Stridor Masters of the Universe Origins Review & Vintage Comparison
This Masters of the Universe Stridor review is a comprehensive comparison of the original vs. Origins war horse! Details and photo analysis.
One-half war horse, one-half war machine, the Masters of the Universe Origins STRIDOR carries the heroes of Eternia to victory!!! I don’t know about you, but Stridor was one of the creature sets I was most looking forward to in the Origins line and Mattel knocked this one out of the park clear into the next Universe!!! This version of Stridor is everything you ever wanted the vintage Stridor to be but never was. I mean nostalgia is pouring out from every bit of him! From the multiple articulation points in the legs, to the bevy of accessories Stridor comes packed with, this is the quintessential Stridor I have always wanted and so much more!
Let’s dive right in and take a closer look at what makes this Origins Stridor the Ultimate version, shall we?
Packaging
Right off the bat, before even taking Stridor for a walk, you are met with this absolutely gorgeous packing presentation! From the mind-blowing artwork front, sides and back from the great Axel Gimenez; to the spectacular presentation of all of the goodies Stridor comes packed with, you are glazed over with excitement to free him from his cardboard and plastic prison!
Let’s take a closer look at the artwork on the front of the package by the great Axel Gimenez and find those Easter eggs! First off, we have He-Man riding his trusty steed Stridor with Fisto accompanying his side. But watch out it looks like Screech is swooping in and Dragon Blastor Skeletor ridding in his terror in the sky Roton are not too far behind! But Sun Man’s silhouette can be seen in the distance as he flies in for back up! So, several Easter eggs have already been laid!
On each of the sides of Stridor’s package you are met with a pair of dragons. The toothy one looks like the one that rides on the shoulders of Dragon Blastor Skeletor, again another hint of what may come in the future! The second dragon looks like your standard run of the mill Eternia dragon, nothing to get excited about, but he is still cool.
On the back of the package, you are met with yet even more amazing artwork! He-Man rides into battel ontop Stridor with Zoar by his side and the great Castle Grayskull in the background. Four beautiful planets can be seen in the skyline! Of course, you get the typical Wave 7 cross-sell art on the bottom right half of the package. Then on the other half you have the action features and boy is Stridor loaded with them! We will explore those next.
Stridor Basics
Let’s take an overall look at Stridor. At first glance, you would think Stridor is just like his vintage counter-part, but upon closer examination, I was pleasantly surprised! We will take a deep dive comparison below.
Stridor stands approx. 7″ tall and 10 1/2″ long. He features a staggering 19 points of articulation for extreme poses, unlike his vintage counterpart which was basically a statue. His legs joints, rear laser cannon, front laser cannons, neck, tail and mouth all move! He has a shiny silver head and neck, brown body, orange legs with silver accents, a silver rear end, red articulated tail and an orange swiveling rear laser cannon. He comes packed with a ton of accessories, which we will also take a closer look at below. You can sit your favorite MOTU Origins character in the seat and take Stridor for a ride. In my case, this has always been Fisto’s ride, so he gets the pleasure of riding off into the sunset on Stridor!
Legs
Stridor’s legs are fully articulated and when I say fully, boy do I mean it!!! He has ratchet joints at his hips, knees and ankles on all 4 legs so you can pose him in all sorts of amazing action positions! With the included “flight stand”, he can leap over his fence, run into battle or jump up for joy!
Head and Neck
Stridor’s head is very articulated as you can see by the many facets in his neck. His mouth also opens to hold the included bridle that your passenger can hold onto. He also comes packed with both a Vintage Style helmet and Classics Style helmet. The Vintage style helmet is personally my favorite and how I choose to display him. But the Classics style helmet has a much more regal look to it with a faceted front over the nose, a unicorn horn and chain metal look on the back. His head and neck are a shiny silver color, and he has piercing blue eyes! I think his blue eyes make him look positively dreamy!
Vintage vs. Origins Comparison
In the words of the awesome Pixel Dan ….. ” It’s comparison time!” Standing these two Stridors side by side, really makes the awesomeness of the new Origins Stridor stand out tenfold! Starting with the fact the vintage Stridor has little to no articulation except for the front cannons, rear cannon and rear tail, he is basically a statue. Where the Origins Stridor has the whopping aforementioned 19 points of articulation in the legs, neck, head, tail and cannons! His mouth even opens, I mean, how cool is that?!
The colors on the new Origins Stridor are a lot more vibrant and so are the decals. Also Origins Stridor has multiple hits of silver paint deco on his legs, where the vintage has none.
You will also notice that the vintage Fisto sits up higher in the vintage Stridor due to the non-bending legs, than the Origins Fisto, which allows him to sit better in his seat. The Origins Stridor comes packed with a ton of amazing accessories which we will cover below, where the vintage one only comes with the front and rear laser cannons and helmet.
From the amazing flight stand, to the included bridle and blast effects, to the endless articulation, the new Origins Stridor is everything I’ve ever wanted the vintage one to be and so much more! I think you know who wins this comparison!
Accessories
As you will see below, Origins Stridor comes with a ton of really cool accessories that really help to make this version of Stridor, the ultimate one! He comes packed with 9 accessories, which include:
- 1 Flight Stand with Green Castle Base and 2 wooden fences.
- 3 Bright Blue Blast Effects
- 2 Front mounting Laser Cannons.
- 1 Roped Bridle with handles
- 1 Vintage Style Helmet
- 1 Classic Style Helmet
Flight Stand with Green Castle Base: This “flight stand’ for Stridor is spectacular! It allows you to position Stridor in all sorts of amazing action poses! Stridor has a large peg hole in his underbelly to attach the stand too. It is similar to the same flight stand that came with the Wind Raider in articulation. This one comes with a similar green stone base to match your Origins Castle Grayskull and 2 wooden fence pieces to complete the scene. You will also see an indented portion at the end which allows you to tuck it slightly under your castle floor to complete the diorama look.
Bright Blue Blast Effects: This set includes 3 blast effects that can attach to the 2 front laser cannons and 1 rear cannon on Stridor. In the light, it looks really cool! Pew pew….
Front mounting Laser Cannons: Stridor comes with 2 front mounting laser cannons that can swivel and also act as a great place to rest the handles of his bridle when your passenger is not using them. In the case of Fisto, it’s very handy because his large right fist can’t grip the handle.
Roped Bridle with handles: Stridor comes with a set of bridles included, that snaps into his articulated mouth! Your rider can hold onto the handles or store on the pegs on the sides of the cannons as shown above.
Helmets: Stridor comes both with a Vintage style helmet and a Classics style helmet. As mentioned above, the Vintage style helmet is a direct homage to the original. The Classics style helmet has a lot more detail with a faceted front over the nose, a unicorn horn and chain metal look on the back.
Rating
Toy Sorceress
In closing, this is by far the best Origins release so far! Stridor gets a whopping 7.0 out of 7.0, perfect score!!! I knew I was going to like this Stridor as I was really anticipating this release. I received him as a birthday gift from my sis, and was in love with him right away! I was blown away at how much I absolutely love love love my new pony!! From the moment I first posed Stridor jumping over his fence with Fisto’s fist held high in the air, I fell head over heels in love! If I could take my pony out for a walk, I would, LOL!! Stridor pulls all the right nostalgia strings and corrects all the things you wish the vintage Stridor was!! This is a must have!! Don’t sleep on this one, pick him up today!! Stridor is currently IN STOCK at Amazon for $29.99 with the link below!
Check out more MOTU Origins review here:
