But wait… there’s more! We’ve got one last review for MOTU Week! It’s not terribly exciting, mostly an addendum, and it’s going to be quick because it’s on a MOTU Classics item that I don’t particularly like: the Snake Mountain Stands.
These should’ve been reviewed, what a year ago? Maybe more. Vault was all set to do them and then… they just feel by the wayside. He told me once that he didn’t want to review them, no sense torturing yourself over something no one cared about. Well, I don’t know that writing a toy review is torture, but I do agree that these stands aren’t really worth that much of my time.
I have to admit up front that I’m biased against stands – I don’t generally want them. I have too many figures and too little space to give everybody a four square inch bit of real estate on my shelves. There are exceptions, if a weak figure needs them, if they’re cool, if they could add to the display in their own way.
The first stands, the Battle Stands that were made to echo Castle Grayskull filled at least the last two. The stands, frankly, don’t really work for weak-ankled figures. There’s not many footpeg stands that do. Octavia, Prince Adam, Trap Jaw, etc. – those guys & gals need delicate balance, help from a buddy, or a dreadfully unattractive doll stand that snugly caresses their crotch. Eww.
But the Battle Stands looked cool beyond that and Vault gave them a few stars for doing so. They looked sharp, they didn’t connect but could be placed adjacent to one another easily enough, the rocky outcropping was neat enough.
I still had some reservations – I don’t really care for the removable peg feature first used on the Battle Stands and carried over to the Snake Mountain ones. I mean, I like the options I guess, but the multitude of holes really takes away from the main appeal, the aesthetics. I’d be happier with two or three pegs and to be done with it. Continue to Page 2…
Yeah, I could do without the multiple holes, the lava paint app, and the attachment. Purple Grayskull stands would have done the trick quite nicely. Easy pass for me as well.
I don’t know, I like hole options. 🙂
giggity!
so…they don’t work well with MOTU, but what about other lines?
and just checked the Matty page to see what was coming next.
two words to keep in mind: ’68 Olympics. 😉
Hi Noisy,
The scenes are really funny. The only thing good to come from these stands were your gag lines. 😉
-Tim
Great review and hilarious comics, if nothing else!
They’re lousy stands but they make pretty good trim. I line the stands up at the forefront of my display shelves and they look great. AND they help block shelf diving!
Octavia you drink too much. Nobody brave enough to carry her or is that skirt now in the way of that?
A nice review and funny pics. Man wish these woulda been cool. 🙁 oh well.
I have to rant. I do. Pardon me.
Is there ANY logic with how Mattel does this stuff? I really cannot fathom it. I can’t. Here we are, pretty much assuming it’s ‘end of teh lein’ time, and they throw design money and tooling budget and all the logistics on these stands? When popular thinking, ‘redoing the first stands in purple’ was perfectly fine?
And then on TOP of that they pretty much FAIL as stands?!
The hell?!
So, is it just a case of bureaucracy in action, embedded failure on parade? A ‘use it or lose it you can’t move it’ accounting system? Manatees in charge?
*sigh*
Another great article, Noisy. I do appreciate all the work you put into this stuff. 🙂
You were in fine form in this review. Only you can take a review for something as boring as these not-so-great stands and make it massively entertaining. 🙂