Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Action Figure Review: Slamurai from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 

   Slamurai is one of the members of the Lost Wave of 1988, a group of six figures featured in cardback art by Errol McCarthy who would have been created from all existing parts and released in 1988. They were never made, but folks have been interested in them for quite sometime and they all appeared in Masters of the Universe Classics. This same grouping has also been trickling into Masters of the Universe Origins, a line where reuse and parts swapping is the name of the game. Slamurai is the heroic counterpart of Ninjor and as a figure is mostly a reuse of Ninjor with the basic He-Man limbs. Let's check out Slamurai, the Heroic Master of Martial Arts, after the break...







The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, waist swivel, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a double balljointed head.

Accessories: Tunic, katana, nunchaku, bow, and minicomic. 

Non-Scalper Price: $18 dollars
Comparison:


* Slamurai is on the left while Ninjor is on the right. What's different? Like the MOTU Classics Slamurai, This one is built almost like Ninjor except for the use of the He-Man arms and boots rather than Ninjor's Skeletor arms and boots. They share accessories but they each have a unique symbol on their chests. 
The Positives:




* I like the cool blue highlights that complement Slamurai's white ninja garb. His tunic is a simple plastic vest piece worn over a standard MOTU torso, but those blue characters on the front look really fantastic. Can anyone read them? 





* Slamurai reuses Ninjor's headsculpt but his skin is a very different shade and he has glowing blue eyes. Like, not just regular blue. Pupilless blue, like they're filled with ninja magic. I dig it. 


* The MOTU Origins figures are built like the vintage toys but with modern articulation. While their bulky frames make the articulation a bit clumsy, they do feel like an evolution of the vintage line. Imagine what you would get if you mixed a vintage figure with a MOTUC figure. They're quite fun to play with and they feel very sturdy. They're also modular and can be easily separated to make your own lazy boy customs! 







*  Slamurai comes with the same three weapons that Ninjor was armed with. First up is his katana which looks great with the figure and is just a fun accessory. .


* Second up is a pair of nuchaku. They're really quite nice and even have a functional plastic chain. That's something you don't often see even on the nunchaku on more expensive figures even. They also get their handles painted white to go with Slamurai's costume. 



* Lastly, we have Ninjor's cool bow and arrow now done in blue for Slamurai. It's a bit flat sculpt wise but it's pretty cool looking with neat details like the scope and the fletching on the arrow.

* Like with Ninjor, you can store either the sword or the bow in a slit on the back of Slamurai's tunic and the nuchaku slide in a loop on his belt, allowing him to carry all of his gear.










* The included minicomic features a story where King Randor is being trained by Slamurai and forced to fend off an army of Snake Troopers led by Snake Teela. It's a fun story with excellent art. 













The Negatives:



* It might be hard to see but there is some messy paintwork around the blue cuffs on Slamurai's wrists. It spills over onto the white arm in places.
   Slamurai isn't as striking as Ninjor, but he's still a pretty cool figure. I mean, who doesn't want another ninja roaming around Eternia? I don't like him as much as Ninjor but I'm still excited to have him and I like how he provides a counterpart to a previous figure. I wonder if we'll ever get Plasmar, Terroar, Lord Gr'Asp, ad Strobo in Origins? There are still fourteen vintage characters who don't have Origins figures, plus He-Ro and Eldor, so the line still has plenty of ground to cover. It's impressive how far Origins has gone and with cool stuff like Lady Slither on the way and Snake Mountain (which I just got for my birthday over the weekend), the line is evidently still wowing fans. 


If  you're looking for more of Slamurai I've also reviewed the MOTUC Slamurai and Snake Troopers set.

For more Masters of the Universe Origins reviews check out the following:




Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. MekaneckfrenchiefrogSeptember 22, 2023 at 6:33 AM

    My take on this guy is, he's as fresh as wasabi (laughs).. Yep, I like him a lot (especially since Ninjor wasn't properly distributed in Europe, and thus only fell into the hands of "scalper" eBay sellers, over here). I'm only missing Young Randor from that specific Origins wave, but the price on this guy won't drop, for God knows what reason..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17September 29, 2023 at 10:32 AM

      I have Young Randor but missed old Randor. I'm waiting on the restock from BBTS. Mattel is apparently doing a second run of the series he came with, including Kobra Khan.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2023 at 3:49 PM

    Those are fake kanji that don't match any Asian alphabet. Must be Eternian dialect.

    ReplyDelete

What'chu talkin' 'bout?

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)