Tag Archives: Mekaneck

#3782: Mekaneck

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MEKANECK

TURTLES OF GRAYSKULL (MATTEL)

“Nobody knows how truly dangerous the Snake Men are more than Mekaneck, the snake-hunting specialist able to spy on King Hiss from a distance.”

Hey, it’s time for more Masters of the Universe!  Not nearly as much of a break this time as the last, which isn’t so bad.  I’m actually jumping back into Turtles of Grayskull, the crossover with TMNT, but in contrast to all of my prior ToG reviews, this one’s actually of a proper Masters character.  Why’s that? Because there’s a Mekaneck, so I kind of have to, right?  It’s, like, a legal requirement, or something.  Don’t question it, just do it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck is part of Series 5 of Turtles of Grayskull.  This is the first assortment of the new year, and the first to shift into this year’s theme, which is Snake Men related.  He’s one of the two Masters characters in the set, and also one of the two “new” characters.  What’s the rationale on Mekaneck’s inclusion?  I don’t know for sure.  They’ve tied him more directly in with the Snake Men, which is fine, I suppose.  I’m not gonna question that which gives me a new Mekaneck.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  While the Masters characters don’t get quite the same sort of re-working for this line as the Turtles, they still have been getting some adjustments.  In Mekaneck’s case, he’s a lot more armored up, and actually covered head to toe.  It’s different for the sake of different, I suppose, but it better fits the slightly skewed aesthetic of ToG.  It’s got a different vibe from classic Mekaneck, but I definitely dig it, and it still feels like the character.  It’s also a sharper design, with a bit more going on, which gives his sculpt more to do.  In terms of coloring, he keeps the same general scheme, but the layout and balance is a little more tweaked.  I feel like he could use a touch more red, but otherwise, it’s not bad.  Mekaneck is packed with usual club (but now in a slightly more metallic shade of yellow), and two neck extension pieces, which are the same molds as the Origins release.  He also gets a new shield piece, which you can even put on his back.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, I really didn’t expect this one at all.  Like, I love the guy and all, but Mekaneck’s usually a bit of a wait even in a Masters-exclusive line, so in a cross-over line with twice as many major characters to balance, I just didn’t expect him to warrant a spot.  But, he did, and the concept got shown off first, which made me happy.  Then they showed off the prototype, and that made me happier.  And then he actually got released and that made me the happiest.  He’s a heck of a lot of fun, and I’m always happy to have another Mekanech.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3569: Mekaneck

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MEKANECK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

Fun FiQ Fact #0048:  I’ve reviewed all of the Mekanecks in my collection, which means at this point, all I have to do is review each new one as I add it!

I’ve touched on it here on the site before, but Mekaneck has been my favorite focus in Masters of the Universe since my earliest days with the franchise.  As such, he’s my top want in any given incarnation of the franchise, and I always get excited to see him crop back up.  Classics was perhaps the longest wait for the character to join a given style, but Masterverse took a little while itself.  But he’s finally here, and I’m checking him out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck was released in Series 11 of Masters of the Universe Masterverse.  He’s under the “New Eternia” banner, alongside Tri-Klops.  As with the others in that sub-brand, he’s taking the classic look and putting a few upgrades into place.  In his most basic mode, the figure stands 7 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  The extended neck grants him extra height and movement, of course.  Mekaneck is actually largely new, at least to me, sculpturally.  The old “barbarian” body has been worked out with the Revolution re-launch, and this is an upgraded version.  It’s got harder angles, it’s generally smoother, and the articulation works a touch better.  He’s got an assortment of character-specific parts, which include the head, chest armor, and his left arm bracer.  The head does a nice job of capturing the vintage look, while also giving it just the slightest bit of an updated flair.  The new shaping sits a bit better with the general aesthetic of the line, and it sits much nicer on the head than the Classics version.  The new chest piece is surprising, given that they had already sculpted one for Stinkor, and the two usually share.  I do like the shaping on this one more than the Stinkor version, even if they’re ultimately very similar.  The new bracer piece gives Mekaneck an asymmetrical set-up, mirroring his vintage figure.  It’s got a peg-hole in it, for the purposes of mounting a shield, if you so choose.  Mekaneck’s color work is pretty nicely handled; it leans into metallic shades, which I really dig.  He also gets mirrored lenses for the goggles, fixing one of my biggest issues with the Classics release.  Mekaneck is packed with five segments to his extended neck, his club, two sets of hands, and a shield.  The neck segments can be swapped in and out, allowing both additional posability, and much more modulation to the length of the neck.  Further, the top of the club is now removable, and it’s on the same joint system as the neck, so you can give him an extended club as well.  Or, mount his club in place of his head, I guess.  Dealer’s choice, really.  The hands come in gripping and fists; the back of the box shows a relaxed left hand, but it’s not present in the box.  The shield is a fun piece; the front shows a graphic inspired by the Road Ripper, which Mattel seems to have decided to link to Mekaneck now, if this and the Origins figure are anything to go by.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I can’t help but love a good Mekaneck figure.  The Classics Mekaneck was just okay, never really strong.  But, between Origins and this guy, I feel like I’ve gotten some very good Mekanecks.  Honestly, this figure is everything I wanted the Classics figure to be.  He’s just so immensely fun.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3532: Mekaneck

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MEKANECK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS (MATTEL)

Fun FiQ Fact #0011: Despite not being one of the franchise’s central characters, Mekaneck has been included in most incarnations of the Masters of the Universe toyline.

For reasons I’ve never been able to fully explain, Mekaneck has been my favorite part of Masters of the Universe since my very first interactions with the franchise. I got into things with the 200x re-launch, and even before that line’s Mekaneck got to retail, I had already tracked down a vintage figure, because I just really wanted the character that badly. For Masters of the Universe Classics, it was the potential inclusion of Mekaneck that finally got me interested in the line, after hemming and hawing on it for a couple of years. I just really like that long-necked guy, I’m pretty much every form. Even when that form requires braving Matty Collector on a day of sale…but it’s okay, because that’s way in the past now, and all I’ve got is the figure, which is far more pleasant a thing. Let’s check him out now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck was released as part of the 2012 line-up for Masters of the Universe Classics, which ran during the line’s fourth year. He was the monthly figure for September of that year. Much like with the later Origins release, Mekaneck was the last 1984 character to join Classics. The figure stands 7 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation. His sculpt was a lot of re-use. He has the line’s standard barbarian body, with the modified left arm for the symmetrical bracers set-up. Technically, that breaks from his vintage design, but animation tended to go for matching, and Mattel seems to want to reserve the larger bracer for He-Man proper most of the time. Since the Classics version of Stinkor was released before Mekaneck, this figure re-used the chest armor piece, albeit with the peg at the top of the plate glued in place this time, since Mekaneck had no alternate piece to swap out. The one new piece for this release was the head. It was a two piece assembly, with the helmet being separate. The helmet seems to sit a bit high, meaning the goggles don’t line up with where his eyes should be. It was brought up at the time that Mekaneck more than likely had some sort of cybernetic enhancements that make the lenses on the helmet something more than goggles, so they wouldn’t strictly *have* to line up with his actual eyes. It’s a reasonable explanation, but it doesn’t change the fact that literally every other Mekaneck figures has the goggles sitting where they should, and that Classics had a history of figures where molded parts weren’t fitted together properly during production. It was hardly the end of the world, but it was annoying. Mekaneck came from an era of the line where figures were almost entirely painted, allowing the main parts to be batch molded in black plastic. It caused issues for certain figures, but luckily Mekaneck wound up with a pretty good set-up. The only real issue is the lenses of the goggles, which are the same flat silver as the other accents on the helmet. The vintage figure hand mirrored lenses, and the 200x version had green ones. Either would have been nice, but the flat color makes it hard to distinguish any difference in the sculpted elements. Mekaneck was packed with his club, as well as two neck extensions of differing lengths. Technically, the necks can stack for one extra long neck, but the presence of a blue collar at both bases means that it looks a touch odd.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Obviously, there was no way I was gonna miss this guy, so I had to deal with that fateful day-of sale on Matty Collector, which I honestly recall not being super stressful.  Yay, fun bonus!  After quite a wait for him, I recall being a little bit underwhelmed when he finally made it out.  I bounced back pretty quickly, since I was really just happy to have him, and having him as part of a larger collection of Mekanecks has taken some of the pressure off of him.  He’s not as strong as the later Origins release, and I don’t have the same nostalgia for him as the vintage or 200x releases, but he’s at least a reminder of my time with Classics, for better or for worse.

#3378: Mekaneck

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MEKANECK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (MATTEL)

Introduced to the Heroic Warriors in 1984, during Masters of the Universe‘s third year, Mekaneck was dubbed the “Heroic Human Periscope!”  He was originally titled “Spy Man”, a name that would survive long enough to be listed for the character in Filmation’s series bible for their animated adaption.  This was, presumably, ruled out for being too basic, though in a line where the lead character is “He-Man,” you can only get too clever before you don’t actually fit in anymore.  Mekaneck splits the difference a bit, I suppose.  Though hardly one of the franchise’s heavy hitters, Mekaneck is nevertheless a fairly memorable member of the Heroic Warriors, and a solid second tier character that no line really feels complete without.  Today, I’m jumping back to the very beginning for the character.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck was included in the third main assortment of Heroic Warriors for Mattel’s Masters of the Universe.  The 1984 line-up introduced some pretty prominent figures to the line, including the Battle Armor versions of the two main characters He-Man and Skeletor, as well as the first figures for both Orko and Fisto.  But Mekaneck is today’s focus, and I’m certainly not gonna let the others take away from that.  Mekaneck stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Due to the nature of his action feature, Mekaneck lacked an actual neck joint.  Additionally, his waist only turns one direction, and only about halfway at that.  Mekaneck made use of the standard barbarian arms, pelvis, and legs, as well as a new head/neck, a tweaked torso, and an all-new chest armor piece (which would see re-use the next year for Stinkor).  His sculpting is pretty standard for the line.  He’s got the usual rather goofy proportions, as expected, and minimal levels of detailing over most of the sculpt.  His head is the most distinctive piece, sporting a rather unique helmet and goggles.  The detailing is a touch soft, but not terrible.  I do quite like the mechanical details on the neck.  The color work on this guy is generally basic, and not super sharp or anything, but it gets the job done.  Obviously, this particular figure has seen better days, but he’s not incredibly bad given how old he is.  He’s still got faint traces of the chrome goggles, which are still fun.  Mekaneck was packed with a club-like sort of weapon, which would become a staple for the character.  It was somewhat prone to warping, given how soft the material was, but it’s a decent side-arm for him.  He also featured an action; twisting his toros to his left extends the neck.  It’s only about an inch and a half, since it’s got to fit in the torso, and he has to have his legs off to the side to use it, but it’s still fun.  Basic, but fun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When the pilot movie for the 200x tie-in cartoon ran in 2002, I watched it with quite a bit of excitement.  Mekaneck, as minor as he may have been, really stuck out to me.  I knew there was one coming in the 200x line, but he wasn’t out when the cartoon hit.  I made due with just having the basic He-Man to start, but I wanted more.  As luck would have it, we had a power-outage at my parents home that weekend, and, so as to not keep me stuck in a house with no power for a long stretch of time, my dad took me out for the day, which included stopping by a comic book store that had a decent selection of vintage toys, which just so happened to have this guy, meaning I was able to add a Mekaneck to my collection months earlier than the 200x figure’s release.  This one got a lot of use before the update came along, at which point, I believe I retconned this one into being a relative of some sort.  But this one was still the first, and that’s honestly pretty cool.

#3318: Mekaneck & Ground Ripper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

MEKANECK & GROUND RIPPER

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ORIGINS (MATTEL)

The best and easiest way for me to manage not going stupidly overboard on any given toy brand is really dig myself in on just a couple of characters I really like.  That way, instead of feeling like I need to go all-in on any iteration of a brand, I can just focus on when they got to those couple of characters.  Perhaps the most successful go at this I’ve got in my arsenal is Masters of the Universe.  When it comes to any given Masters line, I really only need to concern myself with three characters: Orko, Roboto, and Mekaneck.  Mattel’s been pretty darn lax on Mekaneck recently, and we had three different running Masters lines without any coverage for him, but that’s finally changing up at least a little bit.  I already got Orko and Roboto from Mattel’s Origins line, but now I’ve got a Mekaneck.  Oh yeah.  Time for another Mekaneck!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

Mekaneck and the Ground Ripper are a deluxe offering from Mattel’s Masters of the Universe: Origins line, bundling a standard figure with a smaller scale vehicle, following in the footsteps of the Prince Adam and Skysled pack from the line’s first year.  This set initially went up for order exclusively through one of Walmart’s collector events, but it very quickly showed up through other vendors, so it looks like it was just some sort of exclusive pre-order window deal.  Whatever the case, this is a standard release item, and that’s certainly a plus.

Mekaneck’s original figure was a 1984 release, and he’s the last figure from that year to make it to Origins, which also somewhat duplicates his late-game addition to Classics as well.  He’s, unsurprisingly, an update on his vintage counterpart.  The figure is about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation.  As was the case with his vintage counterpart, Mekaneck’s body is based on the standard barbarian base body, which I looked at when it was used for Clamp Champ.  It’s a nice recreation of the vintage base body proportions and design sensibilities, but with better articulation worked in.  I can definitely dig it.  Mekaneck gets a new head sculpt, patterned on his original sculpt, though definitely a bit more refined.  The helmet and what we can see of the face are two separate parts, which keeps the division between them nice and sharp. Since it’s actually just the head, Mekaneck also gets neck articulation, something that his vintage counterpart lacked.  The figure also makes use of the chest piece previously used for Stinkor, which makes sense, since the shared the part in the vintage and Classics lines.  Of course, in the vintage line, Stinkor was re-using the piece from Mekaneck, rather than the reverse that’s occurred in every line since.  For some reason, everybody’s way more into the smelly skunk guy than the guy with the extra long neck.  I don’t get it either.  Mekaneck’s color work is quite nice; it’s very bright and very colorful, and it really makes him pop.  He’s quite eye catching.  It’s largely molded colors, but they work.  In particular, I really like the mirrored lenses on the goggles; they’re so very shiny.  Since this Mekaneck is without his vintage counterpart’s built-in neck-extending feature, this version takes a page out of the Classics book, and gives him an extended neck to swap in.  It maintains the posability of the ball-jointed neck, which makes this the Mekaneck with the most posable mecha-neck of all his figures.  I wouldn’t have minded getting multiple lengths of neck like the Classics version, I suppose, but this one does at least duplicate the length of the vintage version.  Mekaneck is also packed with his usual yellow club-thing, which is as yellow and club-thing-y as ever.

The Ground Ripper, or Road Ripper as it was originally named, was also a 1984 debut.  It’s original release was a single, though it was also available in a gift set during the vintage run, albeit with a Battle Armor He-Man, rather than Mekaneck.  The vehicle is about 9 1/2 inches long, and features rolling wheels in the front and back, as well as a working seatbelt.  Yay for proper vehicular safety!   The Ground/Road Ripper does *not* have its vintage version’s rip cord for its “ripping” feature, instead just being a rather basic vehicle.  It’s okay, but not super thrilling, really.  The sculpt more or less just follows the vintage version.  The details are certainly a little crisper here, so there’s that.  It also gets an alternate “head” for the front; the standard is rather bird-like, while the replacement is more like a dragon.  They’re both pretty decent, and I like the extra customizability.  There’s not paint to speak of on the vehicle, but there’s an assortment of stickers, which do alright on the whole detailing front, as well as getting that vintage feel down pretty nicely.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Have I mentioned previously how much I like Mekaneck?  I’m just not sure if I’ve adequately conveyed that point.  As with any Masters line, the first thing I wanted out of Origins was a Mekaneck.  Unfortunately, I had a bit of a wait there, now didn’t I?  Well, that’s okay, because it just meant that I got to appreciate other figures before Mekaneck inevitably came along a blew them away.  Because, quite frankly, that’s what he did.  Sure, the other Origins I’ve gotten are cool and all, but Mekaneck is just absolutely fantastic.  Even worth the extra price for the stupid tricycle he comes with, which will be promptly handed over to Matty.  But Mekaneck?  Superb.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this set for review.  If you’d like to see a video of this guy in action, I actually helped out with one for their YouTube channel, so check that out.  And, as always, if you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3206: Mekaneck

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MEKANECK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (MATTEL)

Well, would you look at that, I’ve officially been running this old site of mine for nine whole years.  What a time it’s been.  As I always like to do on these anniversaries, I’m opting to make today’s review just a little bit more special.  I’m focusing on a line that’s as of yet not gotten to be in the spotlight here, Masters of the Universe.  While my ties to MotU don’t go hardcore or anything, I did have something of an attachment to the franchise’s 2002 re-launch, which was what introduced the whole thing to me, back when I was just 10 years old.  Since early into my exposure to the franchise, I’ve had a particular attachment to the heroic warrior Mekaneck.  So, let’s look at a Mekaneck, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck was part of the second assortment of the 200x Masters of the Universe, alongside a He-Man variant and a bunch of re-packs.  The figure stands a little over 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  While the original Mekaneck design was meant to re-use a good bulk of the standard male body, his 200x design was decidedly quite removed from the core look.  As such, this guy wasn’t designed with other characters in mind, so his mold was totally unique to him.  It’s a pretty great offering, courtesy of the Four Horsemen.  The updated version of the design added a lot more tech details, especially to the underlying body, but also to his armor, which was a bit more basic on his original figure.  All of the classic elements are still present, and it’s very clear who he’s supposed to be.  His distinctive chest armor, originally a piece he shared with Stinkor, was affixed permanently to the torso here, and again given a far more in depth selection of detailing.  He’s got the same neck extending feature from his vintage counterpart; twisting his waist extends his neck about an inch or so.  About the only down side to this figure’s sculpt is to do with his secondary action feature, which is gives you the ability to “see” through his head, which is done via a gaping hole in the back of his head.  It’s certainly an odd choice to be sure, since it offers minimal play value, but also results in a really obvious hole in his head.  Beyond that, though, the sculpt’s great.  The figure’s paint work is generally pretty great.  There were two versions of the paint, with the one seen here being the standard release, which technically has green goggles.  I say “technically” because the translucent plastic barely shows any deviations in the colors, so it can be hard to tell.  Mekaneck is packed with his usual distinctive mace, which he can hold in his left hand.  His arm has even been given a spring-loaded swinging feature in the elbow, which isn’t terribly impressive, but it’s alright.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The 200x incarnation’s accompanying cartoon debuted with a pilot movie, aired during Cartoon Network’s Cartoon Theatre.  I remember excitedly sitting down and watching it when it aired.  In addition to running out to get a He-Man the next day, I was also quite intrigued by Mekaneck, even with his brief appearance in the film.  His prototype had already been shown off by then, so I knew I wanted him pretty much from the start.  He was quite a rare figure at the time, but I actually had a stroke of luck on this particular release.  When I was a kid, my grandmother and I made it a ritual to visit the KB Toys at the local mall, on an almost weekly basis.  In 2003, she and my dad had located the KB Toys liquidation outlet, which was just a few hours drive from where we lived.  They planned a day trip out, and I wound up getting a whole boatload of stuff, largely older Toy Biz Marvel.  However, amongst the piles of figures that were almost a decade old by that point, I found one lone Masters figure, thrown on a random shelf, and, as luck would have it, it was Mekaneck.  Quite a thrilling find on a day of thrilling finds, really.  He’s a goofy figure, but he’s Mekaneck; he’s supposed to be goofy.  That’s what’s great about him, and that’s what’s great about this figure.

#1806: Mekaneck

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MEKANECK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7)

“Heroic Human Periscope!”

I’ve looked at entries from all throughout the history of Mattel’s home-brewed Masters of the Universe line.  Today, for the first time, I look at a Masters of the Universe offering that doesn’t come from Mattel at all!  Yes, Mattel has outsourced their MotU operations to the considerably smaller-scale company Super 7, who previously worked with Funko for their ReAction Figures line of vintage-inspired toys.  After Funko ran that brand into the ground, Super 7 split off on their own, and has been doing their best to re-invigorate it, by focusing on quality over quantity.  Amongst the much smaller list of properties they’re offering is, unsurprisingly, Masters of the Universe, which is now seeing its second assortment of ReAction Figures.  Today, I’ll be taking a look at my personal favorite Master, Mekaneck!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck is part of Series 2 of Super 7’s Masters of the Universe ReAction Figures.  He’s based on his classic vintage appearance, just like the rest of the line.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall (4 1/4 inches with the neck fully extended) and he has 4 points of articulation, plus an extending neck.  Like his vintage counterpart, this Mekaneck is without the ability to turn his head.  While it’s a slight bummer, it’s rather understandable at this size, and in this style, and doesn’t prove to be too limiting as a whole.  Mekaneck’s arms and legs are shared with He-Man and a number of the other standard Masters, which is sensible, given that’s been the case for all but his 200x incarnation.  Standard limbs are standard limbs, and if you don’t have to make new ones, then don’t.  The head and torso are new, and definitely very nice recreations of Mekaneck’s original design.  The extending neck feature is a fairly simple, no fuss action feature; there’s just a small tab on his back for moving it up and down.  I actually prefer this to the original turning waist feature, since it means he no longer has to stand with is legs to the side if you want his neck extended.  Mekaneck’s paintwork is bright and colorful, and overall very clean.  He definitely catches your eye, and those primary colors do his sculpt well.  Mekaneck is packed with a rather goofy looking yellow club, the same rather goofy looking yellow club that’s been his sidearm since his introduction.  It’s a nice extra, which is well fitted to his hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I hadn’t really been following ReAction since it shifted back to Super 7.  I gave it a good try during the Funko years, but there was definitely a lot of variance to the quality from figure to figure.  The first series of MotU figures intrigued me, but I wasn’t really feeling any of the line-up.  But, like I noted in the intro, Mekaneck is my favorite, and I’ll pretty much buy any version of him out there, so when All Time got in their set of Series 2, I was definitely down for this guy.  I gotta say, Super 7 really seems to have turned things around for this brand.  Mekaneck is a much better match for the style they’re aiming for than most of Funko’s output, and his design in general is just a good fit for it.  I’m very happy I picked him up, and I can definitely see myself tracking down a few more.

I bought Mekaneck from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.