Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Minifigure Review: He-Man and Ground Ripper from Masters of the Universe: Eternia Minis by Mattel

 
   
   As we're approaching the end of the year I'm dedicated to not having a bunch of wrap up reviews in early 2022 like I did last year so I'm spending November going through mini review marathons to wrap up some toylines that I'm behind on reviewing. Today I'm beginning a very short look at some short figures from Mattel's Masters of the Universe: Eternia Minis and I'm going to start by looking at He-Man with the Ground Ripper. Ground Ripper is apparently the new name for the Road Ripper as Mattel also used that name in the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe line, possibly due to some sort of issue with trademarks or something. The vintage vehicle, called Road Ripper, was released in 1984 and was a simple ripcord powered vehicle inspired by the classic Evel Knievel stunt cycle. It had only minor appearances in the minicomics and the Filmation animated series but since it was such an inexpensive and durable vehicle, many kids had these and you can still find them pretty easily. The Road Ripper surprisingly never made an appearance in the 200x line nor Masters of the Universe Classics where it seemed like an ideal fit as a recognizable but simple vehicle. It's cool Mattel is revisiting it here in Eternia Minis. Let's check this 2-pack out after the break...


The Facts: He-Man

Height: 2 1/8ths inches

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

Accessories: Power Sword


The Facts: Ground Ripper

Length: 4 1/4ths inches long

Articulation: Rolling wheels

Accessories: None

Non-Scalper Price: $10 dollars





Comparison:


* The He-Man included in this set is on the left while the standard series 1 He-Man is on the right. What's different? This new He-Man has metallic bronze cuffs and a belt and a metallic silver harness. It's a small change but it does look pretty cool.
The Positives:


* What more is there to say about this little guy that I haven't said over and over? He's brawn, comical, and caricatured in a fun way. I love the metallic paint applications on him, too. It's a nice way to differentiate this guy from the previous releases and adds a bit more pizazz to him. 




* The headsculpt is quite nicely done, too. While we've seen it before it's no surprise that Mattel is using it again. The over sized grimace (or is it a grin?) definitely feels like an exaggeration of the vintage toy's expression while the large, lantern jaw seems fitting for the most powerful man in the universe.







* These little guys have four points of articulation which may not seem like a lot except you gotta consider they're only a little over 2 inches tall. That's not bad for that scale! 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!







* He-Man comes with a tiny little Power Sword! It's very vintage inspired and looks pretty nice.



* The Ground Ripper/ Road Ripper looks pretty cool. It's a simple piece with stickers for the details but it's recognizable, bright, and very sleek. 



* The headpiece is very traditionally MOTU with an animal-like head. Is this supposed to look like a dragon, perhaps?

* The back of the vehicle has more stickers and the look of the bulky technology that seems to be prominent in Eternia. The tires are really cool with long treads coming out of them. Presumably that's why the vehicle is called the Ground Ripper/ Road Ripper. 
 


* Since the Eternia Minis don't sit you'll hve to use the foot peg on the vehicle to stand He-Man on there. He stays pretty solidly and you can swap out figures if you want someone else to ride.








The Negatives:


* He-Man's hair has some weird gloppy paint drops on it. It's tough to see here but it looks odd in person.
   The Ground Ripper is a pretty cool little vehicle. It doesn't have any real features or anything but it's neat to see it in toy form again after so long. I also like this He-Man. I mean, we've seen this sculpt so many times now but at least Mattel went and gave this one some unique metallic paintjobs. They really do give He-Man a different look that stands out. Currently Mattel seems focused on the MOTU: Revelation Eternia Minis though most of them fit in perfectly with this line so you can still grow your collection even if you're only interested in the vintage looks. I wonder what the next vehicle we'll see in the Eternia Minis line will be?


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

The only other version of the Road Ripper/ Ground Ripper I've reviewed is the Netflix series He-Man and Ground Ripper set.
 
For more Masters of the Universe: Eternia Minis check out the following:

3 comments:

  1. Great time to be a MOTU collector.

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    Replies
    1. It is, but man is it crazy! A few years back or more it was pretty uncommon to find anything MOTU at retail. Whatever Mattel released through MattyCollector or whatever Super7 put out was about it. Now it seems like every time I go to the store there's more MOTU product out. What a time to collect MOTU.

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  2. I can see it working quite well. The Road Ripper is such a simple vehicle that I wouldn't be surprised to see it as part of one of those Skeletor head sets at some point. It'd easily fit.

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