Masters Of The Universe Classics (Mattel)

Update - Now featuring all figures through December 2015

Masters of the Universe Classics was a line conceived by Mattel in an effort to relaunch the He-Man franchise for today's collectors. However, unlike most toy lines which hit local retail stores, Mattel determined that the success of the series would lie solely in the hands of its fans willingness to commit to the line via a subscription based premise.

The series launched in 2008 with the all new King Grayskull (shown left) at San Diego Comic Con. It was there that Mattel announced that future figures would be made available only via their website, and only to those willing to sign up for a one year commitment. As the line grew in popularity, Mattel also incorporated non-subscription based figures as well as chase and additional exclusives. This not only broadened the line, fleshing out more and more characters that fans wanted, but it also helped to draw in new fans to the series who had missed out on the subscription base, but still wanted to start collecting.

All the way through 2015, Mattel worked in conjunction with the famous Four Horsemen to retool every single vintage figure once released as well as all new ones. No stone was left unturned as the covered the basic Masters of the Universe line as well as She-Ra: Princess of Power, Snakemen and 200x lines. Though all the vintage figures will wrap up this year, Mattel has already announced that the line will continue as an all new 200x series. How long that will continue is anyone's guess.

 King Grayskull Bronze Chase Edition

Unfortunately for the collector that has to have everything, one figure you'll most likely never obtain is this exact version of King Grayskull Spirit Edition. This particular figure was released in incredibly small quantities, and were all auctioned off for charities. Your chances of finding this figure are slim to none, and we could never begin to speculate what it would cost you.

Mattel will however be releasing a glow in the dark version of this figure in 2015 to commemorate the series. This will most likely be your only chance to get a version of this particular figure.

 King Grayskull Spirit Edition

The line officially kicked off in December of 2008 with he-Man and Beast Man. With the exception of the above mentioned King Grayskull, these two would be the only figures released in this year.

 He-Man*Beast Man

The line went into high gear as of January 2009, releasing a new figure each month with a handful of special released figures sprinkled in.

 Skeletor*Stratos*Faker

Faker was not only released via Mattel's website in March, but also via an exclusive at New York Comic Con. There are no known differences between the two versions.

 Faker (New York Comic Con)

 Mer-Man*Zodac*Hordak

 Man-At-Arms

He-Ro was released in August of 2009 as an exclusive at San Diego Comic Con. There are four versions known to exist. The first one below is the most popular among collectors because it contains a San Diego Comic Con logo painted on the figure's chest below its removable armor.

 He-Ro (San Diego Comic Con Logo)

The other three versions contained NO SDCC stamp, but came in a variation of three different staffs. The first had a green orb, the second a red orb, and the last, a purple orb.

 He-Ro (with Various Orb Colors)

 Tri-Klops*Webstor*Teela

Not to be confused with Zodac as released in May of 2009, Zodak below was released in October of 2009.

 Zodak*Scareglow

 King Randor*The Goddess

The series ramped up production even further in 2010 offering multiple figures each  month as well as the long awaited Battlecat - The first of what would be many "bests" released in the series.

 Adora8battle Armor He-Man*Trap-Jaw

 Battlecat

Moss Man was released in two different versions. The first had plastic ears, while the second had ears that were covered in the flocked material that covered the majority of the figure's body.

February also saw the first of accessories released for the line - Castle Grayskull Stands.

 Castle Grayskull Stands*Moss Man*Moss Man (Flocked Ears)

 Evil-Lyn*Wun-Dar

Fans of the vintage line of He-Man know all to well the value of a good weapon's pack. During the line, Mattel released numerous sets.

 Weapons Pak

May of 2010 was note worthy for having the first Space Mutants figure as well as the first giant sized figure.

 Optikk*Tytus*She-Ra

 Keldor*Count Marzo

 Orko

Though the card only advertised Orko on the front of it, the beauty to this San Diego Comic Con exclusive was that it also contained a Prince Adam figure tucked in at the bottom.

Two versions of Orko were released. The first was a color changing version, the second a standard painted version.

 Orko

Mattel sometimes skewed off the path, and released figures that weren't necessarily a part of the Masters of the Universe realm. The two pack below is actually based on a Robot Chicken sketch by Seth Green.

 Mo-Larr Vs. Skeletor

 Whiplash*Chief Carnivus*Gygor

 Roboto*Grizzlor*King Grayskull

 Weapons Pak #2

 Buzz-Off

2011 brought with it an interesting set of two packs that would continue for some time throughout the series. DC Universe Vs. Masters of the Universe Classics. Each two-pack was released via a Toys R' Us exclusive and pitted one MotU figure against an iconic DC hero or villain.

 Superman Vs. He-Man*Lex Luthor Vs. Skeletor

 Aquaman Vs. Mer-Man*Hawkman Vs. Stratos

 Vikor*Eternian Palace Guards

 Bow*Shadow-Beast*Preternian Disguise He-Man

 King Hssss*Battle Armor Skeletor*Sy-Klone

 Panthor

 Weapons Rack

 Catra*The Faceless One*Battleground Teela

A great pack in with Captain Glenn was a kitten version of Cringer - Though he's far from kitten size.

 Clawful*Captain Glenn

 Bizarro Vs. Faker

 Man-E-Faces*Megator*Leech

 Hurricane Hordak

 Green Lantern Vs. Zodac*Supergirl Vs. She-Ra

 Icarus*Snout Spout

 Swiftwind

 Bubble Power She-Ra*Demo-Man*Battleground Evil-Lyn

December of 2011 saw the first of one of the very few vehicles released to date. When asked why Mattel was devoting so little attention to vehicles, they responded telling fans that more vehicles equals less figures being produced each year. Though fans weren't necessarily happy with the decision, their desire for figures seemed to squash the debate.

 Wind Raider

2012 wasted no time in ramping up production. A three pack was immediately made available in January.

 Star Sisters - Jewelstar, Starla and Tallstar

Sorceress*Fisto*Fearless Photog

Shadow Weaver*Kobra Kahn*Thunder Punch He-Man

Draego-Man*Stinkor*Slushhead

May of 2012 brought fans a whole new set of action figure stands. This time the focus of the backdrop was on Skeletor and his minions with the all new Snake Mountain Stands.

Mighty Spector*Snake Mountain Stands*Horde Prime

Snake Man-At-Arms*Griffin

Though it's not listed as such in the photo below, Vykron is actually a San Diego Comic Con exclusive for 2012.

Spikor*Vykron

Sir Laser Lot*Mekaneck*Dragon Blaster Skeletor

Snake Men Two-Pack*Frosta

Rattlor*Cy-Chop

In 2012, Mattel began giving its weapons packs (such as the one below) unique names. Though they still didn't figure out how to spell "pack".

Great Unrest Weapons Pak

Dekker*King Randor*Castle Grayskull Man

Temple of Darkness Sorceress*Mosquitor

2012 ended with two large figures, one of which was highly anticipated by fans - Granamyr.

Procrustus*Granamyr

More, more, more was what fans asked for, and more was what Mattel delivered in 2013 with all new clubs such as Quarterly, Filmation, Monthly, and of course more exclusives and chase figures.

Netossa*Jutsu*Ram Man (Oversized)

Fang Man*King He-Man*Strobo

A unique offering from Mattel in March of 2013 was the form fitted protective clamshell. While fantastic for collectors, the price seemed fairly high in contrast to how many figures were already available - Not to mention how many more were on the horizon.

Form Fitted Clamshell*Snake Face*Karatti

Fighting Foe Men

Octavia*Clamp Champ*He-Man (New Adventures)

Stonedar and Rokkon (below) were the 2013 exclusive made available at San Diego Comic Con. Additional supply was also made available at MattyCollector for fans who were unable to attend. However, this supply was very limited.

Icer*Stonedar and Rokkon Two-Pack

Castaspella*Shokoti*Batros

Attendees of Power Con were given the chance to nab a double edged/handled sword.

Power Con Double Edged/Handled Sword

Sky High with Jet Sled*Mantenna

Lord Datys*Nepthu

End of Wars Weapons Pak

Horde Troopers Two-Pack*Geldor

Sea Hawk*Grayskull Tiered Stands

Fans repeatedly asked Mattel to produce an all new Castle Grayskull, and were finally awarded for their patience in December of 2013. Mattel put a lot of effort into delivering fans the ultimate version, and though they had to cut back on some of the initially planned features, the end result was rather amazing.

Castle Grayskull

Mattel found one of the most obnoxious ways to release a figure when they came up with the idiotic scheme to hide the Spirit of Hordak figure randomly around their website. Fans would literally spend hours/days/weeks on the website clicking link after link after link in typically vain attempts to get the figure's purchase link to "pop up". It's no wonder that secondary markets went crazy with collector's who simply got frustrated with the campaign and decided their time was more valuable than their money. Many fans have still not forgiven Mattel for this one.

Plundor*Strong-Or*Spirit of Hordak

Fans seem split down the middle with the final figure released in December of 2013. Standor - AKA Stan Lee gets either love or hate from the community. Those who love it are not only fans of Masters of the Universe, but Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. Those who hate it can't fathom what Mattel was thinking incorporating him into the line. We've even heard fans ask, "What does Stan Lee have to do with He-Man besides nothing?" Well, it's a stretch, but we suppose Masters of the Universe was published by Star Comics in the 80's, and Star Comics was a sub company of Marvel Comics - A company that Stan Lee was, and to an extent still is the face of. Again - It's a stretch.

Standor

The ground got a little shaky for MotUC collectors towards the end of 2013. Mattel announced that the line was going to be determined on how many subscribers they got, not a new concept, but that fans were not signing up as fast as anticipated. It literally came down to the wire that Mattel was able to reach that magical unknown number of subscribers that the line was given the green light to continue.

Two-Bad*Glimmer

Modulok*Hydron

The Unnamed One*Blade*Scorpia

Battle Lion*Extendar

Flogg*Double Mischief

SDCC saw the all new Filmation version of Horak as an exclusive, and even a miniature Imp in Treasure Chest disguise. For those more so interested in a standard Imp figure, he was packed in with the Hordak exclusive.

Hordak*Imp as Treasure Chest

Though fans were happy to receive Loo-Kee and Kowl (below), they felt ripped off by the premium price for two mini figures. Many felt that the figures should have been packed in with an individual full sized character.

Loo-Kee and Kowl Two-Pack*Flutterina*Skeletor (New Adventures)

Madame Razz

Goatman was first released at San Diego Comic Con in August of 2014, but then went on to be released at a circuit of various conventions.

Goatman

Rio Blast*Entrpta*Eldor

Sweet Bee*Light Hope

Battle Ram with (200x) Man-At-Arms

Tung Lashor*Arrow

Galactic Protector She-Ra*Gwildor*Mermista

Spinnerella

As we mentioned at the beginning, Mattel announced that 2015 would be the end of the Classics line due to them finally completing every single figure that was originally produced in the vintage series. However, they have already announced that the series will continue, focusing on the 200x era of He-Man. As of now, it's anyone's guess as to how popular this all new wave will be.

Fans have pleaded with Mattel to end the line on a high note with an all new Snake Mountain, but at this point it doesn't seem likely at all that this will happen.

Lizard Man*Ninja Warrior

Snake Armor He-Man Vs. King Hsss

Huntara*Oo-Larr*Angella

Spirit of Grayskull*Blast-Attak

Sssqueeze*Multi-Bot

Peek-A-Blue*Callix

Hover Robots

Rotar and Twistoid

Mara of Prime*Buzzsaw Hordak*Evilseed

Heads of Eternia*Saurod*King Chooblah

 Perfuma*Ceratus

Terror Claw Skeletor and Flying Fists He-Man

 Dragstor*Queen Grayskull

 Point Dread with Teela

 He-Ro II (AKA Dare)*Prahvus

Laser Power He-Man and Laser Light Skeletor

Keep checking back for updates. We'll update this post as more and more items are made available.

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Bluntman and Chronic (Graphitti Designs)

Bluntman and Chronic

Graphitti Designs

1998

 

Though technically their own series, fans often times equate the Bluntman and Chronic figures to be associated with the Jay and Silent Bob line which we talked about in our prior post.

 

Unlike the prior figures, this series did not incorporate a push button feature or talking mechanics at all. Instead, each figure had sixteen points of articulation, genuine synthetic hair, and in the case of Chronic, a packed in bonus "figure" in the form of Suzanne the orangutan.

 

Bluntman*Chronic

 

Much like the first Jay and Silent Bob figures, second hand dealers seem to think they're sitting on a gold mine when it comes to these figures. As such, they're priced incredibly high, and typically not selling. Be patient, and you can usually nab these figures up relatively cheap.

Join us next time when we take a look at a more recent rendition of Jay and Silent Bob!

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Jay and Silent Bob (Graphitti Designs)

Jay and Silent Bob
Graphitti Designs
1998

Before the incredibly hard to find Kevin Smith figures based on Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and so forth were released in 2003, Graphitti Designs produced much larger figures of the film's star's Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as their characters Jay and Silent Bob. These figures featured voice chips which were activated by pushing a button located on each figure...Of course, the Silent Bob figure said nothing.

Jay*Silent Bob

 

Prior to their release, 1,000 "Semi-Politically Correct" editions of the figures were produced for Comic-Con International. However, out of those thousand, five hundred were given away to specific retailers, while the rest were sold at Graphitti Design's booth. The proceeds from the sales went to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

 

Today these versions of the figures are incredibly hard to come by. Because they were usually sold in sets to buyers (Who's going to just buy one?), each one typically has the same number stamped on the sticker.

 

Jay*Silent Bob

 

These days a lot of second hand dealers (specifically on ebay) ask for around $80.00 for the sets, however they rarely sell for that much. Patient buys who don't dive in to the "Buy it Now" option can sometimes get a set of two for as little as $15.00, but typically no more than $35.00.

As for the exclusive Semi-Politically Correct versions, those are much harder to come by, and as such are going to set you back more. Unfortunately because sets come up so few and far between, it's difficult to gauge a value for them as prices aren't consistent.

Join us next time when we take a look at another Kevin Smith series; Bluntman and Chronic!

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We've added a feature to The Toy Box which allows for the site to be translated into numerous languages via Google Translate. To use this feature, simply click on the Google Translate drop down box located at the top right of the sidebar, and select the language of your choice. Your screen should then reload, and be translated accordingly.

We hope that this added feature will be a benefit to all of you around the world who enjoy stopping by The Toy Box. We thank you for being a reader.

***Update***

Unfortunate Internet Explorer does not appear to be working with the Google Translate option. We looked into the issue and found that it's a compatibility issue, and not one that we can fix. As such, if you want to use the translate option, you'll need to be running some other form of internet software such as Firefox or Google Chrome. We apologize for this inconvenience, but it is beyond our control.

Bronze Bombers (Olmec Toys)

Bronze Bombers
Olmec Toys
1988

"They stand for justice, and they never lose!" That was the tagline of Olmec Toy's Bronze Bombers line in 1988.

The figures had a clear distinction to Hasbro's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line, and should have - A lot of them were produced using the same molds of certain figures, and art work for the cardbacks. However, unlike G.I. Joe, Bronze Bombers failed to find a foothold in toy isles, and disappeared after just twelve figures and two vehicles.

Shaka Johnson*Charles "Chilly Pop" Battle*Arrow Hawk

 

The Baron P.S.B. Enemy*A.J. Moon*Agent Telepathy

 

Though the card backs were done in black and white, they mimicked the style of Joes right down to a file card for the figure inside.

Cool Breeze*Hi Tech*Wayne Golden Alexander

 

Mapman Jackson*Sure Fire*Marc Kaboom Walters

 

The series was rounded out with two vehicles that came packed with one of the previously released figures above. An orange ATV style vehicle was planned and advertised on the back, but doesn't appear to have ever been released.

Battle Hovercraft with Wayne Golden Alexander

Battle Copter with A.J. Moon

 

***BONUS***

 

Bronze Bombers: The Enforcers of Justice

Olmec Toys

1997

 

In 1997, Olmec Toys made a much more popular comeback with the twelve pack of Bronze Bombers figures they released. Granted it still wasn't the likes of popularity that Hasbro had found with their G.I. Joe line.

 



Twelve Pack

Join us next time when we take a look at Jay and Silent Bob!

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Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Series 11 (Playmates Toys)

Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Series 11
Playmates Toys
2015

Playmates Toys asks, "How deep are your pockets?"

You just picked up the Mutations line. You grabbed the four new Mystic Turtles, and you swept up the remaining older figures in the new packages. Whew, it's been an expensive January. Well, back to the store you go! As of March 2015 these have hit U.S. shores, and prior to that were being found in Australia and the U.K.

Hot on the heels of their last release, Playmates Toys drops the new Stockman-Fly, Mikey Turflyle and Karai Serpent on you

 Stockman-Fly

***UPDATE***

Reader Mattster points us to a variant of Stockman-Fly. There's a light blue and a dark blue pants version.

These here - These we like! In light of what we've been seeing as of late, it was refreshing to get some pretty solid figures for the line. We really hope Playmates takes a page from this bunch and keeps this sort of quality going. Granted the paint jobs are off from the prototype vs. package versions, but we all pretty much expect that at this point.

Mikey Turflytle

Truthfully, we would have rather had a regular Karai figure as opposed to the serpent version. The serpent version is great - It's just not the version we personally were hoping for.

Karai Serpent

In addition to the above, we've also spotted Head Droppin' Leonardo and Head Droppin' Donatello in stores - Though no sign of the Michelangelo and Raphael versions. We'll compile a post on those once we've obtained all four.

Also, be on the look out for a couple of re-released figures in the new 2015 packaging which are hitting store shelves with this batch;

April O'Neil
Cockroach Terminator
Kraang
Leatherhead
Mutagen Man
Newtralizer
Ninjas in Training - Leonardo and Donatello
Rahzar
Shredder
Slash 

We'll keep you posted as we find more.

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S.L.U.G. Zombies - Scary Little Ugly Guys (Jakks Pacific)

S.L.U.G. Zombies - Scary Little Ugly Guys
Jakks Pacific
2012

In 2012, Jakks Pacific (JP) took a page from successful mini figures lines such as M.U.S.C.L.E.S. and Garbage Pail Kids Cheap Toys and developed/released S.L.U.G. also known as Scary Little Ugly Guys. The initial plan was to release upwards of one hundred figures for the initial series, and then expand into categories of monsters and aliens. Sadly this never came to fruition as JP ended up cancelling the line later that same year after producing just seventy-four of the intended figures in addition to eight holiday themed bonus figures.

What annoyed many collectors was the vast amount of exclusives that came packed in with the three and twelve packs. This meant that you would end up with numerous duplicates just to get a full set by purchasing the packs. JP tried to sell the series as a tradable figure set among collectors, but when you get massive duplicate figures from buying the various sets, what's left to trade? People already have them except the exclusive ones they're hunting.

SERIES 1 (Top Row)

The Corroding Kid*Rigormortis Lourdes*Mighty-Bite Mac

Neil Armsgone*Brain Eatin' Brandon*Office RIP

Grave Lincoln*Jon B. Gone*Headless Halpert

King Guts*Decayin' Dom*Piece Mail Pete

 

SERIES 2 (Bottom Row)

Andrew Agony*Grim Trekker*Captain Payback

Mr. Jangles*Cleopatra Commin'Atcha*Blazin' Basel

Macho Mangler*Flesh Eatin' Phil*Buck Wilde

Stu B' You*Mash-Up Mike*Gator Jones

 

SERIES 3 (Top Row)

Basehit Bones*Jeet Kune Dead*Woody the Wrecker

Extra Crispy*Zero Hero*Riled-Up Riley

Trashcan Sam*Decrepit Katie*Johnny Two-Guns

Tragic Magic*The Deadlifter*Double-Barrel Carol

 

SERIES 4 (Bottom Row)

The Brain-Eatin' Barbarian*Moldy Moxie*Play-It-Safe Sammy

Jamaica Me Sick*Dismembered Dennis*Sawblade Sampson

Gangrene Gene*Ferocious Frankie*Johnson

Buckskin Bill*English Dead Guard*Gruesome Gabe

 

 

Prior to the series being cancelled, JP produced eight all new holiday based figures which had originally not been announced. Two of each new figure was packed into a three pack with one prior released figure.



CHRISTMAS EXCLUSIVES

Hungry Humbug*Nutty Nate*Captain Payback

Frozen Fright*Johnny Hammer-Stix

Ralph Reindead*Surprise Demise*Blazin' Basel

Santa Claws*Eli the Expired Elf*Gator Jones

 

In addition to the three packs, JP produced and released a twelve pack for series one through four. To force people to buy both the three packs and twelve packs, JP packed exclusive figures into each pack.

 



SERIES 1 (Left)

King Guts*Grave Lincoln*The Corroding Kid*Gunslinging Grimm*Erik the Dead*Decayin' Dom*Jon B. Gone*Brain Eatin' Brandon*Rigormortis Lourdes*Inspector Bones*Cap'n Jack Scurvy

 

SERIES 2 (Right)

Mash-Up Mike*Stu B' You*Cleopatra Commin'Atcha*Jump-Shot Rot*Maximus Cadaverous*Captain Payback*Gator Jones*Andrew Agony*Dr. Outbreak*Macho Mangler*Teddy Terror*Grim Trekker

 

SERIES 3 (Top Row)

Extra Crispy*The Deadlifter*Basehit Bones*Singer Mortis*Double-Barrel Carol*Jeet Kune Dead*Johnny Two-Guns*Squeamy Shashimi*Louie Fingers*The Towering Terror*Tragic Magic*Zero Hero

 

SERIES 4 (Bottom Row)

Gruesome Gabe*Leo the Lifeless*English Dead Guard*Jamaica Me Sick*Dismembered Dennis*Decomposing Dan*Sawblade Sampson*Deranged Denise*The Brain-Eatin' Barbarian*2-Scoops-Too-Late Steve*Buckskin Bill*Moldy Moxie

 

We'll never understand why JP produced the blind boxes that they released. When one could purchase the entire series by simply buying the packages above, it seems a waste of money to buy the figures blindly.

 



 

 

When the series was being planned out, JP produced a wonderful poster showcasing all the figures they intended to release. The poster is a fantastic addition to any collector's collection, and one of the only ways to see the figures that never made it to store shelves. Though all the figures are known to exist in plastic form, they are in extremely low quantities, and incredibly rare. 





In addition to the figures, JP also planned on releasing carry cases starting with series two. An initial case was announced that would contain two exclusive glow in the dark figures, but was never produced. It is assumed that the four figures on the poster above showcasing a glow in the dark essence would have been the figures released in the planned cases.

Join us next time when we take a look at Bronze Bombers!

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Hardened (N2 Toys)

Hardened
N2 Toys
2001

Remember when toy fans were all upset because nobody would give them a Steven Seagal action figure and doll? Exactly.

So it was really odd that N2 Toys would produce the very short lived Hardened line with none other than Seagal as one of the two front running characters. Though the series was entitled Hardened, you won't find this anywhere on the front of the packaging. Instead, you'll find this at the top of the flip side of each piece.

In all honestly, the sculpt was pretty spot on for the actor, and had some fun accessories packed in with the twelve inch doll. Sadly the figure (below) was nothing more than molded plastic with no joints or articulation, leaving even less to be desired in this fairly undesirable series.



Though more popular, the Rambo doll and figure didn't exactly sell in droves either. Mainly because when it came down to it very few people knew the series even existed.



Much like the Seagal figure, there's no articulation to be found in the Rambo figure (below).

What can we say? Not every toy line can be a winner. As such, the line came and went quickly, and was never followed up on with any other characters.

However, if you're a Steven Seagal or Sylvester Stallone fan, these items may be right up your alley. Though not many of them sell on secondary markets, the smaller figures garner between $15.00 and $40.00, while the dolls range between $40.00 and $60.00. Believe it or not, the Steven Seagal figure is often  times more expensive than the Rambo one.

Join us next time when we take a look at S.L.U.G. Zombies!

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