Many thanks to Richard Sánchez Guirao and Fernando Seage Tomé from La Cueva del Terror and Mundo Masters Magazine for sharing this scan from the 1986 Mattel Spain catalog with the readers of Battle Ram: A He-Man Blog. As always, their partnership is greatly appreciated. Be sure to check out their excellent podcast, website and magazine at the links above!
MOTU products for overseas markets were often delayed from their initial US releases, which is why you see mainly 1984 and 1985 toys in this 1986 catalog.
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Name: Extendar Faction: Heroic Warriors Approximate US release date: November 5, 1986
Extendar is another member of the ragtag group of 1986 heroic warriors – a bunch of misfits who don’t seem to fit in all that well with the rest of their compatriots, but who had pretty fun action features.
Design & Development
An early concept drawing by Ted Mayer (below, as shown in The Power and The Honor Foundation Catalog) demonstrates the general idea behind Extendar’s action feature, although the colors and styling lack the medieval knight theme of the actual toy:
According to Martin Arriola, the figure (or presumably the final styling on the figure) ended up being designed by John Hollis, who also worked on Rattlor and Turbodactyl. The final design gives Extendar a knight look, but with a golden robotic face. The image below shows the final, hand-painted prototype:
The cross sell art for the figure is closely based on the finalized design:
Figure & Packaging
Extendar was produced in a pearlescent white plastic with gold trim. For whatever reason, the gold paint on his gloves tends to take on a green hue over the years, while the rest of the gold paint retains its original color. His arms, torso, legs and head can be extended by manually pulling on each part. The extensions that become visible show sculpted electronic circuitry.
The back of Extendar’s neck feature’s a peace symbol – a fun Easter egg from the sculptor.
The inner part of the fold-out shield also features a peace symbol (thanks to Jukka Issakainen for pointing that out):
The earliest ad I’ve found for Extendar dates to November 5, 1986, indicating he started arriving in stores about that time or a little earlier.
Extendar came packaged on a standard blister card. He’s advertised as the “tallest Heroic Warrior ever!” That was true of course until Tytus was released in 1988. The artwork on the back/top of the card is by Errol McCarthy.
Original line art by Errol McCarthy. Image via He-Man.org
Comics & Bio
Extendar was featured in Mattel’s 1987 Style Guide (illustrated by Errol McCarthy), which gave some backstory for the character:
From the 1987 Style Guide:
Name: Extendar Role: Heroic tower of power Power: Ability to leap over barricades and opponents. Character profile: Another Eternian athlete who was abducted by Hordak for evil experiments. Extendar escaped the Evil Horde before the foul effects had fully taken hold. Extendar stretched out each morning – extending his body length by over 50 percent! He is very strong and very fast. One of his closest friends was the human who later become Dragstor, so Extendar feels a special obligation to try to free his friend from Hordak’s clutches. Extendar is the stoic sort, but he’s always there when trouble starts brewing.
Extendar is also given a bio in the 1989 UK MOTU Annual, which expands on the above story. In this version, Extendar was an Eternian athlete named Doodon, who was captured by the Horde along with Theydon (Dragstor).
Image source: He-Man.org
Extendar was showcased in The Warrior Machine. On the cover we see that Extendar has a slightly different look compared to the figure, which may represent John Hollis’ concept design:
Image source: Dark Horse
In the story, Extendar, who has the same costume from start to finish, voluntarily goes with Hordak in order to become more powerful through Hordak’s experimentation. However, after undergoing a transformation, Hordak is unable to control him, and Extendar sides with He-Man:
For an in-depth look at this story, check out Jukka Issakainen’s excellent video on the topic:
In issue 31 of the UK MOTU Magazine (1987), we get more on the backstory of Theydon and Doodon (Dragstor and Extendar). The friends are captured by the Evil Horde and transformed. However of the two, only Extendar is able to retain his own will, and he manages to escape from the Horde (images via He-Man.org).
Extendar also appears in this 1989 German MOTU Magazine:
Extendar appears in a few issues of the MOTU Star Comics series. He uses his extending limbs to pound the Evil Horde (images courtesy of Øyvind Meisfjord):
Extendar appears in the Fall 1986 US Masters of the Universe Magazine, in the story, The Struggle For Eternia. He also appears in the accompanying poster by Earl Norem:
Poster by Earl Norem, appearing in the US Masters of the Universe Magazine
Extendar makes an appearance in this Italian language Magic Boy comic (images courtesy of Danielle Gelehrter):
We also see a brief cameo of Extendar in the newspaper story, Ninjor Stalks by Night (thanks to Dušan M. for the tip):
Artwork & Ads
Unlike the other 1986 figures like Horde Trooper, Rokkon, Stonedar and Multi-Bot, Extendar never appeared in the Filmation She-Ra cartoon, and generally speaking was a fairly sparsely used character in comics and books. He did make an appearance in William George’s 1986 Eternia poster, however:
Extendar appears in some coloring books as well (scans by Joe Amato, images via Jukka Issakainen):
Extendar also appears in this Italian ad:
Extendar in Action
Øyvind Meisfjord has kindly shared the following of image and video of Extendar in action:
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Some time ago Joe Amato (customizer and host of the Fans Of Power Podcast) scanned the MOTU Sticker Fun book, The Evil-Lympics. My good friends Jukka Issakainen and Øyvind Meisfjord shared the scans with me, and with Joe’s kind permission, I’m sharing them with readers of this blog.
This particular book stands out because it was illustrated by the venerable Alfredo Alcala, whose artwork in various MOTU minicomics from 1982-1984 (as well as inks on some of the full-sized MOTU comics published by DC) is beloved by many fans. You can peruse these comics at at Vaults of Grayskull and He-Man.org, as well as in the Dark Horse Minicomic collection (the Dark Horse collection only includes the MOTU minicomics).
The level of detail in these illustrations is somewhat reduced compared to Alcala’s other work. That’s not surprising given that it’s just an inexpensive sticker/coloring book rather than a real comic. But still, his unmistakable style is there, and it’s a real treat to see more Alcala goodness. Some of the monster characters he creates here are reminiscent of his work on The Obelisk and Masks of Power minicomics.
Zodac is portrayed as an Evil Warrior here, which is unsurprising considering the date (for more on the shifting alignment of the character, see my article on the topic). What is surprising is that Man-E-Faces is also portrayed as an Evil Warrior. In previous stories, Man-E-Faces would sometimes fall under Skeletor’s sway in his monster form, but generally-speaking he was almost always aligned with the Heroic Warriors. Also, as Waylon Piercy in the comments notes, Stratos and Ram Man are in there too! I’m wondering if the original idea was to include both Evil and Heroic Warriors in the games, but then the story was revised after the art was finished.
In any case, enjoy!
As several eagle-eyed readers have pointed out, He-Man is holding a unique single-bladed axe in the cover illustration.
For some additional context, I’ve included some eBay auction photos of the original sticker pages as well as the back cover:
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Name: Dragstor Faction: Evil Horde Approximate US release date: April 23, 1986
I don’t recall ever encountering Dragstor growing up, but the concept is familiar – a figure that “transforms” simply by flipping himself over. In 1986 Transformers ruled the toy world, but Dragstor’s “transformation” barely qualifies.
Design & Development
Dragstor was designed by Ed Watts, who also designed Dragon Walker. In the concept art below (dated December 1, 1984, from The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog), we see the character with a section reptilian “face” when flipped over, and a number of reptilian fits on his arms and legs. There is no indication that he was an Evil Horde character at this point.
The character idea was actually invented by Derek Gable (Director of Preliminary Design) after he left Mattel, and sold back to Mattel via his startup, West Coast Innovations.
The design went through some changes and refinements. Eventually the reptile theme was dropped everywhere except for his face, which had large reptilian eyes. The fins where dropped and he was given orange boots and gloves. The exhaust pipes were toned down as well, presumably to make it easier to manufacture.
Cross sell art, image courtesy of Axel Giménez1986 dealer catalog. Image source: Nathalie NHT
Figure & Packaging
The final figure had only the single wheel on the torso, not the wheels on the elbows and knees of the original design, although he did have smooth pads on the elbows that could drag across the floor with little friction. He came with a ripcord and a re-release of Mantenna’s crossbow.
Image source: WheelJack’s Lab (eBay auction)
The cardback scene on the packaging was illustrated by Errol McCarthy, while William George did the cross sell artwork. On the front, Dragstor is called a “transforming evil warrior vehicle,” which is a little confusing since generally the term “Evil Warrior” is used to refer to Skeletor’s faction, as opposed to the Evil Horde.
Image Source: KMKAImage source: He-Man.org
Characterization & Comic Appearances
In Mattel’s 1987 Style Guide, Dragstor is listed as an Evile Horde affiliated warrior with the following powers:
Power: In a burst of speed, Dragstor chases after enemies of the Evil Horde.
Character Profile: The victim of a terrible experiement in the lab of Hordak, the Evile Horde crony is how half-man, half-machine. Dragstor is a vicious mechanical speed domen. He is able to move faster than any other warrior, and he even outpaces some of their vehicles! Dragstor loves to chase down helpless victims and drag them back to Hordak.
Dragstor is also given a bio in the 1989 UK MOTU Annual, which expands on the above story. In this version, Dragstor was an Eternian sprinter named Theydon, who was captured by the Horde along with Doodon (Extendar).
Image source: He-Man.org
Dragstor was showcased in The Warrior Machine
Image source: Dark Horse
Interestingly, on the first page of the story, Dragstor features the reptile helmet design from the Ed Watts concept (which is also noted in The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog), although his design follows the production feature everywhere else:
For an in-depth look at this story, check out Jukka Issakainen’s excellent video on the topic:
Dragstor also appears alongside Mosquitor in Enter … Buzz-Saw Hordak! In the story, Hordak is creating yet another minion in his laboratory. When Dragstor expresses skepticism about Mosquitor’s toughness, Mosquitor teaches Dragstor a hard lesson:
In issue 31 of the UK MOTU Magazine (1987), we get more on the backstory of Theydon and Doodon (Dragstor and Extendar). The friends are captured by the Evil Horde and transformed. However of the two, only Extendar is able to retain his own will, and he manages to escape from the Horde (images via He-Man.org).
Unlike the other 1986 Evil Horde figures Horde Trooper and Multi-Bot, Dragstor never appeared in the Filmation She-Ra cartoon, and generally speaking was a fairly sparsely used character in comics and books. He did make an appearance in William George’s 1986 Eternia poster, however:
Image courtesy of Jukka Issakainen
Italian ad
Dragstor in Action
Øyvind Meisfjord has shared the following of video of Dragstor in action:
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