#450 HE-MAN – TORNADO/SPINWIT and QUAKKE/EARTHQUAKE (Ref. 1683 and 1849) (1991)

The next duel of He-Man figures is Tornado / Spinwit vs. Quakke / Earthquake!

These figures belong to the third wave, which is quite rare, although not as much as the fourth wave from 1992, whose figures usually cost around 100 Euros when they’re complete, and much more if they’re mint on card.

 

The third wave comprised the following figures:

 

GALACTIC GUARDIANS

• Artilla / Weaponstronic (Ref. 1639)
• Sagitar / Tharkus ["Deluxe Action Figure"] (Ref. 2145)
• Spinwit / Tornado (Ref. 1683)
• Tuskador / Insyzor (Ref. 1319)

EVIL MUTANTS

• Butthead (Ref. 2026)
• Quakke / Earthquake (Ref. 1849)
• Staghorn (Ref. 5804)

Tornado is a very attractive figure with bright colours. It is curious that in this collection all characters from the evil forces have relatively dark colours, while He-Man and friends have brighter colours. In this case, Spinwit/Tornado is orange, blue, pink and yellow and includes grey/silver accessories.

The figure features some “twister”-effect with both arms, and this way it is supposed to be able to fly, a little bit like a helicopter. The description on the cardback says: “Uses his amazing tornado spin to help the inter-galactic forces of good to fight the evil Skeletor”.

 

The figure came with a three-spiked gun and two wings that could attach to his arms. It is not clear if these wings are attached in one direction or the other. According to the package, the thick part of the wings goes on the shoulders, although the figure looks somehow better the other way.

He-Man New Adventures: Spinwit / Tornado - two variants

Although I have never seen any references to this, there are at least one variant of this figure, which can be easily identified just by looking at the head of the figure. If the head has a uniform colour, the head has been painted, otherwise, it might have some golden/brown patterns. This second version has some details painted in gold while the first figure has these same details in a dark yellow colour.

Quakke is a very heavy figure, with huge arms and legs. It is decorated with dark colours: brown, red, black and includes a black handle with a stone that detaches in 2 parts. The stone fits in that handle, and the figure can hit the ground with it, what produces an Earthquake. The mechanism is located on the back.

Both figure’s mechanisms are very interesting, since they are new to the Masters of the Universe and He-Man toylines. The stone is relatively difficult to find, since it often got lost. It doesn’t fit very well the handle and it doesn’t look like a real accessory.

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: TORNADO/SPINWIT and QUAKKE/EARTHQUAKE (Ref. 1683 and 1849)
• Toy Line: He-Man (also New Adventures of He-Man) (Wave 3)
• Year: 1991
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 14 cm