http://nerditis.com/...verse-classics/
Tung Lashor is a frog. I know he's a snake man, but you can't tell me this guy isn't a frog. Tung Lashor is, and always has been a frog. His vintage toy was a frog. His 200X design was a frog. his vintage toon design was... not the same character. He is a frog. The Snake Men are equal-opportunity employers.
Tung Lashor has an odd history. His toy came out in that weird time when there were technically no new He-Man episdoes, so he, like the other Snake Men, never got to show up. But She-Ra was running around and doing her thing, and occasionally she got o see characters like Tung and Rattlor. And so, Tung Lashor, just called "Tung," showed up in the She-Ra cartoon as one of Hordak's men. And one of Skeletor's. And he was red, looked like a dinosaur, and did not have anything in common with his toy. In the 200X Cartoon, he became a Snake Man again, but was also redefined as a huge, hulking beast. So, what should he be? The Classics figure attempts to find a middle ground.
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TUNG LASHOR: EVIL SNAKE MEN CREATURE WITH THE VENOMOUS TONGUE
REAL NAME: KASSSHER
Armed with a quick licking tongue that shoots out to reach enemies in battle, Tung Lashor infects his foes with a dose of vile venom. Although he is loyal to King Hssss, he was brainwashed by Evil-Lyn into serving the Overlord of Evil for the time being. Tung Lashor is an extremely brutal creature, more openly vicious than other Snake Men, but still cowers before King Hssss like all the others. He likes to lash his tongue at just about anything - even his comrades to shake them up once in a while. Like Rattlor, Tung Lashor eventually became a member of the Evil Horde after he was passed over for promotion in favor of Kobra Khan. Flickering his forked tongue, Tung Lashor stuns his foes with his venomous lick.
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Well, there you go! Tung Lashor has worked for everybody. I'm surprised that they didn't add a note about him using steroids or anything for the 200X look, but I guess you can't have everything. So, let's see how this month's regular figure - one of the last two of the Snake Men - turned out!
PACKAGING: ****
There is nothing new about Tung Lashor's packaging. Since I have nothing interesting to say about this, uh, how was your Thanksgiving? Mine was cool.
SCULPT: ****
A big question before this figure came out was, would his sculpting represent the vintage toy, vintage cartoon, or 200X design? The answer is that he is mostly the vintage toy, though with a little of the 200X beast added in.
As a frog, Tung Lashor has a lot of unique sculpting in his parts. For one thing, he's got a brand-new slimmer-than-usual torso, which is uniquely his thanks to that snake insignia on the chest. It's kind of odd to see a reptile with nipples (note: amphibian. He is a frog), but there he is. He's also got unique froggy hands and feet, and the parts that are unique fit in well.
Tung Lashor comes with two heads - one calm with mouth closed, and one sneering with his mouth open and his tongue spilling out. Although his slender physique does not resemble the 'roided up 200X design, his tongue is totally from that cartoon. The vintage toy's tongue was just long, and the vintage cartoon's barely mattered, but this one is huge, thick, and has the spines/teeth fro his more modern appearance. It's a nice little homage, and it gives him a great gimmick. Both of his heads have great expressions, too, with quite the amount of personality in each. He looks as brutal as his bio claims him to be.
PAINT: ****
Tung Lashor comes in shades of bright and dark purple (the bright one is nearly magenta), orange, green, and yellow. You know, like a poison tree frog. Which he is. He is a frog. His colors say, "Do not eat. Poisonous," because he is. He's a frog!
Anyway, he isn't totally without slop - his green snake insignia and his tongue-teeth are just a little off - but overall, Tung's paint is pretty good. His tongue has a notably slimy, organic look to it, and its glossy paint really differentiates it from his smooth body. He is eye-catching, but not unrealistically bright. Again, there are frogs like that.
ARTICULATION: ***
Tung Lashor comes with ball-and-socket shoulders and hips, ball-jointed head, swivel biceps, waist, wrists, and shins, hinged elbows, knees, and hinged ankles. He lacks body armor to limit his poses, though he also lacks rocker ankles, and his neck joint is weird. His head is kind of a dome, so it has little movement - in fact, most Tung Lashors end up with loose bobbleheads, but the restricted movement keeps it from being too awkward. So he isn't perfect, though he is adequate.
ACCESSORIES: ****
Tung Lashor comes with two acessories, technically three if you count the armband. He has the same ginormous semi-Caduceus as every other Snake Man, with his being dark purple. Although he can hold it in both hands, it really only fits in his right - in the left, it is too loose, and dangles. Is this thing weapon or a symbol of office?
Tung Lashor's other weapon is a Horde crossbow, this one patterned after a dragonfly. You know, a swamp creature often eaten by frogs, of which Tung Lashor is one. It looks more like a pet than a weapon, and clamps easily to his wrist. It is flexible, so there is no paint scuffing. Also, Tung Lashor is a frog.
VALUE: **1/2
Have I ever been a fan of MOTUC pricing?
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Aside from the bobblehead, Tung Lashor is quite sturdy and durable.
WHERE TO BUY:
Stuff sells out from Matty early and often, so you might as well just go looking on BBTS..
OVERALL: ****
Tung Lashor is the best Battletoad ever! Really, I seriously lie this figure. He hung out on my coffee table for quite some time before I took him back for his photos.
Anyway, Tung Lashor is a frog, not a snake. And I think that's great. When I heard that either he or Squeeeze would be the 2014 figure, I had hoped for the other guy - but Tung has ended up so fantastic that all is forgiven. he's a bright spot right when the year really needed it!
2014 has been a weird year. It started out really strong, then tossed in a few average figures, then went awesome again, then added several sub-par figures in a row... and now there's Tung Lashor, who is honestly one of my favorites of the line. I put him up there with Mer-Man as an excellent update of a classic design, and a toy that does the original character justice by streamlining him to his core essence, and then making it good. May 2015 be always like this!
