Hodak, kicked off series 1, together with Snout Spout and Clawful. The cardback art is awesome, and Hordak is shown with such majesty. It's surprising that they went with a volcano for the Horde instead of Fright Zone, but I guess at some level that works.
Hordak comes with his staff (which is in two parts so that it could fit in his hand), his reimagined crossbow and a stand. The designs on the accessories are excellent. The giant mechanical bat crossbow looks powerful and cruel at the same time. The staff is also nicely done with the bat motif and the detailing - even the shaft is not spared, and is exquisitely detailed.
And the figure? He's nice, but seems to me that he lacks a bit of something... perhaps it's muscle mass? This Hordak looks very anorexic to me. Still, he comes with the usual Hordak colours - red, black and grey/silver, so that's all good there.
Comparison time: Wow, I must say I like the Classics version a whole lot better than the staction. The propotions are absolutely balanced on the Classics version, and really does make the staction look wasted by comparison. The Classics staff is so much more generous than the skinny NECA staff. The only area where the Classics loses out to the staction is the crossbow - the NECA crossbow is definately better looking than the updated bat.
Although the NECA staction stands heads and shoulders above the vintage figures literally, they don't do so figuratively. When compared with Buzz-Saw Hordak above (my only Hordak with a cape), the staction looks just like a typical henchman, and not the leader of the evil horde. Although it has a lot more detail and an extra accessory, the vintage figures still look better than this underfed staction thanks to the clean lines and uncomplicated design. Plus, there's articulation on the vintage figures, something which the staction lacks.
It's not looking good for this staction, but you know what, it's still early in the Horde week. Perhaps things will change by the end of the week.
You're right about him looking anorexic. Now that the MOTUC version is out, it's a lot more noticeable. Still, he looks very menacing and I really dig all of the detail they put into him.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he has a lot of details, which is the only nice part about him.
ReplyDeleteI don't care for the skinny look of the Staction Hordak, but that was the style of those figs. I still love his design though. I love the loin cloth, and I like they shoulder pads on the cape. I also like the more pointed ears and spiky head.
ReplyDeleteI would like Mattel to incorporate those three things into the design and re-release him as Horde Supreme. That would be an easy way to get both designs in the line.
That would be a good idea for millennium fans. I'm happy with the MotUC Hordak though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I"m happy with him. He's cool. My only reason for bringing that up, is that Horde Supreme is mentioned in Hordak's motuc bio. So if we get that character, I'd rather it look like the more regal 200x version (especially in light of the fact that he's Hordak's brother) than the UK comics cockroach version or the big robot hand of Filmation.
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