#921 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE - FISTO and WHIPLASH (Ref. 7015 and 4935) (1984)

This month I am joining many other Masters of the Universe fans worldwide to celebrate the 35th anniversary of this great toyline in Spain. A friend of mine with a few other colleagues is writing a book about this topic that will be published soon. The title is "Yo Tengo el Poder: La Historia de los Masters del Universo en España", haven't you heard about it yet? Visit their Facebook site for all information regarding this topic, and don't miss the release!
 

My entry today will deal with two figures from the 3rd wave (1984): Fisto and Whiplash.

I got Fisto as a kid. If I recall well, it was one of my first three or four figures, and one of my favorites since back then. The concept is pretty cool, with that huge metal fist, and the action feature, although a bit simple, was also amazing. Probably it is the feature I used most among all figures.

The figure itself, leaving the fist aside, is not very interesting: it has the classic cast and one of the classic armours too. The head gets more attention, since there were not so many characters with a beard. The colour mix: grey, purple and brown is a plus, I would say, and the long sword is also unique and cool. I guess it had to be a sword, because his counterpart Jitsu also had one (a sword fits better to Jitsu than it fits to Fisto).

 

Whiplash, on the other hand, is a figure I never had, although at least two friends of mine had it, and I played with it when visiting them. Despite buying it a few years ago, being already an adult collector, I have a certain weakness for the character, since it was my nickname in the community forum "Nueva Dominion - Eternia", where I used to post regularly and where I met some other collectors and people who became friends until today and beyond. 

Back to the figure, it is based on a great concept, a muscled lizard that striked with its tail. In "battle" it is not a very practical feature, it is more handy to use the waist twist to punch other figures than to hit them with the tail, but it doesn't matter! It simply looks cool and makes the figure unique. The colour combination is not very original, just mixing two different shades of green (lizard=>green), and probably did not appel children as it does with adult collectors.

The figure came with an orange spear, matching its orage belt. This spear was originally straight, but with the time, if not kept horizontal, it tends to bend. Mine is not so bad.

I would like to say that I own two versions of Fisto (shown in the following picture). Note the different hair colour, the different shades of purple in the armour and the slips and the size of the head. The figure on the left is the one I had as a kid, and it was made in France. The plastic in his left leg is a bit damaged, but interestingly, this happened back in the 80s, maybe it was a factory production error. The figure on the right was made in Malaysia. Both swords are slightly broken, they are very hard to find unbroken due to its fragility.

The variants in the MOTU world are becoming more and more intereting for collectors. What are we waiting for to start a variants webpage like the one for Kenner's Star Wars at "The Imperial Gunnery"?

I also have this illustration from a Fisto card, which depicts our hero hitting no less than Skeletor. Great art!

Read more about Masters of the Universe in these links!

All Masters of the Universe stuff

Masters of the Universe (vintage collection)

He-Man: New Adventures

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: FISTO (Ref. 7015) and WHIPLASH (Ref. 4935)
• Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 3)
• Year: 1984
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 5½’’ or 14 cm

#912 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE - LASER POWER HE-MAN (Ref. 7060) (1988)

I finally decided to make the investment in this figure. It is considered to be the most difficult figure in the toyline if we do not consider the giants Tytus and Megator. I say investment, because I consider that difficult figures will still gain value in the next years, but that is another topic.

I already talked about the figure in entry #500, when I presented Laser Light Skeletor. He-Man is more difficult to find (at least complete and in good shape) mainly because of the fragility of its accesories: the cable that goes from the backpack to the sword, the harness pegs, the armshield peg and the battery cover. Also the crotch is sometimes broken in the part that is nearer to the legs because it is made of very thin plastic. It is true that Skeletor had its cloak, the "red" hand is sometimes broken or the golden paint sometimes fades out, but all in all, He-Man is a much more delicate figure than Skeletor. And because all this, it is also a more expensive figure.

Another interesting fact is that this figure came with two head variants. This one has the classic 1982 He-Man head (soft head), and there is another one with a head that resembles the actor Dolph Lundgren. I have in mind that the first variant was for Spain and the second one for Italy, the only countries in which the Laser figures were released.

I am not sure if that last statement is completely true. Were Laser Power He-Man and Laser Light Skeletor sold only in Spain and Italy? The Italian card was also written in French and English. The Spanish card was written only in Spanish. Why? Were some units sold in France or other countries?

In Italy and Spain the toyline was available slightly longer than in other places. It was still profitable in 1987, so the toyline was available one year more than everywhere else, and these are the only two new figures in this last wave.

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

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: LASER POWER HE-MAN (Ref. 7060)
• Alternate Names: HE-MAN ESPADA LUMINOSA (Spain), HE-MAN SPADA LUMINOSA (Italy), MUSCLOR GLAIVE SUPREME (France)
• Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 7)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 5½’’ or 14 cm

#824 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – GRIZZLOR and LEECH (1985)

These two figures are two of the most recognizable and unique figures in the whole toyline. They are simply different to the rest of the figures. Grizzlor was the only furry figure made and Leech was probably the biggest and bulkier one (besides the Giants Tytus and Megator). I had the first one, and I can remember wanting to have the second, but I never got it.

I now have both, and I took them out for a dio-photo session. This could be Leech´s hideout.

Grizzlor is some furry beast, probably inspired by a bear, although with some distinctive features like fangs and red eyes. The figure came with a yellow harness displaying Hordak´s bat in red and a green crossbow, as many other Horde members had.

The figure in the pictures is the one I keep since my childhood. The hair is not so nice anymore, I got other Grizzlors in much better shape, but I traded or sold them, keeping only the one I have since the 80s.

There is rare version out there where the face of the beast is much darker, so this variant is called black-face Grizzlor. I do not have this yet, but if I ever have the chance to get it, I definitely will!
This normal version is relatively easy and cheap to find, as the rest of the figures form 1985, that were sold massively worldwide. The accessories are not difficutl to find either, so all in all, it is an affordable figure.

Unfortunately, Grizzlor had no action feature besides its furry skin. Maybe somebody had expected something more on top of that.

Leech´s feature is one of the greatest ever, although during the play it was difficult to use. Thanks to that round plastic mouth, you could attach it to some flat surface (like a window) and fix it by pushing a button in its back. The figure has an air pump inside that makes vacuum in the mouth. The air pump is probably the reason for the big size of the figure.

I like the especially designed limbs for this figure, all end with sucking pumps instead of hands and feet. The figure also had at least one variant in wich the black armband is red, and also another variant in which the figure was packaged with a brighter red crossbow (see pictures). I am still looking for the alternative armband figure, I will buy it when I have the chance.

Having so many plastic parts, Leech is a figure that won´t stand many more years. In some figures I have seen over the years, the plastic in its mouth and probably the air pump inside may harden and then break.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: GRIZZLOR and LEECH
• Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 4)
• Year: 1985
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 14 cm

#755 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE - MOSQUITOR and NINJOR (1987)

These two figures are quite expensive because belong to the last wave, which was sold in lower numbers than the rest of the figures. In addition to this, Ninjor had many accesories so it is difficult to find it complete.

  

I took some pictures in the dark, trying to get some strange night effect, but I couldn't. The pictures are quite bad, sorry.

Mosquitor was the "last" figure I got in the 80s, together with Scareglow, so it is one of my favorites and mayeb the one I worry most about. I can remember where my grandparents did buy it for me. While collecting the rest of the figures in the 2000s, I got a second Mosquitor in perfect shape, whitouth that scratch in the eye, however, I kept my old figure and traded the other one. The evil energy-draining insectoid came with one accesory only (a purple gun), but with one of the best action features in the whole toyline. Many collectors agree on this, at least, when I used to participate in message boards, we discussed this many times.

Ninjor came with a cloth jacket (including the head part and the belt), a sword, a bow and a nunchuck, and despite having the classic body cast, the jacket somehow hides it and makes the figure more attractive. The action feature is the same from Fisto and Jitsu, only with a "normal" arm, intended to be used with the sword or the nunchuck. The evil Ninja Warrior is one of the last figures I got. In 1987 there was still a great interest on ninjas, mostly in ninjaxplotation movies. This interest would last until the first 90s in Spain. 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: MOSQUITOR (Ref. 1191) and NINJOR (Ref. 3069)
• Toy Line: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (Wave 6)
• Year: 1987
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 14 cm

#734 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – SNOUT-SPOUT and HORDE TROOPER (1986)

I didn’t have either of these figures as a kid. The Horde Trooper was cool, but I always found it boring, because its appearances in the comic, were to be destroyed by one punch and that was all. I cannot remember any adventure in which the Horde Trooper had any interesting plot behind. Today I appreatiate its design, it is really great, and like many collectors I wouldn’t mind having a few of them. They are currently one of the most expensive figures in the series because people are just buying them over and over again to build armies.

The action feature is that, when hit in the chest, the chest will open and its head will hang down, like it was dead or “deactivated”. At least in my figure, the feature doesn’t work as well as I was expecting, I wouldn’t dare to say it is a design error, but almost.

The accessory is a red staff, which, again, is quite boring, but has a great design.

Snout-Spout is another great figure that spits water a little bit like Kobra Khan, only Kobra Khan would vaporise the water, and Snout-Spout does it in stream-form. The head design is truly great, and it includes the great leg-system without “rubber bridge”. That is why this figure will stay in good shape for a longer time, it won’t get loose legs.

The figure plays the role of some kind of fireman, and maybe for that reason, it came with an axe.

Both figure’s design is 100% exclusive, no parts are reused from other figures and no parts were ever reused to other figures, after all, the MOTU toyline was a goldmine, and they could really afford making these cool figures without reusing casts.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: SNOUT SPOUT (Ref. 2803) and HORDE TROOPER (Ref. 2549)
• Toy Line: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (Wave 5)
• Year: 1986
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 14 cm

#685 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – KING HISS AND TUNG LASHOR (1986)

I don’t know if you, MOTU collector, had access as a kid to all the cartoons, comic books and stuff. I personally didn’t, so the concept of the Snake Men was a bit strange to me. One of my first figures was Kobra Khan, who is himself a Snake Man and a friend of Skeletor, so when more Snake Men were made I was a bit confused. Who are they? Are they friends of Skeletor or not? Sometimes the concept of having more than two factions (good guys vs. bad guys) can be a bit confusing.

I got only Rattlor as a kid, and it was one of my favorite figures, because it had the coolest feature among all I had. Of course I knew the rest from the catalogues, and like also King Hiss very much.

Later, I knew that the Snake Men are kind of evil race that tried to conquer Eternia and failed. They made the Snake Mountain, and during war with Eternia, they were set away to a kind of parallel universe, where they were trapped. According to the story Kobra Khan remained in Eternia, and, when Skeletor later freed King Hiss, he was some kind of link between both leaders. They of course soon agree to destroy He-Man and take over Eternia. They free the rest of the Snake Men and prepare for the fight, release the Eternia towers (yes, the same from the huge Playset) from the earth (they were buried). Of course He-Man will succeed, but there are lots of fun in the process.

These two figures today are King Hiss and Tung Lashor. I like the feature from the first one, that comes with a second, human-like skin that reveals its true nature. The figure came with the classic Snake Men staff in green and a red shield, which is rare to find.

From Tung Lashor I love its design, The head resembles a toad, the hands are very peculiar and its feature is also not bad… This figure came with the same staff in purple and some kind of insect crossbow.

Two great figures!
Another entry in this blog dealt with Snake Face (check here: #289).

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: KING HISS (Ref. 2420) and TUNG LASHOR (Ref. 2331)
• Toy Line: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (Wave 5)
• Year: 1986
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 14 cm