Fastest Feline in the Universe - CHEETARA!

Masters of the Universe x ThunderCats - Wave 01 - Cheetara - -Mattel 2025

The MOTU mashup toylines continue to impress me. There is seemingly endless potential for crossover properties based on this classic MOTU aesthetic. Some notable mashup projects have included WWE, Stranger Things, and Transformers. But I personally feel the most exciting toys have come when two similar-but-distinctly-different licenses get to play off each other. We saw this with the Turtles of Grayskull line (April and Teela), and now with MOTU x ThunderCats. As a child of the 80s, I always wanted this crossover. They were both iconic fantasy cartoons that could potentially blend together nicely. But the action figures were just too different, both in scale and construction. Beyond being just a creative mashup of the two properties, this new line seems like a long overdue wish fulfillment to have these two genres occupy the same play space. And the fact that they come with the pieces to create the classic looks solidifies that theory. They're fantastic. Let's check out Cheetara below!

She-Ra the Princess of Power - MADAME RAZZ!

Masters of the Universe - Collectible Figure #67 - Madame Razz - Altaya 2024

I can freely admit that, historically, my least favorite part of She-Ra: The Princess of Power was Madame Razz. I just never appreciate the comic relief elements in cartoons. These characters were a staple of the genre in my youth. My peers loved them, but I found them unbearably irritating. That said, I acknowledge she is iconic to the series and any line-up of POP characters would seem incomplete without her. My second admission is that the phrase "Oh, dearie my!" is permanently in my verbal repertoire when I'm feeling goofy (read: intoxicated), even if no one gets the reference. I have purchased quite a few of these Spanish Altaya figurines (all 17 females and a handful of the men), and Madame Razz was notable for being the only one that arrived broken. Luckily it was a clean break; the bottom of her feet off the base. But the extra effort I had to put into repairing her oddly enough made me more attached to the kooky old broad. Let's check out Madame Razz below!

Transformers One - ELITA-1!

Transformers Studio Series - Transformers One - Elita-1 - Hasbro 2025

The Transformers Studio Series Deluxe Class line can be a bit confusing with their releases. In the Transformers One movie from last year, Elita-1 was a major character. She is in all the big scene and she is in the core group of all the promotional images, but her Deluxe Studio Series figure didn't come out for a year after her contemporaries. And with the last big theatrical movie, Transformers Rise of the Beasts, they released figures of Airazor and Nightbird, but skipped on Arcee. The Airazor was essentially a concept design (not in the film) and Nightbird's scenes were so quick that you never got a great look. And with the Bumblebee (2018) film, the two ladies (Shatter and Arcee) were released 15 months and 43 months after the premiere (whereas the leading male characters are on the shelves before the movie is released). This Elita-1 got the same predictable delay, but she's basically the quintessential TFOne Elita released so far, so she was worth the wait. Let's check her out below!

Auldey Transformers One - ELITA-1!

Transformers One - Action Figure Series 1 - Elita-1 - Hasbro/Auldey 2024

When I got my first Auldey Transformers figure last month (a beautiful G1 Arcee), I instantly started researching what other toys this company had made. I knew there was a G1 Elita-1 coming in wave two, but a quick search on eBay pulled up a bunch of listings for this Transformers One Elita figure that I previously knew nothing about. All the images I saw were clearly digital renderings, but I was so impressed by Arcee, that I bought this figure blindly. I was admittedly surprised when the figure arrived in a simple (printed) cardboard shipper box with a plastic tray inside. She was nearly twice and tall as the Arcee from a few weeks before and she was essentially a statue with almost no articulation. She was inexpensive so I wasn't upset, but I had a lot of errant preconceived notions I needed to accept. But the fact that she still looks very cool and imposing (she's about the same height as the large Yolopark Cogged Elita-1 figure) makes me glad to have her in my collection. Let's check out Elita-1 below!

Transformers: Age of Extinction - KSI WIDOW!

Transformers Studio Series - AOE Concept Art KSI Widow - Hasbro 2025

In 2014's Transformers: Age of Extinction film, a nefarious company called KSI has manufactured their own Transformers by reverse engineering scavenged debris and downloading the consciousness of slain robots from the battlefields of the first three movies. Mixed into this melting pot was the consciousness of Megatron, who was resurrected as KSI's main weapon, Galvatron. In several scenes, Galvatron has taken control of other KSI Transformers and is controlling them like drones. Several of these only ever appear in vehicle form, and that is when Hasbro had the idea to take some unused concept designs for a character named Widowmaker and merge them with one of these background character (cars) retroactively. Whatever the convoluted origin, I am obsessed with this toy. She reminds me a bit of Marvel's Danger, with a dash of Shatter and the BM Blackarachnia mold. Her headsculpt and and color palette are unlike anything in my Transformers collection. Let's check her out below!

She-Ra the Princess of Power - KOWL!

Masters of the Universe - Collectible Figure #41 - Kowl - Altaya 2023/2024

It's a very rare thing for me to post a review for a male figure on this website. I buy a fair amount of male characters. (Lately I feel like I'm picking up two Batmen per month). But I like to keep this space dedicated to the ladies. My first exception was The Shape of Water Amphibian Man, simply because I loved him. And now I make an exception for Kowl, mostly because he is such an iconic and steadfast presence in the She-Ra: The Princess of Power cartoon. Kowl is seemingly a mashup of an owl and a koala with Dumbo-esque ears. He has an almost royal sensibility and highbrow wit... balanced with cowardice in the heat of battle (most of the time, at least). Although Madame Razz is the actual "Orko" of the series, Kowl hovering around the main characters always mirrored Orko's presence more than she ever did for me. And randomly, my friends and I have a (pointless) inside joke where we try to mimic the "...and Kowl" part of Melendy Britt's opening monologue. It's fun. You should try it. Let's check out Kowl below!

She-Ra the Princess of Power - SHE-RA!

Masters of the Universe - Collectible Figure #22 - She-Ra - Altaya 2022/2023

This She-Ra figurine is the item that sent me down the rabbithole of the Altaya Masters of the Universe Figurine Collection. I had been spying the Teela and Evil-Lyn that were released earlier in the line, but I have an abundance of those two characters in my collection and the secondary market import prices were prohibitive. But when this She-Ra was announced I knew I was a goner. The pose is perfectly iconic to me. Some of these figurines strongly resemble the large PopCultureShock MOTU Statue line (which are stunning pieces), but I actually prefer the pose and design of this little plastic version over that large polystone statue I always coveted. By the time I found a decently-priced eBay seller who combined shipping, Altaya had already announced Dree-Elle and Shadow Weaver and I knew this collecting endeavor would last for years (And it did, 2021-2025). I kind of hope they have a legacy like Eaglemoss and keep resurfacing with supplemental sub-lines. Let's check out She-Ra below!

MiniForce: Super Dino Power - LUCY!

MiniForce: Super Dinosaur Power - Lucy & Triceratops - Jumpgo 2020

With the myriad of MiniForce product that have saturated the Asian toy market since 2014, it was surprising that a 1:18 action figure line (with associated in-scale mecha) didn't hit the market for six years. I feel like similarly-themed Super Sentai toys in the American market seem to hit the shelves right away. But it wasn't until the fifth season, MiniForce Super Dinosaur Power Season 1, that this line finally got made. Interestingly, the core MiniForce Agents were released in a variety of sets with different transforming armor or beasts over the course of several years and from several different toy manufacturers, but the human figures seemingly stayed the same throughout. Therefore I wasn't picky about which 3.75" Lucy set I ordered, but I'm glad I got one with her Triceratops beast because I love a good human-and-steed combo. I only wish there were more costumed female characters in this show so I could get more toys. Although with current shipping and tariffs, maybe that's a blessing. Let's check out Lucy below!