So they moved my trainee to another person because he is, quite frankly, a problem. I had a talk with the guy handling him now and he's having the same issues I did. I might end up with him again, but I hope not.
Anyway, to celebrate not being saddled with that jackass I sat down and wrote a couple of toy reviews. This is the first. The next one will go up on Monday.
I totally forgot about this guy.
I opened him, took pictures, stuck him
on the shelf. And then never gave him a second thought. I wasn’t
all that excited about the figure in the first place. He didn’t
look bad or anything; I just didn’t particularly care about him.
But at least he wasn’t some tertiary female I’d never even heard
of.
I watched the episode he appears in (is
there more than one?) on Netflix after Fang Man was announced. It was
fine and he was just some moron thug. Just like all of Skeletor’s
minions. The characterization was just like the figure – nothing
special, but nothing bad, either. I just can’t quite figure out why
this guy got picked. I guess maybe it’s his big, stupid head.
Because let’s face it – Fang Man has a big, stupid head.
First Glance: Fang Man
does look quite unique and interesting in person. Similar to Beast
Man, you can hunch the standard MOTUC buck over ad get a surprisingly
different body profile. Add the new neck on top of that and this guy
is pretty different.
Articulation: Fangy has
the standard male MOTUC articulation. Plus a tongue.
Head – ball joint
Tongue - pivot
Shoulders – ball joint
Biceps – swivel
Elbows –pivot
Wrists – swivel
Waist - swivel
Hips – ball joint
Thighs – swivel
Knees – pivot
Boot tops - swivel
Ankles – pivot
The combination of the new neck and the
head work to give Fangy an interesting range of motion. It isn’t
quite snake-like, but there is a good degree of posability in all
directions.
His shirt – which is another one of
those damn belly shirts, but I’ll get to that – is a little thick
on the sides, which gives him the usual weird neutral pose where he
can’t hang his arms properly.
Fang Man’s tongue can pivot almost a
full 180° across his open mouth.
The rest of the joints are tight and
functional.
Sculpt: As far as the
base sculpt goes, Fang Man’s only new parts are above the
shoulders. He has a new neck piece and a new head that combine to
give this figure a different profile from the majority of the Masters
of the Universe Classics line; similar to what was done with
Draego-Man.
The neck curves forward and the head is
attached to the front. I like how the studded collar is the base of
the neck and covers the opening of Fangy’s shirt. The fins that
start toward the front of the head and go to the back of the neck add
a lot to the look of the character. If not for those he might
be totally schlubby. But they lend a bit of toughness to this
otherwise goofy-looking guy. The Horsemen did manage to put a bit of
menace into Fangy’s face. He looks dangerous in a slobbering,
oafish sort of way. The actual sculpt is quite good and has captured
the look of the Filmation character and the tongue mechanism works
quite well.
Side Note: I’m
a little torn on some of these Filmation likenesses. Yeah, Granamyr
(who I passed on and don’t regret it) looks a bit cartoony. And
Fang Man is definitely a good bit on the silly side. But Fisto has a
gigantic fist and Stinkor is a giant man-skunk named “Stinkor”.
So silly is kind of a stupid argument.
The rest of Fang Man’s base parts are
things we’ve seen before and they all work for the character. He
has a human body with the standard studded bracers on his wrists. His
hands are clawed and large and seem new to me. If they have been used
before, they’re from a character I don’t own.
For some reason they gave Fang Man a scaly torso. It's a part we wouldn't even see if the figure worked correctly, so I really don't understand.
The legs are also regular human parts.
I like the combination of Skeletor’s calves with plain, booted
feet. It’s different and looks good.
Coloring: I like the
blue hues used on Fang Man’s skin and fins, but the yellow eyes are
what really stick out. Even from across the room those piercing,
bulbous orbs are Fangy’s most prominent features. His teeth are
nicely done and the whitish color helps them stand out and give this
guy a more menacing look. Of course, that’s all totally countered
by his big, red Bill the Cat tongue.
Fang Man’s skin has a bit of a dark
wash in places to give some depth. His collar and bracers are
accentuated with metallic orange. Those parts make a very nice
contrast to the light blue skin.
His boots have metallic red on the tops
and a slightly different hue of flat red for the feet. I dunno. I get
that the look is supposed to be greaves over boots, but it looks odd.
I appreciate the effort, but I'm thinking maybe they should have just
made them all metallic.
Flair: Fang Man has a
new tunic and belted trunks that create the appearance of being a
single piece. Well, except for the separation that allows his blue
midriff to show through. But the only alternative to that would have
been an entirely new abdomen and that’s not what this line is all
about.
The sculpt on the clothing pieces is
excellent. The shape of the upper piece pretty much completes the
hunched-over look created by the neck and the right posing of the
body. The design on the front is nicely reptilian and the colors look
very good with the rest of the figure.
His outfit thing -which, let's face it
is a onesie - is actually amazingly detailed. All of the sculpted detail is
great, from the design itself to the folds and wrinkles. The yellow portion down
the front has gold trim and the designs on the shoulders are metallic
red.
The belt is new and different, with a
buckle and a couple of little stud pieces. There is simply nothing to be done about the gap between the top and bottom. No matter how you pose this guy some skin shows through. It's very frustrating because this is really the figure's only flaw.
Accessories: Fang Man
comes with a force field rod, a sword, and the Wheel of Time
(unrelated to the writings of Robert Jordan).
The force field rod is just weird. I
mean, it’s great that we got it and all. And it looks like it
should. But it’s a very odd-looking thing. The sword is awesome and has a sort of reptile face on the hilt. I like the size and shape of it quite a bit, and there is painted detail. A goon shouldn’t have a special sword.
And the Wheel of Time is fine.
I’ve got to say, three accessories
seems like an overabundance for a guy I couldn’t picture in my head
the first time I heard him announced as a figure. But I’ll take
‘em.
Packaging: It’s the
regular MOTUC blister card. Still neat and still effective. Here’s the bio:
That last bit makes Fang Man seem almost as redundant as Mekaneck. I mean, Beast Man can control any species. Including fire-breathers.
Value: Because of the
accessories and the scope of the newly-sculpted pieces Fang Man feels
like a slightly better value than some MOTUC figures. Still nowhere
near being worth what he cost; but a bit more reasonable.
Overall: I think the
Horsemen did a great job on Fang Man. If their intent was to show how
great a figure based on a Filmation character could be in preparation
for the Filmation sub; well they nailed it. I can’t help but think
that the quality of Fang Man (combined with the fact that he “sold
out” before Early Access – an occurrence I am very suspicious of)
must have been responsible for a good number of the Filmation subs
sold.
Having said all of that, I’m not sure
that I actually like Fang Man enough to keep him. He is pretty darn
goofy and is hardly essential. I am currently gathering up figures
from various lines for an eBay purge and Fang Man may well be among
them. But make no mistake – this is an excellent figure. Fang Man would get a perfect score if it weren't for his clothing issue.
4 out of 5
I think you’re going to have a tough
time getting this guy for a reasonable price.
-Phantom
