The artwork for this set comes from Axel Giménez and my own photos and scans. The worst quality images in this set are for Battle Armor He-Man and Battle Armor Skeletor – more’s the pity.
Update: Battle Armor He-Man has been updated with nicer artwork (minus the sword) courtesy of Axel!
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Masters of the Universe, for all its diversity and creativity, was quite an economical toyline, creatively (and sometimes uncreatively) using and reusing the same molds over and over again throughout its run. Sometimes this was done fairly invisibly, and other times it was as plain as the nose on Faker’s face.
In this series I’ll be cataloging the reuse of existing molds, in context of what is known and what is likely about which figures were created in what order. For example, He-Man’s prototype was almost certainly finished before Man-At-Arms, so Man-At-Arms reused He-Man’s legs, rather than vice versa. I’ll also include parts that were reused from other toylines.
Sometimes existing parts were modified for use in new toys. For example, Beast Man’s chest seems to have been based on He-Man’s chest sculpt, albeit with a great deal of hair added to it. This didn’t save money on tooling, but it did save some time and effort for the sculptor. I’ll point this out whenever I see it. Whenever a modified part is used again, however, I’ll refer to it as belonging to the toy that used it first (for example, Stratos and Zodac reuse Beast Man’s chest).
I won’t comment on “invisible” parts, such as neck pegs or waist springs that are normally not seen.
First, the toys from 1984 that had (at the time) all new parts:
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One of the defining characteristics of the packaging artwork of William George is the inclusion of small dinosaur or dragon-like creatures in the background and foreground of the illustration. They add a dimension to the illustration that goes beyond simply demonstrating the product – there is also some world-building going on. The Eternia of William George is a hostile, dangerous and often desolate place, where threats come in all sizes.
I’ll only be focusing on creatures that William George invented for his paintings, not creatures that were part of the products for sale.
Battle Armor He-Man and Road Ripper (1984)
A pint-sized dinosaur and sea serpent.
Dragon Walker (1984)
A miniature pterodactyl
Road Ripper (1984)
Creatures not visible in this scan – see box images that followCreatures visible on the box but not in the previous scan
Two lizards.
Roton (1984)
Image cleaned up by RetroistA lizard.A tree-climbing demon.A flying bird, with encampment in background.
Bashasaurus (1985)
A diminutive dragon.
Land Shark (1985)
A wicked-looking little dragon.
Land Shark & Battle Armor Skeletor
Part vulture, part pterodactyl.
Laser Bolt (1986)
A tiny, beaked dinosaur.
Scubattack Power Gear (1987)
Image courtesy of Axel Giménez
A vicious-looking eel.
Megator (1988)
An ordinary horse, frightened by the stampeding Megator.
Update: Axel Giménez pointed out to me that there is another William George creature, outside of the box art. In his Bashasaurus poster, he includes one of his familiar little creatures on the rocks near Dragon Blaster Skeletor. It looks a bit like the creature in the Land Shark box art:
Image source: Jukka IssakainenA diminutive dragon.
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One of the best things about getting new He-Man toys as a kid was the box art. The toys were of course amazing and fun, but personally I spent almost as much time staring at the boxes as playing with the toys. I remember being pretty heartbroken when my mother made me throw away my Castle Grayskull and Battle Ram boxes. She saw them as clutter, but for me they were almost stories in and of themselves. You could see whole adventures unfolding in a single painted scene.
Unfortunately, good photographs or scans of the original art are not available for every piece. If you happen to have a nicer images than I do (higher resolution, better composition, etc), please do feel free to share, and I’ll make an update! For pictures of the packaging itself, a neutral (white or black) background is preferred. High resolution scans of the artwork, where it appears without logos, would be ideal. Bottom line – if you have better images than I do, please share them!
One final note: I’m defining box art as the front-facing painted artwork that appeared on boxed Masters of the Universe toys. The illustrations on blister card packaging, then, are outside the scope of this series.
Part Three: 1984
Name: Battle Armor He-Man and Battle Cat Year: 1984 Artist: William George Description: Battle Cat and Battle Armor He-Man leap through the air into battle.
Name: Battle Armor He-Man and Road Ripper Year: 1984 Artist: William George Description: Battle Armor He-Man races over the rocky desert floor in the Road Ripper, as small dragon-like creatures look on. A volcano erupts in the background.
Name: Battle Armor Skeletor and Panthor Year: 1984 Artist: William George Description: Battle Armor Skeletor and Panthor race up the rocky path toward Castle Grayskull, which is guarded by Battle Armor He-Man and Man-At-Arms.
Name: Battle Armor Skeletor and Screeech Year: 1984 Artist: Unknown Description: Screeech takes flight from the perch of Battle Armor Skeletor’s arm. Molten lava erupts from a nearby volcano and the skies are choked with black smoke. Image repair courtesy of Retroist.
Name: Battle For Eternia (2) Year: 1984 Artist: William Garland Description: Panthor swipes his claws at Man-E-Faces, as Man-E-Faces takes aim with his blaster at Skeletor, who is riding atop the savage cat. Twin moons hang in the smokey sky. (Note: this set has the same artwork as the version released in 1983, but includes Battle Armor Skeletor in place of Skeletor.)
Image courtesy of Tokyonever
Name: Dragon Walker Year: 1984 Artist: William George Description: Battle Armor He-Man pilots the Dragon Walker over rocky, volcanic terrain. Beast Man and Tri-Klops are ready to attack but seem unsure how to proceed. In the foreground, a small pterodactyl-like creature seems ready to take flight.
Name: Fisto & Stridor Year: 1984 Artist: William Garland* Description: Fisto spots Skeletor and Whiplash as he rides Stridor through a perilous landscape, lit by twin alien moons. A menacing wolf-like creature lurks in the foreground. (*Artist name not confirmed for this particular piece, but the art seems to match the style of the Panthor illustrations.)
Name: Road Ripper Year: 1984 Artist: William George Description: He-Man races over the rocky desert floor in the Road Ripper.
Name: Roton Year: 1984 Artist: William George Description: Skeletor tears through a grassy field in the Roton. A horned lizard and demon-like creature look on near a muddy pool of water. A huge, Jupiter-like planet and its orbiting moon dominate the night sky. A group of shadowy figures stand around a campfire in the distance.
Name: Snake Mountain Year: 1984 Artist: William George Description: Battle Armor He-Man takes aim with his axe at Battle Armor Skeletor, who stands at the high gate of Snake Mountain. Man-At-Arms is chained to the side of the evil fortress.
Name: Stridor Year: 1984 Artist: William Garland* Description: He-Man rides Stridor across the desert at night, his sword ready for battle. (*Artist name not confirmed for this particular piece, but the art seems to match the style of the Panthor illustrations.)
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