Thanks to the power of the build a figure, the Turtles of Grayskull collection continues with Sla'ker. When I picked him up, Mouse-Jaw [FOTD #2,677] was on clearance at the end of the aisle, but I bought one at full price anyway. Support what you like, right? I like this goofy crossover and generally speaking the value seems to be there - MJ had a cool sidekick figure, and Sla'ker is a giant-size mash-up of Faker and Slash, using the XL Andre the Giant buck.
He seems taller than Krang (minus the Krang box, at least) and comes with a slightly metallic or pearly blue skin. The colors reek of the early 1990s, with all kinds of elements to remind fans of both figure lines. You get the snapping turtle shell, a cracked chest with orange armor revealing the tapes inside that recalls Faker. The coloring is more Faker than Slash, but the black bandanna and big weird eyes all seem like vestiges of Playmates' designs. He has and new feet, too.
The figure itself does the usual Turtles of Grayskull (and Masters of WWE) thing by taking the basic body and adds Slash-specific hands and feet. The two-toed boots are new, and match the original figure. The toothy head with a big left eye and wild bandanna also mimic the original figure. The three-fingered hands are Turtle fare, but the blades over the fingers are missing - they moved them over to his bladed swords.
His belt also recalls the original figure, with the "Z" which I assume is meant to be an "S" because Bizarro. I love that the chest tampo keeps the old-school computer look but makes it pizza-flavored, and also that they designed the shell to make it partially visible. It's a brilliant idea. The open mouth with the janky teeth is a little odd, as they're usually sculpted with the teeth as a relief on a black mouth - not actual open space. It's a little different than usual. The figure's back has a removable shell in purple, unlike the original figure which had a green shell with yellow bony spikes on it. It's a nifty change, although the original shell and feet are a little more colorful.
Because it uses the same great buck, articulation is great and movement is as good as you might expect. I found him to be a tiny bit back-heavy, so I had to take a little care in making sure he was posed properly.
But wait, there's more! You get 25% of Metal-Boto, a mash-up of Roboto and Metalhead. In this case, you get Robot's head along with a lower waist and upper legs. The parts look pretty big, so I have high hopes for a sizable build-a-figure. The head seems to have a unique post on it, so it can't be used with other bodies. It also has a lever on it so the Roboto red jaw moves up and down, revealing the underside of the Metalhead-style mouth. It feels a lot like they really did slap a Roboto part on a Metalhead head, which makes since given the character's creation in the mini-comic. It's good.
The lower torso and legs seem to be a cross of Metalhead parts and Roboto parts - the thighs are Metalhead-ish, the knees look like Roboto, and the belt... neither, really. But it does have the "T" of Metalhead on a waist that looks MOTU-ish, so there you have it. I really wish Mattel started by giving us his feet, so I could have a partially built figure standing around rather than a box with an arm and a head and a waist in it. Hopefully we get some feet next. Or a torso, to connect the pieces we have. That probably means we'll get the other arm.
I think Sla'ker is a great figure for the price - but I also wish he was smaller, sized to not be a giant. But he's cool as a stand-alone, in line with some of the higher priced collector figures from other vendors but at a more or less standard price. He's heavy, and for $25 you'll probably look at it and go "yeah, this seems worth it." You don't get extra hands or a trove of accessories, but you don't need them - it's a nicely-jointed, efficient figure with lots of build-a-figure chunks at a price that's competitive to Marvel Legends and similar figures. I'd say go ahead and get this one if you see it - it's chunky and satisfying, even if (and especially if) it's the only one of these figures that you buy. Purple Beast Man-ish shoulder armor, a loincloth, and an articulated bandanna - you're basically getting your money's worth here.
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