The Cry of Hordak

Yesterday Mattycollector  secretly released a new figure in it's store causing controversy and much outcry.

First let me take you back to 2012, to the New York Comic Con. Mattycollector was present and revealed the Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC) figures that we would see through the first quarter of 2013. On the last day a solitary item could be seen that would cause speculation, a white Horde crossbow. We all knew Mantanae would still be to come; however a white crossbow belonged to vintage Hordak. So who did this belong to or was a new weapons pack on the horizon?

Yesterday that question was answered when Mattycollecter silently put up for sale the Spirit of Hordak.

The concept for the Spirit of Hordak figure comes from the mini comic "The Secret Origin of Skeletor." In the mini comic Hordak's physical body is trapped in the dimension of Despondos and can only project an astral image of himself to contact the precursor to Skeletor, Keldor.

Keldor will later strike a deal with Hordak to release him from Despondos in exchange for saving his life.







For the lucky few who have managed to snag one they were greeted with "Congratulations! By magic or by luck, you’ve found a secret figure! "

"This all-clear figure features painted red eyes, chest emblem and removable armband, and comes with a fan-demanded Hordak® cross bow in vintage white. Trust us, this visitor from the dark dimension is up to no good… but you’ll have to get the figure to see his complete bio. Straight from the 2013 mini-comic, “The Secret Origin of Skeletor,” this highly collectable figure is not available with Club Eternia® subscriptions or even during regular monthly sales, so make sure you check back often to try to catch him the next time he decides to project onto this page! "



The back of the card for the Spirit of Hordak was briefly up which also showed his bio (oops).  After a short period of time the card back was removed from the website. His bio is available online, but that is part of the fun.

The Spirit of Hordak was only available online for about 40 minutes and then after being listed as "Sold Out" fans were greeted with a note that said "You're too late. Hordak is back in hiding."

There has been an outcry over how such a release was handled as sub holders, upon purchasing a sub, was told that they would get early access  to figures ahead of time if the were not part of the subscription. Many fans cried foul, that such a release was in violation of Mattycollector's own subscription agreement; however the majority of the response comes from people saying how great of an idea this was as not only to drive traffic back to it's website but also to bring excitement back to the MOTUC line and has not put everyone on a Hordak watch.

Kudos Mattycollector! This was a genius idea and a lot of fun. While I missed out on the sale at the website I will be on my own Hordak watch.

Toyguru of Mattycollector has in the forums stated that the Spirit of Hordak will be available again in the future and through the Early Access program so fear not, Hordak will return. ....which may be a reason to fear it's self.

-Nurd!



"Stinkorgate"

Mattycollector has done it again. They managed to bring us an amazing figure, however there is a debate in the execution.

May 15, 2012 will be Matty Day once again, where new merchandise is available to children and collectors alike and while there are some amazing items coming up the day is plagued by what is being affectionately referred to as "Stinkorgate."

Stinkor is by far a fan favorite in the Masters of the Universe history so everyone was excited to see him come to the MOTUC line. when announced at Power-Con in September 2011. I have to say that Stinkor is an amazing figure that comes with not only his classic MOTU look but also the accessories that give him his 200X deco.

So here is where the situation gets a little hairy (no pun intended). In the version showed at Power-Con you can see that his forearms have ridges that point outwards. This is a very standard look for figures with this formation on the arms, such as Skeletor and Merman.


These are newly casted parts as not to make Stinkor a straight paint swap to Merman. As you can see in the picture to the right there is molded fur coming out from the top of the glove to play more into the fact that Stinkor really is a skunk.

Press pieces have come out and the forearms have been reversed. Now this is nothing new because every time that there has been newly molded pieces they seem to be accidentally reversed such as King Hsss's shoulders and Roboto's shoulders.





Scott "Toyguru" Nietchlich, product manager of the MOTUC line, has stated that this was an intentional reverse to make Stinkor "pop" aesthetically.

Collectors cried foul knowing the track record with Mattycollector and newly molded pieces and claims that Mattel is simply trying to say that this was a design change to cover up for yet another reversal.

Toyguru stated that changes were made in the design phase however the 4 Horsemen, sculptors of the MOTUC line have always been on the front lines whenever there was a comment or concern about design in the past so this one has everyone crying foul. Especially since the anatomy of the arms don't match since reversed.

When asked on their twitter the 4 Horsemen simply states that “We haven’t seen a production version yet so we really can’t comment yet, but we can’t imagine why they would be switched.”

As far as my own thoughts on this situation, I also do not have a production copy in hand so I am laying my opinion to the side till I actually get him. I’m not saying fans and collectors should accept mistakes. It just seems like an ill fated gesture that didn’t pan out like they expected. I for one am happy to add Stinkor to my collection in any manner.

-"Nurd" Pat!