UofMUSCLE.com – M.U.S.C.L.E. Figures from Mattel

In the past when I reviewed a group of figures, like this one, I globed them together even though they were not a set. They were separate purchases reviewed together. That worked well from a timing perspective, but makes it more difficult to catalog and specifically refer to individual figures later.

This week I will attempt to balance timeliness with individual reviews. This week is Universe of Violence: Chaos Dimension – Wave 2 week. Each day I will individually review a figure.

Just announcing this would be a pretty boring post. So this post will also serve as a review of some of the ancillary things that accompanied purchasing the second wave of UOV figures.

First up – the Iron Viking. Apparently Justin Gadze practiced his casting with this figure and included them in orders while his supplies lasted. This is such a fun extra.

Front

Angled

Back

It probably helps that the figure itself is pretty cool. Although I have no idea what the Viking comes from or anything about the figure.

My sons liked the Viking, but it was largely overlooked. Their interest was focused squarely on the UOV figures.

After the Viking, my boys instantly grabbed the Venus Maneater (a figure that was previously reviewed ). Like the Viking, this was a unique thing available when the second wave of UOV was released.

For $2 you could purchase a miscast figure. It would be randomly selected. I didn’t even know if the figure would be a UOV figure or something else. In my case I ended up with the Venus Maneater.

I told the boys that the figure only cost $2 because it was a “mistake.” My oldest was very surprised.

He said, “Dad, I don’t see anything wrong with it. It just looks a little dirty because of the silver – but you can still play with it.”

I completely agreed with him. I was somewhat embarrassed that I could not immediately identify what was wrong with the figure. I told the boys that the silver was probably supposed to spread out a little bit more.

Truthfully, I kind of like the green and silver combination. It reminded me of the T-1000 from Terminator 2. It felt like the plant was transforming into a liquid metal.

The inquisitive part of my brain still needed to know what was wrong. Closer inspection only a few minor imperfections on the tongue and one of the heads were identifiable. Afterwards I was struck with Justin’s attention to detail and incredibly high quality standards. It also left me feeling that I’m far more accepting of minor imperfections than I would have ever guessed.

The UOV figures all shared the same header cards. Instead of mentioning the header car in each individual figure review I thought it would make sense to include it here.

The second wave of UOV figures would have looked amazing hanging on a shelf. The header card, playing card, and figure displayed incredibly well. I hate when bagged figures have too much dead space. It is never a deal breaker, but it has always felt like a missed opportunity. Adding the playing card into the bag was genius.

The header card itself is attractive. The white card with the red blood is visually striking. The green and black lettering looks very nice too. However, is that an eye in the middle of the O? It is probably a bubble, but it kind of looks like an eye.

The back of the card carries some basic information; a warning and contact info. It serves its purpose and looks nice enough doing it. But the second Universe of Violence logo on the back made me think, “What is the Universe of Violence? And what is the Chaos Dimension?”

This may have been explained before on a website, but it seems like the back of the card misses an opportunity to provide just a little information about either the Universe of Violence and/or the Chaos Dimension. Just a small blurb could replace the second logo.

The rest of the review will be in the individual reviews of Hell Chicken, Deadface II, and West Nile.

If you’ve seen enough, and just want your own figures, then you can order your figures right now.

Hell Chicken

Deadface II

West Nile

For more information about Ironhaus Productions, check out these links:
– Ironhaus Productions on UofMUSCLE.com
– Ironhaus Productions’ Store
– Ironhaus Productions’ Blog
– Ironhaus Productions on Facebook

For more information about Ironhaus Productions Oz, check out these links:
– Ironhaus Productions Oz’s Store
– Ironhaus Productions Oz’s Blog
– Ironhaus Productions Oz on Instagram
– Ironhaus Productions Oz (Justin Gadze) on Facebook

For more information about Eric Nilla check out these links:
– Eric Nilla on UofMUSCLE.com
– Eric’s Blog
– Eric Nilla on Instagram
– Eric’s Store
– Eric Nilla on Facebook