Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper

       

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Made By:
Mattel
Scale:
1/24
MSRP:
US$10.99
Overview:
Packaging (Design):9/10
Packaging (Durability):7/10
Casting (Body):10/10
Casting (Interior):N/A
Casting (Chassis):N/A
Casting (Engine):N/A
Paint (Exterior):N/A
Paint (Interior):N/A
Paint (Trim/Graphics):7/10
Overall Panel Fit:10/10
Total Score:8.6/10

 
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Mattel Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper
Mattel Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper Packaging Mattel Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper He-Man figure Mattel Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper dashboard Mattel Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper rear deck Mattel Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper head Mattel Masters of the Universe He-Man and Ground Ripper rear

 
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Background

Released as part of the third wave of figures and vehicles in 1984, the Masters of the Universe Road Ripper was a rip cord-powered three-wheeled transport vehicle in the vein of Kenner's SSP racers from the previous decade. Despite its early release date and successful sales over the years, it made few appearances in the cartoon. Twenty-seven years later, Mattel released a new Road Ripper - now dubbed the "Ground Ripper" thanks to licensing trickery - as part of their Eternia Minis collection.

 

Packaging

The packaging is a blister card that homages the original Road Ripper box with its painting by William George. The overall layout is the same, with the small dragons, distant volcano, and He-Man roaring across the scene armed for battle. But the figure has been redrawn to look like his Eternia Mini figure, complete with the Power Sword rather than the original's battle axe. They even retained small details like the yellow text at the bottom of the blister, changing the phrase "Powered for Speed!" to "Real Rolling Action!" It's a well done update to the vintage art, though Mattel has proven they can lean on the packaging nostalgia pretty hard when they want to. The cardback has a similar throwback feel, with three images of the toy with short instructional phrases against a plain white backdrop. All of the legal information and bar code is at the bottom of this panel. Inside, both the figure and the vehicle are secured in a simple plastic tray. While it would have been nice to get resealable packaging, this looks really good and its easy to get to the actual toy without having to break out the tools.

 

Casting/Paint

Considering the superdeformed nature of the Eternia Minis, the Ground Ripper is a surprisingly faithful recreation of the Road Ripper, albeit in a much smaller size. It's got a two-piece green plastic body and three dark gray wheels. If you count the two metal axles you still only have seven pieces. But the way it's designed and build is very well done. All of the details, from the layered prow under the distinct dragon head to the rear engine cowling, are expertly captured with sharp engraving and clean casting.

While there's no paint on this, I did want to make a note about its extensive sticker use. Two on the sides of the prow, two in the footwells, one for the dash, and finally five for the rear cowling. The stickers themselves are fine, one more homage to the original toy, but none of them are applied straight so it does kind of kill the appeal. For any customizers, though, this is an ideal base.

 

Features/Accessories

The vehicle comes with a superdeformed He-Man figure and Power Sword. He-Man can wield the sword in either hand, and fits onto a peg in the floor of the Ground Ripper to ride the vehicle. He moves at the "Springfield Four" - neck, shoulders, and waist. It's not much, but for the size of the figure it works fine. Most of his paint is very good, with the colors all matching the source material and the details of his harness and fur pieces all nicely colored and registered. The only exception is his mouth, where the white for his teeth have bled onto his lower lip and given him what appears to be an underbite to rival James William Bottomtooth III.

 

Accuracy

While I've noted what a good job they did capturing the overall look and feel of the original Road Ripper, it's not an exact match. The proportions have changed, making this taller and a bit shorter front to back. There are eight spokes on the rear wheels instead of six. Stuff like that. But everything is integrated so seamlessly, the end result is an unmistakable homage to the original. Scaling isn't really a thing with these figures or playsets, but at 4¾" (12cm) long it fits quite nicely with other 1/24 scale vehicles.

 

Overall

I've been wanting a vehicle from Masters of the Universe in my collection for quite some time now, and so this was a fantastic find. There's plenty of room for improvement, but right out of the package its a great little toy. The few alterations they made to get it into this line in no way detract from the overall look. Definitely worth picking up, and I look forward to seeing more of these.

 

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