space Mutants off the shelf to put all of these bad guys together. Other than one bad thing in my opinion, he is a solid action figure all around. He has the full range of standard MOTU Classics movement. He has: ball jointed neck, waste crunch and turn, ball hinged shoulders and thighs, rocker ankles, swivel shin, hinged knee and wrists, and a swivel bicep. Instead of having the standard hinged elbow, Flogg here reuses the arms of the Horde Troopers and has a nice ball hinged elbow. Now I personally think that this is a bit much for this toy, but what do I know?! Flogg has some incredible sculpt work. It is truly fantastic. When I compared this new edition to the vintage toy, I was happy to see the basics of the vintage toy, but with a lot more updating. 

Now, the vintage Flogg had a removable cowl and helmet. I would have been fine with not having the removable cowl on this Classics toy seeing that is a part of his chest armor, but I would have liked to have had the helmet removable just like the original. I thought that was probably a cheap move from Mattel. Flogg sports the all-time most reused boots from the Classics toy line. This time, we get Horde Prime's feet with them. There has been a lot of dislike for these legs seeing that they are reused quite a bit. To be honest, they don't bother me much on this character. the boots suit him. Now one thing that I was very happy to see was the soft good rope for the laser whip weapon, very much like the vintage toy. In this case, our Classics Flogg doesn't need a weapon that will work well with an action feature, seeing that the Classics toys are void of action features. Flogg also came with the Filmation style Sword of Power. I'm indifferent about this accessory. I don't really need the sword, so I have it on the  wall of Grayskull. 

Now the armor is a bit bulky. The bulkiness makes it difficult for Flogg to put his arms down close to his body. Having this happening with so many of the Classics characters in these last two years, the bulky body is something I can definitely overlook. All in all, this version of Flogg is a great action figure. If you are a New Adventures fan, this toy is an absolute must! Flogg went on sale at mattycollector.com on the 15th of July. You can find him on Amazon.com here: Masters of the Universe Classics FLOGG Space Mutants Action Figure.

Recently, I was being filmed for a convention documentary called, Unconventional. You can see it here. While you are at it, you should check out Johnathan Paul's other video work here. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

Issue 5 of Xenex the Bug Man is available on indyplanet.com! I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have opened a storenvy.com shop to sell my toys. Here's the link: http://taylorlymbery.storenvy.com/

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other show is The pilot episode, where Jeff and Cory break down the Pilot Episode in TV series. The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:

Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Action Figure of the Day- Masters of the Universe Classics- Karatti!

 Back in May, I ordered this action figure, Karatti. He is pretty much standard in what we see with the other Masters of the Universe Classics toys in the line. I am a big fan of the New Adventures of He-Man run of toys, so I really like this guy. Looking at the vintage toy and seeing how the re-use of parts were used to make this version of Karatti, I am happy with what we got. But I will have to say that I feel that there were a couple of parts that we could have changed. I know a lot of MOTUC fans were upset by the re-use of the same techno legs that, well, everyone with some techno looking suit in this toy line has. Honestly, I think we could have used some different feet. The feet on Icarius or the standard armored boot foot would have worked and could have broken up some of the look of this leg. The other thing is this, his left hand does not grip his sword very well. One of the reasons is the fact that the left hand is sculpted open a bit. I think that hand could have been replaced with an unarmored evil villain hand. That would have been better to grip his sword. Seeing that his hands are uncovered in the vintage toy, I think this would have been ok. But, at this point, there is not a lot that we can do to change this except to customize the toy myself and I definitely do not want to destroy my toy. Despite some of the changes I felt could have been made to Karatti, the sculpt that the Four Horsemen did for the newly tooled parts is absolutely fantastic. They did a great job of capturing the look of the space armor. I really like all of the sculpted pipes and scratches on the armor. The head is beautifully detailed and is the selling piece of this toy. The face mask sculpt into the face is great!. The Horsemen captured the evil scowl well. I am very excited to have another space mutant from the New Adventures of He-Man run in the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. Now, if we could only get a Brakk and Lizor.

You can find this toy available of amazon: Masters of the Universe Classics: Karatti

I've been invited to be one of the many talented artist to have work featured in a one night vinyl toy show called, "Vinyl Thoughts 4: Free for All" in Dallas on September 12th 2013. If you plan to be in the area, stop by and check out all of the cool custom vinyl toys. 

I had a blast being on the DELol show on Sunday July 21st. I totally lost to Jeff in the "Throw down in the toy isle" toy quiz competition. Folks, Jeff knows his toys! This last competition should be an absolute testament to that. So, a whole hearted thank you goes out to Del Pullen and Taffeta Darling for having Jeff and I on the show. 

I did buy a table for the Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days on October 4th-6th. If you are wanting a pre-Fan Days commission, let me know and I'll get it ready for pick up at that show. 

Issue 5 of Xenex the Bug Man is available on indyplanet.com! I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:

Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Action Figure of the Day- Masters of the Universe Classics- He-Man (Galactic Enforcer)

When I first saw the 4 Horsemen's sculpt of the New Adventures He-Man, I knew that this version of He-Man had to be in my collection! I know that the He-Man toy line from 89' (also known as the New Adventures of He-Man) is not a big love with many Masters of the Universe toy collectors. That line is unlike anything else in the MOTU canon. Due to the economy, I missed getting anything in this line when I was a kid. I found a He-Man vs Skeletor 2 pack, but we lacked the money to get it at that time. After that, I never could find them. I now have a small collection of characters now from that line, but not enough to really boast about it. So, every time Mattel promises a New Adventures character in the Masters of the Universe Classics line, I jump to the chance to get it. So far, I have all of the Classics New Adventures characters that have been broken into two factions, the Galactic Protectors and the Space Mutants. This He-Man would be the second toy added to the Galactic Protectors. This Classics version of He-Man is way cool! He comes with a nice selection of accessories that allow you to change his uniform up a bit as with the vintage toy. I like the look of both the standard and the armored outfits so much, I'm having a hard time deciding what uniform setup I want to display him with on my Classics shelf. He also comes with his energy shield and power sword that is casted in the frosted green plastic just like the vintage toy. There is a decent amount of re-used  parts which is perfect for him, but he also features some new tooling and a brand new articulation feature that we have not yet seen in this toyline; the ball swivel wrists. These wrist do make it easier for He-Man to hold his sword aloft. I would hope to see this articulation become a regular in this line. I think there are many characters that would benefit from having that style wrist. If you missed out of this version of He-Man, you can keep checking back for a re-release on mattycollector.com. Otherwise, you would have to get him on amazon or ebay. Mattel just announced another New Adventures character that will be added to this next years roster. That character is Hydron. As long as I can help it, I will be getting one to add to my roster of Galactic Protectors. Then I'll have to set up He-Man, Icarius, and Hydron posed in a way that mimics the New Adventures of He-Man DVD cover. I am such a nerd.

I've been invited to be one of the many talented artist to have work featured in a one night vinyl toy show called, "Vinyl Thoughts 4: Free for All" in Dallas on September 12th 2013. If you plan to be in the area, stop by and check out all of the cool custom vinyl toys. 

I had a blast being on the DELol show on Sunday July 21st. I totally lost to Jeff in the "Throw down in the toy isle" toy quiz competition. Folks, Jeff knows his toys! This last competition should be an absolute testament to that. So, a whole hearted thank you goes out to Del Pullen and Taffeta Darling for having Jeff and I on the show. 

I did buy a table for the Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days on October 4th-6th. If you are wanting a pre-Fan Days commission, let me know and I'll get it ready for pick up at that show. 

Issue 5 of Xenex the Bug Man is available on indyplanet.com! I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:

Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!