Mattel Creations is rapidly expanding to be THE destination for many Mattel collector products. Now, don’t think this means just the classic collector-focused lines – Fisher-Price is getting in on the action with the new Little People Collector Masters of the Universe: Skeletor’s Stronghold.
I am no stranger to procuring Masters of the Universe merchandise via Mattel Creations, but I have to say, this is one of the more unexpected, but certainly welcome surprises. Fisher-Price has been playful with previous releases of collector-oriented properties in their Little People line, I have the Lord of the Rings, Golden Girls, and previous MOTU release, but seeing this form factor on Mattel Creations is really interesting.
As I mentioned, there have been some fun Little People releases via retail channels before, but having this set available exclusively on Mattel Creations is, at the very least, a tacit admission that Little People are definitely a part of the collector landscape, so goodness – the possibilities are endless. I am glad the Masters of the Universe is the first offering of this kind because darn it – I want EVERY MOTU character in this style now.
Mattel has been able to stretch the character line-up for this series without going back to the tooling well. It was expected that He-Man and Skeletor would be a part of this set, but getting Mossman and Faker included is a re-use opportunity harkening all the way back to the vintage line. If this “Skeletor’s Stronghold” set is the success test for seeing more of these sets in the future, I think the character selection is safe, but also really fun.
He-Man and Skeletor are repaints of the previous retail set, but there are some key differences. He-Man is basically the same, but with a lighter flesh color. I think I like pervious version just a bit better due to He-Man’s iconic tan, but this one is good, too. On the other hand, Skeletor is quite different, and I much prefer this one over the previous. Gone is the gold face and metallic deco of the first version, and we have a paint scheme that much more resembles the vintage color scheme.
Faker is, as you would expect, a repaint of He-Man, but I love those bright classic oranges, blues, and purples. Faker is certainly a fan favorite, so he is a great choice to join Skeletor and previously-released Beastman. Speaking of Beastman, that figure gets a repaint into my favorite Heroic Warrior – Mossman! I love that he has been included, and since he is a redeco of Beastman, and the armor is not removable, you get him in the weapons pack yellow armor version, and that is pretty neat. I do wish we would have gotten the side-eye here, or even a flocked finish, but Mossman is still my favorite figure in the set.
If you are a Masters of the Universe fan, you should give this set a look. It is a fun character selection in a fun style that makes for about the most adorable MOTU figures ever. I would love to see this continue to the point of getting at least the original 8-back line-up (that would be Teela, Stratos, Mer-Man, and Zodac), but characters like Trap-Jaw, Evil-lyn, Ram-Man, She-Ra, and a so many others would be great fun. This set is available now at Mattel Creations, so go get yours now.
*Thanks to Fisher-Price for providing this set for an early look
My instant knee jerk reaction to this was, “man, this site will put up ANYTHING He-Man.” That lasted about 2 seconds.
Then I realized, I am a parent of 3 and have bought my fair share of cute little Marvel stuff for mine when they were toddlers. Let fan parents of other IP have their fun with their kids.
Cool stuff.
It’s too bad trying to buy things from Mattel Creations website is regularly a shite show.