While customization has always been a part of toy collecting, the ‘Do it yourself’ population seems to get larger by the day. And some of those DIYers have started up small businesses to sell their wares. One such company, Spy Monkey Creations, is at the forefront and making some great 6-7″ scale weapons.
As is the case with accessory reviews, there’s often more to show than say. And while SMC’s original creations are scaled to fit with most 6-7″ figures, they work especially well with Masters of the Universe Classics. As such, I think it’s time to revisit ye Olde Weapons Shop…
I first ‘met’ Jeremy Sung, the President & Head Designer of Spy Monkey Creations, online about a year ago. He was getting started and had produced the Master Blade of the Empyrean; offering some casts to other collectors through his blog at AFI. I greedily purchased two – one in the red color shown on his blog and a second in black.
When I purchased the two swords from Spy, I was in need of a weapon for a simple custom of mine, Zadoc (that’s him on the right). I knew the swords had the right look and I figured they would be decent accessories that should blend in well enough. When they arrived, I was floored by their quality. There wasn’t just detail, but precision detail – sharp, straight edges and a symmetrical sculpt. They didn’t just blend in okay – they fit in perfectly, easily passing for the real deal.
When Spy teamed up with two other talented dudes to form Spy Monkey Creations, the Master Blade was the first item available – in the black and red shown above as well as in red with a translucent blue blade.
Even though I enjoyed my first two weapons, life has a tendency to get in the way and I quickly found myself behind on picking up SMC’s subsequent offerings. One such accessory was the Blade of the Demon King. Luckily, SMC has an open stock policy and their items are made-to-order, so I didn’t miss a chance at owning one. This blade is available in three versions: bloodlust (red blade/black), blue venom (blue blade/purple), and ghoul’s aura (GITD blade/green). I opted for the Ghoul’s Aura version because I love anything that glows in the dark. Again, I was surprised by how handsomely crafted it was, but what really got me was the GITD feature. When I first charged it up, it was giving off a green glow in a lit room. That was awesome.
Some fans may not like silly in their MOTUverse, but I’m all for it. I had to have this AFI/Spymonkey exclusive as soon as I saw it. The Toast-Orr Shield is the most textured of all the weapons so far, with a rough surface to bring the toast theme home. A large handle is affixed to the reverse side for the figures to grip – it feels pretty sturdy back there and, of course, looks great with Wun-Dar. I didn’t remember it for the picture, but I have a toy loaf of Wonder Bread (bag and all) for Wun-Dar to use as bludgeoning weapon and along with this shield, he’s a favorite on my shelves. Nothing more dangerous than a guy who loves his bread. I would’ve liked my shield to be a little more burnt, but the lighter brown works just as well. When I eat toast, I prefer it lightly toasted anyway. 😉
I’m cheating a bit here. This shield is surely available as a special order, but it’s not currently available on the site as is. For SDCC, SMC created unique colorways available only at the con and in limited, blind-bagged quantities online. I found the idea of picking up randomly colored weapon appealing and took the plunge. About a week later, I received this shield in the mail. Like the Toast-Orr shield, it’s got some nice details and the gem is a nice touch. It’s been in my accessories bin because I haven’t found a good home for it yet, but having it in-hand has convinced me to pick up the Shield of Deliverance/Destruction in a couple of the five different colorways offered on the SMC site.
This is another long-available piece that I picked up only recently. On the SMC website, you’ll find this weapon called the Witching Axe of Ruination and is available in orange or purple. This black version, the Dread Axe of Horrors, is exclusive to Poe Ghostal’s site. I received this piece from Poe just a few weeks back and the first thing that struck me was the size. I knew the swords I already owned were a little over 5″ and I’d seen the pictures of the axe around the net, but I wasn’t prepared for the size of the axe. It’s massive – I almost thought it would be too big when I pulled it out of the box, but as you can see in the pictures, it fits perfectly with the figures. It’s a fantastic addition to the lineup and I like it best in this color scheme.
For a detailed look at the Dark Arsenal of the Space Pirate, we have to go home with Trap Jaw… Continue to Page 2…
I’ve only gotten a few of these because of the price, but they are really well made! The Dark Arsenal looks sweet too. I need to get that one for sure.
I really enjoyed that set, so much so that I’m planning on picking up the silver set when the time comes and I need the crossbow and pistol in Strato’s blue too.
It’s a slippery slope with these weapons…
That wallpaper in Trap Jaw’s house is trippy. Nice review though.
Thanks! That “wallpaper” is a purple school folder with white electrical tape stripes. I was going for something gaudy, but classic.
If anyone wonders where your “Dear Such-and-Such” letters went, I removed them. Some of them where really hilarious, but if there were more than a half dozen this early in the morning, I don’t want to find out how many there would have been after a full day! 😀
There’s no real stay on-topic rule, but let’s talk about Spy’s weapons! Have you bought any?
Fair enough, but I still think that Jowls is great. He makes Trap Jaw look like the smart one!
That is Jowls purpose…
Why do you always have green people stealing stuff? Don’t you know it’s the Gars that you have to keep an eye on…
I’m not ready to blame Gar’s for everything okay. And I resent the implication that my reviews are biased against green people. They’re just envious… 😉
Fantastic photos! I’ve got to quit checking your site at work. I love that the Goddess is a nuisance for creating all the He-Men!! LOL
I have to admit that these types of comments are my favorite. I *want* to embarrass you guys at work.
Sorry, but it’s true! 😀
While Spy’s weapons are awesome, I haven’t bought any… This set is tempting me to do so… Just because a MOTUC Gunblade is possible with that pack…
BTW: GUNBLADES RULE!!
😀
Awesome review(s) as always. Great to see more support and praise for SMC. I have every MOTUC-related accessory to date (minus the Toastor shield and the Master Strategist set, both of which I intend on getting) and I LOVE them all. Extremely well crafted and thought-out items, very durable too. Plus, SMC has excellent customer service!
And the Goddess bit had me rolling, haha. Nice.
Yes, I should also attest to the excellent customer service!
Glad you liked the jokes!
Brian S. of SMC here,
Thanks for the kind words and awesome review Noisy. These pictures are a riot!
We’re really having fun with this and are happy we can share our stuff with so many great people.
Thanks for stopping in, Brian! Thank you for all the stuff! You guys have a great thing going and I’m glad that you guys are there to give my MOTU collection some flare!
Great pics and info as always. I’m way behind on picking up all this stuff. I might just have to make one huge order at some point.
Thanks, Sec! I had to get caught up too. A few smaller orders and then one bigger order this last week to be caught up.
I’m not done either! I still want the 200x Empyrean sword, some of the shields, the Master Strategist weapons, and I’m hoping I can get a cast of the crossbow and pistol in Stratos blue. I gotta save up! LOL
THIS.
THIS is the sort of thing we need more of. Dude is selling stuff, he’s making people happy, yes it’s all hand crafted ‘garage’industry but he’s putting product out that people want and he’s not playing the “RARE! BUY IT NOW OR NEVER EVER OWN IT!!!” card. This is a very smart gentleman.
The Toast Shield is awesome. Completely awesome. Of course the sword should look like a butter knife. A crazy, techno-barbarian butter knife. Mmmm, toast.
I’m curious, what are these weapons made of? I’m guessing two-part resin in RTV rubber molds, that’s the most logical but I might be completely surprised by the reality. 🙂
And what is the deal with Jowls? Is that Trap Jaw parts on Optikk’s body and repainted or what? I CAN’T TELL WHAT”S REAL ANYMORE!! AAAAHHH!! 🙂
Jowls is a mystery wrapped in an enigma…
The look on Goddess’s face is what really sets off that last pic! Not to mention Trappy’s homemaking skillz. I can see the “store” being a great setting for an ongoing comic… Alas, if only there were a way to work in the caption – “Hordak’s Horde Axe”.
I love the ‘store’ but it’s kicked my ass both times I’ve trotted it out! It’s a ton of work, but it does pay off in the end.
Horde Axe LOL.
Everything looks great! But I don’t collect MOTUC. I do, however, collect DCUC. Besides the ‘Emerald Warrior’ beams, does Spy Monkey have any more plans for that line? ‘Cause I’ll buy ’em!
I don’t see why they couldn’t do the same beams in yellow. Probably the other colors too – but without any warriors to weild them…
I’d like to know about that as well. Like Chris says there’s definitely some money in yellow so far (and presumably the other colors).
They cast the light constructs in yellow for me. I was supposed to pick them up at Comic-Con…and kinda sorta forgot.
They’ll fit Cyborg Superman and Sinestro Batman (when he comes out) but that’s about it.
I was so busy reading the review and the word balloons that I didn’t catch the half power swords in the discount bin! Bwahahahaha!!!!
I love my Space-Pirate set for Trap-Jaw, I finally have my crossbow laser blaster!!!! I love the Scimitar blade..so Cool. I finally picked up the Demon blades for Skeletor and Hordak and I was blown away by how amazing these are in person.I really wanna get more of the blades and the shields too. Thanks SMC for giving the fans that little something extra for our figures 🙂