All the news about Vaults Of Grayskull will be posted on this page, with the newest items at the top. Please check here regularly for the latest updates.
27th July 2010
Images and information about Prince Adam, Orko and Mo-Larr have been added to the Official Biographies page. Mattel has recently announced that the subscription exclusive Club Eternia figure for 2011 will be Preternia Disguise He-Man, a character from a comic in the 1980s. Photographs of the figure are now on the Matty Collector website.
2nd July 2010
The Classics biography for Whiplash has been added to the Official Biographies page. Whiplash is one of the best Masters, and the Classics version, which will be released in August, looks like being one of the best characters in the line.
5th June 2010
I have added photographs of three more Classics figures on the Photographs page: Evil Lyn, Wun-Dar and Tytus. Tytus is the first Classics giant; double the height of the regular figures. He was also double the price, but he is disappointingly poor figure, with hardly any articulation and some obvious design problems. At 40 US$ he was hugely over-priced.
14th May 2010
Classics character Count Marzo has been added to the Official Biographies page. Count Marzo is a non-original character who first appeared in the Filmation cartoon which ran alongside the MOTU toyline, although he was never made into a figure at the time. Marzo resurfaced in the 2002 cartoon, but had been restyled quite considerably. Although he is a non-original character, Marzo has a long MOTU history and the Classics figure is sure to be popular. The modern figure uses the 2002 cartoon design rather than the Filmation design.
1st May 2010
A quick update to say I have added Keldor and She-Ra's pictures and biographies to the Official Biographies page. The very disappointing rewritten Mer-Man biography has also been added. I can't see how an ocean warlord could be described as cowardly, but I have very few expectations of these bios, so I shouldn't be surprised.
17th April 2010
I have added photographs of three more Classics figures on the Photographs page: Trap Jaw, Battle Cat and Moss Man. The designs are good, but bad packaging has bent one of Battle Cat's legs. I keep mentioning the excessive and damaging packaging in the hope that Mattel will stop using inner shells to crush figures into their boxes. A consolation, however, is the appearance of Trap Jaw, who is probably the best figure of the entire line.
27th March 2010
I have added Optikk and Tytus's pictures and biographies to the Official Biographies page. I have also updated the Fixing Stratos page, because a remark by Mattel's Toyguru on the He-Man.org forums a few days ago indicated that the wing error has finally been acknowledged, and a correct version of Stratos will be released. I am still waiting for Trap Jaw to arrive at Vaults though, so I'm not ready to celebrate just yet.
20th February 2010
It has been a while since I published new photographs of the Classics figures on the Photographs page. I have now added King Randor, Goddess, Skeletor (reissue) and Battle Armor He-Man, so please have a look at the images of some of the best figures in the line.
5th February 2010
A quick update to announce Moss Man's official biography has been added to the Official Biographies page. I am looking forward to seeing this figure when he is released. Recent news from Matty Collector is the release of Wun-Dar has been delayed by a month, although in fairness, this only means putting him back to his original release date in April.
16th January 2010
I have recently heard about an Argentinian MOTU character released under licence called Kamo Khan, and I have been trying to find out about this figure. The Variants page has been updated with a mention of Kamo Khan and the Indian Leo Faker. For 2002 MOTU fans, I have rewritten the Cartoon and Image Comics pages. On the latter, I have included a link to Emiliano Santalucia's Homecoming comic on the MOTU Unbound website. There are also two new images on the 2002 Toys page, and the text has been revised.
10th January 2010
The latest Classics biographies from Matty Collector are now available on the Official Biographies page. As usual, the figures look great, but the biographies seem rather uninspired. I have added Battle Cat, Trap Jaw and the subscription-only Wun-Dar. Wun-Dar is a MOTU curiosity. He was released as a limited edition figure named the 'Wonderbread He-Man' in the 1980s, available only from the Wonderbread company via mail order. He is not part of any MOTU canon (until now) but he is a classic because he was an original MOTU figure.
9th January 2010
Scare Glow and He-Man (the reissue) have arrived at Vaults. I have put images of the figures on the Photographs page. Scare Glow was one of my favourites from the original line, and Classics Scare Glow is also excellent. The reissue He-Man is an improvement on the 2008 release with better paintwork. I have also added another image to the Poster page.
1st January 2010
I am looking forward to an exciting year in the world of the Masters. I hope the wizards of Eternia can do something about the problems with the Matty Collector site we experienced in 2009 and that collecting the Classics figures proves to be straightforward in 2010. I also hope the quality assurance concerns of many fans are dealt with properly by Mattel. I have rewritten the Matty Collector and Classics pages for this update. Best wishes to all Vaults visitors for 2010.
28th December 2009
Although I dislike the biographies which accompany the Classics figures, I have decided to show them on a new Official Biographies page. The biographies are part of the new line, so it is only fair to include them here. I have also adjusted the HTML code on the Links page so that the linked websites open in new windows. That way you can keep Vaults open whilst browsing elsewhere.
23rd November 2009
I have added a new page to Vaults which features some conceptual art. The images are early sketches which reveal some of the first ideas behind the original toys. I have also added another image to the Poster page. A couple of minor additions to the text on the Original Toys and Warrior Lists pages are also new. Classics Teela has now arrived at Vaults and there are images on the photographs page. There are still some production problems, but the bonus is that fans of the original minicomics now have both Teelas (Sorceress and daughter) in their collections.
9th November 2009
I have reduced the file size of over eighty image files on Vaults, so the affected pages should load much faster. There should be no great difference in image quality. I have added a couple of links too. Recently I have been able to spend some time on the He-Man.org forums, and have enjoyed the discussions about the Classics and the pre-Filmation canon. The link to Vaults from He-Man.org has been set up recently, so I would like to say hello and welcome to new visitors to this site. Hopefully Teela will arrive at Vaults within a week or so. Photographs will be posted as soon as possible.
16th October 2009
I received an e-mail from Vaults visitor Fernando Seage recently which solved a long-standing mystery on this site. I now know the name of the figure featured on the MOTU copies page and which toy line he is from. I am also glad to announce the arrival of Classics Webstor at Vaults. New photographs of this excellent figure can be found by visiting the photographs page.
27th September 2009
This update introduces a new page at Vaults. I have found a few more examples of early artwork from the original Masters Of The Universe series. The box art that accompanied the playsets and larger figures was very dramatic and portrayed the wild and elemental Eternia that this site is so enthusiastic to promote. Take a look at the Box Art page to remind yourself what Eternia really looks like.
19th September 2009
With the arrival of Tri-Klops at Vaults I have made a few adjustments to the photographs page. This now has thumbnail images of the Classics characters which link to the full-size images on separate pages.
22nd August 2009
Thank you to the He-Man.org forum members who gave me their website URLs. The links page has been updated. I am grateful for the feedback I have received about my Grayskull novel and my short stories. I have added two photographs of Man-At-Arms to the photographs page.
14th August 2009
I have decided to create an account on He-Man.org so that I can post information about updates on Vaults on the forums. News submitted to He-Man.org about other MOTU websites does not get posted in their news section. I am surprised by this but respect the webmasters' decision. My user name is VaultsofGrayskull. As I am unlikely to be able to access the forums regularly, you will be more likely to get a response if you send me an e-mail.
4th August 2009
There are no new additions to Vaults with this update. This is just a quick report to say I made a request to Mattel for someone from Matty Collector to make contact with me so I could ask some questions about the website and the Classics figures. No-one has given me the courtesy of a reply - not even to decline the invitation. Don't worry, Mattel - sorry to trouble you. We fans and webmasters know where we stand.
27th July 2009
I am delighted to say that my missing Zodac figure has now arrived, which means three things. Firstly, I can relax a bit. Secondly, I can now tell visitors to Vaults about my experience with Mattel's customer service. Thirdly, I can publish the e-mail address of the person who sorted out my order as there is still no customer service address on the Matty Collector website. Click here to see my revised Matty Collector page. The other good news is that my Hordak order has finally arrived, so there are now two photographs of the Evil Horde leader on the Photographs page.
13th July 2009
I have added a new section to Vaults that features examples of Earl Norem's artwork. Earl Norem contributed many paintings to the MOTU world, but these were only a small part of the work he produced as a comic book illustrator. You can see the new page by clicking here.
28th June 2009
There has been a little flurry of activity down in the Vaults during the last few days and I have added five new pages under the Original MOTU section. I found an old MOTU poster from 1985 and scanned it so I could present it on this site for fans. I have also included photographs of Heroic, Evil and Horde figures. Not only that, there is a new page on which I discuss why the original toys were successful.
23rd June 2009
Another very brief update to say no improvements to the customer service on Matty Collector have taken place. I ordered two Zodac figures and only one was sent. Trying to get this sorted out is proving very difficult! Read about the problems with Matty Collector and Mattel here.
22nd June 2009
This is a short update to let you know I have revised the Warrior Lists page to include the warriors' titles. I haven't found quite all of them though, so if you can help me fill in the gaps, please e-mail me.
19th June 2009
I have added a new page with photographs of some of the Classics figures. I have not included King Grayskull because he is a non-original character and I don't think he should be in the Classics series. Similarly I will not be including He-Ro when he is released either, for the same reason. That and the fact the photographs on Matty Collector make it look as though he is from a completely different (superhero) toyline - totally out of keeping with the MOTU. Enjoy the photographs.
29th April 2009
I have been looking at some of the stories on FanFiction.Net and have added a link from this site. If you are looking for original canon fan fiction, the submissions on FanFiction.Net will not satisfy your interest as most stories are cartoon-inspired. It is good to find a site where people are trying to have a go at writing MOTU stories though, and there are some writers who have produced some good and imaginative work. It's worth having a look, as long as you don't mind trawling through the badly-edited 'it was a dark and stormy night' rubbish. There are over three hundred submissions in the He-Man cartoon category, so inevitably the quality ranges from the good to the awful - but people are having a go at using their imaginations and I support that. You can find the link on the Links page.
24th April 2009
The early minicomics played such an important role in creating the world of Eternia in the 1980s that I thought it was time to make my favourites available to read on Vaults. The two that inspired my imagination the most were The Magic Stealer and The Power Of... Point Dread! Scans of both of these Gary Cohn stories can be found on the new Best Minicomics page.
19th April 2009
How time flies! I can barely believe it has been over three years since the last update, but not much has actually happened in that time in the MOTU world besides the collapse of the 2002 line (no surprises there). Now though we have the Masters Of The Universe Classics (or MOTUC) to talk about and I'm pleased to say (with caution at this stage) that the news is generally good - as long as you disregard the catastrophe that is the Matty Collector website. Vaults has some new pages about the MOTUC line and a few minor changes elsewhere. The Original Toys, Zodac and Links pages have been updated. I have added a new page about the MOTU Canon in the Fiction section. The e-mail address has been down for a long time, so please accept my apologies if you sent me a message and never had a reply. Thank you for your continued support.
20th March 2006
Hello folks... I guess it's been rather quiet in the world of the Masters! Particularly on Vaults. Having said I would publish T F Cooper's The Ordeal of Man-E-Faces about a year and a half ago, I'm pleased to present his work now. Sorry it took so long, Coop. Fans of the site with long memories may remember the first image I used on the Welcome page - the one with lightning flashing behind Castle Grayskull. That image has now been placed on the Gallery page. The most important news right now (shameless self-promotion coming up) is that I have published my first book. It's called Pendragon, and it is a retelling of the King Arthur legends. I would like everyone to order a copy! I guess Excalibur was the original Powersword. Check out these links: Stormwolf.co.uk (publisher - me), and Lulu.com (distributor). Please buy a copy for everyone you know!
1st September 2004
As it has been a while since I posted an update here, I thought it was time to bring Vaults fans up to date. It wasn't announced on the site at the time, but after I wrote Grayskull, I rewrote it in screenplay format, and submitted the synopsis to hundreds of film producers via an e-mail service. I did receive some requests to read the screenplay, but sadly it looks unlikely that anyone is willing to take on a MOTU trilogy, despite the interest of fans. There are no new pages on Vaults at the moment, because I have been dedicating all of my spare time to my new website. I hope to add more here in the future, but it won't be for a while yet. The new site is about the symbolism and spirituality of the King Arthur legends. If you would like to see the site, click here.
10th April 2004
I'm pleased to announce that the first story submitted to Vaults by a guest author may now be read on the new Guest Writers' page. The tale is the excellent He-Man Of The Vines by T F Cooper. More information on submitting tales to Vaults may be found by clicking here. I had hoped that a certain MOTU website might be interested in promoting the search for fan fiction on its news page, but sadly the support was not forthcoming. It is therefore the shared responsibility of the fan fiction websites to promote the themes of the original MOTU toys and minicomics.
1st April 2004
I decided to reformat the welcome page of Vaults Of Grayskull as the number of images was slowing download time. Therefore the buttons have been replaced with text links. I think the new look works rather well. The image of Man-At-Arms in Wind Raider was created in Photoshop Elements (with more luck than judgement). I thought the effect looked good, so I added the image to the welcome page. The Battle Ram image has also been altered slightly to make it clearer against the background.
31st March 2004
I have added a couple of new pages that didn't quite make it into the last update. The variants page has scans of the Evil Horde's Grizzlor (both versions), and I have also put together a page on the steeds of the Eternian warriors. If you've been to the links page since the last update, you'll know it's been reformatted with more fan fiction sites listed. I have just added another site to the list, and there are now 20+ links, all of which work! Now how often do you find that on a website's links page?
26th March 2004
I thought I'd try a different image on the welcome page of Vaults, hence the picture of He-Man on Battle Ram. The animated image of the lightning flashing through Grayskull hasn't vanished forever, but I thought a change for a while would be good. Also new this time around is the invitation for visitors to submit fan fiction. I hope there are some writers out there who will take up the challenge. We'll see! And that's not all. Besides the Quill And Sword fan fiction page, I have added a prototypes page, a special feature on the original minicomics, and a critical review of the new Masters cartoon.
13th March 2004
It has been a while since the last update, so thank you all for your patience! I'm glad to announce that there is a new addition to the Short Stories page. I wanted to write a dragon story for ages, and Fire And Steel gave me the opportunity to bring back Kor'san'tach from Grayskull and explore the history of the Snake Men's rise to power and how they were ultimately defeated. And if you ever wondered who Eldor was and what part he played in the MOTU saga, here is your chance to read my version of events about a legendary character who sadly never made it beyond the prototype toy stage.
6th December 2003
This is the first time I've been able to announce a new story on Vaults Of Grayskull since the launch of the website, and I'm delighted to tell you that a new tale named The Shepherds Of Bleydek Forest can be found on the Short Stories page. It's an idea that I've been working on for a while now. I wanted to try something a bit different, and I hope you'll agree it's unlike any MOTU tale you may have read so far. When I first started on Bleydek, I realised that it was appropriate to write it as a sequel to Gary Cohn's The Magic Stealer! This is one of my favourite minicomics, and I'm pleased to be able to acknowledge Gary's work.
18th October 2003
Sorry for the delay in updating Vaults Of Grayskull folks. Unfortunately the time available for website stuff has been limited, but I have now added four new pages to the site. There is now a Q & A page, which reveals a little more about the concepts that appear on Vaults Of Grayskull. Also new this time around is the Weapons Pak page, a complete list of warriors from the original toyline, and a review of the fabulous Masters Of The Universe comic books from Image Comics and MV Creations. And there is more on its way...
20th August 2003
The Links page has now been updated to include more of the best MOTU websites. Thank you to Lennon Parker of He-ManFans.com for his enthusiastic comments about Vaults Of Grayskull on his website's home page. Vaults Of Grayskull has four new pages for you to browse - the Keldor page featuring the limited edition figure, the Fighting Styles page featuring a letter from Man-At-Arms, as well as a Mini Figures page and an image of a MOTU copy on the MOTU Copies page.
10th August 2003
The New Toys page is now up and running and features a scan of the new MOTU logo and the new He-Man. Here in England, Toys R Us stores are now selling some of the action figures - so far I have seen He-Man, Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Beastman and Mer-Man. Castle Grayskull, Panthor, Battle Cat and a selection of vehicles have also reached the shelves. Finally a huge thank you to Alessio Di Marco from MOTU Unbound for being the first person to send me feedback about Vaults Of Grayskull.
7th August 2003
Launch day! Today Vaults Of Grayskull was uploaded to the Internet. Hopefully this site will become one of the most popular among Masters Of The Universe fans. More pages are planned and will be added as soon as they are constructed. A special thank you is due to Erith Arwen who was the first person to read Grayskull, and also came up with the fabulous concept for the Nightflame short story. Thanks also to my close friends who supported and encouraged me as I wrote the novel - you know who you are!
