The New Adventures of He-Man is a strange corner of the MOTU Universe. On the surface it doesn’t do much to fit into the original series. But the blending seems to go a lot smoother with the Classics continuity, which is why I’m excited to see these characters in the line.
I really need to watch some more New Adventures episodes. About a year ago I watched the first few, which was just enough to get used to the new status quo, but not enough to get to know the new characters. So I don’t really know much about Flipshot’s personality. Aside from the fact that he’s a pilot and all pilots are cocky, right?
I was actually pretty surprised that Icarius picked as the second New Adventures figure to get the Classics treatment. I thought they would have gone with Hydron first, but then again I also thought we’d the NA He-Man and Skeletor before anyone else. I wonder if they picked Flipshot because he’s a pilot. Maybe this way Optikk can have an adversary.
One reason why I’m excited to see all of the New Adventures characters is because I want to see how the Horsemen interpret them. I already know what to expect with a remake of an original figure, but the NA and 200X characters always seem to have more of an artistic flare.
Icarius uses the standard MOTU “buck” as base body, but there are plenty of new pieces mixed in to make him feel new. His biceps and forearms are sculpted bands with bits of tech added in. His boots are entirely new and two rocket boosters on the inside. The tops of his boot are going to be reused for the upcoming Slush Head figure, but they still look perfectly fine and not at all out of place.
Icarius has a newly sculpted soft crotch piece that fits over the buck’s crotch. Not only does it have a new belt but it also has those sculpted bands like the arms, so I imagine we’ll be seeing it again sometime. I love my MOTU look, but it’s nice not seeing every character furry loin cloths.
Flipshot’s chest armor is also pretty interesting. It’s made of soft plastic and plugs into itself in the back. The front has been given sculpted tubes, vents, and a tech box like the original toy, but the Horsemen also added some new vent-like details around the bottom and sides. What surprised me the most about this piece is just how much the back resembles the original toy. Sculpted conduits run from the outer edges to the center, where the suit protrudes into a giant plug that’s meant for his jetpack.
Speaking of the jetpack, this thing is cool. The original Flipshot’s toy jetpack had very little real detail on it and looked like a like multiple flat gray surfaces stacked on top of each other. But the Classics jetpack has that Horsemen flare when it comes to sculpting technology. The design has been exaggerated so that the wings swoop further forward, while all the lines on the vehicle pull your eyes towards the back. The design is reminiscent of the various Goblin Gliders from the Spider-Man comics, although it also reminds me of the Jet Sled from the original MOTU line. Continue to page 2…
I remember buying a bunch of the NA figures on clearance and watching the first episode of the series. I could barely remember this guy at first but going by what I’m reading, he turned out very well. Can’t go wrong with basing a head sculpt on an actual person and the Val Kilmer likeliness is definitely there.
Yeah, I definitely don’t mind them using a more realistic likeness. Especially when it comes to the more generic looking characters. That original toy just had no personality in its head sculpt.
man! finally a review of Flipshot 🙂
I haven’t even started to read this, but am glad to see IAT putting up the review first..
Poor ol’Stratos!! 😀 love the pics in this review
Matty really hit a home run with Flipshot
No love for Stratos… But Flipshot turned out great! lol
This review confirms what I’ve been telling everyone:
Flipshot is an AMAZING Figure…
He can hold his wing missiles (and you can have him with melee Weapons)
His jetpack kinda looks like a Goblin Glider, great for Custom fodder if NA is not your thing:
Flipshot himself, with a bit of part swapping and repainting allows you to make a Classic NES Box Art Megaman!
HA! He does kind of look like that Mega Man, but I won’t hold that against him 😛
Excellent review with great pics, as per usual!
Funny, until you mentioned Val Kilmer, I was thinking he looked like Kurt Russell. And I think you’re closer in your observation, there.
I only ever owned three NA figures back in the day: Optikk, because he was cool-looking; Slushhead (ditto); and Space He-Man, because he came packaged with Slushhead. None of the other characters ever appealed to me. Trust the Four Horsemen to take a character I never gave a tinker’s dam about before and turn him into a cool-looking hombre. Makes me look forward to what else they may be able to pull off when it comes to badassifying those NA designs!
Thanks Beedo. I’m looking forward to the rest of the NA cast as well. The Horsemen have done such a good job with them so far, it should turn out pretty well.
Flipshot is one of the most impressive figures of this year I think.
I’m a fan of New Adventures. I didn’t like it so much back in the day, but watching it with adult eyes I was able to appreciate it. I always went under the impression that it was simply a different version of He-Man, but I find it interesting how they’re folding the NA Universe into MOTUC.
Flipshot is sort of the impetuous hotshot with an ego to back it up. I’d kind of compare him to Beast Wars Cheetor.
Definitely a great figure. I never thought of him as Cheetor though, that’s pretty interesting.
Someone should turn the alt head into a Mad Martigan motuc custom! 😉
That would be awesome! You could even make a General Kael from the Alcala Skeletor head!
hmmm… these are great ideas gents…
I have the entire original NA line, so this was one I was waiting for. Super happy with him. Can’t wait for more NA!
I can’t either. They should be doing more than one NA a year.
“You…thy groin be not covered in fur! Art thou a god?”
I’d like to see that clamshell armor and flight pack sold by themselves. I think He-Man and Man-At-Arms need flight packs. In the OLD DAYS Mattel would have had ‘flightpack He-Man’ on the shelves in a New York Minute. 🙂
It’s terrible. All I can think of is swapping the parts around. I’d like to see that helmetless head on a Palace Guard for example.
I had this picture for the review, but never fit it in. So I guess I’ll put it here. 🙂
Awesome pic!! “Air Borne Menace of Trap Jaw”
he actually looks cool…how about posting a pic with Roboto wearing Flipshot’s armor?
100% awesome, Vault!
Poor Man-at-Arms, forever stuck with that mad scientist thing. I suspect the Fisto review will…amusing. 🙂
So, a point. Is that stand included? That (if it is or if it’s from one of the Figma or other line) really should be pointed out…
Yeah, that’s a Figma stand.
Can you imagine if Matty actually included flight stands for their flying characters. Logistics would be exploding all over the place.
Include a flight stand with figures? Are you MAD?! Then people will be screaming they want to buy extra stands for other figures! THEN they’ll want them in different colors! What are you trying to do, make money by having product customers wish to buy?! YOU CRAZY RADICAL!! 🙂
*sigh*
It stuns me how hard Mattel seems to work to not make money. Simple, cost-effective things that could be done. Concepts that fit PERFECTLY with the niche product consumer, which should mean high ROI.
arrgggggggh.
Cool pics & review of Ice-Man my bad Flipshot,HaHa!