While
I have a fondness for the live action 1987 Masters
of the Universe movie,
I haven’t been overly excited for any of the figures from it. The
vintage versions weren’t exactly great representations of the
on-screen characters and the Classics updates – while much better
action figures – were obviously being done in the Classics style.
I’ve always dreamed of a line of more realistically proportioned
movie figures, like Mattel’s Movie Masters.
I
realize how ridiculous that is and that virtually no other Masters
fan would agree with me on that point, but the heart wants what it
wants.
FIRST
GLANCE
Okay,
so Saurod does look pretty awesome. He definitely leans more towards
the New Adventures end of the spectrum, but he has a distinctive look
and tons of sculpted detail. This guy looks like he would absolutely
destroy the rest of Skeletor’s goons.
PACKAGING
The
MOTUC blister card never disappoints.
Oddly
enough, Saurod has what might be the best made-up biography that has
yet been offered in the Masters of the Universe Classics line. I love
every single word of this, from “rode a meteor shower across the
solar system to Eternia” to the final sentence that basically
establishes Saurod as a time-traveling lizard Nazi.
LOOKS
When
I was a kid it always bothered me when I couldn’t see the face of
an individual character. Goons and troopers were okay, but enigmas
like Dr. Klaw and Cobra Commander made me nuts. Saurod would’ve
done the same, perhaps more so because I can actually see his eyes
and can only imagine the snout that lies beneath that breathing mask
(or whatever).
Also,
it has just now struck me how Darth Vader-y this guy’s head is.
Holy crap. He basically just needs the face mask to clamp on over the
lower portion. And a black paint job.
The
sculpt on the head is fantastic. The helmet and mask are covered in
detail and the exposed skin has scales all over. Saurod’s eyes are
particularly evil, with an unusually good paint job. There are even
hints of pink at the corners of his eyes.
The
figure has a definite samurai aesthetic. It strikes me as odd that
there was never a straight-up samurai guy in the Masters line. I like
the bronze color of his armor, which is good because there’s a
lot of
it and it isn’t broken up by any paint detailing because that would
have cost money. Matty used other colors only where they absolutely
had to. Saurod has some kind of weird green shorts with buckles on
them under his armor, but the joints that connect his legs to his
hips are an entirely different color from any other part of the
figure, which is a terrible eyesore. I don’t mind those joints
being exposed because I honestly don’t think that they look that
bad, but they need to blend in, color-wise.
Saurod’s
tail is built into the piece at his waist and is not poseable, but
that doesn’t really bother me. I’m impressed that there’s
actually a coat of paint on the underside, though it does look odd
considering that color is not present anywhere else. I’m not crazy
about the way they designed the ponytail thing. I would prefer it be
hanging straight down. As it is it almost looks like it was put on
incorrectly.
Saurod’s
hands remind me a lot of NECA’s Predator figures, and I mean that
in a good way. These are some of the most detailed hands in the line.
They look well-armored and menacing. I dig all of the detail on his
gauntlets, as well.
I
find it weird that Saurod wears boots as opposed to having bare
reptile feet, but whatever. His weird, open-calf footwear looks fine
and matches the style of the rest of his gear.
The
functional holster is a great touch and has some nice sculpted
texture, but it looks pretty shitty. The color makes it stand out
from the rest of the figure in an unnatural way. It doesn’t blend
in at all, and the lack of a paint wash gives it a very Dollar Tree
look.
ACCESSORIES
Saurod
comes with a blaster.
A
rubber blaster. I hate that. Otherwise it’s fine. The sculpt is
packed with detail and the metallic plastic looks nice. It fits into
his hand or his holster, so aside from being floppier than (extremely
dirty metaphor) it’s great.
FUN
Saurod
can be posed in all of the same ways as the rest of the line, minus
the calf/boot-top swivels that many of the figures have. His arms can
hang a bit more naturally thanks to his torso armor having a slightly
lower profile. His tail helps support poses, so that’s neat, too.
While
Saurod looks cool , he’s a pretty bare-bones release for the line.
Aside from his articulation and blaster there’s not much to write
about here. You could lay him on an exposed light bulb and watch him
melt, I suppose, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
OVERALL
Saurod
is a mostly great looking figure that I got a little more critical
about once I really started examining him. On the shelf he is very
pleasing. But up close there are some flaws that I can’t help but
think could have been eliminated or at least handled more skillfully.
If
you can get him for under thirty bucks I think you’ll be happy with
this guy. He’s one of Skeletor’s most menacing goons and stands
out on the shelf thanks to all of that bronze.
4
out of 5
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