“John Blackstar, astronaut, is swept through a black hole into an ancient alien universe. Trapped on the planet Sagar, Blackstar is rescued by the tiny Trobbit people. In turn, he joins their fight for freedom against the cruel Overlord, who rules by the might of the Powerstar. The Powerstar is split into the Powersword and the Starsword. And so with Starsword in hand, Blackstar, together with his allies, sets out to save the planet Sagar. This is his destiny. I am John Blackstar.”
It is no secret that Masters of the Universe Classics is one of my favorite toy lines going right now. Of all of the popular properties that I am into, MOTU has been with me the longest, and while it provides me with some of my fondest memories of childhood, it continues to excite me even to this day. We are in an age of Classics where we are getting figures of characters that never saw plastic back in the 1980s, all the while speeding to close out the vintage line roster. The lineup has grown massive, so adding new characters to the overall collection has gotten just as important as getting the “essentials” or personal favorites. What the heck does this have to do with Blackstar? Well, I am glad you asked.
While the Masters of the Universe character roster is being mined deeply, including those guys that originated in the hallowed halls of FilMATION studios, as a property, Blackstar has not enjoyed such success. Sure, it was another FilMATION property that gathered popularity during the early 1980s thanks to the Conan and Thundarr craze, but since the series itself only lasted a handful of episodes, and since the vintage toys are getting more and more scarce every day, the marketing bankability just is not as valuable as He-Man and his crew.
That is not to say that Blackstar does not have his fair share of passionate fans, but, so far, fans of ol’ John have been left out in the cold when it comes to action figure updates with the modern sensibilities. Enter the subject of this feature: The Blackstar conversion kit from Alvis Underground! Yep, we tried to tease you a bit a couple of days ago to help usher in this brand-new item, and now we can show you that with a spare MOTUC Jitsu or Tri-Klops lying around, you are a kit away from having the hero of Sagar join the ranks of your little plastic men.
Now, even though Blackstar was a bit before my time, I have always thought that he, as a character, would be a natural fit in merging with the MOTU Classics world in some capacity. Mattel’s gaining the FilMation rights of He-Man and She-Ra had Blackstar fans hopeful that Matty might be able to make him as a crossover figure in the Classics line, but as it turns out, Mattel does not have access to Blackstar. But do you know what? That is okay because our pal Jonathan Alvis has you covered.
What he has created is a high-quality conversion kit that can turn the aforementioned standard MOTUC figures into your very own Blackstar figure. The best part? It takes MINIMAL work for you to be able to complete the conversion. The Alvis Underground store currently has a few kits available for order and preorder, but the chance of adding Blackstar to my MOTUC collection was too cool to pass up. I NEVER thought I would have an opportunity like this, but in the end it has surpassed my expectations.
As you might have seen from Man-at-Arms’ basic tutorial, all you have to do is a minimal amount of painting on an existing MOTUC figure, and the parts from the kit take care of the rest! On the Alvis site, it is suggested that you use a Jitsu or Tri-Klops for the best results, but I would further endorse Jitsu as the best candidate because his complexion and color scheme lend themselves to Blackstar much more. All I had to do was remove the armor and chopper, slap some gold paint on the bracers and some brown paint on the shorts and boots, and I was done; the original pieces took care of all the rest. I know that the Blackstar purists would probably slight me for leaving the boot cuffs the original gold, but I think they work right in with the overall color scheme quite well and add more of a color dimension to the stylish footwear. But enough about the required prep, let’s take a look at the actual piece you will get when you order the conversion kit. I need to make a small note that the little custom box that the kit comes in is very slick and feels very professional.
Included in the set are high quality, painted casts of Blackstar’s head, necklace, belt, Starsword, and an alternate right hand (to accommodate the sword). The head, belt, and necklace all snap right on, and you just have to gently heat up the arm socket on the donor figure to insert the hand. All in all, it takes about 20 seconds to turn a spare figure into a fantastic Blackstar representation to keep on your shelf. The combination of the existing MOTUC parts and the painstakingly created new pieces make for a figure that is seamless with your Classics collection.
I cannot reiterate enough how high the quality is on these pieces. Alvis Underground has scratch-built everything with a strict level of detail, but they have also adapted the pieces so that they fit the MOTUC style. The likeness in the head-sculpt is spot-on how you would picture Blackstar adapted into MOTUC. The casting is very solid and the material used feels more factory-produced than the majority of casted pieces I have dealt with before. All of the pieces are also hand-painted and the studio will match the skin complexion of the face and hand to the base figure you plan to use as your foundation. I was naturally concerned that there will be a brittle quality to the hand and belt that would make placing the Starsword in the former, and clasping the latter, a stressful endeavor, but that is far from the case. In fact, once you have the pieces in your hand, you will think that they were factory made, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. The sword and the belt are very flexible, and the clear plastic used in the former is crystal clear. Now, don’t get me wrong, these are “art pieces” and should not be confused with toys, but for shelf display and posing, they are top notch.
I am so happy to have this kit and I plan on integrating Blackstar into my own personal Masters of the Universe canon. It makes sense – a statue of Blackstar even made a cameo in the FilMATION He-Man episode “Temple of the Sun.” I am thinking, at least for now, that instead of crash landing on Sagar, astronaut John Blackstar arrived in Eternia’s past and became one of the previous He-Men that we keep hearing so much about. He can use the Starsword and the translucent yellow Power Sword (the one that came with the DC two-pack Skeletor) to fight of the denizens of Preteria.
How cool is this? I mean, really, we are actually in a time where we can add BLACKSTAR to our 1980s-homage action-figure shelves, and do so seamlessly. The quality you get in this conversion kit is second to none and the prep work required is minimal. So I would highly recommend that you navigate over to the Alvis Underground storefront and grab your kit before they sell out. I am very excited to see what they have on tap for future projects (we might have an advanced peek at another item soon — wink, wink) because there are a lot of 1980s properties still untapped that can blend perfectly with the MOTU Classics aesthetic.
Towards that end, we have a bonus to this feature – a quick Q&A with man behind the Alvis Underground – Jonathon Alvis!
Fwoosh: Jonathon, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to customizing and building your conversion kits?
JA: I was a cop for a few years, then a Marine rifleman, and later a private military contractor. I’m currently attending college in pursuit of an art degree. My first involvement with custom figures happened when I decided I wanted to have Congorilla and Flex Mentallo figures in my DCUC collection, and realizing that although the chances of those ever being made by Mattel were very slim, that I had the skills necessary to make my own versions. I Don’t like figures with epoxy putty and sculpey all over them, and I’m not crazy about the high price decent customs demand either. So I eventually decided to do accessory sets so that I could enjoy the figures I wanted, share them with other like minded collectors, and still be compensated for the time and materials involved.
Fwoosh: What inspired you to take on Blackstar and the Death Dealer specifically? More so, did the subjects drive the media of the MOTU Classics, or the other way around?
JA: I’ve always been a big fan of Frank Frazetta, and especially his Death Dealer. I don’t know why there haven’t been any Death Dealer figures made outside of statues. He’s been such a seminal influence on the hobby I’m really surprised more of his (Frazetta’s) characters haven’t been given the action figure treatment before now. The decision to do John Blackstar was based on a few things: his simple design really lends itself well to the classics format, and the conversion can be accomplished with just a few pieces, so the work involved/ price is relatively low, considering what you are getting. I chose to use the classics buck to work with because I consider it the very best toy figure available today. It strikes a perfect balance between aesthetics and poseabilty. I wish they could hold two handed weapons a little less awkwardly, but I don’t think there’s any way around that, really.
Fwoosh: What do you have available right now? Do you plan on making items like this evergreen in your storefront?
JA: Right now I have Blackstar, The Death Dealer, a weapons set useable with Castle Grayskull Man, and a small play set called Grave of the Cosmic Wizard. Rather than have evergreen items, I prefer to do a rotation. This keeps the storefront from becoming cluttered. It will also allow me to improve existing products during their “retirement” as my sculpting gets better and I learn more about toy crafting. I am also a big fan of special offers, contests, giveaways, and limited/chase variants, and hope to do some stuff using those concepts as well.
Fwoosh: Do you have some future projects on tap and do you lean more towards conversion kits or full-blown customizations?
JA: I have many, many projects planned, several in progress, and a few completed that aren’t ready to reveal yet. I really want to distance myself from the word “custom.” I have plenty of respect for customizers, but it’s simply not what I’m doing. I’m producing high quality hand-painted plastic and resin accessories for toys. The category I think these best fit into is “art toys,” although they’re priced much lower than your average art toy.
Fwoosh: Can I dare beg for the Herculoids or Thundarr?
JA: I like both of those shows. I’ve been planning to offer a Thundarr and Ookla set since the beginning. Even though they have good figures already, I’d still like to see them given the MOTUC treatment. I like the Herculoids as well, but I don’t have them planned. I WILL mention that I do have a large “steed” figure in progress.
Fwoosh: What do you consider to be the most “untapped” property for action figures right now?
JA: I’d rather not mention the properties I have in mind. I don’t want to lose the “surprise” factor. Ideally I want to post a completed piece and have someone say “oh WOW!, I totally forgot about those, I LOVED those!” And be hit with a bunch of memories related to the toy. If I can get that reaction I’ve accomplished my goal.
I will say that I think the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s are the most interesting years to draw inspiration from. I will also say that one of the projects I’m currently working on is a large “steed” figure.Fwoosh: What do you think is, or will be, the biggest impact from the corner of “guerrilla” toy-making? A lot of talented people are starting to make all kinds of things to augment current action figure lines.
JA: I think the answer to both of those questions is Facebook. Its allowed me to outsource casting, commission artwork, connect with other collectors, and get advice from established toy people, as well as exhibit and get feedback on my work directly from the people for whom its intended for. From a material standpoint 3D printing would have been the obvious answer, and it’s going to be huge. I like a lot of it but its not affordable to the average collector. It’s also not open to someone who doesn’t know how to use 3D modeling software.
Fwoosh: Have you had a chance to interact with collectors much in terms of feedback and subject matter?
JA: Absolutely. Yes. And they have had a significant impact on my work. Feedback keeps me motivated and helps ensure I’m not making stuff that only appeals to me. I definitely have an open ear to any suggestions.
Fwoosh: What is your overall goal for the work you are creating and the items you are making available to the action figure community?
JA: From an artistic standpoint I’m trying to capture a very specific feeling of nostalgia, while at the same offering something that’s fun and collectible, and present it in a very nice package. I plan on transitioning eventually to doing completely original toys, but I’m having a LOT of fun with what I’m currently doing.
Fwoosh: Thanks so much and please keep us up to date on your work!
JA: Thank you!
*Many, many thanks to Alvis Underground for making this First Look possible. Get on over to the site and get your kit and stay tuned – we hope to bring you all of the news the upcoming product they have to offer right here! Thanks for reading!
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