Masters of the Universe Classics Castle Grayskull Diorama Stands
Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics program has obviously been a
smashing success, and on top of the monthly and bonus figures (or
underneath them, in this case) are the recently-released Castle Grayskull
Diorama Stands. The stands are packed five to a box, and each base is
sculpted to look like the iconic green stones of Castle Grayskull. While
each stand is technically the same, they all feature multiple holes so you
can adjust placement of the pegs both for the figures’ feet and the
Grayskull walls. This is a nice touch because not only can you set up each
stand and wall-mount to look individual, you can also move the foot pegs so
figures can be displayed in different poses. The stands also connect
together (kind of, more on that later), since the edges are somewhat
uniform with one another.
The sculpting on the stands and wall pieces is top notch, and the multiple
shades of green painted on the plastic make the bases fit very well with
the subtle shading of the MOTUC figures they display.
While the stands look great, they are not without their drawbacks. The
biggest design issue is the pegs used to hold the walls and figures onto
the base. Rather than have the pegs be standard solid plastic cylinders,
the Grayskull pegs are actually small clips that snap into place. It works
very well for connecting the pegs to the base and walls (especially using
the small tool included in the box), but it’s kind of awkward with the
figures’ foot holes, which do not have a lip for the pegs to snap onto… it
seems like basic simple pegs sized to the figures’ foot holes would have
made it easier to secure them in place. Also, the foot pegs do nothing to
brace the figures’ ankles, so if your He-Man has a loose ankle joint, the
stand won’t help him that much.
The only other critique is the looseness of the borders on the stands,
which connect together but not at 100% (similar to the stands which sort-of
connected together in NECA’s “Kill Bill” series). Had the stands been
sculpted to fit flush together, you could have a more complete-looking
Grayskull environment, which would have looked even more impressive.
These relatively minor drawbacks aside, these stands are a very reasonable
value. While I would love to see these stands included with each figure
(which would certainly soften the blow of the $20 per- price tag), a pack
of 5 stands of this quality for $12 is pretty decent. The stands sold out
in one day, just as fast as the new figures released in February, and I’m
hoping these sales urge Mattel to revisit this idea… I’d love to get not
only more Grayskull stands but also some purple Snake Mountain bases for
Skeletor and his minions. Since the MOTUC basic line is 12 figures per
year, the value would be even better if Mattel packed in one extra stand in
the pack and sold the stands twice per year. If it were six stands per
box, you could essentially have stands for every six figures you buy as a
subscriber, which would be a great bang for your buck.
