Masters of the Universe: Eternia Minis (Wave 3)

  

 

When the Masters of the Universe: Eternia Minis first debuted, they came blind packaged in small plastic Castle Grayskull packaging. Wave 2 used Snake Mountain packaging, but all subsequent waves moved to a more traditional (small) blister card packaging. 

Wave 3 was released in 2021 and consisted for 7 figures. The two that I didn't purchase were the black/red repaints of Ram Man and Teela, released as "Anti-Eternia" versions of themselves. I wasn't too keen on these so I passed them up.

We'll start off with Battle Armor He-man. Like with most of the variants to He-Man in other MOTU lines, this mini version is basically the same as the original version sans the battle armor. He comes packaged with the same Power Sword and battle axe as before. The molded piece of armor is quite detailed and features the familiar logo on the chest, however this version (obviously) doesn't have the same battle damage gimmick as say the original 80's figure or even the deluxe Origins figure.

Like with the above He-Man, Battle Armor Skeletor is also pretty much the same figure from wave 1, just with the addition of his black armor. He comes with his part of the Power Sword and his iconic Havoc staff. The pink w/ green outline bat symbol is present on the armor chest piece.

Stratos looks like...well a smaller version of himself. The little figure has a fair amount of detail, complete with his beard and hairy chest. Sadly his soft plastic wings were warped inside the blister bubble, but if you're an action figure collector then you know how to straighten out soft plastic accessories as such. This non-removable jet pack looks fantastic and helps complete Stratos' look.

Harkening back to the original 80's toy line, Evil-Lyn has her pale yellow skin hue. I prefer her appearance in the 200x show/toy line, but overall I don't really care. This figure is probably one of my least favorites in the Eternia Mini series. It's a dainty figure overall, but I think it's her face sculpt that keeps this figure from standing on the same level as others. Unless you're a huge Evil-Lyn fan, this one is an easy pass.

Growing up my main exposure to Masters of the Universe was through my older brother and our oldest cousin, so a character like Ninjor is practically new to me. I love the character and his look, so I was happy to see him added to the Eternia Mini ranks. He sports the same overall design as his 80's or Origins counterpart, which is a black garb with red gloves and boots. He comes packaged with a simple gray sword that he can easily wield in either hand.

I'm one that loves to display my toys, even though rarely does anyone outside my immediate family see my collection. That said, space is always at a premium so these small figures are awesome as they retain the look of their larger brethren, but take up way less space in your collection. I'm glad Mattel moved away from the blind packaging (even though they were coded) because as I mentioned earlier, I opted to skip on a few of the releases and being blister packaged made it easy to do so. This series would go on for a few more waves, even adding in small vehicles and adopting whatever the current animated show was. Perhaps I'll get to some of those in the near future?

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Eternia Minis - Whiplash & Metallic Whiplash

 

Mattel's Eternia Minis line returns for the new Netflix animation show, Revelation. These small PVC figures are based on the new character designs, of which we'll take a quick look at one of Skeletor's henchmen, Whiplash. Also included in this first wave of figures was a chase version of Whiplash, cast in a metallic green. I'm not sure what the significance of this color is, but since I like the character I grabbed it anyway.

The packaging went a darker route for the Revelation series, which is fitting since the show is a little darker, more serious than the old Filmation show. In the background you have Castle Grayskull from a looking up perspective. The darkness is only broken up by a patch of ominous looking red sky with a single lightning bolt coming down. Across the bottom of the blister is silver ribbon with the character name.

Flip the small package around and you'll see the entire wave of figures including Beast Man, Skelegod and Fisto. The latter is the only character that I didn't pick up as I opted for the version packaged with Stridor, but more on that later.

For the Revelation series Whiplash (like a lot of the character) got a make over if you will. Most likely thanks to Tri-Klops, Whiplash now has a techno like eye and sports some more sophisticated armor. The applied paint apps are done well for a figure this size. He still comes packaged with his familiar orange spear weapon.

The Metallic chase version is devoid of any paint apps. The green plastic comes off a little darker in my pictures than the way it looks in hand. I ended up seeing his figure way more often at retail than I should being that it's supposed to be short packed, but I'm guess people just didn't care for it.

I really dig all of the Eternia Minis thus far and find them to be fun little "desk toys" to distract me from my real job. While the regular release of Whiplash is fantastic, I can only recommend the chase version if you're a completionist or just love the character.

Masters of the Universe: Eternia Minis (Wave 1)

 Another 80's toy staple is making it way back to retail toy shelves in 2020, but these are of a smaller scale. Masters of the Universe Eternia Minis are small, super stylized versions of classic MOTU characters. Each figure measures just over two inches tall. Wave 1 come blind packaged in these awesome Castle Grayskull boxes, while wave 2 will come in Snake Mountain blind packaging.

Retailing for approximately $5 each and exclusive to Walmart stores, wave 1 contains 8 characters for you to chase. However if you only want a certain character(s) you are in luck as there are letters printed on the bottom of each package. Look for the letter that corresponds to each character and you're ready to go.

A = He-Man  B = Skeletor  C = Man-At-Arms  D = Trap Jaw  E = Ram Man  F = Jitsu  G = Buzz-Off  H = Horde Zombie He-Man (chase figure)

For blind packaging I have to hand it to Mattel as the level of detail on Castle Grayskull is amazing. I really don't need 8 of these, but they are so cool that it's making it hard for me to toss them!

The two halves of the packaging attach via hinges on each side. This also allows multiples to be attached to one another.

Crack open the packaging and you have the figure on one side and a mini catalog with the figure's accessory/weapon on the other side.

The included catalog features the entire wave 1 line with some great artwork. These are the same across all the figures.

All of the figures feature a similar body build. There are 5 points of articulation - head, arms and legs. I wish He-Man came with his shield (or battle axe), but I assume the figure will receive a redeco in a future wave so maybe the additional accessory is coming.

Man-At-Arms looks great, his orange armor featuring all the detail that it should. His face sculpt is a little odd and I miss the mustache.

I never was a big fan of Buzz-Off and unfortunately this figure doesn't help. I don't care for the head sculpt, even though it's pretty accurate to the original toy. At least his wings are cast in a nice yellow translucent plastic that shows off the sculpted detail.

Ram Man is perhaps my favorite of Eternia's heroes. Always like the character and this new stylized design looks great.

Skeletor looks fantastic, but I kinda wish his mouth was sculpted open more like the classic figure.

Trap Jaw looks very menacing. His claw can be removed from his right arm. Here's hope we get different accessories in future waves. I would say he's my favorite character from Skeletor's side.

I'll be honest - I don't know a lot about the character Jitsu. I know his arch nemesis is Fisto, but that's about all I know. He's well sculpted and the included orange sword makes him look like someone I wouldn't want to cross paths with.

Horde Zombie He-Man is the chase figure of the wave and I believe falls roughly one per retail display box. I just happened to luck out to find the entire wave the first time I found them locally.

At $5 each and with a way of determining which character you are buying, these are an easy purchase for even the casual MOTU fan. I'm very please with the first wave and anxiously await the Snake Mountain wave.