 Stridor
Heroic Armored War Horse
Masters of the Universe Origins Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. HYD16 No. JBM84
Manufacturer: Mattel
Includes: Grayskull floor extension, two helmets, 2 blast effects, clear arm stand
Action Feature: Mask can be lowered on face
Retail: $33.00 $5.99
Availability: ca. April 2022
Other: Prepaint of Night Stalker, Warmer of Pegs
|
| PREVIOUS |
 RSS |
NEXT |
I saw so many of this Masters of the Universe Origins Stridor in 2024. So many. Target had tons, second-hand collector shops were swimming in it, and it seemed Ross just kept getting more and more of them. Since I was picking up Turtles of Grayskull and some other odds and ends, I said "Why not?" Six bucks for a horse-shaped vehicle creature? And a playset? That seems good, and indeed it is. I wish I got more of them, because his vehicle stand can be used with most other Origins ships. I could have used a couple more.
It's OK - it was my first hands-on experience with a production Origins vehicle, and it's not the best of them. It's pretty good though, especially if the price is right.
Click here to check availability at eBay.
Click here to check availability at Amazon.
My main gripe are the two red cannons on mine pop off very easily. If you rotate them, they loosen themselves and easily pop out. You're supposed to place blue blast effects on them, but that doesn't help stability much. But once you get past that? It's good.
Each leg is jointed at the hip, knee, and hoof. The silver head is jointed in three places, plus you can rotate the tail. And the orange tail gun. He can be mounted on the clear stand on the base, so he appears to be in motion. It's really good as a display piece, and you can drop a figure in the cut-out area in the saddle. He-Man or Fisto or anybody can grab on to the reins, too. They did a nice job.
Colors do a nice job capturing a more saturated vibe of the original, and Mattel included preapplied stickers for a lot of the detail. Hey, that's how they did things in the 1980s. I wouldn't say any modern collector is going to be impressed by a high level of detail, but Mattel managed to make a very nice, affordable toy with modern articulation that looks like something you ignored at Goodwill in 1991. It's much cheaper than getting a vintage original, but looks close enough that it might make a lot of newer fans happy.
The red helmet on his head is removable. Mattel gave us a red Night Stalker helmet as well, even though that toy wouldn't come until much later. And from the look of things, it was not a big seller. It's hard to compete with a hero horse for under $10.
The Grayskull base with hurdle is pretty neat, giving you a bit of floor with some small walls. It's a nice piece of scenery and a pretty good display base at no extra charge. You can easily pop out the clear arm if you like, making it a decent piece of shelf candy.
I never had the original, or really gave it much thought. This one doesn't walk with a motor like the original, but it looks enough like the toy that it scratched the vehicle itch. Origins vehicles and creatures are largely quite cheap on the secondary market, so I'd recommend giving them a look if you needed a good deal. I'm seeing sold samples sell for as little as $2 before shipping on eBay, and there are plenty all over town for $15 or under. I wouldn't recommend buying it without a figure, which thankfully you might also find at a discount. Not every figure got a rerelease, but Mattel made sure enough of these guys were kept in circulation that you can probably pick up a few good 5.5-inch Origins heroes for under ten bucks a pop with a bit of hunting.
--Adam Pawlus
Additional Images
Click here to see more Mattel figures in Figure of the Day.
Click here to see more Masters of the Universe figures in Figure of the Day.
