For a simple Beastman repaint, Moss Man has been such the problem child. First, Mattel asked us: To flock, or not to flock? Then: How much to flock? And finally: Flocked ears, or no flocked ears? But even after all that flocking consternation, it was all for naught for many collectors: Mossy ended up selling out on Mattycollector.com in only 3 minutes! C'est la vie. But I was lucky enough to score a man of moss (the unflocked ears version), which is fortunate because the classic figure was one of my favorite MOTU figs back in the day. So does Moss Man grow on you?
If you look closely, you'll see an unflocked Moss Man on the back of the card.
STATS
Company: Mattel
Size: 7" tall
Price: $20 at MattyCollector.com
Packaging: Carded (within a mailer box)
APPEARANCE
Moss Man is a "re-moss" of the super-cool MOTUC Beastman sculpt, with an alternate head and King Grayskull's loin cloth. The moss actually looks great: there's a nice mix of brownish moss with greenish moss, giving the figure a nice coat that's not as AstroTurfy as I was expecting. The joints are un-mossed, but they're not particularly garish (maybe because of the subtle paint wash that blends well with the moss). Given the fact that moss covers his body, the paint apps are limited to just a few areas (facial details, finger/toenails, belt, etc.) but are nice and sharp anyway.
Mossy comes with two heads. The basic head is a "moss-bearded" version of the Beastman sculpt. The other head has simian facial features, giving the figure a really cool Bigfoot-esque personality. I'm a stickler for the classic look, but even I will display my Moss Man with the simian head.
ARTICULATION
Despite the moss, this figure has the same articulation as the other MOTUC figures: ball-socket neck, ball-hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinge elbows, swivel wrists, hinge chest, swivel waist, ball-hinge-swivel hips, hinge knees, and hinge ankles. He has such a great range of movement, it makes you wonder how he sat still long enough for the moss to grow in the first place.
ACCESSORIES
Moss Man comes with two heads (mentioned above), a wooden mace, and a vine strap with a holster (including a removable knife) and a bag (presumably filled with moss dust). Mossy isn't as hyper-equipped as Trap Jaw, but his forest-themed accessories are undeniably cool because they contribute to the Moss Man character theme. And anytime you get an extra head is a bonus, because when you get tired of the figure you can just swap heads and have a "brand new" figure.
VALUE
MOTUC figures are my vice. At the exorbitant price of $20 a pop, my compulsion to buy these figures is borderline pathological. The quality of the figure is great, but you should handle Moss Man with kid gloves, as I'm sure that the moss won't stand up to any sort of substantial playtime. Even while taking pictures for this review, I noticed a few blades of his grass fall onto the "stage".
One, two, three, four... I declare a thumb war!
COOLNESS
The moss gives this cool Sasquatchian creature a fuzzy cuteness that will certainly make him one of the most distinctive figures on your shelf. And yes, like the classic figure, MOTUC Moss Man does have a piney scent. I'm not sure if I would say it really smells like pine; it's more like that fake pine scent from car air fresheners. And that smell will kick you in the face when you first open the package. Still, I love Mossy's "battle scent action".
OVERALL
Moss Man is a MOTU fan's dream, reliving the awesomeness of the vintage figure by covering the superb MOTUC Beastman sculpt with a layer of pine-smelling foliage. With forest-themed accessories and a super-sweet simian alternate head, Moss Man feels updated yet keeps much of the character of the vintage figure. The $20 price tag isn't fun, but everything else is. And the piney scent gives me hope that a MOTUC Stinkor will one day show his pungent hide.
8 comments:
I'm still not at all clear on this flocked ear thing. First why should it matter, and second, what exactly is the difference?
But I have been eyeing the outcome of this figure, curious as to how they would pull it off. You think it would be easy for Mattel to moss a figure, given they did it once before, but you just never know! It's like the original Yoda Puppet vs. the Episode I puppet, there is a huge gap for error. But I see they did quite well with Mossy!
I always made Moss Man and Beast Man brothers during play time, and even had two sets of Beast Man armor so both could rock the same style. They were of course baddies.
I'd ask you to hook your Moss Man up with Beast Man's armor to see how he would look, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to risk de-mossing any parts on him. Which makes me remember how durable the vintage versions Moss was. I had worn a number of bare spots over my Moss Man, but it took a lot of play time to do this. I can't help but think the moss on this one would be inferior.
I really dig that Simian head too, and If I had one, I'd most certainly opt for that one, to avoid Mossy blending in with Beast Man, or any Klingons that may be hanging around...
This is the first time I've seen close-up photos of any version of Moss Man & Beast Man, so I think it's funny that their heads look like Klingons from Playmates star trek:tng line.
The flocked/unflocked fiasco is because of a running change to the figure. Mattel started production of Moss Man with flocked ears. After the fans complained about the ears and requested them to be unflocked, Mattel made a running change to the figure early in production that removed the flocking from the ears.
ToyNewsI.com has some good pics of the flocked ears Moss Man:
MOTUC Moss Man Flocked & Unflocked Ears To Be Sold
Yeah, I'm a bit nervous about the flocking rubbing off, especially when I exert a bit of force while taking off his head. So, sorry, but I don't think I'll risk putting on the Beastman armor.
It's weird that you guys mentioned that Beastman's forehead looks like that of a Klingon. I never noticed that before! :o
Ah!! Now I see it. I think I'd prefer the one with mossy ears. Why would fans bother complaining about such a small detail. Crud all they should have done was left the simian head flocked and unflocked the classic head.
"Why would fans bother complaining about such a small detail. "
That is the way of the fan.
Do not question it.
3 minutes? That's just flocked up! (sorry, couldn't resist ;) ) The new MOTU Classics are a lot nicer than I expected, but I still think the 200x series (and Staction series) leaves them in the dust, sculpt-wise.
Do the Sand People know he's been stealing their gaderffii sticks? : )
Johnny: At first, I was totally enamored with the style of these figures, but I'm starting to agree with you. Scareglow was the deal breaker... I really wish we got him in the 200x style. Although I really like these figures, I find they're limited by the MOTUC format, and I'm starting to burn out a bit. Although I admit I can't wait for Optikk!
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