Tag: MOTU

Recommended music: Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird

Happy Monday, MOTU fans! I hope you had a great weekend. For this #MastersMonday post from the archives, we’re looking at another creature from 1983 in the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe toyline: it’s Screeech!

This ‘Barbarian Bird’ is a purple-and-blue repaint of Zoar, except this time, on the side of the Evil Warriors. This figure is at least the third time Mattel has used the mold, as Zoar was also a repaint of an eagle from the Big Jim toyline. Screech came armored in its “bomb pack”, could flap its wings by use of a lever on its leg, and could sit on the included perch.

The Screech figure was available in window-box packaging by itself, then later in 2-pack gift sets with Skeletor, Battle Armor Skeletor, and Trap Jaw.

The bird is briefly seen in the Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series, and just a few different Golden Books, where he is typically drawn small enough to perch on Skeletor’s arm before flying out to do the bidding of the evil lord of destruction. The vintage toy, being 100% parts reuse, meant that he dwarfed the basic 5.5″ figure and couldn’t reasonably attach to his master’s wrist. This scale was corrected with a smaller version of the character in the Masters of the Universe Classics line more than 25 years later.

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Recommended music: DJ Goblin – WARHORSE

Happy Monday, MOTU fans! I hope you had a great weekend. For this #MastersMonday post from the archives, we’re moving on to highlighting 1984 releases from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe line. Today, we’re taking a look at the Heroic Armored War Horse, Stridor!

Stridor is a fun character that may have first been seen in the Filmation He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, as being created by Man-At-Arms. However, in the vintage toyline, he was usually depicted with Fisto riding him. In fact, Stridor was also available in a 2-pack with Fisto and makes his only mini-comic appearance in Fisto’s comic “Clash of Arms”.

While that was a fun debut for the character, I think I remember him most from the Golden book “Secret of the Dragon’s Egg,” where Beast Man thought he could control him (I don’t think it worked out). Yes, Goat Man also showed up in that story. 😁

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Recommended music: Nightwish – Walking in the Air (Live)

For this #MastersMonday post from the archives, we’re looking at the final item from 1982 in the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe line. It’s Castle Grayskull!

Can you imagine waking up on Christmas morning 1982 to unwrap the “FORTRESS OF MYSTERY AND POWER FOR HE-MAN AND HIS FOES”? Well, I’ll have to imagine it as well, as I was only a few months old. 😄

Fortunately, Mattel kept this iconic playset available on store shelves for the better part of a decade, and this young MOTU fan was able to pick one up at some point when a Fisher-Price Little People castle would no longer suffice for the most powerful man in the universe. I’ve been able to acquire a few different Castle Grayskulls in the decades since, and it’s always provided the perfect backdrop for any toy adventure.

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Recommended music: Steppenwolf – Magic Carpet Ride

Happy Monday, MOTU fans! I hope you had a great weekend. For this #MastersMonday post from the archives, we’re moving on to highlighting 1983 releases from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe line. Today, we’re taking a ride with Skeletor’s Savage Cat, Panthor!

Panthor was an easy reuse of the black jungle cat mold from the Tarzan toyline, and though he reused Battle Cat’s saddle, he did not reuse the helmet as originally intended, which was left unique for He-Man’s tiger. The most unique thing about Panthor is his fuzzy surface, as he is flocked from head to toe (until the flocking rubs off during too much battle). 😄

While the original 1983 version of Panthor came packed in a window box by himself, and then in a 2-pack with the original Skeletor figure, and THEN in a gift set which also added in Man-E-Faces, all with artwork by William Garland. Finally, he was reissued in 1984, packed with Battle Armor Skeletor and this artwork by William George.

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Recommended music: Christopher Cross – Ride Like The Wind

Well, here’s another #MastersMonday post from the archives. Today, we’re also looking at the other vehicle released in 1982 in the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe line. It’s the Wind Raider!

The Wind Raider “Assault Lander” was a smaller flying ship with adjustable (and easily breakable) tail and wings. The grappling hook and winch were actually a neat play feature. This vehicle was also designed by Ted Meyer toy with fantastic packaging art by Rudy Obrero.

The toy notably did not have window packaging art, so you couldn’t actually see how underwhelming the toy looked compared to the inspiring box art. 😄 My vintage Wind Raiders appear to have crashed in the abyss surrounding Castle Grayskull. Therefore, we’ve got this Masters of the Universe Classics Wind Raider as a stand-in.

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Recommended music: Powerman 5000 – Space Oddity

Happy Monday, MOTU fans! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. For this #MastersMonday post from the archives, we’re going back to 1982 releases from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe line. Today, we’re taking a look at Battle Ram!

The Battle Ram Mobile Launcher was billed as a “Battle Vehicle for He-Man” and was included in the first wave. Most likely the coolest vehicle at the time (as the other early vehicles did not yet have the Filmation series to help make them more appealing), it featured not only a battering ram, but also split apart for a “sky sled” to fly your 5.5” action figure around. The Ted Meyer toy design, Rudy Obrero’s box art made for an excellent release. Unfortunately, my vintage Battle Rams are currently lost, cruising around Eternia at the moment, so I had to use this Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Ram in their place. 😛

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Recommended music: The Smashing Pumpkins – Thirty-Three

Here’s another #MastersMonday post from the archives. Today, we’re continuing with 1983 releases from the vintage Mattel Masters of the Universe line, and taking a look at Tri-Klops!

The card back for Tri-Klops mentions he’s “Evil & sees everything” and also that the figure comes with a FREE Warriors Ring! 😄 I’m not sure why Mattel thought they needed the ring gimmick for this release. However, I was certainly glad to see them repeat it for the Masters of the Universe Classics Tri-Klops figure around thirty years later.

The vintage Tri-Klops body is a reuse of the standard He-Man body, but now comes with orange wrist bracers, a new rotating head, and a sword. I always thought his three different eyes were good, evil, and deranged. Apparently, they are explained on the back of the card as a daytime eye, a nighttime eye, and an eye for seeing around corners. 🧐

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