Thursday, September 24, 2020

Minifigure Review: Man-At-Arms from Masters of the Universe Eternia Minis by Mattel

 

   Earlier this month I reviewed the first half of the new Masters of the Universe Eternia Minis and now it's time to start working on the second half. The second series is already out, too, so I'll be getting to those after finishing up the first series. Today I'm looking at Man-At-Arms who is rendered here in a more classic toy style. Man-At-Arms was released in the 2014 line of Masters of the Universe minis in a 2-pack with Faker but that version resembled the Masters of the Universe Classics version rather than vintage toy. Let's take a look at this new mini Man-At-Arms after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 2 1/2 inches

Articulation: Swivel waist, swivel shoulders, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: Mace, 2 piece Castle Grayskull container

Non-Scalper Price: $5 dollars

ID Number: C
Comparison:

* Here's a quick shot of the new Eternia Minis Man-At-Arms (left) and the MOTU Minis Man-At-Arms (right). The left arms and heads are different and, of course, the newer figure has a brighter paintjob that looks more like the vintage toy. The new figure also has fewer accessories, though, as he doesn't come with the 200x inspired arm cannon. 
The Positives:

* Man-At-Arms is a really nice sculpt. He's very detailed and while he's accurate to the vintage toy, he also has details from the vintage toy's cross-sell art and the MOTUC figure. The laser blaster on his left arm is also more pronounced than on the previous figure.


* Man-At-Arms has a new headsculpt. His face is a bit more expressive (he looks pretty angry!) and he's also sporting a clean shaven look. Yup, no stache here. That's accurate to the original toy and while I've always liked Duncan better with his mustache, it's nice to have some variation here. 


* I really like that Mattel gave Man-At-Arms all of the cool gadgets he carries with him. They're tough to identify here but he's clearly got them. 

* These are nice little minifigures with decent articulation, especially the ball jointed heads.  They're very durable little figures and would probably fit in well with lines like Imaginext and the Hasbro Heroes figures, so if you have a little one who's into MOTU these could be some decent starter toys. They're fun to play with and have a lot of shelf presence!


* Duncan only comes with one accessory but it's classic mace. It's molded in a yellowish-orange blastic that's quite different than the vintage toy. It still looks cool, though. 
* The Eternia Minis come blind packaged but it's actually not a bad thing at all. First, there is actually a very prominent code on the bottom of the package identifying the figure inside (Man-At-Arms is "C"), so you don't have to truly buy these without knowing what you're getting. Second, the packaging is a very cool plastic Castle Grayskull. It actually separates in half and you can connect them with other Grayskulls to make a long chain of castle faces. It's a cool sculpt and some of the best blind packaging I've ever seen.




* Furthermore, the Castle Grayskull container functions as a really cool display stand. There are two pegs on top that plug into the figure's feet. When you connect a row of these together you can have a long display stand for multiple figures.
   Man-At-Arms is another winner in the Eternia Minis line. While I really hope to see Mattel dive deep into the MOTU roster in this line I definitely can see the appeal of a cool variant like this vintage toy version of Man-At-Arms. He's a really cool minifigure that stands out thanks to his bright colors. These little guys seem to be hitting in force and they're worth picking up, especially if you like MOTU and/ or minifigures. For less than $5 bucks you're getting an articulated figure and a cool miniature Castle Grayskull.

Are you in the market for a Castle Grayskull of your own? I've also checked out the M.U.S.C.L.E. green Castle Grayskull, the Masters of the Universe Minis Castle Grayskull, the series 1 Eternia Minis Buzz-Off, Horde Zombie He-Man, Jitsu, and He-Man, who each come packaged in a mini plastic Castle Grayskull, the Mega Construx Castle Grayskull, the Colorforms Deluxe Play Set which has a Castle Grayskull background, and the Masters of the Universe Classics Castle Grayskull.
 
  If you're a fan of Man-At-Arms, I've also checked out the Mega Construx Man-At-Arms, the minicomic Man-At-Arms from Castle Grayskull, and the toy Man-At-Arms from the Battle Bones set, the Dorbz Man-At-Arms, the 200x Man-At-Arms, the NECA Series 3 Exclusive Micro-Busts set which includes Man-At-Arms, the Funko POP! Man-At-Arms #538, the Little People Man-At-Arms, the ReAction Man-At-Arms (Movie) variant and blind boxed Man-At-Arms (Metallic), the Super7 Man-At-Arms and Crystal Man-At-Arms, an appearance in 1983's Colorforms Masters of the Universe Deluxe Play Set, and the M.U.S.C.L.E. figures from the #1 Masters of the Universe Set (Green) and the original He-Man, Teela, & Man-At-Arms set. 

For more Masters of the Universe Eternia Minis reviews check out the following:
Buzz-Off 












2 comments:

  1. Can't find these anymore. Are they only sold at Walmart? The mini-castle bling "box" was brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I believe they're Walmart exclusives. Hit me up over email and let me know who you still need. I've seen them in pretty good numbers lately.

    ReplyDelete

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