Action Figure Review: End of Wars Weapon Pak from Masters of the Universe Classics by Mattel

     Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line has really been a pretty diverse line. In addition to basic figures we've gotten multipacks, vehicles, beasts, giants, a playset, and multiple accessory packs. This month fans could go on Mattycollector.com to purchase the "End of Wars Weapons Pak" which has been slated as being the last accessory pack planned, at least for the time being. While most of the weapons in the weapons pack (and at least the first two) were simply repainted accessories from previously released figures, starting with the last weapons pack we began getting some accessories that were cut from figures. End of Wars contains not only two newly tooled accessories (Strobo's gun and Rattlor's 200x armor) but it also contains a new minifigure: Kowl from She-Ra Princess of Power. I'm going to jump in and let some of the MOTU characters show off their new wares to you, but first take a quick look and my cheap and dirty Snake Armor He-Man figure above. OK, now you can follow me after the break...

Pictured: The most exciting Nepthu has ever been.

First we've got a set of four gold colored weapons. They're repaints from the Weapons Rack and the Palace Guards set but are perfectly standard weapons that make a lot of sense to have extras of. The Clawful mace and Stinkor shield are nice, simple additions to pretty much any figure who looks like they need something with which to beat other figures. I think they add a lot to Nepthu but would also work with King Randor in his battle armor.

You want to tell me I suck again, sucker? Huh? Do ya?!!

The small axe is a particular favorite of mine. It's got a nice hilt to protect the hands of any figure while they're chop, chop, chopping away!

You shall not pass!!!

The halberd can easily be held with two hands and would look excellent with any of your palace guards who might be designated as Randor's elite guards or with the Eternos Palace Randor figure.

The General, AKA the artist formerly known as Rattlor

OK, so here's one of the main reasons most people  bought this set: Rattlor's armor from the 200x line back when he was going around as "The General", aka the artist formerly know as Rattlor. The armor looks really, really good and works as great armor for Rattlor, your Snakemen grunts, or even He-Man as a sub for his Snake Armor. It's a little tough to snap on a larger figure like Rattlor, but with a little finagling  you'll get it.

Now you can call me Swordstabba!

     Here's another niece piece: Netossa's sword. Netossa was an excellent figure with a really poor accessory compliment, so it's nice that Mattel has come back and fixed her (although at our expense). The sword is simply a repaint of Bubble Power She-Ra's sword, but apparently that fits right into how the character's sword was depicted in some vintage licensing artwork. It works for her; I don't like it as much as I do the Black Manta trident I gave her, but since this is an official piece I'll probably go with it.

It's actually just a modified salad spinner

     Previous weapons packs have come with alternate colored versions of the removable hands from figures like Trap-Jaw and Roboto but this set surpasses them all. I'm going to admit, though, that I'm not super excited by these, and especially not by Hurricane Hordak's accessories. They're just so out there that while I was fine with them being recreated for the figure, I don't feel the need for black versions for Trap-Jaw. Anyways, first is the spinning shield with blades.

Ummm..no comment

    Next is the bolo type weapon that's three balls with veins or something on them. Actually, I'm really uncomfortable with that last sentence.

*crickets*

Maybe these would go really well with Horde Prime?

Bat copter version 1.1

     Here's my favorite of the accessories: the spinning bat wings. This would actually be pretty cool as it would allow Trap-Jaw to fly like a Helicopter. As mentioned above, these weapons will work with Robot, Trap-Jaw, Cy-Chop, Horde Prime, and Hurricane Hordak. Did I leave anyone out?

No, I can't hold your drink for you. Sorry bro.

  


     While I didn't care much for Sir Laser Lot, he did come with a few cool accessories which I'm really glad to see here in some nice, normal colors. Pictured first is his shield and sword done in simple silver (the sword has a black hilt, but you can't see it in my picture). I've seen people use these with Clamp Champ, but the also work pretty well with Fisto. Any awesome figure that needs a sword can have one now.

This is the legendary battle mace of Windu. Wait,                        why are you laughing?

And that mace? Just awesome! It works great with Fisto and seems like the kind of weapon he'd like. Always nice to have some very versatile pieces sitting around.

Kowl uses "know it all attitude." It's super effective!!!

Ready for the real selling point? OK, here he is: Kowl! He's a pretty cool little minifigure with a swivel head and swivel shoulders. Interestingly, he's done in the color scheme from the original Princess of Power toyline versus his appearance in the Filmation cartoon. I hope we get that version someday, but I'm content with this guy for now. The paint's quite nice on the front, although the blue on his ears is a bit sloppy.

Lisa Frank presents: He-Man!

Ready for more green accessories, He-Fans and She-Ravers? Then check out this set: all of He-Man's standard weapons in green! It's a really bright green but I actually think it's awesome. The lighting in the picture didn't come out too great, but these things look really cool with New Adventures He-Man. If you're a NA hater (cause you guys are always floating around) perhaps you'll feel better giving these to your Galactic Protector He-Man. Neat idea. By the way, the shield highlights are gold here, not red.

"Actually, this just a flashlight. A very expensive flashlight."

     Here's probably the third most desirable item in this set: Strobo's gun. While not everyone has a Strobo yet, this is a pretty cool laser rifle that has some nice ties to the other Cosmic Enforcer weapons. It's fairly rubbery (more so than the other weapons in this set) but has a few paint apps to help it stand out. It definitely helps Strobo to feel more complete, so that's a plus. I wonder if there are more guns out there than Strobos?

"It's torso cracking time!"

Here's another set of alternate "hands": Trap-Jaw's weapons done in silver for Roboto! First is Trap-Jaw's laser rifle arm. It's a pretty nice accessory (this is what I always display my Trap-Jaw with) and gives Robot a bit more firepower. Man, I wish both his hands were removable.

Roboto: Master of Shadow Puppets!

Here's Trap-Jaw's clamp arm done in silver. This works pretty nicely for Roboto and actually looks better than his standard claw. The claw actually works, too.

Last, but not least, here's Trap-Jaw's hook. It's cool, but is there a point to this for Roboto? I guess you could use this on Cy-Chop.

   Anyways, I like this set. I love pretty much all the weapons other than the repainted Trap-Jaw and Hurricane Hordak tools, as I just don't feel they have too many uses. The new pieces like the armor, Strobo's gun, and Kowl are excellent, however, and really add a lot to a collection. The set includes 19 accessories and Kowl I think that's actually quite a good haul. Most of the pieces (other than Strobo's gun and Rattlor's armor) are made of a firm plastic that feels quite solid and sturdy. I really like it. The "China" labels that have plagued past weapons packs are present here, but aren't as noticeable which is a plus. Ultimately, due to the sheer number of accessories, the specific additions for three figures, and due to Kowl, I'm happy to give this set a Great. It's not as good as the last set, but it's certainly better than the first two.