I realize that I didn't review the three previous Masters of the Universe Origins playsets I own (Snake Mountain, Eternia, and the Fright Zone) and I didn't preorder/ crowdfund the Snake Lair, but I definitely wanted to check out the Slime Pit. Excuse me, I mean the Fright Pit. Yes, the 1986 vintage toy was called the Slime Pit because it used Mattel's own Slime (which they created and introduced to the toy market in 1976), but over the years Nickelodeon has somehow ended up with a trademark for a toy where a character is slimed. Therefore, calling a toy involving sliming a character the Slime Pit would apparently infringe on Nickelodeon's trademark, so Mattel has opted to call this the Fright Pit. You know what? That works for me. It connects it to the Fright Zone, where it belongs anyway, and it sounds pretty decent. Previously it was called the
Horde Pit, but I think I like Fright Pit a bit better. Yeah, it's weird and utterly ridiculous, but that's the legal departments of major corporations for you.
The Fright Pit (if I slip and call it the Slime Pit, oops) is a very solid small playset and was a favorite of mine in the vintage line. I received it for Christmas when I was quite young, probably well after it was released, and I remember spilling the slime under our Christmas tree. Oops! For that reason, I'll let you know in advance that I didn't even open the included bag of slime. Instead, just pretend characters are being slimed or watch a YouTube video showing off the action feature. Ready to (pretend) to get slimed? Wait, since there's no slime, how about we just frighten the figures, huh? Ready to frighten some figures? Then join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 14 1/2 inches tall
Accessories: Dragon skull, 5 oz bag of slime.
Non-Scalper Price: $49- $50 dollars.
The Positives:
* The MOTU Origins Fright Pit is noticeable larger than the vintage Masters of the Universe Slime Pit. While the Origins figures are similar in size to the vintage figures, the new Fright Pit has a much larger footprint and is taller. The base itself is much larger, the wall is wider, and the spine of the dragon skull makes it sit much higher above the wall. It's just overall a bigger toy, meaning that you could easily make this fit in with other MOTU lines like Masterverse, MOTU Chronicles, and Masters of the Universe Classics.
*Note: That's a MOTU Origins Skel-Knight from the Battle for Eternia set, so you can see the size of the set next to a standard figure.
* The dragon skull that holds the slime and pours it out looks excellent and is rather comparable to the vintage toy. It's a bit larger, sure, and the paint effect looks a bit better, giving the skull and aged look.
* The jaw is hinged and the head is attached to the spine via a balljoint, allowing you to easily rotate and pose the skull. The skull was definitely the coolest part of the vintage set so it's neat that it's more toyetic here. The MOTU Origins figures and playsets really do feel like toys and while the main audience is clearly collectors, they're still excellent for kids to play with. They're quite sturdy, too.
* The vintage Slime Pit is pretty easy to complete with the only piece sometimes missing being the top of the dragon skull where you poured the slime in. For the Fright Pit, Mattel fixed that: Now the back of the skull is hinged, allowing you to pull it back, fill the skull with slime, and then seal it up. It's a nice, new touch!
* Here's a look at the spine that causes the dragon skull to rise up off of the back wall. It's quite cool and a nice new touch for the Origins version of the playset.
* The wall of the Fright Pit is quite similar to the vintage toy: It's a primitive stone wall with an uneven black paint spray, a relief of Hordak's head (Hordak is the master of branding himself!), and two interesting red, columns with Ionic styled volutes (that's what those curls are called) on top. The design also reminds me of a Japanese
torii gate, though that might be just a coincidence. It's not too different from the original toy, just larger.
* Something that is different from the vintage Slime Pit is the way the claws are attached. The vintage toy had one claw in the middle that lifted out of the base to pin a figure to the wall and one claw sculpted on the right side of the playset. This time around, both claws come from the sides and they're articulated. You can clip them on the sides or move them on on hinges to claw and trap figures.
* You can use one claw or both claws to keep a figure in place. It makes the
Slime Fright Pit work better with larger figures, too.
* The base of the pit is raised up a bit higher, allowing the pit to look a bit deeper. The base is green and rocky, matching the look of the Fright Zone nicely and conveying the idea that this is part of that same landscape. There is also a foot peg for standing figures on the steps.
* On the right hand side you get more rocks and a button to easily activate the light-up feature. More on that in a moment.
* Here's a look down into the pit. Instead of just being a hollow pit, this time there is a permanent green translucent plate that gives the look of slime pooling inside the pit, even when nothing is physically present. I actually really like the effect, particularly since I don't see myself actually sliming any figures.
* Did you notice a couple odd holes and pegs in the slime pool? Guess what? Those are actually attachment points so you can create the effect of a character submerged up to their waist in the pit or have random arms sticking out, as if someone is fighting against being turned into a Horde zombie. That's a really fun and creative play feature that does make clever use of the modular builds of the MOTU Origins figures.
* Remember that button on the side of the Fright Pit that I showed above? Press it and an eerie green strobing light emits from the base of the slime pool. It looks really amazing! It takes three AAA batteries and is well worth utilizing for mood lighting or photo taking.
* Of course, Mattel did throw in some... slime? Yeah, it's slime. But not Slime. Just slime. It doesn't even say slime on the package, despite the fact that Mattel invented Slime. You get 5 ounces of the green stuff.
The Negatives:
* The slime comes in a Ziploc style bag rather than a plastic container which seems like an odd choice. Why not a simple canister or a replica of the original slime container? Getting this back in the bag just seems like it would be a chore.
* Here's a look at the back of the Fright Pit. Like the original playset, there's nothing really here; just the inverse of the mold. I'm not really going to knock this set for that but I was expecting there to be some cool little feature back there as Mattel has added new features in areas like this on other MOTU Origins sets. Even if it was just another weapons rack or something, it would have been cool to see the space used.
I'm really pleased with how the Fright Pit came out. It's a solid looking set that captures the look and feel of the vintage toy while both adding some cool new features and upsizing the set overall to fit in with not just Origins figures and the vintage line but also with Masterverse, Chronicles, and MOTU Classics. That was a smart choice on Mattel's part and I'm sure it had to be intentional. It always was strange that MOTU never received the smallest MOTU playset when it did get Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain. My only real complaint is with the slime. I'm not a huge fan of the Ziploc style bag versus an actual container, though personally I would have liked to have seen some fake rubbery slime strands that could be used for display. I've seen folks mention that they have used green hot glue to make their own which is something they might consider. Cost-wise, I think this is really a solid value at $50 dollars, especially considering that it has a light up feature. It's an Epic set and I'm thrilled to finally have it in a modern line.
Looking for more of the Slime Pit/ Fright Pit/ Horde Pit? I've also reviewed the
Slime Pit Multipack from Masters of the Universe: Eternia Minis and the Mega Construx
Zombie He-Man Horde Pit.
For more Masters of the Universe Origins reviews check out the following:
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection (200X)
The Powers of Grayskull
Sketchbook Series
It's a heck of an upgrade over the original. And a friend of mine put googly eyes onto the skull and used it's posability to make it a bit of a character in itself for funsies. :P
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