#500 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE - LASER LIGHT SKELETOR (Ref. 7061) (1988)

Since this entry makes a round number, I have decided to choose one of the best and most valuable toys I have in my collection.

This figure is among the most expensive and hard to find figures in the whole Masters of the Universe toyline. It is the last figure ever released in the collection (together with Laser Power He-Man) in 1988. The toyline was already cancelled in most parts of the world after 6 waves, so the both "laser" figures are considered to belong to the 7th wave, or sometimes, they are let out of this numbering system.

The fact is that the figure was only released in Spain and Italy, with the name Skeletor Ojos de Fuego ("Eyes of Fire") in Spanish or "Occhi di Fuoco" in Italian. The Italian Card was written also in English "Laser Light Skeletor" and French "Éclat Funeste" (eng. Gruesome Glare), although it seems that the figures were never sold in France, Great Britain or any other countries. The Spanish blister was only labelled in Spanish, and is considered to be even rarer than the italian model.

He-Man Laser Power and Skeletor Laser Light are the first and only two Masters of the Universe figures (not vehicles) in the whole collection that were battery powered. Each figure had some kind of big backpack to carry a AA battery. In this case, the "backpack" is part of the figure, like a huge hump. That hump hosts a "battery-holder" made of black plastic. That battery is connected to some small lightbulbs (maybe LEDs) placed on Skeletors eyes and right forearm, and that emit red light. I cannot give further details since I wouldn´t open such a figure to see its interior.

Battery Holder

If the metal contacts are not bright and clean, it is no reproduction.

The figure is quite impressive, a little in the style of the end of the 80s: a lot of details and golden and bright colours, today it would have looked very differently. The figure is not very different from others, except for the "backpack" mentioned above. it doesn´t have any articulation on the neck, and the legs are not fixed to the body with a plastic strip, but with the type of articulation used in some later figures like Snout Spout, Which is a great thing, since it is much more durable. The right arm is made of two parts, since the hand is made of another transparent type of plastic.

The figure came with 2 accesories (outside of the black plastic battery holder). The first one is a purple cloak with a rather strange design (it has a hole for the backpack). It is important to note that the cloak has a black elastic strap that fits right below the figure´s chin, to somehow fix it in the right position. The second accesory is Skeletor´s classic ramhead staff, only in red transparent plastic, which is intended to be hold by the red transparent plastic hand, from where light comes out. The effect is quite impressive, although I think, when the figure was new, it was slightly brighter.

The figure is absolutely amazing, and nowadays, it has a price of around 300 Euros loose and much more carded (just to give a number, I would say it is starting with 900-1000 Euros). And because of these high prices, the figure has been reproduced recently and is being sold for around 500 Eur carded. But be careful! because these are not the original figures from 1988, but some reproduction made recently, maybe in 2012 or so...

In my opinion, the reproduction figure has no value at all, and 500 Eur is not even cheap... so you can decide for yourself if you want to buy a real figure or a reproduction. There are also reproduction cloaks and reproduction battery holders to be bought loose. Read the descriptions carefully before buying anything. If the figure is loose, it is preferable if the figure has been played and has some use marks (like for example some paint loss at the tip of the paws), or if it is not pristine clean.

Read More about MOTU here: http://toysfromthepast.blogspot.com/search/label/Masters%20of%20the%20Universe

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: LASER LIGHT SKELETOR (Ref. 7061)
• Alternate Names: SKELETOR OJOS DE FUEGO (Spain), SKELETOR OCCHI DI FUOCO (Italy), SKELETOR ÉCLAT FUNESTE (France)
• Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 7)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 5½’’ or 14 cm