I think the Horde Trooper was my most anticipated army builder in the Classics line. The Palace Guards and Snake Men are cool, but there’s just something about the Horde bots that really calls out to me. That big bulky techno look is definitely a factor. But even though they can look intimidating, there’s this fantastic bumbling quality to them that makes for great hilarity and cannon fodder.
The Four Horsemen did an amazing job sculpting the Trooper. The main source of inspiration was the vintage toy, which I’m actually ok with. Usually I like a little updating and mixing of the various brands, but the vintage figure had a very detailed sculpt that stands out from his Filmation counterpart. The 4H did a fantastic job of adapting this to the Classics figure.
One of the reasons why this figure is so detailed is because he’s an entirely new sculpt! I’m always amazed by figures like Lord Dactys, who deceptively looks unique with just a few new parts. But it’s really figures like Ram Man or the Trooper here that give the 4H a wide berth to show off their talents.
One of the more interesting things about this figure’s sculpt is its size. While the Trooper isn’t much taller than the average male MOTU, the bulk of his armor gives him an impressive stocky build. This is mostly accomplished with his domed head, large chest armor, and oversized cod piece. When removed, you can see his torso is the size of a normal figure’s. This is great because his chest and abs are also completely new with a techno armored sculpt. I can’t wait to see this torso show up in the future, but I’m a bit sad we didn’t get it sooner. It would have made a perfect body for 200X/Snake-Man-At-Arms.
Even though his chest is normal sized, the Troopers arms and legs are larger than average. The various armored pieces and black tubes take up enough mass to look like they’re actually covering a body without giving off a fat or bloated impression. Even his Frankenstein-sized boots look like they could easily accommodate He-Man’s foot. Continue to page 2…
Great review and hilarious pics as always, Vault. These guys are bound to be hot sellers for the line since they already have an army builder coolness factor precedent which dates back to the vintage line. I can see Mattel releasing these guys again in the different ways you suggest before MOTUC closes up shop.
First。
Technically speaking, You’re Second…
Now unto the Troopers themselves. Riot shield with a small window for their weapons to fire Through the shield or something…
Also, NA’s Flogg was revealed to reuse the Trooper arms…
i have to say, while i like the troopers overall, i don’t know if i like the “improvements” in the articulation. the elbrows and kneebrows do very little for me, and the knees in particular give less flexion than the standard knee, while providing a fairly useless for adduction/abduction because of the limited rocker ankle. if they want the kneebrow to pay off, first, they have to design the cuff of the upper calf better to allow the hinge better range, than they need to study the infinitely superior ankles of figmas/revoltechs/hasbro marvel legends so that the ankle can support weight in an ab or ad-ducted pose.
i also think the ink blot “battle damaged” armor is a joke. my kids took one look at that and asked if that was done with marker and tried to rub them off w/ a licked thumb. that is not well executed oxidation from a laser blast.
that said, the base fig is nice, i like the variety of new pieces and look forward to seeing some of them used again. i also think the number of pack-ins is nearly heroic for this line… where was that kind of love for the snake men pack? i had initially lamented only being able to score one set of figs, but after owning them… one set will do me just fine. i like what i got, but i don’t love it enough to wish i’d gotten more.
I bet we see those torsos again with Dragstor!
Looking at that MAA head on the torso without the chest armor shows it wouldn’t work unless there was some kind of plug used in between the shoulders and the chest.
Had a lot of contempt for the battle damage. The point of army building is so you can form a pattern of troops. And before anyone says it can be removed with a little alcohol, I remind you that the helmet is painted, so it’s much, much harder to remove that blast without taking gray paint with it (and revealing the black plastic underneath). I’d rather they’d have spent the paint app on giving on trooper brown hands a la Filmation, along with a toon-accurate head.
Otherwise, good figures. I’m glad they came with the same weapons.
Great review, pics, and hilarious comics.
SO looking forward to these guys arriving. Also hoping they decide to do a re-release that allows everyone to get some more (or any, come to think of it).
The fight goes on!
Great review great pics. Yeah I was sold on these before they were made. Just missed out on DoS.
Hydro troops … YES
Excellent work done by the FH on upgrading these Horde Troopers. I’m glad I brought multiple packs of these guys.
huh. I guess my original comment didn’t post?
Another character these could be used for is “baby stealing Hordak”, which is a custom I believe Joe Amato recently tried to sell on ebay before someone reported him (again) because they have nothing better to do. He had it in the works for a while, so unless he got an advanced set, his armor sculpt was all original. plus, baby Adora was an original sculpt, too.
(of course, now I want to see someone do a “What If…Hordak stole Adam?” set and see how the MOTU line would have turned out?)
What have people been reporting Joe Amato for?
aah… the e-bay police. people who have no lives, slightly above a chatroom/forum troll. out there to right all of the wrongs and injustice in this world. not saying there aren’t some pretty shady folks out there trying to misrepresnent the items they are selling on eBay, but when you get into the nitty gritty of something like the definition of the word “mint” it’s kind of pathetic and generally a waste of time.
The battle damage annoyed the Hell out of me and I bought two sets to have two normal troopers. I wound up putting Mo-Lar’s head on one of the spare battle damaged ones and he makes a fantastic field commander. On a more sinister body his expression becomes downright sociopathic.