MOTUClassics.Com:
Leech Review

NoisyDvL5

Yes, we’ve had to skip Man-E-Faces. Our subscription was cancelled last month and we abandoned efforts to get it back after some issues with customer service. We’re winging it the rest of the year, but we’ve yet to pick up a good deal on Man-E-Faces, so we’re moving ahead to Leech.

I almost let Vault review Leech because he’s the bigger Horde fan between us. He insists on their badassery and scoffs not only at my preference for Skeletor’s minions, but that nearly all my favorite characters tend to be the lesser known Heroic Warriors (where’s Rio Blast & Extendar, Mattel?). It’s not that I think the Horde isn’t cool or anything, they’re easily one of the coolest things Princess of Power contributed to the mythos, but they’re just not my guys – particularly Leech. But Classics Leech just seemed to fun to pass up. I mean, doesn’t he look like a guy that wants to party?

That said, I do have one issue with Leech that I just have to get out of the way. It’s his size. I don’t know how many of you have ever read the mini-comic ( The Master of Power Suction Unleashed ) that accompanied Leech when we were kids, but it featured Leech… uh, a little bigger than the rest of the cast. To put it simply, he tried to eat the Land Shark, okay? That mini-comic forever altered my perception of Leech – he should be huge! A behemoth! A gargantuan! And no Leech from the vintage figure to the Staction to this Classics figure has measured up yet (but then again, being a giant in MOTU Classics would make him an under-articulated, overpriced piece of junk… so maybe I should count my blessings?).

Anyway, yes, subsequent Leech appearances showed him more in-scale with the others (and, hey, Hordak gets pretty big in that same mini-comic too, so who knows how big Leech was really supposed to be), so a regular-sized Leech is in no way inaccurate and it certainly isn’t a problem with this figure. Maybe I just need a little Micro Machine Land Shark for him to munch on. That’d be pretty kickass, actually…

Now, there’s been some controversy over Classics Leech. Since he debuted, some collectors have been rather adamant that he sucks – and not in the way he’s supposed to. Admittedly, I’ve come to really appreciate the head because he does look more cartoonish (despite favoring the toy over any cartoon appearances), but there are a few angles where he can look menacing and crazed if that’s your thing.

Having said that, there are still a few things about the head that give me pause. One, I just don’t like screaming / yelling / open-mouth heads. I’ve enjoyed playing with Leech the last couple days, but if he could just close that mouth or have an updated head sculpt that was a little less agape, I’d be appreciative. I feel like I have to pose his head at some sort of angle because if you look at him straight-on… well, he couldn’t see you. It really doesn’t make much sense – if your power is sucking things into your mouth, I imagine you better damn well know what’s going in there, but I digress…

Also, I wish the teeth could at least appear to be a little less rounded or at least more detailed. Even my vintage Leech appears to have sharper fangs than the Classics figure…

Beneath the head, I think the figure is downright fantastic though. I love his hands and feet, the wider body, and that so many of the little details on the classic sculpt were captured and transferred to the Classics figure. There’s a healthy mix of new and reused parts, but it all comes together to make for a fun figure. The sculpts on the hands and feet are particularly nifty – I would’ve liked to see more detail on the “palms”, but the rough and cracked nails are nice. It’s also funny to note that the smooth upper arm does transition into a wrinklier, wart-covered appearance as you get down to the hands. The Four Horsemen did a great job making that look convincing despite the reuse.

Paintwise, I ended up with a little slop here and there – the nails and the teeth, but nothing that gives me too much grief though because I’m impressed how detailed the deco is and how much of it is spot-on. The airbrushing on the arms and legs is pretty awesome as is the mixed used of gloss and matte finishes throughout the figure. The colors work really great together and it really helps me to appreciate a figure that I wasn’t initially looking forward to. Continue to Page 2

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44 thoughts on “MOTUClassics.Com:
Leech Review”

  2. I think that last pic says it all, LOL.

    The head was the big deal-breaker here for me, huge (and extremely rare) misfire on the part of the Horsemen. I did some mock-ups showing how just a few tweaks could yield massive improvements.

    And yeah, no offense to those who are enjoying these, but that Horde “Rogues Shot” is just sooooo underwhelming, especially when compared to same of the Stactions.

    1. The Horde did have some pretty awesome stactions…

      I know I’m not the right person to talk to since I’m clearly biased against going “all vintage” on these toys, but I wish there was a way this line could be a little more adult? That word will raise some other implications, but I think my meaning is clear.

      Anyway, I don’t mind his PBS head sculpt, but yeah, that last pic cuts both ways!

      1. I think I see what you mean… The ‘Adult’ part of Adult collector is missing in this line…
        Gummy hands, rounded out fangs/spikes, limp weapons, Unusable Dials being added for ‘Nostalgia’

      2. There have been many figures in this line that were quite “Adult Collector” friendly in nature.

        Only post-Whiplash has it been the devolution into almost pure “vintage figures standing straight and moving more” territory.

        It’s all good though, I’ll enjoy choice figures like Fisto and Mark Taylor Concept Villain and hope that enough other fans pick up the scraps to keep limping along far enough to get me Extendar and Blade. 😀

  3. Noisy, you’ve forever ruined Leech. He’s now the Porky Pig of the Horde. LOL

    Great review as always. I love your honesty, even if that means trying to sell us on the positives to that cartoon head and then hit right back with that last picture.

      1. Yeah, I think an Alternate Heads Pack would be a great idea for an add-on. Filmation Leech and Mer-Man, Melting Keldor, Hatless Orko, Battle-Damaged Faker, Helmetless Zodak and Evil-Lyn, Millennial Clawful, Buzz-Off and Sy-Klone, and an extra Battleground Teela so we can make the early mini-comic version of her. Maybe a new Man-E-Faces dial with three more faces.

  6. That last porky pig picture is INCREDIBLE!!!!!
    totally agree about liking Skelly and his goons more. I never watched POP so I never enjoyed them as much as Boneface and the rest. Great review!

    1. I think not seeing the Horde on the show didn’t help much, yeah. I sometimes think it was because I was into the line earlier, but I had Rio Blast, Snout Spount, and the later heroes, so that couldn’t be it. I just never really got attached to them enough to want to bring too many home from Sears.

  7. That creepy head massage pic convinces me how okay I am with Leech and confirms how goofy I think Grizzlor looks.

    That last pic annihilates any hope I had of ever being able to look at Leech as “menacing.”, Well, that, and the fact that they refused to build him new, bigger arms to make him more proportional with that torso. (I won’t mention that they could have also used new arms to build a good Ram Man…oops.) But yes, overall I’m still cool with this figure.

    1. I wasn’t sure about that head massage pic… I almost didn’t even run it. LOL

      That’s a good call on the bulkier limbs, but that would be more about making this figures the best they can be instead of nostalgic throwbacks… yeah, I said it.

      1. think about this, even if the bulkier bod only yielded bulkier universal shoulders, biceps, thighs, upper calves, and pins for the new elbows and knees, that’s still 12 pieces towards ram man and extendar.

  8. So, OK, Leech has the big sucker (non-functioning) hands.

    He holds his crossbow how, exactly? 🙂

    And using that net as a stole, or shawl, is brilliant! It looks designed for that!

    Other than that, yeah, that head is a kind of miss. Not too sure how you could really make it better without a complete re-design into a more true leech-like sucker face, ala that one Sinestro Corps figure. I can’t find it to recall the name!!!

    2. Low was his name.

      People just need to accept that sometimes the Millenium look is just better. **** nostalgia, this line is supposed to be the best MotU line we’ll have, and Mattel should try harder.

    1. i asked the horsemen, and the answer was “we didn’t sculpt one for her.” i’m sure there’s a cosmic “why” in there, but i didn’t bother to dig deeper. sorry.

      yeah, like paxie, i think they missed the boat in not making big body limbs that could be re-used later for rammie or maybe even extendar. oh well, what the hell do i know?

      let me ask though, on mike crawford’s review of leech, he mentioned that leech feels kind of light and “cheap” as the line goes… any truth to that, or is he nitpicking?

      1. His weight… that’s an interesting observation. He does feel lighter than he should given his bulky chest, but I don’t think he feels cheap. Maybe in that sense that heaviness is an indication of value, but the construction of the figure feels teh same as the others. The hollowness in his chest cavity does give him a more “rotocast” feel, though, so I could see how he might “feel” cheap.

    2. That’s something they need to look into with the future Horde females they now have access too. I know I’d appreciate it (and it’d only take one mold).

  11. Excellent review and fun pics, as always! Is it just me, or does it seem like Leech came with two right hands? Maybe other people got two left hands. But on mine (as it seems to be with yours, Noisy), the hinge on the wrist joint looks like it’s angled for the right arm somewhat. It’s even got the exact same wart pattern. I would’ve preferred a Filmation Leech head, but the one we got could’ve been worse, I suppose. Wide-eyed psycho with huge teeth. Seems to fit.

    As for the “Giant Leech” conundrum, I looked at it this way when I was a youngster: that was the most hideous, badly-drawn mini-comic of the lot (though the Mantenna one was a close second place in the “Eeeuuurrrrggh” stakes). The Leech comic played stupid with scale. The colours were often wrong or sloppy. The drawings were sub-standard and ugly. Therefore, I just ignored the damn thing as ridiculous and unworthy. I had a lot of hate for that particular mini-comic. Still do.

  12. The head sculpted on Leech with all these teethes really brings this figure out. Another great edition to the Horde & Classics lineup.

  13. Great review. I opened my Leech a few days ago. I like him, but there is definitely something “off” about him. Not sure what though.

    Mine had a couple minute QC issues, and I’m not sure whether or not to contact Customer Service or not. The figure itself seems fine (knock on wood…) but the problems I had are with the accessories… the first one I noticed is the netting… its a little torn in the very centre right above the Hordak face… just one or two rungs. Its not an important issue, but it bothers me a little. Second, my Leech’s axe got deformed/malformed, I’m presuming due to the way it was packaged. I’m sure if I heated it in hot water it’d revert back to normal shape. Thoughts?

    1. you got an axe? he didn’t come w/ an axe (i’m not nerd nitpicking you here, sorry if it sounds that way… but if you got an axe, hang on to it!)

  17. Your subscription was cancelled? So was mine! Customer Service was such a nightmare that I gave up, it’s like you’re completely invisible to this company.

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