2 replies to this topic

[Ridureyu]

Last week, I reviewed Fang Man on MWCToys! This week, there's a similar-but-rewritten version on Nerditis!

http://nerditis.com/...verse-classics/

Also, the MWC one was missing a brief paragraph on one of his accessories - I don't know why it wasn't there, though his Wheel of Infinity now has a proper mention!

[sportsandstuff777]

Good review I enjoyed reading it I am new to the board and MOTU is one of my favorite toylines

[Ridureyu]

Reposted for the CONTEST:



 

Good old Fang Man. One of my first news posts here was about him, and then he got another Life In Plastic devoted to his only cartoon appearance. And now I've got one! Fang Man was only available to subscribers, likely because of nervousness on Mattel's part of such a "non-classic" classic character's potential sales. of course, by doing that they've made him totally valuable on the secondary market. Go Fang Man!

 

PACKAGING: ****

Fang Man has the exact same packaging as every other MOTUC figure. You know, white box, blister pack, same old story. He's visible in the package (the label sometimes obscures figures), and it protects him pretty well. Not bad!

SCULPT: ****

Despite being part of a line that has so many reused and repainted parts, Fang Man's got a good number of new pieces on him. Concerning the reuse, he has Whiplash's scaly torso, Fisto's biceps (with a new one sculpted to match the other), Demo-Man's hands, and generic legs and boots. For the new parts, Fang Man's loincloth and shirt are unique, and he has a brand-new neck piece that changes his posture and mounts his head differently. Fang Man's shirt runs with this by adding ridges on his spine and hunching him forward a little. It's really a great amount of unique engineering for a "generic" body!

 

Fang Man looks like a cartoon. I know how funny that sounds, since this whole toy line does, but Fang Man is pretty special - the Four Horsemen clearly wanted him to look the way he did in the cartoon. And even though they gave him a surprising amount of texturing, with wrinkles on his skin and his shirt, Fang Man is one of the most cartoonish figures in the whole Classics line! He's even got his cartoon counterpart's chipmunk cheeks! You'll find that he fits, though, even among much more serious characters like Vikor or Draego-Man.

 

PAINT: ***

Fang Man's paint is a minor point of contention among some fans, because Fang Man is not only blue, he's BLUE. Blue as the sky, the sea, or a baby's eyes. As blue as a ghost that's about to get eaten. As blue as something else that's blue. But you know... it totally works. I'll dock it a star because of the complaints, but I don't mind it so much. Fang Man's clothes are maroon and dull yellow, with bright orange for the collar and wristbands. His tongue is glossy enough to look wet, and his eyes are bright, beady yellow. He's got some great little details, too, like the rust on his belt buckle or the paint wash on his head that brings out the details.

ARTICULATION: ****

Fang Man has typical MOTUC articulation, with some extra joints added for his neck and tongue. He has swivel/ball-jointed shoulders, pegged elbows, swivel wrists, an ab crunch, waist rotation, ball-jointed hips, pegged knees, swivel shins, “rockerâ€￾ ankles and feet, a ball-jointed head, an extra ball joint for his neck (though it's more like a swivel), and a swivel tongue. The tongue is hilarious! You can move it past his fangs to either side of his mouth, or let it hang in front. Both of those poses are accurate to the cartoon, but more importantly they can change Fang Man from a hissing snake monster to a lobotomy patient! Poor, poor Fang Man.

His ab crunch is somewhat limited, as you want to keep him hunched forward, but it does allow him to take the proper poses. Likewise, his neck joints are more like swivels than ball joints, but they work perfectly well for what they need to do - and nobody is complaining about that tongue!
 

ACCESSORIES: ****

Fang Man lucked out on accessories - some figures only get a weapon or two, but this guy has two weapons, a cartoon artifact, and that shirt of his!

Firstly, there's Fang Man's shirt. It has lumps sculpted in to represent the ridges on his spine, which are not sculpted on his actual torso. So... is Fang Man wearing falsies? Secondly, Fang Man has a huge sword, which looks surprisingly serious for somebody as goofy as him. It's actually the "Sword of the Ancients," an artifact from another cartoon episode, though it's got Fang Man's belt buckle insignia on the hilt, which is hilarious. It's a great sword, and a lot of figures look good wielding it. The next thing he has is this odd little slingshot device that he never used in the cartoon, but was on his original model sheet - it's supposed to be some sort of force field generator, it really looks vaguely obscene. It's still nice that he has it, though.

Fang Man also comes with the Wheel of Infinity, the spinning disc that let Skeletor travel through time in Fang man's episode in the first place. It's only sculpted and painted on one side, but that's fine.

VALUE: **

Every time I look at the price of a Masters of the Universe Classics figure, I am reminded of a particular movie quote:

"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

Fang Man was about $25 for subscribers, not counting shipping or tax. That's a little less than the $27 non-subscribers have to pay for day-of-sale figures (which inflates to $40 after shipping and tax), but...hehehehh... guess who never got a day of sale? Fang Man WAS a "mere" $50 on Big Bad Toy Store, but he's out of stock. So you're gonna have to trawl eBay, and pay $60-$70 for him.

Forget it, Rid. It's Mattel.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Theoretically, some Fang Men have a brittle neck joint near his head, but mine is fine. Also, when you move his tongue past his teeth, take care not to scrape the paint off those fangs. But other than that, he's really solid.

OVERALL: ****

Price issues aside (WAUGH), this is a fantastic figure! I got my Fang Man on the same day as my Snake Face, and both are two of the best Masters of the Universe Classics figures I've seen, up there with greats like Draego-Man and Mer-Man! If not for the insanely prohibitive price, I'd recommend this guy... and of course, since I got mine for Subscriber price, I can brag about it.

Hey, wait a second. Can Fang Man control and ride ALL dragons? So... what about Draego-Man?

 

WHERE TO BUY:

 

Big Bad Toy Store, eBay, and Amazon are your best bet.

Edited by Ridureyu, 16 June 2013 - 05:52 PM.