Masters of the Universe – Page 12

Roton

Recommended music: Fred Bongusto – Una rotonda sul mare

Happy Monday, He-Fans and She-Ravers! Right on time this #MastersMonday, we’ve got another 1984 vehicle from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe toy line: it’s the Roton!

The Roton was another childhood favorite of mine, but this “vehicle “Evil assault vehicle” was strictly for the Evil Warriors. While the wheel on the flat bottom made for a good ground ride for traveling baddies, the large saw blade made it look so cool as a flying vehicle.

Instead of the typical William George packaging artwork I’ve been sharing, I chose a different approach. I decided to put some toy Rotons into a zoomed-in version of this Earl Norem painting. This painting was included as a poster in the second issue of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Magazine in spring 1986. While the art on the vehicle’s box was great, this Norem piece contained multiple Rotons, so I was able to include several versions.

That’s right. While most vehicles may have slight color variations due to factories located around the planet, the Roton had very different colors because it was also included in the line of “Snap Tite” model kits produced by Monogram. As a kid, a family friend had a son six years older than me who had one of these versions of the vehicle, which eventually became a strange, fuzzy memory.

Not only did the model kit come with a version that reversed the vehicle’s common colors of red and black, but the model kits also had something my Mattel vehicle did not – a roof! Thankfully, when the vehicle appeared in Golden Books and the Filmation animated series, it did look more like my toy than those other versions. I’m not sure why, but I don’t believe any Rotons ever made it to the mini-comics included with figures.

As an adult collector discovering the extent of the toy line on the internet, these model kit variations definitely made their way into the collection, along with a few extras of the Mattel vehicle. They’re great for army-building, or in this case, I guess you’d call it fleet-building.

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#ToyPhotography

Bonus video the whole family may enjoy (mine did):

From the Archives: Revelation King Grayskull

Recommended music: Bear McCreary – Teela Joins the Wild Hunt

Kicking off another #MastersMonday with a post from the archives. Today, we’ve got the Mattel Masters of the Universe: Revelation Masterverse King Grayskull!

This version of King Grayskull deluxe figure is based on his design from Masters Of The Universe Revelation. It’s a somewhat different take on the character than the version introduced 20 years earlier, but ended up being pretty cool. The figure’s cape is improved over the Masters of the Universe Classics version. The fur is well-crafted, and the wired cape adds an extra element of posability.

Masters Of The Universe: Revolution may no longer be a top animated series on Netflix, but that doesn’t mean I will stop talking about it anytime soon.

#MastersOfTheUniverse

Road Ripper

Recommended music: Blasterhawk – Road Ripper

Happy Monday, MOTU fans! On this #MastersMonday, we’ve another 1984 vehicle from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe toy line: it’s the Road Ripper!

For vehicles in my childhood collection, this was a favorite! While Battle Bones could carry multiple heroes into battle, the Road Ripper Warrior Carrier got them there quickly and in style!

The idea for the vehicle came from the Evel Knievel Super Stunt Cycle, and used a rigid plastic ripcord that once given a quick pull would “speed your warriors into combat!”

The “powered for speed” vehicle looks great in the packaging art painted by William George, and he also did the art for this Battle Armor He-Man and Road Ripper gift set. As an adult collector reacquiring vintage MOTU items, I’ve stockpiled a handful of Road Rippers, but most (like this one) have lost the connection for the lap belt.

#MastersOfTheUniverse
#ToyPhotography

From the Archives: Revelation Mer-Man

Recommended music: Ween – Ocean Man

Good morning, another #MastersMonday post from the archives is here. Today, we’ve got the Mattel Masters of the Universe: Revelation Masterverse Mer-Man!

This version of Mer-Man is based on his updated look from the third episode of Masters Of The Universe Revelation, when he shows up with some other Aquaticans (fish people) in the Crystal Sea to cause some problems for our heroes.

Masters Of The Universe: Revolution may no longer be a top animated series on Netflix, but that doesn’t mean I will stop talking about it anytime soon.

#MastersOfTheUniverse

Dragon Walker

Recommended music: T78 & A*S*Y*S – Dragon Walker

Happy Monday, He-Fans and She-Ravers! On this #MastersMonday, we’re moving on to 1984 vehicles from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe toy line: it’s the Dragon Walker!

As a kid, and even 40 years later, I still think the Dragon Walker is a silly idea for a vehicle. Even though the Golden Book story The Rock Warriors showed the vehicle carrying He-Man over an “impassible mountain gorge,” I was skeptical. The Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series showed the Dragon Walker carrying multiple passengers, which the toy version clearly could not. If I needed a troop carrier, I still relied on Battle Bones, and any single hero could be transported to battle via cat, a vehicle with wheels, or a vehicle that could fly. 😄

While the “Sidewinding Beast/Vehicle” looks great in the packaging art painted by William George, the physical toy was not as practical. The motorized head/seat seemed to not stay attached to the base very well and had to be separated to change out the C batteries. When you did have fresh batteries in, the gear mechanism was unnecessarily loud in slowly moving your heroes a few feet ahead into battle in the playroom. Like the Road Ripper, the inclusion of a lap belt helped hold your figure in place (and even fits a Masters of the Universe Classics Battle-Armor He-Man after some adjustment).

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From the Archives: Madmartigan (custom)

Recommended music: James Horner – The Sled Ride

Today from the archives, we’re still celebrating the Magic of Willow with Madmartigan!

Just because I already covered all of my Tonka Willow collection, it doesn’t mean I’m done talking about Willow toys. When asked a couple years ago “Which action figure line do you wish would come back out for the adult collector market?”, my first response was… Willow!

The Tonka line is certainly not up to the same standards as modern action figure collecting in terms of paint applications, likenesses, scale, or articulation. While Super 7 Toys has more recently shown off plans for a 4″ line of retro-style figures based on the film and the new television series, it’s still not what I’m personally looking for in an action figure line.

This is my custom 1/12 scale Madmartigan that I put together with parts from Lord of the Rings, Masters of the Universe, and Narnia, amongst other parts I can’t remember the origins of, to make up my ideal vision for a Willow toy line. I even sculpted the figure some giant hair, which I felt represented Val Kilmer’s glorious wig from the film.😁

The Willow film turned 37 years old this month! I figure there’ll be a new Willow item from my collection to share here for the rest of the month. Happy 37 years to the Magic of Willow!

Whiplash

Recommended music: Metallica – Whiplash [Yes, Devo’s Whip It would have been good here, but I feel like I used that one recently]

We’re up late this #MastersMonday, and we’ve got another worthy 1984 figure from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe toy line: it’s Whiplash!

While Whiplash did show up as a semi-competent henchman for Skeletor during the Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series, the character looked a bit different than the action figure outside of both having the large tail and a shade of green as their primary color.

This “Evil tail-thrashing warrior” really appealed to me during my peak childhood MOTU fandom, not just because Whiplash could go toe-to-toe with the heroes in the mini-comics and Golden Books, but partly because of his… gross-out factor.

His ugly face with oversized fangs, spikes on his head, bumpy textured skin, and especially the large rubbery tail that could really whip He-Man and his kin in battle was such a fun combination. He fit right in with similar gross toys of youth, like rubber snakes or Madballs. He included the spear from Castle Grayskull, cast in orange plastic, but seldom needed it, instead relying on the rubber tail in battle.

#MastersOfTheUniverse