Thursday, July 13, 2023

Toy Review: Eternia Battleground from Masters of the Universe by Mega Construx

 


   There were a few really good Masters of the Universe Mega Construx sets released last year, including the awesome Snake Mountain which I own but never reviewed, but it definitely feels like tis line is now being targeted towards a direct market rather than being sent to mass market retailers. Just this past weekend I was in a target that had a full aisle and a half of Lego product and maybe an 1/8th of one side of an aisle with Pokemon Mega Construx. No MOTU Mega Construx at all. It makes sense, then, that the latest MOTU Mega Construx set was available directly through Mattel Creations (it's still available there as of the date I'm writing this). The Eternia Battleground building set is based on the legendary vintage playset released at the tail end of the vintage MOTU line and know for being an absolute beast (I have one and, yes, it is indeed insanely large). To keep this set affordable, the Mega Construx team scaled it down a bit, making it much smaller than either Castle Grayskull or Snake Mountain, and only including the central tower rather than all three towers. Hopefully the other two smaller towers will be released as another set at some point, or perhaps as two separate sets. It's kind of crazy that Mattel is currently offering this set while also producing the MOTU Origins Eternia playset that was crowdfunded last year while back in 2010 a Castle Grayskull for the popular Masters of the Universe Classics line seemed like wishful thinking. Ready to check out the Eternia Battleground set? Then join me after the break...





The Facts:

# of Pieces: 647

Figures Included: Battle Armor He-Man, Buzz-Off, Webstor, and Ninjor.

Non-Scalper Price: $65 dollars











Battle Armor He-Man

* Battle Armor He-Man isn't a new figure (he first came with the Battle Cat Vs. Roton set) but this time he has some battle damage on his Battle Armor. It's a minor variant, but at least it's still a change. He's also toting around the Power Sword.







Ninjor:

* Ninjor is a really cool minifigure and a great addition to the line. The vintage Ninjor figure was released in 1986, the same year as the vintage Eternia playset, so there's a little bit of synergy here. He look awesome in red and black and comes with nunchaku (the handles are separate pieces from the rubbery chain) and a sword. The sword can even store in Ninjor's belt.


* Ninjor also comes with his bow and arrow, an accessory that was recolored and included with the vintage Eternia. The bow and arrow are separate pieces and the arrow can clip onto the bow and has a notch at the back to attach to the bowstring. Oh, and the bowstring is a separate piece that's rubbery and can really fire. Thus, it's better than most bows on larger action figures.
Buzz-Off

* Buzz-Off is the second new figure and he's another faithful translation of the vintage toy design in the Mega Construx style. Not only does he come with his axe (made from two separate pieces) but he also comes with his spy helmet, which fits on his noggin perfectly. The yellow and brown look really sharp here, adding a nice splash of bright color to your Eternia display.



* Buzz-Off's wings are a separate piece of thin plastic held on to his back via a clip. The clip can attach to a clear rod on the top of Eternia tower, allowing Buzz-Off to buzz the battlefield looking for enemies. 
Webstor


* Webstor is definitely a neat  figure and he works well with the Eternia Battleground set, even though he's only a slight recolor of the figure included with Snake Mountain. Mattel just captured all of his vintage details perfectly (while adding the cool extra legs from the 200x era), and he's loaded with features. Check out that awesome bright orange laser rifle! I love it!



* Flip him around and you've got four articulated extra spider legs and a working grappling hook. The grappling hook is attached to a string and comes out of his removable backpack. There's even a place for the grappling hook to attach to the backpack for storage when you have the cord wound up around his backpack. 

Attak Trak


* Since the Central Tower isn't as large as the other huge playsets, a vehicle is included: The Attak Trak. This is a pretty nice take on the vintage toy with lots of pieces to give it a unique shape. It's not blocky or boxy at all. The Mega Construx builds are all really clever and fun. I love how bright the red is on this. It's so eye-catching!


* Not only are there lots of design and technical details on the Attak Trak but they're printed on the bricks, too. No stickers here! Even some of the more expensive Lego sets have been using stickers over the past five to ten years, so it's always nice to see Mega Construx stick with the better looking printed blocks.


* The set comes with a brick separator, and that's what the Attak Trak is driving over. I should have been more creative, but it's what I had at hand. Oh, and the treads on the Attak Trak? They work like a charm. No, they're not battery operated, but when you push the vehicle the treads move like the vintage toy, rolling and rotating, allowing it to cross over obstacles. It's some very simple but mighty fine engineering. 




* The rear cannons rotate but they're just flat printed panels. I really would have preferred these to have been built elements. They just look kind of bland and underwhelming like this. 










* The handlebars/ control panel of the Attak Trak is hinged, allowing you to just lift it up and seat a figure easily upon it. There's a peg on the seat which can fit into the hole on the back of most figures. Obviously someone with wings or extra legs (like Buzz-Off and Webstor) won't fit, but most basic figures will easily fit on the Attak Trak.



* The weapons rack is a freestanding piece that was part of the vintage Eternia playset. It's kind of half a traditional weapons rack and half some sort of computer, and it's been recreated here with lots of nice printed tiles for the circuitry and computer panels. Maybe it's a security system? The screen on the top shows a scan of the exteriors of the three towers, so maybe it's a monitor positioned on top of some mountain peak nearby?



* Flip the weapons rack around and you've got access to six weapons. These are all molded in a darker orange color and are all weapons we've seen before (most of them came with Castle Grayskull's weapons rack) rather than the more unique arsenal the vintage Eternia had.



* Let's move on and take a look at the Central Tower of Eternia, which is the main build in this set. It's definitely undersized compared to the vintage toy, but it still feels large when you have it by itself. It's tall and thin. The color looks good, though a little bit of dark silver and maybe some darker blue scattered here and there would have improved things. The tower might just not have been large enough to really try to blend color, though, unlike Grayskull and Snake Mountain. There is no track system here but there are the struts for one. I'm not sure if this is intended in case they're added on with a future set or if they're here to serve as grappling points for Webstor and other figures.



* The little gargoyles are simple, but a neat addition. I wish the moat had been included, though. That's a very cool feature on the vintage toy and it would be neat to see it here.



* The lion's head on the Central Tower of Eternia is pretty cool. You build the entire thing with lots of small pieces and it has a hinged jaw which can swing down to block the entrance to the tower or swing up to close on an enemy. 




* When the lower jaw is down to cover the entrance you can swing the lion's claws inwards to trap intruders. These swivel as smooth as butter and make for a really fun play feature. 

* Outside the tower are four support struts. Since there's no monorail system you'll either have to build your own, presume that Mattel is planning to release the other towers with the monorail track (probably flexible tubing of some sort?), or just use them as places for Webstor to swing around on. Not having any monorail is kind of a bummer. At least a circle around the tower with one of the little cars or some hooks would have been a nice touch. 




* Here's the back of the Central Tower, giving you a look at all four floors. There's not much on most of the floors, though that's not terribly different from the original playset. It was definitely more focused on the stuff outside of the set than the interior. 



* The bottom floor is just open space with no unique details or anything. It houses the entrance into the tower and that's about it.


* The second floor is the coolest as it does have the computer system and a swinging chair. The chair is attached to a rotating swivel on the floor above, so He-Man can spin back and forth. As mentioned earlier, all of the panels with graphics on them are printed tiles, not stickers. 


* The third floor is also pretty barren, though there are two windows, one of which houses a small gun turret. It's not the arrow launching turret from the vintage toy, though; it's just the Castle Grayskull laser pistol mounted. Still kind of a fun little nod t the vintage toy, though. 



* The top of the tower looks pretty cool and has three rather nice banners hanging from flagpoles. This is definitely a nice cherry on top as those flags are pretty impressive. 




* Flip the flags around and the colors are different on the other side. That's pretty nifty!



* There is a translucent rod which Buzz-Off can clip onto, allowing him to buzz about the tower. It's a simple feature but fun and it makes for a great display.







   The Central Tower of the Eternia Battleground set certainly isn't as deluxe or premium feeling as Snake Mountain or Castle Grayskull, but it's also nowhere near the price of those sets. With four figures included, but only two of them new, plus the Attak Trak, you're getting a decent amount of stuff. Buzz-Off and Ninjor are excellent inclusions, but I would have liked more new figures for a larger set like this. The Attak Trak is great with excellent engineering for the working treads. The Central Tower itself looks really nice from the outside, but feels a bit barren inside. This was a fun build and it does make for a cool addition to the MOTU Mega Construx, but it feels like it could have been more intricate without making it larger. I'm giving it a Good and a 1/2 set and I'm hopeful Mattel either releases both towers as an additional set with the monorail set or releases each tower separately with more additional figures, monorail parts, and another vehicle or two. Hopefully the line still has some life on Mattel Creations!





    If you're looking for more Buzz-Off items, check out the following: The vintage Buzz-Off, the MOTU Origins Buzz-Off, the M.U.S.C.L.E. green Buzz-Off and series 1 Buzz-Off, the Funko POP! Buzz-Off, the MOTU Eternia Minis Buzz-Off and Horde Zombie Buzz-Off, Super7's neo-vintage Buzz-Off, and the 200x styled Buzz-Off head from the Heads of Eternia pack.

   I've reviewed so many figures of He-Man/ Prince Adam that he has his own review archive. Check out Fabulous Secret Powers for all of my He-Man reviews!

  If you're interested in more of Ninjor check out my reviews of the Masters of the Universe Classics Ninjor/ Ninja Warrior, the MOTU Origins Ninjor, the Eternia Minis Ninjor, and the Funko POP! Ninjor #1036.

   Webstor is finally starting to get some respect around here! For more Webstor reviews check out the MOTU Origins Webstor, the MOTUC Webstor, the Funko POP! Webstor #997 and Webstor #997 (Metallic) and the Vinyl SODA Webstor.
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. Barbecue17July 17, 2023 at 11:38 AM

    He does look really good. It's impressive what Mega Construx can do with paint/ printing in this scale.

    I hope things turn around pick up for you soon and you're able to keep up with Masterverse! What about that Motherboard figure, eh? It's so neat to see never before made characters in this line. Well, any MOTU line, really.

    ReplyDelete

What'chu talkin' 'bout?

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)