Wind Raider: Assault Lander (1982)

Posted on September 12, 2015September 8, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Name: Wind Raider
Faction: Heroic Warriors
Approximate US release date: July 22, 1982

The Wind Raider, released with the initial wave of MOTU figures in 1982, was a perplexing vehicle. It looked a lot like a boat that had been given short wings. It even had an anchor, which my friends and I used as a rescue line (but which was intended, according to Rudy Obrero, as a kind of “hook and destroy” weapon). Indeed, it was originally designed to double as a watercraft, but it was never portrayed that way in any published media, so as kids we had to come up with our own theories about why it seemed to have a nautical theme.

Design & Development

Back in the day, my first MOTU vehicle was the Battle Ram. I was aware of the Wind Raider because I had seen it for sale at the local toy store, and it was featured in the cross sell art on the back of my Battle Ram box:

The cross sell art, interestingly, is based on one of the prototype Wind Raiders. The prototype, designed by the great Ted Mayer (who also designed the Battle Ram, Attak Trak, Eternia, Slime Pit, Talon Fighter, and others), had smaller engines and steep, sloped structures leading up to the area where the wings connected to the body. But the dragon face figurehead (used as a crank to reel in the anchor) was actually quite different in the earliest known prototype. It resembles a miniature Viking ship:

A closer to complete prototype (sculpted by Jim Openshaw, labels by Rebecca Salari Taylor) looks identical to the cross sell art:

*Above*: *Artwork from the Castle Grayskull instruction booklet, featuring a tracing of the prototype Wind Raider and Mer-Man*

And finally, here is the tooling pattern, which looks exactly like the final toy, at least in shape:

And the final prototype, with its slightly modified wings, large engines, and sleek profile figurehead:

There is also this early concept drawing, which comes via the Grayskull Museum website. It lacks any hood decoration, and looks quite sleek. I wouldn’t be surprised if the concept was inspired by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning:

As I mentioned earlier, the Wind Raider was actually intended to work as both a boat and an aircraft. Although the final vehicle design is by Ted Mayer, Mark Taylor did some initial work on the design and created drawings that described some of the vehicle’s features. For instance, when on the water, the wings would rotate up and act as “photo sails”. The anchor is described as a “power ram/grapnel.” The dragon design bears strong resemblance to a Viking ship’s figurehead.

*Image courtesy of Ted Mayer. Artwork by Mark Taylor.*

*Above: I took a crack at colorizing Mark’s artwork*

Packaging Art

I remember seeing the Wind Raider for sale at the local toy store (The White Elephant in Spokane Valley) shortly after I got my Battle Ram. I distinctly remember it in two different flavors – in an individual package, and as a gift set with a He-Man action figure. Neither set showed the actual Wind Raider, but rather some artwork by the amazing Rudy Obrero. His art always seemed to eclipse the actual product being sold, which meant of course that it was doing its job:

*Original Wind Raider artwork by Rudy Obrero. He-Man is attacking Castle Grayskull because the artist assumed it was an evil fortress. Image source: Grayskull Museum*

*He-Man and Wind Raider giftset artwork*

The He-Man and Wind Raider giftset illustration was patterned more or less after Mark Taylor’s packaging layout. It was Mark Taylor who hired Rudy Obrero to do the final artwork:

*Mark Taylor’s layout for the Wind Raider packaging design, courtesy of Ted Mayer*

As was the case with the Battle Cat box art, the color for the Wind Raider gift set art appears to have been shifted and brightened on the mass-produced box. Either that, or the original oil paintings have become darker with age.

Interestingly, the first release of the He-Man/Wind Raider gift set described He-Man as the “strongest man in the universe“. The reissue called him the “most powerful man in the universe” (hat tip: Tokyonever, curator at the Grayskull Museum website).

Incidentally, if you want that original gift set now, you’re going to have to either hock your wedding ring or sell a kidney. Personally I’ve been wanting to collect all of the Rudy Obrero boxes, and thankfully Tokyonever has contracted with a manufacturer and created replicas of the Wind Raider gift set box at a price that won’t result in medical problems down the road. Don’t get any ideas about selling it as a vintage piece for a massive profit though. Tokyonever used the darker colors of the original oil painting, so there is no confusing the vintage item with the reproduction.

Here is a photo of my vintage Wind Raider box and my reproduction He-Man and Wind Raider box:

Now, if you look closely at the upward facing section of the gift set box, you’ll see three warriors:

The warrior in the middle is often referred to as “The Warrior in Red” among fans and he’s considered something of a mystery. Personally, I think it’s just Zodac, slightly off model. Sure, he’s got red boots instead of gray (notice Beast Man also has red boots), and he’s showing a bit too much belly, but I really think that’s Zodac. Although originally conceived by designer Mark Taylor as a heroic warrior, Zodac was marketed as an evil warrior. So it makes sense that he would be portrayed here among the bad guys. It looks like he got beaned by that anchor, too. Ouch.

Update: apparently I was totally wrong! Tokyonever recently got in contact with Rudy Obrero, who had this to say:

“That guy is just made up to fill the crowd. I only had He-Man, Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Teela and Beast Man to work with at the time. Hope this helps. Rudy”

Finished Toy

After having seen the sleeker version on the box art, the first time I saw the toy in person, I was just a little disappointed. I actually quite like it today, but as a kid I thought the wings were too stubby. I think had the intent of the design (a hybrid water/aircraft) been explained to me, the size of the wings wouldn’t have bothered me. The overall vehicle was still very striking, though, and the anchor feature was a lot of fun. It was intended to be sold at a lower price point than the Battle Ram, and so was about 25% smaller in size.

Even back then, the wings were fragile and would break off unless you were a very careful, conscientious child. I did not have my own Wind Raider, but a friend who did broke his within the first few weeks.

A safer option might have been the inflatable version. The wings would definitely not have snapped off, although I suppose there is the danger of it popping:

Wind Raider in Action

Øyvind Meisfjord has shared the following photos and video of the Wind Raider in action:

Miscellaneous Artwork

Artist Errol McCarthy produced some artwork depicting He-Man flying a slightly undersized Wind Raider. To my knowledge this artwork was never put to use:

The Wind Raider also frequently appeared in Golden Books, DC Comics and coloring books:

Animation

In the Filmation He-Man series, Wind Raider was almost ubiquitous. The animators enlarged it so it could fit multiple characters, and it was a handy way to transport the protagonists to whatever disturbance they were investigating:

It was also great if you needed to push the moon out of the way:

Minicomics

One of my favorite depictions of the Wind Raider is in the Alcala-drawn mini comic, Battle in the Clouds. The Wind Raider seems to belong to Man-At-Arms and the Battle Ram seems to belong to He-Man. When the Battle Ram is stolen by Mer-Man, Man-at-Arms takes He-Man for a ride up a mountain, and makes a point to show off the Wind Raider’s superior thrust capabilities. Even on post-apocalyptic Eternia, masculinity has everything to do with the amount of horsepower in your ride.

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Heroic Beasts

Battle Cat: Fighting Tiger (1982)

Posted on September 10, 2015September 14, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Name: Battle Cat
Faction: Heroic Warriors
Approximate US release date: June 3, 1982

Battle Cat is one of the most iconic characters to come out of the Masters of the Universe line. In fact, when discussing the most famous fantasy steeds to come out of the 1980s, it’s probably a neck and neck race between Battle Cat and Falkor from The Never Ending Story (fun fact: they were both voiced by Alan Oppenheimer).

One of the first three items released in the original Masters of the Universe toy line (along with He-Man and Skeletor), Battle Cat was a fearsome beast with a bizarre color scheme. Green fur with orange stripes and dark red armor shouldn’t work, but somehow it does. That orange and green theme would show up over and over again in the MOTU line (Man-At-Arms, Wind Raider, Tri-Klops, Filmation’s Palace Guards, etc). My grade school’s colors were also orange and green, so it all made sense to five-year-old me.

There has been much discussion online of Battle Cat’s origins at Mattel. The cat body (an unarticulated statue) originally came from 1976 for the Big Jim on the Tiger Trail set, and was in scale with 10-12” figures. It was first reused for Mattel’s 1978 gift set, Tarzan and the Jungle Cat, before being reused again in 1982 for Battle Cat. Battle Cat’s initial mold and stripe design come from that original 1976 Big Jim Tiger. Update: thanks to NLogan for reaching out to me with some corrected dates.

When Mattel wanted to reuse the mold again for the new MOTU line, something had to be done to explain why it was so huge compared to the relatively small (5.5”) He-Man figure. It was decided that the cat would be used as a steed. Mark Taylor (who designed almost every MOTU product released in 1982) designed a fantasy-themed saddle to allow He-Man to sit on the cat without falling off, and a helmet/mask to further disguise the cat’s origins in the Tarzan and Big Jim lines.

*Original Mark Taylor color study, via Grayskull Museum*

The first prototype Battle Cat appears in the 1982 Mattel dealer catalog, and features a vivid red saddle. The cat itself is hand-painted, and features stripes around the mouth and down the tail:

The saddle and helmet were revised to a darker red color, which you can see in the promotional image below, featuring a number of early prototypes:

The very first Battle Cats produced were followed the above color scheme, including the orange paint on the tail and around the mouth. Very few were produced, however, and this version is very difficult to find:

The first Battle Cats, including the striped tail variant, were made in Taiwan. Other early release Taiwan Figures have the same color scheme as the example above, minus the extra stripes on the tail and around the mouth:

The helmet is striking. As a kid I thought it looked like a stylized bird. Maybe Mark Taylor was going for a griffin look (and according to his wife Rebecca, the helmet was based on some of Mark’s childhood drawings). But it definitely caught my attention. The fact that Battle Cat had no articulation was a bit of a let down at first, but he looked so cool with that saddle and helmet that he soon became one of my favorite toys of all time.

Beginning in 1984, Battle Cat was released with pale yellow stripes instead of the vibrant orange:

In fact, there were a number of different configurations and color schemes released in the many manufacturing plants around the world that Mattel used over the course of the MOTU line:

Battle Cat was sold in stores in three different packaging configurations – on his own, in a gift set that included He-Man, and in an another gift set featuring Battle Armor He-Man. The first two were originally sold in 1982 and featured box art by Rudy Obrero. I distinctly remember seeing both at toy stores as a kid, and being bowled over by the figures and the artwork.

The artwork for the single release Battle Cat featured He-Man riding Battle Cat, with no other characters in the picture (aside from some shadowy barbarian figures in the background). Battle Cat’s helmet is off, and Castle Grayskull stands in the background, partially shrouded by mist.

Rudy’s original painting was somewhat darker than what ended up on the final product:

The 1982 gift set artwork was just as amazing, if a little confusing. He-Man is seen riding into battle on a helmeted Battle Cat, and Skeletor and Beast Man are riding their own fighting tigers. Man-At-Arms and Mer-Man are the odd men out. Apparently no one bought them Battle Cats for Christmas. According to designer Mark Taylor in his 2011 panel appearance at Power-Con, Mattel had initially planned to put out a gift set with Skeletor and Battle Cat, so that makes his appearance as a rider of a Battle Cat more understandable.

When Rudy Obrero was given the models to use as references for the artwork, he was provided with no details as to the story line, which is why he also painted things like Skeletor defending Castle Grayskull and He-Man ripping out the side of Castle Grayskull with the Wind Raider. Really, though, that doesn’t contract early canonical ideas about the castle, which could be held and defended by either the heroes or the villains.

The Battle Armor He-Man and Battle Cat gift set came out in 1984, a year after Rudy had stopped working with Mattel. By this time William George was producing box art for MOTU pretty regularly, and the piece he produced for this set is absolutely fantastic:

He-Man and Battle Cat were practically inseparable in most published media. He-Man was often depicted driving the many vehicles produced for the line, but more often than not, if the most powerful man in the universe wasn’t walking, he was riding his green and orange steed.

In the earliest MOTU minicomics, Battle Cat was only He-Man’s occasional steed. He was just as likely, if not more likely to be riding the Battle Ram. When He-Man needed him, he would call Battle Cat from the jungle and he would come bounding forward.

The concept of Cringer as Battle Cat’s mild mannered alter ego was introduced in the 1982 DC Comics series, starting with “From Eternia With Death.” This is also the first time that Battle Cat is portrayed as having the power of speech:

Battle Cat was of course featured in many, many comic stories, from the minicomics to Star Comics, UK Comics, German Ehapa Verlag, and many more.

*UK MOTU Comics Issue #1. Image via MOTUC Figures*

Filmation in particular put Battle Cat to frequent use. Every episode began with a transformation sequence that featured the cowardly Cringer transforming into the ferocious fighting tiger. By comparison, Skeletor was rarely depicted with his equivalent steed, Panthor.

Battle Cat also featured prominently in Filmation’s 1982 MOTU commercial, as well as in its style guide and series guide:

If you ask the average person on the street to name any character from the MOTU series, probably one of the top three or four names mentioned would be Battle Cat’s. It’s no wonder then that Battle Cat also turned up in a lot of MOTU-themed merchandise over the years.

Battle Cat was, of course, heavily featured in a number of ads and catalogs as well. He was no doubt a consistent seller throughout the duration of the toy line. Not bad for a character that was created as a means to recycle an old mold and flesh out the fledgling MOTU toy line without much capital risk in the first year. If Masters of the Universe excelled at anything, it was making soup from stones.

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Heroic Warriors

Man-E-Faces: Heroic human…robot…monster! (1983)

Posted on September 7, 2015September 8, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Name: Man-E-Faces
Faction: Heroic Warriors
Approximate US release date: February 20, 1983

I distinctly remember when I got Man-E-Faces (along with Ram Man) as a present, probably for my birthday in 1983. There was something endlessly fascinating about his ability to change faces at will. In my mind it was his way of disguising himself. Sure, no one would be fooled given his very distinctive silhouette, but that’s how I thought of it.

Man-E-Faces was something of a sea change for the line as it had existed in 1982. He was given all new parts (legs shared with Trap Jaw, who came out the same year) and a new gimmick – a rotating head drum that allowed you to display three distinct faces: human, robot, and monster. His design had more technology integrated into it than any MOTU figure that had come out before, although it was more steam punk than Star Trek.

Incidentally, his blaster was later reused as a tail gun for a couple of the Voltron lions:

You might notice that his legs are a little too short for his body. That’s probably because his rotating faces action feature gives him a rather tall torso, which may have necessitated smaller legs in order to fit into the standard MOTU packaging.

The single-carded Man-E-Faces was released in a couple of different flavors – standard, featuring his red blaster, and a deluxe version (released early on) with pink chest tubes (often referred to now as Man-E-Weapons) that came with five bonus weapons from the Castle Grayskull set, but cast in maroon.

*The “Man-E-Weapons” packout*. *MOC images via LGC Auctions*

*The early cardback had a different layout than subsequent versions*

Man-E-Faces was also released in a three-pack with Battle Armor He-Man and Man-At-Arms, a J.C. Penny two-pack with Faker, a J.C. Penny two-pack with Battle Armor He-Man, and in a giftset with Skeletor and Panthor:

Errol McCarthy did the cardback illustration and style guide art for Man-E-Faces, as he did for most of the figures in the line. The updated release lacking the extra weapons and with the revised cardback design is shown below:

Here is some additional Man-E-Faces artwork by Errol McCarthy, via He-Man.org:

The figure was designed by Mark Taylor, shortly before he left Mattel:

Notice that while the design details are close to the final toy, the color choices around the helmet are different. On the final toy, parts of the helmet are colored in flesh tone or orange. This image and the image below come from The Art of He-Man. Artwork by Mark Taylor.

*Images: Dark Horse/The Power and the Honor Foundation*

*Image: The Power and the Honor Foundation/Dark Horse*

All the classic Man-E-Faces elements are present in the B-sheet and design documents above, but the look is slightly different from the final toy, with purple detail on the shoulders and a helmet without any tan/orange accents. The figure was sculpted into a prototype, and some some ridges and sloping were added to the top of the helmet. He seems to have green accents on his shoulders and thighs:

Alfredo Alcala’s take on the character in Danger at Castle Grayskull seems to be based on the above prototype:

The cross sell artwork is mainly based on the prototype sculpt:

An earlier incarnation of Man-E-Faces (called Multi-face) was also designed by Mark Taylor. This one featured a removable poncho. Mark mentioned that this design was inspired by indigenous Mesoamerican warriors:

There was another related Mark Taylor concept called Maska-Ra that was explored but never developed. Rather than a spinning face mechanism, Maska-Ra would have come with a variety of masks to imitate other characters, luring the unwary to their doom:

*From the “Bring Your Man-E-Faces To Work” Facebook page, via The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog*

Update: another Man-E-Faces concept was recently shared by Mark Taylor’s wife, Rebecca (below). This has the removable mask idea from Maska-Ra, although it has a more conventional body. The the arms and legs contain design elements that would be used in the final figure. The chest armor recalls the design later used in Terror Claws Skeletor (1986), and the overall look may have influenced the design of the 1989 figure Flipshot:

Update: yet another quasi-Man-E-Faces concept was shared by Rebecca, with Joe Amato for the podcast Fans of Power. This version has a chitinous, insectoid look and a reversible head. The legs on this character are very similar to the final toy’s design, but otherwise this is a totally different take on the concept:

Man-E-Faces was packaged with his own mini comic (drawn by Mark Texeira), called The Ordeal of Man-E-Faces. He was depicted as an Eternian actor who was given a potion by Skeletor that would change him into a monster and bring him under Skeletor’s control. The Sorceress tries to free him from the enchantment, and in a struggle between the two powers, a third face arises – that of a neutral robot.

He is also depicted as a helpless pawn of Skeletor in the Danger at Castle Grayskull comic, drawn by Alfredo Alcala:

Man-E-Faces was given other origin stories in British publications. In issue 3 of the UK Masters of the Universe Magazine, Man-E-Faces is transformed by Skeletor as punishment for mocking him in a play:

*Image source: James Eatock. Brought to my attention by Joe Amato.*

In the 1985 UK Masters of the Universe Annual, Man-E-Faces is again transformed by Skeletor, in a somewhat unsettling story about abductions and lab experiments. In his monster form he is evil, and in his robot form he may be controlled by anyone.

Man-E-Faces made an appearance in the box art for Battle Bones (by William George) and the previously mentioned Battle For Eternia (by William Garland) three-pack. Man-E-Faces was slated to appear as the prisoner in the Snake Mountain box art (by William George), but at the last minute Man-At-Arms was substituted (for more on that, read this interview with package designer Bob Nall):

In the Filmation cartoon, MEF was an outcast who had to be gently coaxed away from evil by He-Man:

Early Filmation designs for the character, as shown in the Series Guide below, show a design that seems primarily based on the early prototype version of he character, albeit with a rather unique-looking robot face:

He also appeared in a number of adverts, promotions, catalogs and miscellaneous entertainment:

He is featured prominently in this piece of poster/puzzle artwork by R.L. Allen:

Later in life, Man-E-Faces struggled with his weight:

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Heroic Vehicles

Battle Ram: Mobile Launcher (1982)

Posted on August 30, 2015November 1, 2024 by Adam McCombs

Written by Adam McCombs

Name: Battle Ram
Faction: Heroic Warriors
Approximate US release date: June 3, 1982

I was obsessed with the Battle Ram the moment I saw it on the shelf as a kid. Maybe that’s obvious from the name I chose for this blog. Unlike most of the other MOTU items I got as a kid, there was no window box or bubble in the packaging. The Rudy Obrero art sold the toy all by itself, and it was more than up to the task.

Box Art

To this day it remains my favorite piece of art ever produced for the Masters of the Universe line. Let’s take a closer look at the full painted scene:

Every piece Rudy Obrero did for Masters of the Universe was moody and full of movement and mystery (with the possible exception of the Attak Trak box art). This illustration, like the Wind Raider pieces he did the same year, features two separate action scenes. The bottom scene, which would have been facing front at about eye level for kids wandering the toy isles of Toys ‘R’ Us (or in my case, the White Elephant), depicts He-Man guiding the Battle Ram over difficult terrain as evil warriors rain down fire from above.

He-Man is shown here with white colored fur at the tops of his boots. Every time Obrero depicted He-Man, he had these boots (sometimes the fur is white, other times it’s more of an ocher color). They’re actually based on the prototype version of He-Man that Obrero used as a reference. The mass-produced toy had fully red boots.

The top portion of the art was subdivided into two sections on the actual box. The top-most section was again facing front and featured He-Man shooting through the air on the front portion of the Battle Ram (aka the Sky Sled). Evil versions of the Sky Sled (which also appear in the Castle Grayskull box art) send out twin laser blasts while a fierce battle rages below.

The middle section faces up rather than forward due to the shape of the box. Several back halves of Battle Rams are launching missiles. Skeletor, Beast Man, Stratos, Man-at-Arms and Teela (sporting her concept spear that never appeared in the vintage toy line) are seen, along side a warrior with a horned helmet and Castle Grayskull in the background. It looks like all-out war.

As a kid, I was instantly hooked. I had never seen anything like it. As I said, Obrero’s artwork (done in oil) really sold this vehicle. It didn’t hurt that the artist tended to add extra details, like a protruding jet engine on the back of the Sky Sled and under-guns that the actual toy only hinted at (but were actually present in the prototype version).

A modified version of the artwork appeared in the Japanese Takara toy catalog. It looks like a cross between the Battle Ram box art and the Power of Point Dread comic book cover:

Yet another modification to the artwork was done on the Brazilian Estrela version of the Battle Ram. They even modified the cross sell art on the back of the package. It’s unclear to me why this was done. My speculation is that they had the rights to produce and sell the toys, but opted not to purchase rights to the packaging artwork.

Update: Mano from Mundo Masters shares this example of the Congost/Mattel Spain box, which uses the original Rudy Obrero artwork:

A Swedish language advertisement took elements of the Rudy Obrero Battle Ram artwork and modified it to advertise a number of MOTU vehicles:

Design & Development

The toy was designed by Ted Mayer, who also designed the iconic Wind Raider, Attak Trak, Eternia, Slime Pit, and quite a few figures that came out between 1985 and 1987. Let’s take a look at some of the artwork and prototypes leading up to the creation of the Battle Ram.

Before Ted was brought in, Mark Taylor (who designed all of the early figures as well as Castle Grayskull) tried his hand at designing the vehicles as well. An early vehicle concept was a three wheeled battle chariot. It bears little resemblance to the Battle Ram, except for the design of its back wheels:

*Image Source: The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog. Added 08/28/18*

Mark also created another vehicle design called the Battle Catapult. Again, not much resemblance to the Battle Ram, other than the wheels, color scheme, as well as the bird sticker on the side, which designer Ted Mayer would incorporate into some of his early Battle Ram concept art. In early minicomic line art by Alfredo Alcala, this vehicle was depicted, but it was later replaced by the Battle Ram in the final colorized artwork.

*Image Source: Power of Grayskull documentary. Added 08/28/18*

The image below is an early Battle Ram concept by Ted Mayer. Notice that the vehicle has six wheels (four within tank treads) and no figurehead on the front. It does include the bird decal from the Battle Catapult concept:

*Image courtesy of Ted Mayer. Updated October 21, 2018*

The first two of the above concept drawings are recognizable as ancestors in the Battle Ram family tree. There are several differences from the final toy, of course. In both images, the Battle Ram had six wheels, four of them set with tank treads. The first image features a Recaro-type seat and lacks the gargoyle figurehead in the front. The second version has the familiar gargoyle figure head. However it’s clear from the background image that the idea was for the front wheels to detach along with the front section. At this point the Battle Ram had no flight capabilities. According to Ted Mayer, there would have been an additional wheel under the nose of the vehicle to allow it to roll freely, separate from the back half.

The drawing below is actually a separate vehicle concept, called Battle Chariot, and actually appeared in the first MOTU mini comic, He-Man and the Power Sword, along side the front half of the Battle Ram:

*Battle Chariot concept, by Ted Mayer; image courtesy of Ted Mayer*

Ted says he was influenced by hot rod and WWII aircraft design, and you can certainly see those elements in in the form of exhaust pipes and nose art.

*Close to final Battle Ram concept by Ted Mayer. Updated 10/21/2018*

The above concept drawing shows the Battle Ram (featuring He-Man in a helmet, which he had in most early concepts) looking much closer to the final vehicle. At this point it has only four wheels, and the detachable front section has been re-envisioned as a flying vehicle.

The prototype (sculpted by Jim Openshaw) is a bit more detailed in places than the toy was. The guns on the front section are certainly more detailed and distinct. The stickers are also different (there is a skull on the back of the vehicle rather than the masked face image), and the rocket is missing its gargoyle face. The expanded horizontal “handle” area in the very back of the vehicle is also missing from this prototype:

*Control Drawing – “Catapult Vehicle” by Ted Mayer. Image courtesy of Ted Mayer*

Production Vehicle

Let’s take a closer look at the final toy:

As suggested by the packaging artwork and concept drawings, the front half of the production toy detaches from the main vehicle, and is something of a flying WaveRunner. I’m not sure if a toy vehicle had come out before with that concept, but as a five year old I’d never seen anything like it, and it added a tremendous amount of play value. The back half features a spring loaded rocket launcher with a red firing mechanism. The rockets themselves (called battering rams on the packaging) came with sculpted gargoyle faces. The wide profile of the rockets was designed to help prevent accidental choking.

In the original concept, the front half wasn’t actually supposed to be able to fly very high through the air. It was supposed to hover close to the ground, which is apparent in both the minicomic, He-man and the Power Sword and in the description in the 1984 UK Annual:

*Description from the 1984 UK Annual, which drew from very early source material.*

*Image from He-Man and the Power Sword, showing the front half of the Battle Ram scooting along the ground.*

A griffin face adorned the front of the vehicle. The back also featured an image of a masked face. The labels were created by Rebecca Salari Taylor, who also did the labels for Castle Grayskull and Wind Raider:

The Battle Ram is the first and best example of what made Masters of the Universe vehicles so great. They were a marriage of Gothic aesthetics with futuristic tech, relics in the MOTU universe of a bygone age of mass-produced technological wonders.

Battle Ram in Action

Øyvind Meisfjord contributed the image below as well as some videos of the Battle Ram in action:

Marketing

The Battle Ram was heavily promoted in catalogs and marketing materials:

Minicomics

It also made several appearances in the first few mini comics (along with that unproduced Ted Mayer concept discussed earlier):

Other Appearances

The Battle Ram of course was also depicted in a number of other contexts, from story books to posters and coloring books:

Animation

Filmation primarily depicted the Sky Sled portion of the Battle Ram, although occasionally the complete vehicle would make an appearance. A green version with a snake head called the Doom Buggy was also created. As with most Filmation depictions, the design was simplified to facilitate animation:

In the Filmation-produced MOTU commercial (as well as the series guide), however, just about everything had the level of detail of the actual toys. The image immediately below looks rotoscoped:

There were many great vehicles produced for the Masters of the Universe toyline, but in my opinion, none greater than the amazing Battle Ram.

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Battle Ram

Battle Ram

A He-Man blog since 2015!

Author: Adam McCombs

Wind Raider: Assault Lander (1982)

Design & Development

Packaging Art

Finished Toy

Wind Raider in Action

Miscellaneous Artwork

Animation

Minicomics

Battle Cat: Fighting Tiger (1982)

Man-E-Faces: Heroic human…robot…monster! (1983)

Battle Ram: Mobile Launcher (1982)

Box Art

Design & Development

Production Vehicle

Battle Ram in Action

Marketing

Minicomics

Other Appearances

Animation