Masters of the Universe Day 2020: Castle Grayskull from Masters of the Universe Minis by Mattel

    How could I ever devote a day to looking at toys inspired by the original 1982 Masters of the Universe toyline without taking a look at Castle Grayskull? Castle Grayskull has appeared in some shape or fashion in most MOTU toylines which is a testament to the popularity of the playset. Honestly, I think you could make a strong argument that Castle Grayskull is the most iconic action figure playset of all time. I mean, who doesn't recognize Castle Grayskull? While the greatest Castle Grayskull of them all is the Masters of the Universe Classics Castle Grayskull, today I'm looking at one of the smaller Castle Grayskulls of them all: The buildable Castle Grayskull from Masters of the Universe Minis by Mattel. The MOTU Minis line was released by Mattel through MattyCollector in 2013 and 2104 and each release during the second year included a piece to build a Castle Grayskull facade for minifigures to battle around. Let's take a look at this miniature Castle Grayskull after the break...

Masters of the Universe Day 2020: Battle Ram from Masters of the Universe by Mattel

   Guess what? I'm actually reviewing a vintage Masters of the Universe toy today! How about that? Yes, the theme of the rest of the reviews today was looking at various toys based on the original series of figures from 1982 but the Battle Ram has thus far only been remade one time, and that was in Masters of the Universe Classics in 2014 (there is an upcoming Mega Construx set, too). While Castle Grayskull, Battle Cat, and the Wind Raider have been recreated and reimagined multiple times, the Battle Ram seems like it has largely been left behind. Why's that, I wonder? It's such an iconic vehicle for the MOTU line. I never owned the Battle Ram as a kid but, then again, I wasn't collecting MOTU until around 1985 or 1986 as I wasn't born until 1983 so maybe it wasn't on shelves any longer. I didn't get this Battle Ram until around 2009 or 2010 when I picked it up second hand to display with my MOTUC figures. Let's check out one of the original 1982 vehicles after the break and see if it stands the test of time!

Masters of the Universe Day 2020: Wind Raider with He-Man & Roton with Skeletor (Orange) from M.U.S.C.L.E. Masters of the Universe by Super7

    What is the most iconic Masters of the Universe vehicle? While I'm a bigger fan of the Roton and the Land Shark I think you can make a strong case that the Wind Raider is the most instantly recognizable MOTU vehicle as it appeared in so much licensing art and was a regular fixture in the Filmation series. Today I'm checking out a more recent take on the Wind Raider that pays homage to the vintage 1980s M.U.S.C.L.E. line: Super7's SDCC 2017 exclusive Wind Raider with He-Man & Roton with Skeletor set cast in orange plastic. Released at Skeletor's Lair during SDCC 2017 there was both a purple and an orange variant of this set. I'm checking out the orange set today since it seemed more fitting for the Wind Raider. While Super7's M.U.S.C.L.E. releases were hit or miss, overall the MOTU releases were quite nice. While the Wind Raider and Roton were originally released in the third series of minfigures the He-Man and Skeletor are from the second series. Super7 was mixing it up a little bit, huh? Let's check out this fun little convention set after the break...

Masters of the Universe Day 2020: Battle Cat from Pint Size Heroes: Masters of the Universe by Funko

    Yes, the original eight action figures from the 1982 Masters of the Universe line are iconic characters who have helped fuel our imaginations for years to come, but there were a few other amazing things introduced in the original series of toys as well. One of my personal favorites is the mighty Battle Cat! I've owned my original Battle Cat for as long as I can remember but since today we're celebrating the various toy incarnations of these characters that have been released over the past 38 years I'm checking out a tiny version of Battle Cat from Funko's Pint Size Heroes series. These little guys were sold blind bagged in small foil pouches back in 2018 and are kind of like the miniature versions of Dorbz. When I first found these I was really excited that Battle Cat was part of the first set of packs I opened! He looks so cool and fierce despite the fact that he's less than 2 inches. Let's check out Battle Cat after the break...

Masters of the Universe Day 2020: Zodac from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls by The Loyal Subjects

    Zodac is probably the most unusual of the original eight figures from 1982's Masters of the Universe line. He's not a Heroic Warrior, nor is he an Evil Warrior; he's neutral! A later addition to the original lineup, Zodac complemented the original series of 4 heroes and 3 heroes by being a mysterious Cosmic Enforcer. Originally the first series was to include two female figures (Teela and the Sorceress/ Goddess) but eventually they were combined to make room for another male, thus Zodac entered into the line. While he was designed to be a Heroic Warrior, the fact that he used parts from the Evil Warriors (the finned arms and webbed feet) and evened out the sides seemed to cause perceptions of the character to sway towards being a villain. In Mattel's 1981 licensing kit Zodac was even portrayed as a bounty hunter! This guy has been all over the place, hasn't he? Since the early days (the Filmation series was pretty influential I imagine), Zodac has typically been portrayed as a cosmic guardian, sort of like a mix between Metron from Jack Kirby's New Gods and a Green Lantern. Today I'm checking out Zodac from The Loyal Subject's Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls line. Released last year, Zodac was one of the chase figures in the series along with Zodak, the Cosmic Enforcer from the 200x MOTU series. Let's check out  Zodac after the break...

Masters of the Universe Day 2020: Stratos (Blue Wings) from Masters of the Universe: ReAction by Super7

    I hate to pick on the guy but if I have a least favorite figure from the original 1982 series of Masters of the Universe figures it's definitely Stratos. Maybe it's because he didn't come with a weapon or maybe it's just that I never owned Stratos as a kid. Who knows? Anyways, I've certainly made up for not having Stratos as a kid as I now have a pretty sizeable collection of Stratos toys. Since my contribution to the Masters of the Universe Day celebration this year is to show off the wide range of toys inspired by the original 1982 series of MOTU figures let's take a look at one of the more unusual MOTU lines out there: Super7's Masters of the Universe ReAction. The ReAction line has been around since 2013 and was originally a joint venture between Funko and Super7 to put out figures of the developed but never released 1979 Kenner Alien toyline. Over the years Super7 took over the line completely and they've been doing a great job with it. The idea behind the ReAction line is to create action figures in the style of the vintage Kenner Star Wars line. It's strange to see Masters of the Universe in the style since it was a toyline created to rival Star Wars and to be bigger and brawnier than Kenner's toys, but there's also a peculiar "alternate history" kind of appeal. Stratos was originally released in the second series of figures with his red wings/ blue jetpack color scheme but today I'm checking out the blue winged Stratos, one of the three Power-Con 2018 exclusive Stratos figures (the other two were minicomic Stratos and the blue bearded Stratos). Let's check out the ReAction Stratos after the break and see if he flies high!

Masters of the Universe Day 2020: Mer-Man Collectible Eraser from Masters of the Universe by Panosh Place

  Today I'm really going off the deep end for Masters of the Universe Day 2020! I'm getting ready to review a 36 year old eraser! Yes, for Mer-Man's installment in Masters of the Universe Day 2020 I'm checking out the 1984 collectible eraser from Panosh Place. You know something is wildly popular when every company under the sun wants to make product based on your property! Panosh Place was a company mostly known for producing Voltron toys but apparently they made lots of MOTU school supplies as well including erasers, rulers, and pencil sharpeners. A few months back I picked up a loose set of unused erasers and today seems like the perfect chance to show one off. Mer-Man is one of the most classic MOTU villains and the third Evil Warrior from the original 1982 toyline. Usually he's making mistakes but this version of Mer-Man is hear to help you fix them! Let's take a quick look at the Mer-Man Collectible Eraser from Panosh Place after the break...