Monday, October 19, 2015

Action Figure Review: Saurod from Masters of the Universe Classics by Mattel

   I'm absolutely amazed! Not only is Saurod an amazing figure (and one of my favorites from the vintage line) but he completes both the Masters of the Universe movie sub-set and the unique Evil Warriors). That's right! So long as we're not counting the two upcoming Skeletor variants, Saurod is the final Evil Warrior. We have all of them! What a victory! Anyways, I just had to mention that before diving in to talk about Saurod himself. While he really doesn't have much of a role in the movie, Saurod makes up for that by having the coolest costume and by having had a vintage figure. Played by Pons Maar (who sounds like a Star Wars character) who gives the character an excellent, lizard-like quality in his motions, Saurod is an awesome lizard bounty hunter who gets vaporized by Skeletor. While fans might forever wonder how Saurod made the cut for inclusion in the vintage line ahead of Karg, I'm still glad we have the guy! Ready for a closer look at the new MOTUC version of Saurod? Then join me after the break...



The Facts:

Height: 7 1/2 inches

Articulation: Hinged ankles, hinged knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinged hips, swivel waist, mid-torso hinge, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, and a barbell ball jointed head.

Accessories: Chest armor and laser pistol.

Non-Scalper Price: $26-$28 dollars







The Positives:



* Like nearly every other MOTUC figure released over the past year or two, Saurod feels very solid and durable. He has a good range of motion in most of his joints and there's nothing about the figure that feels fragile or breakable. These figures are absolutely made to be posed and played with!



* Saurod is one of the most impressive sculpts seen in this line. His head sculpt is easily of the quality that I expect to see from a company like NECA when they're doing their best work. The paint on the eyes is amazing! There was truly nothing held back here. There really is very little reuse as well; the only thing that seems reused is his torso. Of course, that's covered by the armor that has lots of little details and some great dents and dings in it. There really is some great texturing on the various pieces of armor to show off the wide variety of materials utilized.





* I love Saurod's pistol. It's a very cool, understated little weapon that I imagine packs a lot more punch than one might expect. Saurod has a leather holster on his right hip which the pistol can slip inside. It's a tight fit but it does look incredibly cool.



 * Guess what? When you turn Saurod you get even more detail. His tail and the armor covering it is really cool as is the odd ponytail thing hanging down from his helmet. Saurod is really just a fun figure to stare at as their are many little details that are fun to discover.
The Negatives:

*While Saurod's armor is incredibly detailed, I really wish that Mattel had given the figure a darker wash to help bring out the smaller details. It really would have taken things to the next level.









* Saurod is wearing a fairly complex and layered outfit. It's clear that he has on bronze armor but what might not stick out at first is that he is wearing some bluish green chain-mail armor over his green torso. It's a bit tough to tell the difference at first glance. Maybe differentiating these two colors a bit more would have been a good idea?
I have one major complaint about Saurod: Why doesn't he shoot sparks? Even though he did nothing of the sort in the movie, the vintage toy shot sparks from his mouth. Obviously MOTUC doesn't really utilize action features but I would have loved to have seen a spark effect that could have fit over Saurod's helmet or something. Gwildor got a toy version of the Cosmic Key, Blade got his movie and vintage toy sword, and Saurod should have gotten his sparks. Still, this guy is an amazing toy and he gets a Great and a 1/2 rating from me. I'd love it if more characters from the movie got released in the future but, if we never get anyone else, I'm happy that we got what we got.



I've reviewed many other Masters of the Universe Classics figures, including:
Angella
Arrow
Battle Lion
Batros
Blade
Blast Attak
"Buzz Saw" Hordak
Callix
Castaspella
Castle Grayskull
Clamp Champ
End of Wars Weapon Pak
Evil Seed
Extendar
Fang Man
The Fighting Foe Men
Flutterina
Galactic Protector He-Man
Galactic Protector She-Ra
Geldor
Glimmer
Goat Man
Gwildor
Heads of Eternia
Horde Prime
Horde Troopers
Hover Robots
Huntara
Hydron
Icer
Karatti
King He-Man
Lizard Man
Loo-Kee and Kowl
Lord Dactus
Mantenna
Mara of Primus
Mermista
Modulok
Multi-Bot
Nepthu
Ninja Warrior/ Ninjor
Octavia
Oo-Lar
Peekablue
Plundor
Procrustus
Ram-Man
Rokkon & Stonedar
Rotar and Twistoid
Scorpia
Sea Hawk
Shokoti
Sir Laser-Lot
Sky High with Jet Sled
Snake Armor He-Man and Battle Armor King Hsss
Snake Face
Spinnerella
Spirit of Hordak
Sssqueeze
Stackable Stands
Strobo
Strong-or/ Strongarm
Tung Lashor
Two Bad
The Unnamed One

2 comments:

  1. This is a five star figure if ever there was one! Wasn't even a character I cared about that much! The figure just turned out so fan-freaking-tastic! If I had one complaint, its like you said: I would have liked to see some sparks. That, and I can't get that gun in the holster without worrying about bending the "scope" part. Nothin' I can't fix, though.

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    Replies
    1. Sparks make everything better. I still love to pull out my vintage Saurod, make him shoot sparks, and then smell the interesting odor that emanates from the figure. It's probably toxic, but I still love it.

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