Tomopop Review: Masters of the Universe Classics - Trap Jaw

3:00 PM on 03.24.2010   |   Jason Millward

One of the things that I've always wanted to do with the review format ever since I started writing for Tomopop is to actually play with toys the way I always have. That means using figures as a vehicle to tell a story. Last month when Mattel released Trap Jaw, Man-at-Arms, and Battle-Cat, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to tell a story across multiple posts. Starting with today's review and continuing over the course of the other two is a Megapixel-style story from the He-Man universe.

Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line has been an elusive one for many collectors. Many fans (myself included) have hurled harsh criticisms at Mattel for their handling of the series. Is the Trap Jaw figure worth the frustration to obtain? Hit the jump for my view.

Mattel went a very different route in their packaging of the Trap Jaw figure. The Masters of the Universe logo is nowhere to be seen. In fact, they even removed their company name entirely and used Fisher-Price's instead. This will obviously lead to some confusion to long-time fans. I find the iconography of the hearts throughout to be quite curious.

Trap Jaw's articulation is a mixed bag. You'll remember from my He-Man review that I took issue with a huge pits found on the joints throughout the figure. Happily here, they're nowhere to be found.  Not so fortunate is that the figure lacks the impressive range of movement which the He-Man figure had. The articulation here is much more limited due to fewer, less flexible joints.

Also, the detail is not up to par with the rest of the series. Though an improvement upon the original figures of the 1980's, Trap Jaw doesn't hold a candle to any other figure from the Classics line.

In terms of accessories, I was expecting Skeletor's master of weaponry to have a slew of interchangeable accessories. Instead, Trap Jaw only comes with an adorable little girl. While I like that she has actual, Barbie-style hair (and who doesn't love a butterfly?), I find myself very disappointed.

Despite these insignificant gripes, my man can still do the running man like nobody's bidness!

Okay, guys. I'm going to level with you. This isn't a Trap Jaw figure at all. This isn't even a review. What follows is an editorial on Mattel's mishandling of the MotUC line which has left me frustrated to my breaking point. Being unable to obtain a Trap Jaw figure for review, I gave seven dollars to Mattel's competitor for a stand-in.

Once a month, Mattel releases a new figure (or three) during the middle of a weekday morning. They cannot be bought in stores or through online retailers (with certain exceptions, and always at an a marked up rate), and preorders aren't a possibility. As these figures are geared toward an adult collector market, this strikes me as counter-intuitive. Why put these up for sale when the majority of your customer base is at work or school?

This wouldn't be a huge issue, were it not for the fact that the production runs are so limited that supplies run out in minutes. No regard has been taken to try to appease the demand.

Making matters worse is that the maximum quantity that one can order is set at ten pieces per figure with a set shipping rate of $12 per order. I can't imagine what collector would need 10 Trap Jaw figures for. What is easy for me to imagine is why these toys don't last long.

Resellers are Mattel's biggest customers. They know that these figures are in high demand and that quantities are scarce. Picking up as many as they can, they're sure to bring in a huge profit on ebay. If you go on ebay right now you will find auctions on toys that haven't even been released yet. They're selling a preorder only. And if you look at the fine print, they give guarantees. A guarantee that you'll get your money back should they be unable to fulfill your order. In other words, should some other scalper beat them to the check-out button.

After missing two consecutive chances at nabbing a Skeletor figure, I ultimately had to purchase one from one of these fine proprietors. Near as I can tell, the cheapest one I could find netted the seller nearly a 50% return on their investment. Not too shabby, to say the least. Keep in mind that this was a figure that's been put up for sale of three separate occasions.

Last month when Trap Jaw, Man-at-Arms and Battle Cat all went on sale, I had Mattel's website up in my email browser the second they went on sale. I waited 10 minutes for the page to load, being promised that my place in "line" was secured. By the time I got to the check-out with my items, I discovered that I had two of Man-at-Arms and Trap Jaw in my cart.

Not wanting to deprive another collector, I tried for another 5 minutes to change the amounts. Ultimately this didn't work. I had to delete them completely, then re-add them. When I deleted Trap Jaw, he was sold out, and I was unable to buy him. Nice guys do, apparently, finish last. Even when attempting to purchase bad guys.

I do not understand Mattel's rationale in all of this. By under-producing these figures, they're essentially giving away all of their potential profits to the scalpers. Is this some kind of crazy attempt to secure long-term interest in the line?

If that is the concept, I can assure them that I'm not eating it up. The Masters of the Universe Classics line is one which I would love to own every character. Instead, I am so fed up and frustrated that i can't stand the thought of them.I'd like to think that by voting with my dollars that I'm making some kind of difference, but this is obviously not the case. They sell every last figure that they produce. I'm teaching them no lesson at all.

My hope is that some day soon they will start trying to please their customers instead of frustrate them. I dream of the day when Mattel will realize that it is more profitable to appeal to their loyal fan-base instead of resellers. They've already proven the line a success. It's time to get these toys onto store shelves and into customers hands. Not in the spare bedroom of an ebay "power seller".

This working man's story continues in the upcoming Man-at-Arms review. (Which will be a real review, I promise.) Stay tuned!