Heroic Vehicles

Blasterhawk: Heroic Land & Sky Disk Launcher (1986)

Blasterhawk is one of the more interesting vehicle concepts to show up toward the end of the Masters of the Universe line. In many ways it was similar in concept to the Battle Ram, with flying vehicle element that could detach from a ground-bound base vehicle. It also had the ability to integrate with the Eternia Playset, which increased its play value.

Design & Development

An early exploration of the concept of a disk-launching toy comes in the illustration below by Ted Mayer for a “Zap ‘n’ Go” vehicle. The illustration dates to September 22, 1983:

Another exploration on the disk-launching theme comes from Ed Watts, in this Disk Blaster illustration, dated September 16, 1984. This is a land vehicle and lacks the flying aspect of Blasterhawk, but the tank treads would find their way in into the toy.

Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog.

We get a look at concept art for the flying portion of Blasterhawk in an illustration for the Eternia Playset by Ted Mayer. The image below dates to February 5, 1985:

Image courtesy of Ted Mayer
Close up view of Blasterhawk concept art

We also see a very simple foam mockup of Blasterhawk on top of an early Eternia clay model:

Image source: Sean Lehmkuhl 

I’m sure there was another more finalized piece of concept art for the vehicle, perhaps by another artist not represented here. Unfortunately it has not surfaced yet. You can see the final version of Blasterhawk in this image from Mattel’s 1986 catalog.

Image source: Nathalie NHT

The earliest newspaper ad I’ve found for Blasterhawk dates to June 6, 1986, indicating it probably started appearing in stores around that time:

Toy & Packaging

The packaging artwork for Blasterhawk comes from William George, and features Battle Armor He-Man at the controls:

Blasterhawk came with a removable radar dish and eight battle disks. Like the Talon Fighter, it could be held with a handle on the underside. The trigger was in reach from the handle as well, allowing it be fired like a toy gun as it was maneuvered through the air. The attitude of the top section could be adjusted by pivoting it forward or backward within the curved slot, allowing the user to make adjustments to the angle of fire.

Blasterhawk could be docked onto the turret base that came with the Eternia playset, like so:

Image courtesy of Øyvind Meisfjord

In order to dock Blasterhawk, the red Laser Blaster normally connected to the turret base would need to be removed:

Image courtesy of Øyvind Meisfjord

Update: Rik from Twitter pointed out that it should also be possible to reverse the above configuration, pairing the Eternia playset red Laser Blaster with the tank portion of the Blasterhawk. Øyvind was kind enough to provide a picture what that looks like (note that he’s customized his Laser Blaster with some additional paint applications):

Comic Appearances

Blasterhawk made a number of comic appearances. In The Hordes of Hordak, Prince Adam makes a big show of introducing the brand new vehicle, which of course works to introduce the toy to children reading the comic. Later on Teela uses Blasterhawk to defeat Horde Troopers, which would be an ideal play pattern.

In The Ultimate Battleground, Blasterhawk is piloted by Snout Spout, who rescues He-Man at one point in the story. We also see Blasterhawk take off from the central tower in the last page of the comic.

Blasterhawk appears in the Fall 1986 issues of the US Masters of the Universe Magazine. It appears briefly in a single panel, piloted by He-Man. The issue also featured poster art of Blasterhawk by Earl Norem, which I will show later in the article.

Issue 60 of the UK MOTU Magazine featured a Secret Files: Vehicles section narrated by Scrollos. There was a full-page section on Blasterhawk, where we learn the vehicle was designed by Man-At-Arms. The disks are described as “energy discs” and it’s described as having great speed and firing accuracy:

Issue 13 of the UK Adventure Magazine featured a very brief appearance of the vehicle:

There was also a Masters of the Universe Club advertisement featuring Blasterhawk firing on a Horde Trooper:

Image source: He-Man.org

Blasterhawk appears in the German Ehapa Verlag series, in issue 8 from 1988:

Image source: He-Man.org

It also appears in issue 2 of the 1988 Magic Boy series, in an air battle against Fright Fighter. The vehicle’s handle isn’t illustrated here:

Blasterhawk appears in issue 6 of the MOTU Star Comics series:

Artwork Appearances

Blasterhawk appeared in the 1987 Mattel Style Guide on the same page with Fright Fighter, with illustrations by Errol McCarthy:

Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation

It also appears in an Earl Norem poster included in the US Masters of the Universe Magazine:

Blasterhawk also appears in William George’s 1986 Eternia poster, and on the Eternia box art by the same artist:

Other Advertising

Here are a few other ads for Blasterhawk from publications around the world:

Blasterhawk in Action

The following image and videos of Blasterhawk in action come courtesy of Øyvind Meisfjord:

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Accessories, Heroic Vehicles

Jet Sled: Heroic rocket sled & jetpack (1986)

Jet Sled was one of a few small accessories sold in 1986 to fill a lower price point in the lineup for the year, along with Megalaser and Stilt Stalkers. I don’t personally have a history with any of these accessories, but in my opinion, Jet Sled is the coolest of the three.

Image source: Nathalie NHT

Jet Sled was designed by Ted Mayer, who also designed the Battle Ram, Wind Raider, Talon Fighter, and the earliest versions of the Eternia playset. One Ted Mayer concept appears below, which has a somewhat similar look to the Jet Sled. I do not believe that it’s directly related to the Jet Sled.

Image source: The Power & The Honor Foundation Catalog. Artwork dated Sep 22, 1985.

The concept below, which shows He-Man riding on a green, shark-themed Jet sled, and carrying another white version of it on his back, looks much closer to the actual vehicle. It dates to July 8, 1984, which means it predates the larger vehicle shown above.

Image source: The Power & The Honor Foundation Catalog

The early prototype Jet Sled was white and quite diminutive. The shark theme was been removed from the design, which in many ways makes it seem much less “Masters of the Universe.” Zodac is seen sporting Stratos’ harness in the photo below.

Image courtesy of Ted Mayer

You can see in the cross sell artwork below the final look of the vehicle. It’s been made larger than the prototype, and more sleek looking. It’s been given an orange/red, silver and blue color scheme. It looks similar in overall style to some US military aircraft concepts from the 1960s and 1970s. There are some very subtle “eyes” on the front. The actual toy would also feature some subtle “teeth” which are not visible in the cross sell artwork.

Toy & Packaging

Jet Sled was first advertised in newspapers in July 18, 1986. It saw two separate releases – one as an individual carded accessory/vehicle, and one as more deluxe gift set with He-Man, which included painted packaging artwork. The latter is ultra rare and almost impossible to find.

Image courtesy of Deimos
Image source: Crazy Collectors

The Euro card included some artwork on the front of the singled carded vehicle that appears to be by Bruce Timm (thanks to Jukka Issakainen for the correction on the artist):

Image via Jukka Issakainen

The vehicle itself came with a new blue chest harness for He-Man, complete with the traditional He-Man cross symbol, which had otherwise at this point been mostly replaced by the stylized “HM” first seen on Battle Armor He-Man. The harness could be used to clip the vehicle onto a figure’s back. The two missiles or jets are supposed to be detachable, although they can be difficult to remove.

Image: He-Man.org

One interesting variant is the bootleg Yugo version, which had very different stickers and a much rougher appearance.

Image: eBay

The Jet Sled appeared in the 1986 and 1987 MOTU style guides, illustrated by Errol McCarthy, with a brief description of its capabilities:

Comic Appearances

Jet Sled appears in the minicomic story, Rock People to the Rescue. In it we learn the Jet Sled was invented by Man-At-Arms. Mid-way through the story, Skeletor steals it and uses it to attack the heroic warriors. The design in the story looks a bit closer to the original Ted Mayer concept art than the actual toy:

In Enter: Buzz-Saw Hordak King Randor uses the Jet Sled to crash into Hordak (thanks to Beedo Sookcool in the comments for pointing this out):

The Jet Sled appears in the Fall 1987 issues of the US MOTU Magazine. In Rescue King Randor we see it used as a vehicle for the King and for Prince Adam:

Jet Sled appears in the Star Comics story, The Coming of Hordak:

It also appears in issue 27 of the UK MOTU comics, in Attack of the Snakemen:

Image source: http://www.motucfigures.com/

Jet Sled makes appearances in several German Ehapa comic issues, both in poster art and within stories:

Other Artwork

The Jet Sled appears in a couple of major posters. We see Sy-Klone riding it in William George’s Eternia poster:

Snout Spout uses the Jet Sled as a water vehicle in this poster by Earl Norem that appeared in MOTU Magazine:

Jet Sled in Action

Øyvind Meisfjord has kindly contributed the following video of Jet Sled in action:

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Heroic Vehicles

Bashasaurus: Heroic Combat Vehicle (1985)

I’m sure I saw Bashasaurus at some point growing up, if only in a minicomic or in cross sell art, but it never really stuck with me. In retrospect, though, it’s a pretty great concept. A dinosaur vehicle whose primary weapon is a giant boulder attached to a stick? Yes, please.

Design & Development

The early working name for Bashasaurus was Ball Buster, a name which famously caused Filmation President Lou Scheimer to reject outright the idea of ever including it in the animated He-Man series. As evident in the concept below, the early incarnation of the vehicle (illustration by Ed Watts, Sept 19, 1983) would have had the ball mechanism come down from the center of the vehicle. This early concept is intended for the Evil Warriors, and bears little resemblance to the final toy:

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

According to the patent (Filed January 4, 1985), Bashasaurus was invented by Granville Crow, Larry Renger and Roger Sweet. The drawings from the patent application (below) show the finalized dinosaur design and modified bashing mechanism. According to The Power and the Honor Foundation, the mechanism was moved to the side to prevent pinch injury during play.

Several years back a Mattel employee sold off a number of molds and prototypes, among them one for the Bashasaurus (thanks to Manic Man in the comments for the reminder):

Production Toy

The production toy was produced in a bright red color with orange and blue highlights. The faceplate features a triceratops-like design, and the theme continues in the back with a spiked tail that looks a bit like a stegosaurus. The bashing boulder is activated via an orange push button, the the ball itself telescopes further out by means of centrifugal force.

The cross sell art for the vehicle is closely based on the production toy:

Ad sheet illustration, which seems to be an uncolored version of the cross sell artwork.

The vehicle includes a tab on the side, which can be used to hold He-Man’s sword and shield, as explained in the instructions that came with the vehicle:

1985 Mattel Dealer Catalog. Image source: Orange Slime
French advertisement, Bashasaurus vs Land Shark. Image source: Antieternia Facebook Page

Packaging

The main packaging artwork, as well as the cross sell artwork was done by William George:

Interestingly, the Venezuelan version of the toy features product photography on the front rather than William George’s box art. The photo that appears in Mattel’s 1985 dealer catalog is used here (images come from MOTU Argentina Blog) :

Other Artwork

Bashasaurus was the subject of a poster by William George, which also highlights Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Thunder Punch He-Man, Two Bad, Land Shark, Stinkor, Spikor, Roboto, Moss Man and Sy-Klone (in other words, all the heroic and evil warriors of 1985):

Image courtesy of Jukka Issakainen

Bashasaurus also appears in a 1985 poster that showcased all of the above, in addition to the Evil Horde and characters from previous years:

Image courtesy of Jukka Issakainen

Bashasaurus was also illustrated by Errol McCarthy for licensed MOTU-themed clothing:

Image source: He-Man.org

Minicomics

Bashasaurus appears in a number of the minicomics that came packed with the figures, including the following:

The Battle of Roboto

Hordak: The Ruthless Leader’s Revenge!

The Treachery of Modulok!

Other Stories

The Bashasaurus appeared in several other stories over the years, including the following:

Spring 1986 Masters of the Universe Magazine (US)

Image source: He-Man.org

1985 Golden Book: The River of Ruin

Image source: He-Man.org

Issue 20, 1986 Masters of the Universe Magazine (UK)

Image source: He-Man.org

Bashasaurus in Action

Øyvind Meisfjord has kindly contributed the following image and video of Bashasaurus in action:

 

 

 

Heroic Vehicles

Battle Ram Concept Art By Ted Mayer

Former Mattel designer Ted Mayer shared some Battle Ram concept art with me that he recently rediscovered in his portfolio. I previously had lower resolution copies of this art (one from my 2015 interview with Ted, and another from an issue of Tomart’s Action Figure Digest), showcased in my article about the Battle Ram. I’ve updated that article with these better images, but I thought I’d announce the new images here and share a few insights from Ted.

The first piece of concept art below, was, according to Ted, the original concept. On the second revised version below, Ted says, he was “asked to clean it up and change it for molding, cost, and safety considerations.” Both of them date to late April, 1981.

Original concept
Modified concept

Ted was nice enough to answer a few follow-up questions I had about the art:

Q: On the earlier version, there is an extra piece on the top/back section of the vehicle. Would that have been the firing mechanism?

A: Yes, I figured it would be a pull back and release, to shoot the missile.

Q: Very interesting that originally the front half of the vehicle had wheels as well. Would there have been an extra small wheel underneath toward the front, for balance?

A: Yes, we wanted it to be a totally independent vehicle. That’s why the original battle Ram had six wheels. cost cutting won out!!

Q: The horned helmet version of He-Man has always been shown barefooted, at least in the prototype models that I’ve seen. In your drawings he does have boots. Just curious, was he originally supposed to have removable cloth boots or something along those lines?

A: As I remember, I drew the figure from an original sculpt, so it must have had boots on!

Early helmeted He-Man prototype. Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog

Many thanks to Ted for sharing his amazing artwork, and for answering my questions!