Today I'm looking at the third of the bike and rider sets from Mattel's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe line and this time it's Man-At-Arms and the Sky Sled. I was kind of surprised when I stumbled upon this guy at my local Walmart a couple weeks ago as I didn't even realize that this set was available. I still haven't found the standard 5.5 inch Man-At-Arms figure yet so I was extra excited to stumble upon this guy. While He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is really built around a team of heroes, the first series relies very much on He-Man and Skeletor though there are three Man-At-Arms items available currently. In the new show Duncan is about the same age as Adam (he might be a little older) which is a huge change from how the character has always been portrayed. Initially Duncan is the assistant to Kronis (who was once the Man-At-Arms for King Randor) but soon joints up with the Adam and the other heroes. Once Adam/ He-Man discovers how to power-up his friends with the Power of Grayskull Duncan armors up and takes on the name Man-At-Arms for himself. This version of the character is wearing blue armor which seems to be a made up variant for the toyline and he's riding the Sky Sled, which doesn't look at all like the Sky Sleds from the show. How weird that Mattel is making stuff up already from a show that has pretty solid character and vehicle designs, huh? Let's check this set out after the break and see how it compares to the rest of the line so far...
Height: 5 1/4ths inches
Articulation: Swivel/hinge hips, "Power Attack" balljointed mid-torso, swivel shoulders, swivel wrists, and a balljointed head.
Accessories: None
Length: 8 1/4ths inches
Articulation: Swivel wheels, hinged handlebars
Accessories: None
Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars
The Positives:
* I really like the look of the figure. With the blue armor here it's tough to tell but it really does look like a more upgraded version of Man-At-Armor's classic armor. The blue and black is a cool color combination. The armored pieces have a nice amount of detail for the style of the line and there is even some detail on his black bodysuit.
* The top of the helmet slightly resembled MAA's classic helmet but he now has a full face shield over his head. Even better is the fact that you can see through the shield and Duncan's face is visible inside. That's a pretty neat detail that definitely elevates this guy above the other figures in the line. Hopefully the guy grows a mustache in the next season.
* Man-At-Arms is built like most other figures in the line and while I don't like that these figures only have swivel shoulders, I'm pretty OK with everything else. Duncan feels very sturdy and the Power Attack feature is pretty cool. Essentially, the mid-torso joint is a spring-loaded balljoint. Twist him left or right and his upper torso springs back. Pull his torso back and he springs forward. It definitely feels like an upgrade of the action waist feature on the vintage figures and makes these fun to mess around with. His knees are slightly preposed to better ride the Sky Sled but it's not terrible.
I've reviewed so many toys of Duncan/ Man-At-Arms that he has his own review archive. Check out the Man-At-Armory for all of my Man-At-Arms reviews.
If you're a fan of the Sky Sled/ Jet Sled/ War Sled
I've also reviewed the vintage Battle
Ram which had the Sky Sled as a detachable piece, the Mega Construx Battle
Ram, the Sky
High & Jet Sled set from Masters of the Universe Classics, the Hot
Wheels Premium Battle
Ram, the MOTU Revelation Eternia Minis Beast Man & War Sled, and the Prince
Adam & Sky Sled set from Masters of the Universe Origins.
For more reviews from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe check out the following:
5.5 inch
8.5 inch
Here's a shot of a G.I. Joe Classified Series figure on the Sky Sled that was requested by a reader:
Thanks for this! I was hoping to see if any 6" scale lines are compatible with this bike? GI Joe Classified, Star Wars Black?
ReplyDeleteCheck out the very bottom of the post. I added a shot of Beach Head trying it out. It's not a terrible fit. The style is really different than any of those lines but it works. The handlebars adjust, so that helps, though they're quite thick and some figures may have a harder time grasping them.
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