“Instead of playing our usual game I’d like to talk to you about a very big problem, drugs! You may have friends, maybe older children or even adults, who are trying to, or may try to turn you onto drugs. Drugs are not a turn-on, drugs are a turn-off. It could seriously harm you. I beg you, don’t try them. Say ‘no’ to drugs. Say ‘yes’ to a life free from drugs. “ -Loo-Kee. POP Episode: “Into the Dark Dimension”
I’m going to make this a short review. Just a small one-page, compact article to shed a tiny bit of light on this diminutive offering… I tease. We needed to get these two. Kowl looks much better in his cartoon colors (Did I ever review the weapons pack he was in? I know I’m short one of those reviews…) and Loo-Kee is all but required for a complete POP collection – he’s in, like, every episode. So we needed to get him, but Mattel sure made it easy to make fun of.
First up, the figure themselves are pretty much all they need to be. Short little dudes with solid sculpts and three points of articulation they could fit in (swivel neck and shoulders) and a fourth joint for Loo-Kee’s tail. They look fantastic. The articulation isn’t terribly useful, but some movement is a ton better than none! Oh, and there’s an extra stand thrown in for good measure. That lets the little guys be shoulder level with the other figures. Truly, I like everything about these two as they are
So what did Mattel do? Well, first they gave us Kowl already in, I think it was, toy colors as part of that aforementioned weapons pack. So we had to buy him again if we wanted to be complete or if we really wanted him to match his cartoon look. Doing him as a pack-in was brilliant. This is less so, it’s a single release achieved by putting two pack-in figures together. I am a fool that is soon parted with his money, and I did buy these, but I still know that there is no correlation between cost and value here. I’m not seeing it wasn’t worth it – we needed these guys, but I think this set took a little bit of lying to yourself to purchase.
But, wait! There’s more! Mattel then added this two-pack to their chase program. Now, I’m happy-go-lucky toy collector. That part of me saw the one big fun part of the whole thing. Loo-Kee’s whole deal is that he hides in every episode and you gotta find him! That’s perfect for the chase program! Except the chase program is terrible. I’m pretty sure that anyone who has wanted the three “Chase” figures have gotten them, myself included, but having to log on randomly and pay separate shipping – for fun? I don’t know about that. At least they all ended up in Early Access – the only pain then is waiting. It’s a good thing toy collectors are a patient lot.
Overall, I know… I’m kinda feeling snarky tonight. I know it’s not my usual style. These little guys are cool and I’ve already taken to hiding Loo-Kee all over the place (though I always find him… damnedest thing). And this Kowl has replaced the previous Kowl too. He just looks better this way. I guess that makes the first one some other owl-koala thing.
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They were a total ripoff. There, I said it. 😉
GOLD 1701D!!! I miss mine. 🙁
I didn’t know they existed until it was reviewed on this site a couple years back. I loved it because my roommates were being dicks and didn’t want the display of starships in the living room. They said I could only display starships in the public areas if they were gold, like the briefing room ones on TNG. I was so happy when I found out this was a thing. One of the best spite-purchases I’ve ever made.
Fun review, as per.
I liked these guys, and I’m happy to have them in my collection. I managed to bag a bunch in one go, not only for myself (1 set), but also a fellow collector in England (2 sets), and my beloved in Georgia (1 set), as well. So shipping wasn’t quite so egregious spread across four purchases.
That said, yeah, I think they should’ve been about $10 at most. I know raw materials have gone up, but come on. Twenty bucks was just adding salt, lemon juice, and vinegar to the wound. But, Mattel knows what an addict I’ve become.
An addict with wounds that now taste like scampi.
Nah going over your past reviews you did do the pack that Kowl in. Going off your own words you are missing the Great Unrest Weapons Pak.
This is the second recent Princess of Power release that I have been feeling really ripped off about. These guys could have anchored a POP weapons pack with things like shields for those that never got them and a net for Netossa. Or they could have included a couple of twigglets at this scale at the very least they could have included an extra flight stand for toy colours Kowl.