And here’s another overdue review.
Dragon*Con really threw me off. I’m way behind on my September
stuff, which is getting dangerously close to me getting behind on
October stuff and that simply cannot happen. And now October’s over
and I still haven’t posted this.
I actually had to give up on my posts
over on the ESO Network. I just can’t do eight a week. Sometimes I
can’t do five a week.
The story here is that Sir Laser-Lot
was such a rad fucking knight that He-Man – after he became King of
Eternia – sent Spector back in time to fetch him. Never mind the
impact losing his greatest and mightiest warrior might have on King
Grayskull and the future. Torn from his own time, Sir Laser-Lot is
forced into servitude for his apparently quite arrogant new master.
He has no choice but to train the Royal Guards and King He-Man’s
son in the ways of rad knightitude. I can only assume King He-Man’s
son is a complete shithead with a name like “Dare”.
That’s just my take on things. The
actual written bio is much more benign. See below.
First Glance: Oh, man –
I love this guy. He belongs on a Journey album cover, riding a neon
tiger/ostrich hybrid.
Articulation: Sir
Laser-Lot sports the same articulation as your standard MOTUC figure
(and most other 6” scale Mattel products).
Head – ball joint
Shoulders – ball joint
Biceps – swivel
Elbows – pivot
Wrists – swivel
Abdomen – pivot
Waist – swivel
Hips – ball joint
Thighs – swivel
Knees – pivot
Calves - swivel
Ankles – rocker joint
All of the joints on my figure work
just fine. The ankles are a little loose, though. It took me a while
to find a pose that didn’t result in Sir Laser-Lot falling over and
taking a couple other figures with him. His arm movement is rather
severely restricted by his giant chest armor.
Sculpt: The torso and
limbs are the basic MOTUC sculpts. While it would have been amazing
to have chain mail sculpted on this guy, I understand that wasn’t
ever going to happen. Mattel has done enough interesting things with
the rest of this guy to make him stand out, though.
The head is great. Super-rad 80’s
great. The shape of the eye shield, the jaw thing, the little
protrusion on his temple that’s probably a laser blaster – it’s
all so good. This is what causes me to celebrate Johns’
contribution to the 30th Anniversary line. And that
translucent pink plume. So damn good. Some people complained about
Laser-Lot not having an alternate, unhelmeted head. Whatever. I don’t
need that. This is totally Sir Laser-Lot’s head as far as I’m
concerned. I don’t care what his face looks like. This is the
visage his enemies will see as they meet hot, gory death on the
battlefield at the end of Laser-Lot’s energy sword.
Either Laser-Lot has new boots or he
shares them with a figure I don’t own. I like them a lot (a Laser
lot) and can’t wait to see where else they might be used. His
gloves have been used before. They’re good and knightly. The trunks
are the ones shared by Roboto and all the mechanically-legged people,
but they work well here.
One of the suggestions from customers
to not make this guy so bland was to add a belt. Initially I agreed
with that, as it would break up his midsection. But now I think I
like him better without. I don’t think Laser-Lot’s midsection
needs breaking up. And since he’s supposed to be wearing armor
(which is either the tightest armor in all the land or is sculpted to
look like a huge muscle man and Laser-Lot is actually quite skinny)
it would be kind of weird to have a belt on over that.
Coloring: This guy is
mostly a sort of metallic blue with some red and silver. I’m good
with that. There are some that complained about Laser-Lot being too
plain, but I think this simplicity adds to his charm and once again
displays Geoff Johns’ understanding of 80’s-era toys.
All of the paint applications are
precise and simple. Nothing about Sir Laser-Lot is overly
complicated and I appreciate that. I like the highlights on the
fronts of his boots. And of course I love the translucent feather
coming out of his head. Beautiful plumage.
Flair: Sir Laser-Lot has
chest armor and an attached cloak. The chest plate seems simple, but
upon closer inspection it has a good bit of detail. There are clasps
on the sides for the armor itself, as well as shoulder clasps for the
cloak. The faceted triangle on the front is another nice 80’s-looking
touch and the raised ridges at the neck and arms give the piece a
little more depth.
The cloak looks simple and is. It has a
nice sculpt with a bit of a waving look, but nothing extreme like if
it were blown off to the side or something. I would like if it had
just a bit more character. I made a Mandalorian costume for
Dragon*Con a few years ago and made it so that the cloak attached to
my left shoulder and just under my right arm. It looked really cool
and distinctive that way and I think Laser-Lot would have been just a
tad cooler with the same style of cloak. But it’s pretty much okay
this way.
Accessories: Sir
Laser-Lot comes with a sword, a shield, and a mace. All three are
fucking awesome.
The Laser Mace has a great shape with
surprisingly sharp studs. I like the length of the handle, as well as
the fact that the wrappings are painted. I don’t know how a Laser
Mace works and I don’t; care. It looks killer.
The Laser Sword looks an awful lot like
Thundarr’s sword. Maybe not quite as blazey. But it has a nice
length and looks fairly regal.
The shield is a cool design. I like the
standard translucence mixed with the light blue.
While I am a little concerned about the
paint wearing off of these pieces, they look so darn good. They are
all sturdier than I thought they would be and the figure can interact
with them as is intended.
Packaging: It’s the
regular MOTUC blister card. Still neat and still effective.
The back features a bio that brings up
an awful lot of questions. Why is it “King He-Man” and not “King
Adam”? Who is Dare’s mother? Why do Dare and the Royal Guards
need ancient battle techniques? Why did Laser-Lot just up and leave
his own era and King Grayskull?
Value: $28.70 (including
shipping) for a six inch scale figure with a lot of shared parts. Not
very good, but I give these 30th Anniversary figures a bit
more leeway since they’re “Special”. I mean, it’s a
completely artificial specialness, like Lady Gaga’s, but I guess
I’m buying into it. I have documented many times in the past what
kind of a sucker I am.
Overall: As far as I am
concerned Sir Laser-Lot is the best of the 30th
Anniversary offerings thus far. I just like him a whole lot. A Laser
lot (again!).
5
out of 5
I can’t find a single thing wrong
with this guy and I can’t imagine him being any better. Yeah, the
cape thing would have been nice, but I can’t complain about the
execution. I know many won’t agree, but for my money this guy is
great. He succeeds in stoking my nostalgia just as effectively as the
He-Man or Skeletor figures.
I’m pretty sure BigBad or eBay are
going to be your only resource for purchasing this guy, but I also
wouldn’t be surprised at all to see all of the 30th
Anniversary figures offered again before Christmas. As a matter of
fact, I’d put money on it.
-Phantom
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