MOTU Classics' Wind Raider!

Wind Raider

This next review is especially for you Masters of The Universe (MOTU) Classics fans! The rest of you casual toy fans are welcome to join in the fun too.....well, if the subject of review does indeed makes sense at all to you! I've got the first ever vehicle released by Matty Collector for its flagship MOTU Classics line....the Wind Raider! Honestly, I would've preferred if Matty had given us the Attak Trak or that sky sled thingy first but what the hey....at least the Wind Raider's a good sign that we'd get vehicles lined up for the line.....and that's good news indeed!
The white mailer which came with the Wind Raider is the same as we've seen before with all MOTU Classics figures. It does the job well to secure the contents within. It has the wordings 'Wind Raider' emblazoned on it....make no mistake, there's a vehicle inside!!!

Wind Raider

At the back of the packaging (and on many more MOTU white mailers these days coinciding with the line's 30th anniversary) is the "Create a Character" contest details. This was how 'fan-made' MOTU characters came to life, notably The Fearless Photog, created way back in the 80s during the height of the MOTU franchise popularity by a fan. So, anyone fancy their creation to be immortalise by matty in plastic form? The thing is, the is a slight chance that you'd have to wait another 20 years or so for matty to finally produce him.....LOL.

Wind Raider

Here's how the actual packaging looks like from the front. The white mailer served as a 'protection' to keep the real deal safe inside....though I've heard horror stories of how some collectors received theirs in the worse of conditions. I'm just glad mine's ok. I absolutely love the retro art on the packaging. Word is that the original artist who drew the packaging art in the 80s was roped in to do the packaging art again for this new Classics line...how cool is that?

Wind Raider

Now, the back of the packaging is a supposed design made by Duncan.....ehm...that's Man-At-Arms to you casual fans. Note Duncan's signature (if you can even call it that) at the lower left corner of the drawing. The inclusion of the schematic drawing of the Wind Raider (or blueprint as most would call it) is very cool indeed....I wish they would continue the trend and do the same with all of their future vehicle releases.

Wind Raider

And here it is....freshly out of the box! What a huge vehicle/toy! God this looks even bigger in my hands! In fact, the Wind Raider was too big even for my normal white backdrop. I immediately popped in onto the black display stand....yup, I want the 'Raider to fly straight away!!!

Wind Raider

For your information, the 'orange accessories' i.e. the tail-fin, the wings, the sky-hook and that thing on the hood of the 'Raider were all unattached to the main vehicle body when I first opened the packaging. They were packed loose so that the vehicle could be snugged comfortably into the box. My first impression upon seeing the box for the time was..."How the heck did they pack that huge-a** vehicle into such a small packaging?". Now we know how....

Wind Raider

The control panel is truly a sight to behold. Oh, did I tell you that all of the 'decals' are not stickers? We used to have nightmares back in the 80s trying to stick those darn decal stickers onto our vehicles. Heck, some didn't even make it onto the vehicles....darn stubby fingers...LOL! This time around, matty did us all a favour by painting in the details. Yes, those are painted on! I was deceived at first myself......they looked like stickers but they aren't!

Wind Raider

The sky-hook actually fires off the hood and it has rope (aka strings) attached to it. The rope in turn, is attached to that weird-lookin' bird like thingy on the hood of the 'Raider. That contraption's also used to retract the rope & hook back into the hood of the vehicle. Pretty neat stuff huh? I can understand the play-factor here but hey, ain't this line supposed to cater for them 'adult' collectors?

Wind Raider

Ahh....here we have (finally) a pilot for the 'Raider. He-Man has been kind enough to test-pilot the vehicle today!

Wind Raider

It has always struck me that the 'Raider comes in the exact colour scheme as Man-At-Arms! Well duhhh.....MAA is THE creator of the Wind Raider....silly me! Let me just say that the 'flight stand' (that black display stand thingy holding the 'Raider) is a great addition....I just wish that the "Master of The Universe" wordings were in colour though....but that's just me!

Wind Raider

Here's He-Man manning the controls. His hands can actually grip both the levers (right and left) on the control panel. I didn't bother to do so though.....lol.

Wind Raider

"Dive....dive.....dive!!!!"

Wind Raider

Now here's an interesting feature. There are panels on both sides of the 'Raider....and they're both can be lifted up to reveal 'engines'. This reminds me a lot of the Star Wars' Snowspeeder! Nice addition by matty!

Wind Raider

It's a bit of a turn-off when matty announced that there won't be any further vehicles to be released in 2012 and that we would only see the next one (presumably it's gonna be Attak Trak) in 2013. So what I'm saying here folks....is that the Wind Raider is your only chance to have a vehicle off the line, unless you wanna wait all the way till '13!

Wind Raider

The Rebel's verdict: An absolute no-brainer for MOTU fans! Some people are already saying that this vehicle's probably gonna be discounted and be made available during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale sometime at the end of 2012....but we're not gonna risk that now would we? Furthermore, Michael Crawford has already dubbed the 'Raider as one of the leading candidate for the People's Choice Award for 2011......'nuff said.

Wind Raider

Comments

desmond said…
nice vehicle...