The sixth wave of the Masters of the Universe was in most parts of the world, the last wave ever produced. It’s still surprising, that the whole franchise went down in popularity so fast, mostly when that same year the film “Masters of the Universe” was premiered (feat. Dolph Lundgren as He-Man), and made good business in the cinemas worldwide. This sixth wave included three figures that came directly from the film: Blade, Saurod and Gwildor, plus a series of new figures like any other wave. We have also commented some time, that figures in the last wave of a toy series are often more expensive (in average) than figures in any other wave.
Many figures from 1987, like for example, this one, share the same casts than the original He-Man and Skeletor figures from 1982. This was seen at the time as a backward step, since from the 4th wave on, Mattel always tried to improve the appearance of the figures by introducing new and different figures with new and different features. If you observe Clamp Champ, you’ll easily identify the body cast of He-Man plus the chest armour from Fisto (1984). The weapon is however completely new and not reused from whatever other collection.
What makes Clamp Champ special is that he is the only black human (or humanoid) in the entire collection. The whole collection is quite homogeneous, in which only Jitsu (#24) belongs to another race (asian). Black race action figures are relatively strange in most collections, it happens somehow like it happened with women, but maybe even worse. American toymakers may think that their target customer is white, since white people have higher incomes, and can buy their white children more and more valuable toys. Meanwhile, black families are not appealed to buy toys in which there are only white characters, so it’s some kind of vicious circle.
By the way, doesn't Clamp Champ look a little bit like Big Jack?
Back to the figure, apart from the “power punch” action feature, the highlight of the figure it’s his weapon, some kind of insect’s claw to trap enemies. In the next photos we can observe Clamp Champ in action:
FACTS and FIGURES:
- Name: CLAMP CHAMP (Ref. 3073)
- Alternate Names: CAPTURATOR (Spain), PINÇOR (France)
- Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 6)
- Year: 1987
- Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
- Size of the figures: approx. 14 cm
Fantástico: completo, en buen estado y sin esas manchas tan habituales en las piernas, debido a quie sabe qué (seguramente a causa de la humedad).
ReplyDeletePara mi es una figura imprescindible, y ese arma es de lo más codiciado en estos tiempos que corren.
Una pieza de órdago!! Enhorabuena!!!!!
Gracias, es una figura que encontré de suerte en un megalote, cuando aun no sabía mucho de la colección. Me dejé en el puesto otra y muchas más cosas muy valiosas, qué tonto fui.
ReplyDeleteLa figura es algo "gris", con el mismo molde y moviemiento de acción de siempre. Si volvieramos al año 90, seguro que en una juguetería nunca hubiera elegido esta figura sino cualquier otra. Y sin embargo, ahora es muy buscada.