Pig Man on Campus

 

I found the Masters of the Universe Origins Pig-Head at Target today!

Pig-Head was originally a villain in the 80s Sun-Man toyline, which was not a Mattel creation and other than being similarly styled, had nothing to do with MOTU. 

By the time of the Sun-Man line, I had moved on from MOTU and similarly styled toys, so while I may have had some awareness of their existence, they weren't anything I sought out as a kid.

I of course would love to have any of the original Sun-Man figures now, but somehow have never come across any in my decades long toy collecting career. Fortunately the creators of Sun-Man have teamed up with Mattel and they are now part of the MOTU, via these new Origins releases!

I have not seen Sun-Man at retail yet, but will grab him when I do. A few of his teammates are also in the pipeline, but Pig-Head is by far the best of the bunch. The neon colors and odd helmeted boar head, along with his medieval weaponry, really recall the wild west cobbled together feel of the 80s toylines that took their inspiration in equal measure from the likes of Conan, Star Wars, and "what pieces do we have left over in the shop that we can slap together and call a villain?"

Pig-Head is beautiful, surprising addition to the Origins toyline. Who could have ever predicted this collab between He-Man and Sun-Man would happen in the 2020s? 

Now, if I could only find Sun-Man! 

'Walk of Shame' April O'Neil :: New from Playmates!

"Call me!"

This is Shogun April O'Neil from 1993, and one of the last waves of original TMNT action figures. Based I assume (having never seen the movie) on the TMNT III live action film, April is either lost in time wearing her traditional ancient Japanese garb, or is walking off a massive hangover of regret, hoping she doesn't run into anyone she knows on the subway ride home while wearing a stolen bathrobe and pajama bottoms taken from the bathroom floor before climbing out the window of the apartment of a guy she only knows as Tinder's @BigGunz69.

"Jose Cuervo, you are NOT a friend of mine!"

At least her make-up isn't smeared. Small favors!

I'm sure April's hair was a bit less 'Splinter's-nest-y' when new, but it's a hot mess now! I found her at the bottom of a quarter bin at the flea market last weekend. I'm sure the seller had no idea she was a TMNT as all his other TMNT figures were overpriced. In his defense, Shogun April comes across as a McDonald's Happy Meal Barbie type toy, and not one single thing about her would lead you to believe she was April O'Neil. But hey, I won't judge her. We all have our pasts.

Two-Bad :: Punching Himself in the Face for Over 30 Years

Two-Bad is another MOTU figure I did not own as a kid. Ironically, I now own two - both the flat back and round back version. I prefer the round back version because he's more properly proportioned, and this is him. Although you wouldn't have known because I didn't photograph his back.

Like with all Masters of the Universe figures, Two-Bad had an action feature, and it's still hilarious after 32 years - each arm pulls back and punches the other head in the face! HAHAHAHAHAH comedy gold! The only way Two-Bad could have been better would have been for him to have had two fingers extended on one of the hands.

"Oh, a wiseguy, eh?"

"Why I oughtta...!"

I remember reading somewhere that the original concept for Two-Bad was for him to have been two enemy characters mashed together by some sorcery or other and so of course they were always fighting each other even as a two-headed unit. Not sure what his canonical cover story is nowadays, but that;s how I like to think of him.

Random Toy Pic :: Masters, Prepare for Battle!

Trying to get a bit more organized with my toys that aren't on display, and gathered together a bunch of MOTU figures that for some reason haven't been stored with my main MOTU collection yet. Zodac and Trap-Jaw (you can see the top of his head above He-Man) are actually the re-releases from around 2000. The rest are original MOTU figures from flea market finds over the past few years. And even with a handful of floppy limbs, they all stand surprisingly well!

Extendar, Roboto, Horde Trooper, Grizzlor, and even Battle Cat are all figures I did not own as a child. You can see a bit of Clawful too in the right lower corner - he was one of my childhood favorites and one I did own and love.

Happy MOTU Day!

Apparently today, April 28th, is MOTU day. Why? I don't know, perhaps I should look around the 'net and find out. But I've been so busy lately! In fact, I have been so busy my planned 'MOTU Day' post never happened, and I'm pulling an '80's sitcom' over here and doing a flashback episode.

Lame I know, but hey, if you never saw these posts, they're new to you!

So follow the links, look at the pictures, and enjoy the last couple of hours of MOTU Day!

Extendar, Master of reaching stuff off the top shelf!

Horde Trooper - he's sooper dooooper!

Hey laaadiiiieeeees!!!

And of course the slice-du-resistance...I once owned a Wonder-Bread He-Man! But I don't any more. Waaaah!


Check out the rest of today's MOTU Day blog participants...

The Toy Box 1138
BattleGrip
Hoardworld
Nerditis
Needless Things
Action Figure Barbecue
Action Figure Adventures
Diary of a Dorkette

...and tune in soon for actual new content. Yay!

Imaginext and Playmobil: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together.

If you are a fan of Imaginext and a fan of Playmobil you may have discovered that some of the figures and accessories are compatible. It is particularly fun to match Imaginext figures with Playmobil accessories, as Playmobil makes some very serious, real-world weapons and accessories:

Killer Croc is definitely the Bowie Knife type.

And what is Scarecrow without a crow?

I picked this guy up from the flea market a couple weeks ago. I know he comes from one of the knight themed sets, but I don't know if he has an official name. He is certainly inspired by Masters of the Universe - he reminds me a lot of the Snake Men, and he even has fur shorts over his brown pants. Anyways, I gave him a battle-axe and a viking shield that resembled his slithery mug.

You can also see Penguin in the background, who has a laser gun of some sort.

And finally Gill Man or The Creature from the Black Lagoon - I gave him a Playmobil trident, which looks a bit more serious and realistic than the one he came with.

These pics were taken while my intern and I played with some of our Playmobil and Imaginext figures. At first it was Monsters vs. Superheroes and Princesses, but eventually everyone decided to just be friends.

Extendar - Sticking his neck (and arms and waist and legs) out for He-Man since 1986

Although I was a huge Masters of the Universe fan back in the early eighties, Extendar came out too late in the line (1986) to enter into my collection.

Until last weekend that is, when I found him at the flea market. It was a good weekend for flea-marketing!

Extendar is one of the few MOTU action figures that shares no parts with any other Masters of the Universe figure. He does however have a gimmick action-feature like pretty much every MOTU action figure.

And it's...unique.

I am Extendar - Master of the ancient art of 'Pea-kah-booh'

Extendar is a literal robotic White Knight. He actually looks far cooler in his 'normal' mode than when his action feature is employed. But leave it to the original MOTU toyline to take things to the nth degree:

Go Go Gadget Arms...oops...wrong '80s cartoon.

Extendar's arms...

Top shelf be damned!

...legs...

36-24-36, bitches!

...waist...

I wish I was a baller

...and neck all extend to make Extendar's dreams of joining the MOTUNBA complete.

Extendar is...just weird. He's like Mekaneck on steroids. But he is also surprisingly endearing. I like the pearlescent nature of his armor, and he's a bit bulkier that standard Masters of the Universe action figures - as if he were actually wearing armor over their musclebound near-nakedness. His extending bits lock into place quite well after all these years, and only his left leg suffers from the looseness common in MOTU figures. An issue that can be fixed if I ever feel the need. But for now he still stands with a bit of work in both modes, so it isn't as bad as a few MOTU figures I have.

Oddly Extendar has a peace sign embossed on the back of his neck. Not sure if this was addressed in any iteration of the character's storyline, or if this is just something a designer threw in for fun. Peace through superior extending-power? I don't know. Does anyone know?

Clawful :: Crableg Variant Edition

Clawful is one of my favorite MOTU characters of all time. Why I don't have the MOTUC version is beyond me. Well, actually I've attempted to get him a couple times, and the stars mis-align to keep him out of my grasp every time. A story for another time however...today let's look at an original Clawful that I was able to net!

This is the leg variant version of Clawful, with different legs than the standard Clawful (of which I own the early 2000s re-release.)

The other version I own has Skeletor legs, but this version has Buzz-Off legs. Not sure how these variants were released, what numbers they appeared in, or if either is more valuable than the other. I do know that this version has crossed my path far less than the other version, so I would say this one is the harder to find of the two.

I won this Clawful, complete with his green mace, off of the Pop Pop, It's Trash Culture blog a couple months back. It's nice to have an actual original Clawful again, since he was a childhood favorite. I can now add this original MOTU Clawful leg variant to my collection that consists of the Clawful re-release and my Fuerza T Destructor.

Clawful was a pretty foolish individual in the cartoon, but I always saw him as a formidable sea-based foe for the Masters. And the fact that he did not speak with a Maine accent is a massive missed opportunity in my opinion.

Clawful was one of the last MOTU figures I got as a child before I grew out of the toyline, and I think that also has an affect on his nostalgia factor for me.

Fuerza T Tekno!

I now have a Fuerza T action figure collection of two! A hero and a villain!

Fuerza T is the Argentinian toy line that, by using cast-away Masters of the Universe molds purchased from Mattel and re-purposing them, created their own funky universe of Space Aged Barbarian heroes and villains!  

Destructor first came to me via a toy trade with Freak Studios many years ago. I later did an art trade with FS and received a Mint on Card Tekno for that transaction! I decided I needed to bust Tekno open but the card pics are below for anyone interested in seeing it and the character descriptions etc.

Tekno is basically a Zodac/Trap-Jaw hybrid The blue/silver coloring, furry boots and smooth shorts set him apart from a mere kitbash however. His eyes also glow in the dark, which is a cool feature.

Tekno comes with all the same attachments as Trap-Jaw did - the hook, the claw and the laser gun. The quality on these Fuerza T figures is sub-par to the MOTU they emulate, but still better than most bootleg toys.

"So you're saying my Dad...and a brief shore leave in the South Pacific..."

"...he had a few drinks...met a guy named Zodac...and...?!?!"

Zodac was always a favorite MOTU character of mine, so Tekno really appeals to me. His color scheme, robot arm and Cosmic Enforcer helmet go great together and make for an iconic alien hero.

"...you...and my dad...did what?!?!"

"Dad! Dad! I heard rumors...shore leave...the South Pacific...cosmic enforcing..."

"You know, son, I always loved your mother and was faithful through and through. Why, I never would have..."

"Umm...err...no resemblance! No resemblance whatsoever!"

Below is the card Tekno was freed from, and all the character descriptions from the back as well! Enjoy! And special thanks to my 2000 Commemorative Edition Masters of the Universe Trap Jaw and Zodac, and my MOTUC Trap Jaw for helping make this post possible!

Fuerza T: Defensores de la Tierra! by Top Toys.

Ladies Night

For Eclectorama's last photo assignment, 'Ladies Night,' I took some pics of a couple themed groups of gals in my collection. A couple sets of gals didn't make the cut, so I figured I should show them eventually; and here they are:

First up is a total spoiler if you haven't seen Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Also of note, if you haven't seen Batman: Mask of the Phantasm there is something seriously wrong with you! Anyways, the first toy is Phantasm herself, unmasked! The second is Batgirl, but the unique thing about this toy is that it actually came from Jack in the Box. She has a lever on her back to kick the baddies, and is one of the finest looking Batgirl animated action figures made - from a fast food joint! Amazing when that happens!

Next up come a couple of Barbie-barians...err I mean Barbarians; Evil-Lyn and Teela. Toys I avoided like the plague as a kid (eww, girls are icky!) little did I know at the time how great these figures (and girls) actually are.