Masters of the Universe Classics Moss Man

Flocked body? Check! Pine-smelling scent? Check! Sellout in 4 minutes? Arrgh… Check!

Yes, today we’re taking a look at the latest release in the Masters of the Universe line – Moss Man! I have to admit,  I thought I would have to wait for this figure to be re-issued as I was one of those who missed out on his super-quick sellout on the 15th of March. I pretty much expected it since Mattel had announced that the increased  production runs would not take effect until June’s She Ra. Luckily, a friend was able to pick up an extra Moss Man for me so that I would be able to do this pictorial review. So let’s have a look at this rather unique figure.

Moss Man has several gimmicks that make him unique from the other figures in this line. First off, he is flocked to give him that grassy texture. During his design, Mattel was debating whether or not to flock this figure. Eventually they went with something in between, with his body flocked and his joints unflocked, so as not to impede his articulation. The issue of his ears being flocked also was raised, and Mattel decided to do a running change to not flock his ears in the middle of production, which is why there were two versions of him for sale.

I am glad that they used different shades of flocking on his body to make it look more interesting. The unflocked areas have tones of green and brown to match the flocked areas. Expect some shedding on his flocking when you first get him out of the package. Even now, after a couple of days I still see some fibers coming off when I move him around, but it’s pretty much expected and as long as it doesn’t come off in patches it’s okay with me. I’ve read from some forums that the glue that they used for the flocking comes off when you dip him in water (probably hot water), so bear that in mind before you boil and pop this figure for customizing!

Secondly, he has this strong “Vicks VapoRub” scent. I believe it is supposed to emulate the “pine” scent that the original vintage figure had. The scent is also close to the smell of the disinfectant “Pine-Sol.” Now when I mentioned this scent is strong, I wasn’t exaggerating. Even in his unopened package, you can get a whiff of his scent. The smell stuck around for about two days in my room!

Mossy comes with an alternate head so you can display him with his vintage look (the repainted Beast Man head, who seems to be looking to his left!), or his more calmer, modern head, reminiscent of his 200x cartoon appearance. He also comes with a knife, a wooden mace and a vine bandolier which can hold both items. All of these are sculpted really well with some nice attention to detail.

He uses the same body as Beast Man, but with the flocking and the alternate head, he barely resembles his body brother! His “Beast Man” head does jut out forward as it was designed with Beast Man’s fur mane, which I don’t mind so much because he’ll be sporting his calmer head on my display anyway. He also has that longer loincloth that King Grayskull also wears.

He’s got standard MOTUC articulation, minus the lower leg swivels, and thankfully the flocking does not get in the way of his posing at all.

Moss Man here adds another unique figure in an already varied cast of characters in the MOTUC line. I’m glad I actually got him and I think his gimmicks are kinda fun. If he had a sound chip and something edible, he’d be stimulating all five senses! If you hate that “Vicks” smell and the shedding flock though, you might not enjoy this figure as much.

I know a lot of people did not get a chance to pick him up with his quick sellout. Having two versions of him on the sale date didn’t help, as some people probably tried to pick up both. If you missed out on him, Mattel has announced that his re-issue has been approved, although we probably won’t see him until early next year.

As a side note, I had a casualty while doing this pic review. While posing Mossy with King Grayskull, Grayskull’s left foot broke off his leg! It just came off without any force at all. I’m hoping that this does not happen to any of my other MOTUC figures in the future. That ankle articulation point is one of the thinner joints on the figure and since Grayskull was the first figure they made, maybe the plastic they used was not as strong. Or maybe I got a dud Grayskull. Now I guess I have to wait for a Grayskull reissue as well!!