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.

10th May 2020

The Power‑Con exclusives order page is now live. The highlight of this year's selection is a Lords of Power 5-pack, featuring He‑Man, Man-at-Arms, Skeletor, Beast Man and Mer‑Man. The designs are based on prototypes for the original MOTU line. (See this Battle Ram Blog article for background information.) The set is very expensive (as the Power‑Con exclusives always are) at US$200 plus shipping. Import fees may also be applicable in some countries. Alternatively, the set is available from BBTS. They're charging US$270, but the shipping might be less. These figures are from Mattel's new Origins line, not Masters of the Universe Classics. See an image of the new figures by clicking here. And be quick if you want them; Power‑Con have sold over two thirds of their stock already.

30th March 2020

It's been a while since I posted something new. That's mostly because there hasn't been much going on in the MOTU arena. The final Classics and Filmation figures arrived from Super7 a few weeks ago. Sorry for the delay in getting some new pages up. It seems unlikely that Super7 will have anything more to do with the MOTU licence. At least they're going out in style with Snake Mountain. Given the current worldwide virus situation, it's not clear when the playsets will reach us. Classics is on indefinite hiatus. Will Mattel have another go? Hard to say; they clearly lost interest before. It looks like their focus is on their new Origins line, although I suspect there won't be much happening with that until 2021. I've linked to a new Supercast with this update. (Super7 either skipped a number or I couldn't find it on YouTube.)

23rd September 2019

We are facing the prospect of the end of MOTUC. For an unfathomable reason Mattel has decided to suspend licensing on most third-party products. That means Super7 has had to cease production until such time as Mattel says otherwise. It seems to be because Mattel wants to launch its mass-market Origins line around this time next year. But there's no conflict between that and the specialised collectors' line that we've enjoyed for over a decade. It seems like a bad move every way you look at it. In a bizarre twist, Mattel produced this year's Power‑Con figures, which should have reduced the price but did not. The last of Super7's Classics and Filmation waves are long overdue (again), but they should be shipping fairly soon. There's also a new Supercast with this update.

17th June 2019

Super7 have released a new video. Look out for the cardboard Snake Mountain. (You won't be able to miss it.) In other news it turns out that this year's Power‑Con figures are being made by Mattel, not Super7. That's an interesting development which basically means no one knows what the future holds for the Classics line. And are Mattel getting back into MOTU with this 5½″ articulated figure set of Prince Adam and He‑Man? A line based on minicomic designs might be fun, but this set is a limited edition release just for SDCC attendees, presumably to assess the interest.

5th June 2019

The big news in the MOTU fandom is that the target has been reached for Snake Mountain orders, and Super7 will put the monstrous playset into production. All credit to Super7 for this. They are unlikely to make any money on this project and have done it just because it needs to be done. The dedication is appreciated. Anyway, we can stop talking about Snake Mountain for a while! With this update I've added a page for Super7's 5½″ He‑Ro and Eldor figures. They were concept figures back in 1987 for the ill-fated Powers of Grayskull line. It's nice to have them in the collection.

9th May 2019

The big news this month is big. Literally big. We're talking about Super7's pre-order for Skeletor's hideout, Snake Mountain. It's a monster playset, roughly 3 feet high and 4 feet wide. Huge. People will have to throw out furniture to find room for the thing. But we're all very excited, and factors like the size and huge cost are being put aside in the way that only dedicated toy collectors can delude themselves. We are all bloody mad. Anyway, production isn't guaranteed yet because a minimum number of orders must be reached by the end of this month. Snake Mountain looks spectacular and deserves to be made. I suspect future products (including figures) will depend upon its success or failure. There are a number of purchase options. For US customers these include direct from Super7 ($600), from Big Bad Toy Store ($800) and from Entertainment Earth ($600). Prices shown here don't include shipping or sales taxes. For customers in the European Union (which, until we make good our escape, includes the UK), Snake Mountain is on sale at S.P.A.C.E. (€900). That price includes VAT but not shipping. At today's exchange rate that works out at approximately £780. This is insanely expensive but it will be a joy to own.

9th April 2019

In just a few hours Horde Zombie (Slime Pit) He‑Man has sold out at Big Bad Toy Store, but he's currently still available from S.P.A.C.E. in Germany for €89.99. They also have the three-pack for €259.00. Don't hang about if you're interested in these figures. We know BBTS have already sold two thirds of their allocation.

8th April 2019

Super7's third Filmation set has arrived at Vaults. It's arguably the best Club Grayskull wave so far, although there are significant issues with the She‑Ra figure. I like Fisto, Grizzlor and Mantenna a lot. Delivery is still a bit slow though – we paid for the next wave before these arrived. Hopefully there'll be some Snake Mountain news soon on the Classics front. Talking of which, this year's Power‑Con figures are now listed on Big Bad Toy Store. Be warned, they are really expensive: $209.99 for the vintage concept three-pack (Slamurai and two Snake Troopers) and $69.99 for Horde Zombie (Slime Pit) He‑Man before shipping.

17th February 2019

Revealed at this weekend's New York Toy Fair were the 2019 Classics figures from Super7. They've gone for a movie wave with He‑Man, two versions of Skeletor and a Karg repaint. Not the first choice of many fans but wanted by plenty of others. Whatever your views on the character choice the figures do look very good. Ordering will open in March. Power‑Con has returned to form with vintage concept figures and Slime Pit He‑Man (a minicomic variant). This time they'll only be sold via third-party online retailers for non-attendees. And finally, ordering for Snake Mountain is scheduled for May. The playset will be a whopping US$600 before shipping. I suspect it won't arrive until next year.

3rd February 2019

Well, let's see what 2019 brings to the Masters of the Universe, shall we? I hope Super7 returns to form with an invigorated Classics range. The focus on Filmation has been tiresome lately, with the fourth (expanded) wave already sold while we're still waiting for the third Classics set to be revealed. Hopefully we'll see something special in a few weeks from the New York Toy Fair. Talking of Filmation, I've added a review page for the 5½″ figures which Super7 sold last year. (Sadly, they're nothing special.) The Supercasts page has been updated following the release of a new video.

1st December 2018

There are several new pages with this update. Having created one Most Wanted page for the Literature Faction, I decided a similar page was needed for Concepts & Prototypes. The new page features thirty images of characters which I very much hope will be made into Classics figures by Super7. I've also reviewed the 2018 Power-Con figures and the quirky Laughing Prince Adam. Another addition to the site is a page with the links to Super7's Supercasts. Unless there's more Classics news to come this month, this will probably be the last update of the year.

4th October 2018

We've waited a year for them, but Classics Set 2 and Filmation Set 2 have finally been delivered. I'm fairly certain that we'll see the next Filmation wave being put up for sale soon; unfortunately there is no news at the moment about the next Classics set. The current batch is pretty good, although I would have preferred to see the Literature Faction being represented, particularly after the all-Filmation Power‑Con selection and the oddball Laughing Prince Adam. Hopefully Classics fans will receive some good news about Snake Mountain before long to settle our nerves.

9th September 2018

We've seen a Filmation-intensive period recently from Super7, and quite a few fans are hoping that this doesn't mean Classics are being neglected. And while it's true that Snake Mountain is now a realistic prospect, it's been a long time coming, since before Super7 took up the licence. I've often said that there are many non-cartoon characters who should make it into the line, and with this update I want to focus on the characters from the many minicomics, books, comics and newspapers. That's why there's a new Most Wanted page on the site. As you'll see, there are loads of characters listed, but I've only scratched the surface. I've also shrunk down the file sizes for many of the scans on this site, which will make the pages much quicker to load for visitors. The MOTU Annual, The Clash of Arms, all the Golden Books and the DC Comics have all been tweaked.

31st August 2018

Although there has been some good news about forthcoming Masters of the Universe Classics product recently ‑ Snake Mountain is a few steps away from becoming a reality ‑ it's actually been a long dry spell of five months since the last MOTUC product reached customers. Thankfully that drought has now been broken with the arrival of Stridor. I've also added scans of the faux minicomic covers which came with the Ultimates figures at the start of the year. You can see the images in the art section here.

26th April 2018

We'd hoped that Super7 would release Stridor but received no indication that they had plans to until the recent surprise announcement. The Heroic Armored War Horse is available to order until 15th May here. Super7 also put up some retro-styled cartoon 5½ inch figure two-packs (He‑Man & Skeletor and She‑Ra & Hordak) last night, but these are limited editions and the first set has already sold out. It looks like Super7 decided on a run of about 1000 of each. A misjudgement of demand, methinks. It's rumoured that the figures might be rereleased as singles, but we'll see.

15th April 2018

Not an update for this website this time but a reminder that you have less than a month to order the Power‑Con figures if you want to buy them. There are no Classics figures in this set though. Here's the link to the Power‑Con order page. The order window closes on 13th May. If you want to get hold of some Mythic Legions characters there is another chance to order the Advent of Decay set. (These were originally sold as a Kickstarter project.) You only have until 25th April though. Here is the link to Four Horsemen Designs' store.

26th March 2018

I'm glad to say the Wave 1 Classics and Filmation figures have arrived from Super7. It's the end of what seems like a considerable wait. In my opinion Fang‑Or and Lodar are the best figures. There are a few production issues, particularly with Filmation Teela. And yes, Tri‑Klops's visor is well and truly stuck fast. But I like the majority of the figures, and I think some of the criticism aimed at Super7 isn't justified. They've done a good job and will hopefully get even better at producing these toys.

22nd February 2018

While we're waiting for new MOTUC figures to be shipped and for reveals about what's coming next, I thought I'd present an update focussed on Masters of the Universe artwork. Art has always been a huge part of the property, and some of the most celebrated examples come from the earliest days of the line. I've redone the Box Art page. It now features better versions of Rudy Obrero's dramatic paintings. A new Card Art page has been added with scans of the recent Errol McCarthy portfolio. Plus there's a Classics Art page with images which you may remember from the Matty Collector days.

5th January 2018

This first update for 2018 introduces a new section here at Vaults. With Super7 now holding the reins for the Masters of the Universe Classics, it made sense to make a distinction between the new toys and those which were produced by Mattel. That's not to say the toys aren't compatible – they are and can be thought of in terms of one great big collection. But the new management of the line has brought with it a new approach, and I thought Super7 deserved their own corner of this site. So this update features the five Ultimates figures plus the six Power-Con 2017 figures. The toys aren't perfect but they're still a decent start. Hopefully 2018 will be a good year for collecting.

19th December 2017

Another major project has been completed here at Vaults. I've tracked down copies of the twelve soft cover MOTU Golden Books plus The Sunbird Legacy. These stories have been scanned and are now available to read on this website. We're not talking early minicomic quality though, so treat them as the simple children's stories that they are. But these books do have their moments of excitement, and they're also known for Earl Norem's cover art. This will be the last update to the site this year, so happy holidays everyone.

19th November 2017

Masters of the Universe fans will be familiar with the minicomics which came with the toys in the 1980s. The first two series of these canonical tales have been available to read here at Vaults and elsewhere online for several years. Somewhat less familiar are the five stories produced in comic format by DC Comics at the same time. I'm pleased to present them now on this site. In these tales you'll meet Crusher the tavern brawler, Tarrak the court wizard, Ceril the tribal chieftain, and Damon the evil sorcerer. Enjoy From Eternia With Death!, Fate is the Killer, To Tempt the Gods!, The Key to Castle Grayskull!, and Within These Walls... Armageddon!.

17th October 2017

I'm pleased to announce three new pages for the site. The best of the Series Three minicomics - The Clash of Arms - is now available to read here. I've added some photographs of Classics Anti‑Eternia He‑Man because he's an important character who first appeared very early on in the vintage era. Have a look at the pictures here. But perhaps the most important addition to Vaults is the first UK annual. It's been at the back of my mind to scan the book and put it up since I built the site. Well, I've finally got around to it. You can see this major example of MOTU canon here.

8th October 2017

Super7's Ultimates figures have arrived at Vaults but I'm going to hold off creating a page for them for a while - I'm waiting for the Power‑Con figures with baited breath. Hopefully we'll also see the first wave regular Classics figures before too long. It seems like aeons have passed since the pre‑order for those. But, talking of pre‑orders, the second wave of Super7's output is now on their site. The order window closes at the end of this month. I have to say I'm not impressed with the character choices this time - six of the eight are cartoon figures, and one's from the rubbish movie. Has anyone else felt swamped with figures now that the Mythic Legions line is growing? I've put forty new images on the Mythic Legions page, and that doesn't include all of the forthcoming characters. I love them but I wish the Four Horsemen would run smaller pre‑orders.

13th August 2017

Purely in the interests of research, you understand, I have bought another Dark Horse book: The Newspaper Comic Strips. Although it covers a period in MOTU history which doesn't interest me greatly (Filmation to New Adventures), it's still something of a treasure in MOTU history terms. The He‑Man newspaper strip wasn't widely known, so for many of us this is a 'new' discovery. A huge amount of research went into the book, and the old material has been restored very well. A quick review of the book can be found here.

30th July 2017

There are no new features on Vaults with this update but I thought a quick round‑up of MOTU news was due. Firstly, Super7 has started sending out the MOTU Ultimates orders. You'll remember that this set comprised He‑Man, Skeletor, Teela, Faker and Ram‑Man. At the San Diego Comic‑Con Super7 revealed some of the prototypes for their Wave 2 releases. I wasn't particularly impressed with all the character choices, in particular the gimmicky Dylamug. This is a cartoon character which, irritatingly, is being included in the Classics set rather than the Filmation set. But some of the others look quite good. Presumably Super7 will make these available to order later this year. And, just in case you didn't hear about it, the Rudy Obrero portfolio is currently available in Super7's store. Obrero painted the box art for the original MOTU vehicles and beasts, so this collection will be worth acquiring. In non‑MOTU news, the Mythic Legions line by the Four Horsemen continues to grow with new standard scale releases. We've also had a preview of two 'ogre scale' figures which look terrific. A selection of new figures is currently available for pre‑order at Store Horsemen.

24th June 2017

It was never 100% certain that the Horde Trooper sale on Mattel's online store was genuine. (We've had cause to be suspicious of the company over the years.) However, it turned out that they really did produce a large run of the Horde's army builder as a single figure. What's more, they dispatched their back-orders promptly. I hope everyone who wanted this figure was able to get an order through. (The checkout was temperamental.) I've added a new page with comments and photographs here.

27th May 2017

I've had a couple of days to look through the fabulous new MOTU book from Dark Horse - A Character Guide and World Compendium. It's a great encylopedia with over four thousand entries. An enormous amount of work has gone into the book and every single contributor deserves congratulations and thanks. I've added a page to this website about the volume which you can see here.

4th May 2017

A quick update to say the single‑pack Horde Trooper is apparently on sale at the moment on Mattel's online shop. It's shown as backordered until 15th June, so presumably that means payment will be taken on or shortly after that date. Don't count on it though - this has been rather a pig's ear of a sale with unpredictable availability. The site is still randomly messing up the checkout process, so it might need several goes. If it does work, don't expect your order confirmation e‑mail to appear right away or for your order to show up promptly in your account history. (My thanks to the He‑Man.org community for clarifying this.) There is a limit of ten figures per order, but you can submit more than one order if you're going big with your army-building. There is an option to pay via PayPal which it might be wise to use in case this all goes horribly wrong. But credit where it's due - at least someone at Mattel told someone at He‑Man.org, and the current information is found in this thread. There is concern that Mattel might not actually have the figures to sell, but we'll have to wait and see.

2nd May 2017

Everyone who visits this site knows the focus is on the barbarian motifs of the original MOTU line. That's not going to change. But don't let it be said that I avoid other the other themes! In a moment of weakness - a long moment of several hours actually - I prepared new pages on aspects of the Classics line that you probably wouldn't expect to see here: Filmation, POP and NA. Mad huh? It's been something of a rush job so a couple of the photos will need replacing at some point, but hopefully there'll be enough of interest for fans of those factions. In other news a small number of fans reported successful purchases of the single‑pack Horde Trooper from Mattel's online shop. (This was the promised figure which failed to appear on MattyCollector before the site stopped MOTUC sales.) Well done to those fortunate few. For the rest of us, let's hope Super7 releases the figure under their watch. And speaking of Super7, ordering for the first Classics and Filmation waves will open in a few days, and the Ultimates should start shipping fairly soon afterwards. Most importantly, I hope everyone ordered the Power‑Con 3‑packs in time!

9th April 2017

Not an update about this site this time, but a very important one nonetheless: the Power‑Con exclusive three-packs for 2017 are now on sale. You can buy now from Power‑Con or reserve and pay later from Big Bad Toy Store. Either way these packs won't ship until after the convention in September. Make sure you check which price is best for you. BBTS will charge $40 more per pack but less in shipping. For UK customers it is probably cheaper through Power‑Con, but BBTS might have the better cost for US customers. So why are these three-packs so important? Well, minicomic Stratos and Trap Jaw are finally on their way! And the rest of the selection is also very good: Prince Adam to complete the minicomic set and the newly-named Terroar, Plasmar and Lord Gr'Asp in the other. These characters were conceptualised for the original line but were never made. It's a very exciting time for vintage era fans. Finally, I've added the Power‑Con website to the Links page - I'd mentioned it elsewhere but had neglected to feature it where it deserves a slot.

19th February 2017

This update isn't about this website, it's about the new Masters of the Universe reveals from Super7. During the life of the Classics I've been consistently underwhelmed by Mattel's reveals, mostly because the origins of the MOTU received very little acknowledgement. That's all changed under Super7's leadership. I had a feeling that nostalgia would play a part this year, and I'm delighted by what I've seen this weekend. Minicomic Stratos and Trap Jaw! At last! They'll be among six figures released as PowerCon exclusives rather than through Super7's store, but that won't be a problem if this year's distribution works as well as last year's. Super7 are also going to release new Filmation figures as well as He-Ro and Eldor (among others) in the vintage style. This is all great news. For more, take a look at this He-Man.org thread. Okay, just one small update about Vaults - I've added He-Man World to the Links page. It's a great site which has somehow stayed off my radar until recently. Glad to add it now.

28th January 2017

I've added a new page about Roton, the Evil Assault Vehicle. It's a superb model. You'll find lots of photos on the new page. Roton came with a figure called the Skelcon, which I've reviewed as well. We've had news about the first wave of new Classics figures from Super7. They will be Fangor, Quakke, Hawke and Lodar. Fangor and Lodar look superb but I'm not enthused by the others. Find out more here. And that's not the only news worthy of mention. Four Horsemen Studios have just begun their new Kickstarter for the next Mythic Legions collection. You have just under a month to pledge if you want some figures. For more information, click here.

8th January 2017

We shouldn't really be celebrating, should we? But Mattel's occasionally peculiar attitude towards the Classics line and its customers won't be missed. I can't say I'm sorry that Digital River are now out of the picture as well. While the customer service improved gradually, it was never fault free, and it still grates that they took so long to even provide an e-mail address. No more surprises... well, Mattel couldn't say goodbye without throwing one last low-baller at us, could they? I'm talking about the sudden appearance of Roton for sale in December with less than a week's notice. The vehicle had been discussed, but after Mattel seemed to throw in the towel it fell off the radar (along with the single-carded Horde Trooper that never materialised). Good news in one sense, but a chaotic way to shut down the Matty Collector shop. Anyway Roton and the included figure - the Skelcon - now appear on the Official Biographies and Factions pages. And while I'm waiting for the evil assault vehicle to scythe its way into the Vaults, please enjoy the new MOTU Giants page.

10th December 2016

The last two figures in Mattel's MOTUC line - Horde Wraith and Tuskador - have been added to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Tuskador is a large figure from the NA camp who has a lot of fans but doesn't impress me much. The Horde Wraith is much more intriguing and a good one for army building. The Classics section of VOG isn't quite yet done, but most updates henceforth will probably just be housekeeping. Although the Classics figures will continue under Super7's management, it makes sense to create a new section for them on the site and treat them as a new line. I'm looking forward to seeing what Super7 does next. Happy holidays everybody.

2nd December 2016

It's been a while since I added a new page, so I'm glad to announce Night Stalker has been given his own slot at Vaults. It's a good model, if rather oversized, and is the last steed in the line - at least under Mattel's management. We've reached the end of the Classics, which is bittersweet. Never having to worry about Digital River's logistics and Mattel's occasional faux pas has to be good news, but it's still a shame to reach the end. However, with Super7 licensing the MOTUC, the next version of the line appears to be in good hands. They've begun by inviting orders for Ultimate versions of five figures. If you haven't ordered yet, you've only got a couple of days to do so at Super7's Store.

25th September 2016

Evil steed Night Stalker is the highlight of September. It looks like Mattel has made a good job of Skeletor's mechanical horse. The design is definitely true to the vintage model, but has been brought up-to-date with some nice articulation which the original didn't have. It's a shame Mattel didn't produce the heroic equivalent, Stridor, before wrapping up the line, but at least we know the moulds are there should Super7 choose to use them. This month we also have General Sundar from the She-Ra cartoon. The box includes extra heads for Horde Troopers. It's been indicated that the single-carded troopers will be released in November, so hopefully customers will be able to stock up and army-build. Don't be surprised, though, if Mattel slaps on a purchase limit of three figures. We'll see. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated.

25th August 2016

Two themes to the updates this time around, starting with Castle Grayskull. I've wanted to publish a page about the Classics version for a while. That's prompted some minor tweaks to the page I posted some time ago which looked at the fortress in its storytelling context. Having been a fan of the Four Horsemen for a few years now, I wanted to feature the Mythic Legions line because many of the figures are perfect army-builders for the MOTUC. I've also brought my Four Horsemen page up-to-date, although the content isn't much different from what you've read before.

20th August 2016

Although I have a few new pages planned, I'm not quite ready to publish them, so this update is a brief one in which I'll summarise the latest Masters of the Universe news. It has been confirmed that Mattel is ending the Classics line this December and closing the Matty Collector website. Fortunately, Super7 has negotiated a licence with Mattel and will pick up the Classics in 2017. Pixel Dan's interview with Super7 owner Brian Flynn can be seen here. So that's looking positive. Here at Vaults I've done some housekeeping on the Links page. I've had to sadly remove a few links which are now dead, but there are a few new ones to take their place. I've also put them in alphabetical order for convenience.

8th July 2016

The arrival of the brilliant Power-Con Classics figures has given a much needed boost to the MOTU fandom. I've created a new Power-Con page with reviews and photos of the exclusives. This month the latest release is another New Adventures character (Crita) who means nothing to me and looks quite dull. Better news is the release of Despara, who is an Evil Horde version of Adora / She-Ra. This figure looks good and I'm looking forward to her arrival at Vaults. With the Power-Con figures (Red Beast Man, Camo Khan and Green Granamyr) and the subscription figures, it's meant a clutch of updates on the Official Biographies and Factions pages. We're also awaiting news of plans for the Classics line because it's gone silent from Mattel. Hopefully this month's San Diego Comic Con might reveal some facts.

12th May 2016

It's a rather boring month for Classics figures. The only new one is a New Adventures offering called Darius. Updates on the Official Biographies and Factions pages. We were supposed to see evil steed Nightstalker this month, but he's been delayed for four months. There is also no word of the subscription exclusive figure Despara. Let's hope for something newsworthy soon.

14th April 2016

One of the Classics' most interesting figures has just been released: Anti-Eternia He-Man. This is a figure whose first mention was in a German audioplay, thus making him one of those obscure characters with a cult following who has now received mainstream attention. I'm rather excited about this figure. Mattel has tapped into the fans' psyche with this one, and they know it. They've even done a red and black version of the packaging for him. Updates on the Official Biographies and Factions pages as usual of course. Rather sensibly, Mattel has also made Serpentine King Hssss available again this month. He's neither well-made nor well-painted, but still quite fun. Both of these figures should be made available throughout the year if enough stock remains, which is important because of the rather restrictive maximum purchase quantity (3).

12th March 2016

The missing snake-form of Battle Armor King Hssss (called Serpentine King Hssss) is going to be sold in a few days' time. It's long overdue and gratingly not being provided to Classics subscribers for free as promised when the He-Man / Hssss two-pack was announced. However, cost and delays aside, the most irritating factor is that Mattel will be enforcing a purchase limit of three figures per (last year's) subscriber. It doesn't matter if you bought 1 or 100 subs; you'll be able to buy 3 (assuming they don't sell out). Mattel has, once again, failed to consider customers' needs and wishes. I've added the biography of this figure to the Official Biographies page, although it's no different from the original King Hssss's. (You may notice the one word difference in his title though). New Horde member Vultak is also being sold this month, although we've been notified of a substantial delay to his shipping. I know nothing about this character, but the figure looks good. But then the Evil Horde figures always look good. He's one of the new batch, so he doesn't have a biography as such, just the weak '5 Facts' arrangement. Both figures are also shown on the Factions pages.

3rd February 2016

I've been meaning to put some photos of the Icon Heroes Snake Mountain on the site for a while. It's not as good a model as their Castle Grayskull, but I know some fans are pleased with it. I've also featured the recently released Point Dread and Talon Fighter. I decided to put them on separate pages because they're worthy of their own reviews. The new Teela figure is featured on the Point Dread page, although she's such a mess she probably doesn't deserve it.

23rd January 2016

I am particularly pleased to announce the latest additions to the Photographs page (Dragstor, Laser Power He-Man and Laser Light Skeletor) because they represent a very important milestone in the Masters Of The Universe Classics. At long last all of the toys from the original MOTU line have been reborn as updated figures - over seventy characters from a property we have known and loved for over thirty years. Okay, so there have been a few problems along the way - Rio Blast springs to mind - but overall this has been a special journey. A very expensive one too, but that's the nature of hobbies. It's great to be here but let's not forget the work isn't finished yet. Considering how expansive this property has become (growing to include concept figures and spinoff series characters), we're still woefully lacking minicomic characters from the pre-Filmation era. Variant figures of Tri-Klops, Trap Jaw, Ram Man and Stratos are begging to be made, plus the incredible glorm. Raise your voices in the forums, Vintage fans!

8th January 2016

Okay, so here we go into a new year. It's a strange time. The Classics have sort of ended but actually they haven't. New things are afoot, with a bit of what we've been used to and some new stuff. The first figure of the Classics-that-isn't-Classics is the rather good Lord Masque. True, he looks more Sith Lord than MOTU, but looks promising nonetheless. He's the first of the Collectors' Choice line. Unfortunately there has been news of a delay in his arrival, but we've had that before and it's not a big deal. Those of us outside the US are used to waiting for 4 weeks or more for our figures, so an extra couple won't hurt. He's packaged as a Classics figure with one noticeable difference: there is no character biography. Now that is no bad thing, and I'm not sorry to see the biographies go. However, I am irritated to the core with their replacement: a list of things to know about each figure, a little à la Top Trumps. This might have been a good idea if the fifth entry for Lord Masque were not his - wait for it - favourite movie! It beggars belief. Anyway, while we wait for the delayed figure, the Official Biographies (it's still as good a place as anywhere for the new fun facts) and Factions pages have been updated.

3rd December 2015

The final figures of this year have been added to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Four figures this time - nothing beats an expensive December (thanks, Mattel) - but it is good news to be at the point of wrapping up the Vintage aspect of the Classics. Although we aren't. Evil steed Night Stalker is coming next year. We're still missing several vehicles and I haven't seen a lot of action regarding the long overdue minicomic variants from the pre-Filmation era. You know - the era where it all began. The important one. Best wishes for the holiday period, everyone.

23rd November 2015

A quick update to add Queen Grayskull (aka Veena) to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. She turned up at Vaults today, and I think she looks pretty good. It's been a while since we saw a good female Classics figure. The wing position is odd though, but wings and sorceresses don't exactly have a stunning history in this line. With the arrival of Evil Horde member Dragstor, we now only have two more figures until the completion of the vintage aspect of the Classics line.

8th November 2015

It's something of a special update today because I've added two new pages, featuring the recently released MOTU minicomic book and the MOTU art book from Dark Horse Books. These are really important volumes, so check out the pages and then buy the books if you haven't already done so. In other news, Dragstor is now featured on the Official Biographies and Factions pages, and I've added photographs of Saurod, Terror Claws Skeletor and Flying Fists He-Man to the Photographs page. We are so close to finishing the vintage figures!

3rd October 2015

A pairing of adversaries from the Vintage MOTU era are being released in Classics form this month: Flying Fists He-Man and Terror Claws Skeletor. It looks like a good job has been done on their designs. Also coming is Ceratus, a cartoon character from the 2002 (200X) era. He looks very good indeed and will be suitable as an army builder figure. Another generic POP female joins the list this month as well: Perfuma, who looks over-designed and rather ugly. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated.

10th September 2015

Saurod from the MOTU movie is appearing in Classics form this month alongside King Chooblah from the 2002 (200X) era. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated. As we approach the end of the year we are only a few figures away from completing the Classics versions of the original toys, with a couple of He-Man and Skeletor variants plus Dragstor still to come.

29th August 2015

It's been a busy MOTU day at Vaults with the arrival of Buzz Saw Hordak, Evil Seed, Mara of Primus and the Heads of Eternia set. I'm glad to say I finally think a Galactic Protectors figure has been done rather well in Mara! It's been a long time coming - most of you know I'm not very interested in the NA figures. I'm not a 2002 era (200X) fan either, but Evil Seed is unquestionably one of the best Classics figures and a great army builder. Buzz Saw Hordak joins the spinny ones (Rotar and Twistoid) from last month on the Photographs page. Good news from elsewhere - the arrangement to make the Power Con exclusives (Green Granamyr, Red Beast Man and Camo Khan) has gone fairly smoothly, so credit is due to Val Staples and his team for making it happen.

7th August 2015

It's a busy monthly sale with three figures being released at once: Buzz Saw Hordak, Evil Seed and Mara of Primus. The first is a Hordak variant from the Vintage line. He's okay but not much different from the regular Hordak figure. That said, he's a must-have because he was an original MOTU toy. Following on from Callix, Evil Seed is another 200X cartoon figure and has been done very well. Mara of Primus is an NA figure that looks okay considering the boring faction she's a part of. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated with these new characters. This month subscribers will also receive the 200X heads pack.

3rd August 2015

After a very promising set of reveals at the San Diego Comic Con, serious discontentment has befallen the MOTU fandom. The first major setback was discovering three highly sought after figures - Green Granamyr, Red Beast Man and Camo Khan - will not be made available on Mattel's Matty Collector website after the Power Con event. The Power Con figures have always been sold by Mattel later in the year, but this time around someone thought it would be a good idea to limit the production run and make them available only to event goers. Fortunately the organisers have responded to the irritation and have come up with a solution which might mean some non-attendees can buy the figures. We'll see how this works out soon. I've rarely seen the fandom get so annoyed, and I hope all concerned learn from this and don't engage in this exclusionary and selfish behaviour again. If that wasn't enough to get people worked up, Mattel forgot they'd promised the 200X King Hiss snake torso as part of the 2015 subscription and bodged together a repainted figure - not to give away but to sell to the fans who'd already paid for it as part of their subscription. Utterly unethical and dreadful customer care. It really hasn't been an inspiring start by the team that took over from Scott 'Toyguru' Neitlich. On this site the Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated with Rotar and Twistoid.

11th July 2015

Photos of new MOTUC figures have been posted on various sites over the last few days, revealing the product Mattel put on display at the San Diego Comic Con. We've seen what's coming during the rest of 2015, which is mostly the wrap up of vintage characters. At this stage the best figures in the collection have already been made, but getting here is a significant milestone. At times it was doubtful whether this would happen. But there's a problem. The vintage stuff hasn't actually been properly concluded. We've had a glimpse of the red version of Beast Man in the 2016 line-up, and he's the sole representative of the early minicomics. Just one figure! This aspect of the MOTU remains severely under-represented, and I'd hoped for something much more promising. The Filmation world is getting a handful of figures in 2016 - not Filmation in Classics styling but in cartoon styling. The prototypes look fairly good, but it's a shift into a new incarnation of the property. And yet there are still figures whose prototypes retain the Classics look. It's a mish-mash of ideas that probably will work, but feels inherently confused. There's no confusion about the forthcoming playsets though: Point Dread and the Talon Fighter this year and (as I thought) Snake Mountain in 2016. Both look spectacularly good, but I'm worried that the price of the latter is going to be prohibitive for a lot of people. Overall a fair conclusion to 2015 and a promising look ahead.

4th July 2015

The imminent San Diego Comic Con will be an interesting occasion because we'll get a clearer picture of how Mattel intends to continue the MOTU property. I'm anticipating some good reveals, including Point Dread and the Talon Fighter. Here at Vaults I've been busy with the camera in order to post images of Blast Attak, Sssqueeze and Multi-Bot on the Photographs page. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated with the next POP character, Peekablue, and the first 200X subscription figure, Callix. Peekablue is just another female character with ugly wings and the generic POP face. Callix, by contrast, looks like being something really special - perhaps not as an individual character, but definitely as an army builder figure. Should be an interesting month.

5th June 2015

There are two new Classics figures this month: Sssqueeze and Multi-Bot. I've always thought the Snake Man is a rather ridiculous character, but I'm actually looking forward to seeing this incarnation, probably just for the novelty value rather than any great appreciation for his design. The Horde Warrior is another one of those quirky one-offs that have always proved popular in the MOTU world, but I don't anticipate his blocky design being anywhere near as good as Modulok's fantastic styling. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated. After saying that I didn't think May's figure was particularly exciting, I've actually grown to like Classics Blast Attak now he's arrived at Vaults, but weirdly I couldn't tell you why. I must be getting soft in my old age.

25th April 2015

May's Classics character is Blast Attak. He was one of the later figures of the original line and not a particularly exciting one. He's been linked to both Skeletor's Evil Warriors and King Hiss's Snake Men. The Classics biography attempts to accommodate both by saying Skeletor brought him to Eternia where he was promptly kidnapped and reprogrammed by the Snake Men, so his affiliation is with the latter. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated. Today my copy of The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe arrived. It's a big hardback book of 320 pages, and it has some very good content. I've had a quick glance through it so far and I'm impressed. It's a good attempt at plotting the history of the MOTU through its artwork. At some point I'll build a page on this site to review it, but I'll probably wait until after its companion volume - which will feature all of the original minicomics - comes out at the end of the year.

4th April 2015

I picked up my Oo-Larr figures today and I'm impressed with both the design and the fact that this hugely important character from MOTU lore is now part of the Classics line. I've been busy with the camera, so he's now featured on the updated Photographs page with Spirit of Grayskull and Ninja Warrior (Ninjor in old money).

29th March 2015

April's Classics release is another POP figure called Angella. I can't get excited about this one because she's not much different from the generic female models we've seen so far. From the Filmation cartoon we're also getting a three-pack of evil Hover Robots this month (and hopefully at other times during the year as this set is a 'convention' non-subscription offering). While they aren't in the same league as the under-produced Horde Troopers, I'm certain there will be a high demand for them. These new sets are featured on the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Probably the most exciting information this month is the news that the 200X mini subscription for this year will be going ahead. For the first time since Classics began, Mattel has named and shown all six figures before the sub starts. It was a sensible move, and we know we're in for a treat. For people like me who don't have any nostalgia for the 2002 era, the figures lend themselves to army-building, so they have broad appeal. Here is a picture.

7th March 2015

Apologies to the fans who think the release of Huntara this month is a special event, but I'm infinitely more excited by the appearance of Oo-Larr (despite his silly name). This is the He-Man of the Series One minicomics. He's coming with two heads: the minicomic artwork version and one styled on the vintage He-Man toy. Nice touches include the spear and sword which were illustrated on single panels in the He-Man and the Power Sword minicomic. This is an important moment in the Classics line. Some fans don't understand the fuss and that's a shame. The two new figures are now featured on the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

12th February 2015

This month includes the release of a chase figure: Spirit of Grayskull (King Grayskull in spirit form). The word chase is used when describing figures that are not part of the regular line-up, possibly through scarcity or some special feature. 'Chase' is so called to reflect the 'thrill of the chase' that fans supposedly experience when tracking down the elusive figures. Of course, the process isn't exciting, it's thoroughly irritating. Anyway, the new figure is now featured on the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

5th February 2015

I have added three new figures to the Official Biographies and Factions pages which I'm rather looking forward to seeing when they arrive at VOG. The most important of the bunch is Ninja Warrior. He is, of course, Ninjor from the original line, but Mattel was not able to trademark the name for Classics. I've never seen an original Ninjor, but I like the pictures I've seen of the new version. I'm not known as a 2002 (200X) era fan, but I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Snake Armor He-Man and Battle Armor King Hssss two-pack. It looks like the Four Horsemen have done a good job reinventing these characters. The only disappointment is the fact that the pack will not include Hssss's snake form torso. That, apparently, will show up later in the year with another figure.

23rd January 2015

It's been a little while since I added some new pages to the site, so I'm pleased to announce features on Jet Sled & Sky High, Battle Ram and He-Ro & Eldor. I've also added images of Rio Blast, Tung Lashor and Gwildor to the Photographs page.

9th January 2015

It's a quiet start to the year with only one new figure in the January sale on Matty Collector. This time around it's Lizard Man - a Filmation character - who joins the Classics. A quirky figure but nothing that's going to set the world on fire. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated.

23rd November 2014

I was hugely impressed when Eldor arrived at VOG this month. The amount of sculpting that has gone into his design makes him one of the best figures in the line so far. His book and staff are some of the most detailed accessories too. December, by contrast, is going to be less impressive. The ludicrous Gwildor (that ugly dwarf from the terrible MOTU movie) is next month's Vintage figure, and, even more annoyingly, he's been priced at ten dollars more than regular, larger figures. I hope that's an error on the Matty Collector website. Also coming in December are a couple of POP figures: Mermista and Spinnerella. POP figures are often much too similar, but at least with these two they stand out from the crowd a little with some nice design touches. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated.

31st October 2014

It's a busy and expensive month of Classics figures, with Tung Lashor, Arrow, Battle Ram (with a young Man-At-Arms figure) and New Adventures She-Ra all making an appearance. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated.

18th October 2014

We've received some big news in the Masters Of The Universe world: Mattel's brand manager Scott 'Toyguru' Neitlich has resigned. Apparently a new job at another toy company has been offered to him, and, after nine years at Mattel, Scott is moving on to new opportunities. There have been a few glitches with the Classics since their launch in 2008, but overall Scott has worked hard and achieved some pretty remarkable successes. At Vaults we obviously wish him well for the future and thank him for his efforts. Scott announced the news during an audio interview with Action Figure Insider's Daniel 'Julius Marx' Pickett. The interview can be found here.

12th October 2014

The disastrous Rio Blast arrived at Vaults a couple of days ago. Although the character doesn't invoke a lot of nostalgia for me, I had hoped that the Classics version might be interesting. Unfortunately it's one of the worst designed figures so far. At some point I'll get some photos on the site, but I'll probably wait until I can prepare a batch. Good news though - Toyguru's recent video showed the prototypes for Blast Attak, Sssqueeze and Multi-Bot, all of which will be coming in the first half of 2015. I've been meaning to add It's All True to my Links page for a while - it's a great toy review site - and I'm glad to say I've finally made the inclusion.

5th October 2014

The most exciting Classics news this month is the release of Eldor. He was a prototype figure for the original line (or at least its Powers of Grayskull incarnation) but never formally released as a toy (just like He-Ro). His biography and photo (along with those of POP figures Sweet Bee and Light Hope) are now posted on the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

31st August 2014

The big news this month is that the 2015 MOTUC subscription has reached its minimum number and, as a result, will go ahead. Although the subscription has been a sticking point for many fans who dislike the fact we've been pushed into it over the years with this line, the positive way to look at it is to remember that we are now assured to receive all of the MOTU figures from the original era in Classics style. For POP fans, that line will also be completed. It's a major milestone in the history of the Masters Of The Universe, and credit should go to Scott "Toyguru" Neitlich (the brand manager at Mattel) for his work in making this happen. Of course, the line will never be truly complete. There are plenty of other figures, such as the minicomic variants from the first two series of minicomics, that may never be made. At this time we have absolutely no idea if the MOTU products will continue beyond 2015. Bringing things back to the present, Rio Blast and Entrapta are the September 2014 figures, and their pictures and biographies have now been added to the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

4th August 2014

A flurry of new Classics figures this month with a leaning towards the POP tales. Etheria Invasion Hordak (he of the Filmation blue colour), Flutterina and Madame Razz should keep POP fans happy for a while. Also this month we have Intergalactic Skeletor (the NA version of the Lord of Destruction - now known as the Intergalactic Overlord of Evil). Dare I say it, but this could be the first Space Mutants figure that I actually like. Fortunately the Four Horseman have worked a near-miraculous transformation on what was a terrible original. All the new figures have been added to the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

2nd July 2014

Two new Classics figures are being released this month: the NA Flogg and the POP Double Mischief (who was originally called Double Trouble). Both have been added to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Also this month: San Diego Comic Con, where we should be shown the rest of the 2014 line-up and the first three or four figures of 2015.

28th June 2014

It's been several months since I updated the Photographs page, but now three new figures are featured there: Modulok, Blade and Extendar. Modulok is unquestionably the best of the batch. With the recent news that 2015 will be the last year of Classics, we can look forward to finishing off the characters from the vintage era - assuming Mattel keeps its promise - during the next eighteen months. The subscriptions for next year are now on sale. I'm not sure why Mattel has decided to wrap things up after next year while there is still support for the line, but perhaps there will be another incarnation of the Masters Of The Universe in the future.

9th June 2014

A quick update to add Extendar to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Extendar is one of the later original characters. He seems to be quite popular, but I don't think he's particularly interesting. He's arguably just a poor version of Mekaneck.

14th May 2014

Two new biographies have been added to the Official Biographies page - Scorpia and Battle Lion. The pictures are on the Factions page. Scorpia is a good Horde character - one of those POP cartoon buddies of Hordak. Battle Lion is King Grayskull's steed and represents one of those two-birds-with-one-stone figures: he ties in with the King Grayskull story and gives us the 200X version of Battle Cat (loosely) at the same time. As an aside, Digital River seem to be getting carried away with their shipping costs. Let's hope the blatant over-charging gets resolved.

22nd March 2014

Several new biographies have been added to the Official Biographies page - Blade, Goat Man, Loo-Kee and Kowl. The pictures are on the Factions page. Blade (a Vintage figure) and Goat Man (a comicbook figure) look rather good, but the latter isn't included in the subscription so he will have to be bought separately on Matty Collector. The same applies to the POP creatures.

2nd March 2014

The boring Hydron - Classics' March 2014 figure - has been added to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. There isn't much to say about this one other than he's just another New Adventures character who has found his way into the line. It's ridiculous that we now have six NA figures, with more to come this year, but still only two (Goddess and Procrustus) from the pre-Filmation era. I hope this misalignment is adjusted soon. I have also updated the Links page. It had been a while since I last looked at that one, and as is often the case on the Internet, sites come and go. It made me realise that there are very few MOTU websites out there which are regularly updated. Even in the last year or two, some of the new trendy blogs - started with great enthusiasm - have been abandoned as the webmasters' interest has waned. At least some of us are still around.

8th February 2014

I've held off updating the Photographs page for a while as I wanted to put a great trio of figures onto the page at once. Mantenna and Horde Trooper from 2013 and Two Bad (the first figure of 2014) are now on the site. They are three of the best Classics figures. I'm not that bothered by the fact that Mattel are now using brown cardboard mailer boxes as the packaging hasn't been consistent during the life of the line. We started with none, moved to an anonymous white one, then had the same style of white one but with the name of the figure, then a smaller named white box. So Two Bad's brown one isn't that big a deal.

27th January 2014

Two new characters for the Official Biographies and Factions pages: Horde member Modulok and POP character Glimmer. The release of Modulok means the first wave of Vintage Horde figures will have at last been given their Classics equivalents. I've also decided to add a new page, because I'd like to see some pre-Filmation monsters added to the Classics line. Here's the link.

15th December 2013

2013 ends with a poor selection of releases figures-wise: the ridiculous Filmation rabbit character Plundor, the slightly better Strong-Or (originally Strongarm in the Filmation cartoon), and the Stan Lee tribute figure Standor (basically another Mo-Larr but based on a real person). They are featured on the Official Biographies page. However, the really important news is the release of Classics Castle Grayskull. It is great that, five years after the start of the Classics line, the most important MOTU playset has finally been made. I'll make a prediction and say that I reckon Snake Mountain will be shown - at least as a prototype - in 2014.

31st October 2013

Two new Classics figures will join the line up in November: Geldor (the villain from The Secret Liquid of Life! minicomic); and Sea Hawk (a character from the Filmation She-Ra cartoon). The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated.

7th October 2013

This October is destined to be a good month for Classics collectors. Filmation fans have Nepthu to look forward to (who appeared in the episode Temple of the Sun). Fans of the 2002 (200X) cartoon have the renamed Lord Dactus (formerly Dactys) making an appearance. But the considerably better news is the release of Mantenna and the Horde Troopers from the Evil Horde. These figures (originally produced as part of the Vintage line) have been eagerly awaited for a long time. The Mantenna design appears to be the perfect blend of the original figure and the later NECA staction. The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated.

10th September 2013

An eagerly anticipated Classics character - Sky High - is about to be sold on the Matty Collector website in the next few days. Sky High was never made into a figure before, but he has a long association with the MOTU having first appeared as a small illustration on a vintage line promotional poster. In that image (a copy of which you can see on the Posters page of this site) he is the pilot of the Wind Raider. Now he's been made as a figure, but he isn't packaged on his own. The second Classics vehicle, the Jet Sled, comes in the box. In the vintage line there was a vehicle by that name, but this Jet Sled is not that one. The name has been used in this case for the front section of the yet to be made Battle Ram. I assume, nay hope, that when - or if - the Battle Ram is made, the front part isn't left off on the assumption that we already have the Jet Sled part. I trust no one at Mattel would be that stupid. Sky High and a Filmation figure called Batros (also released this month) are now featured on the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

14th August 2013

Three figures have recently arrived at Vaults who were figures in the original MOTU line: Clamp Champ, Rokkon and Stonedar. I have put pictures of them on the Photographs page. I've also been updating the Official Biographies and Factions pages. New additions are Castaspella, Shokoti, Rokkon and Stonedar.

7th August 2013

Today is the tenth anniversary of Vaults Of Grayskull's release on the Internet. While the site has seen plenty of additions to its content over the years, it has always kept at its heart the original ideas of the original Masters Of The Universe toyline. That's why I have marked this birthday event by adding oversized scans of the eleven minicomics which established the pre-Filmation canon that so many MOTU fans love. My thanks to all the guests who have visited the site over the years. Let's see what the next ten years bring!

12th July 2013

A quick update to add Clamp Champ, He-Man (New Adventures) and Icer to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Many fans will be delighted by the arrival of Clamp Champ from the original line, although I've never particularly liked him and find him rather boring. The patient NA fans will be glad to see NA He-Man after a long wait. Icer is the first of the Filmation subscription figures for 2013.

5th June 2013

A quick update to add Octavia to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. It's about time an interesting POP character was made. The recent offerings have been rather boring. Octavia looks like she might be able to break the trend.

23rd May 2013

The Icon Heroes Castle Grayskull Polystone Environment arrived at Vaults today. I love the design but unfortunately my model hasn't been painted properly. You can read about Nate Baertsch and Eric Treadaway's creation and see some photos here.

11th May 2013

A quick update to add a new character to the Official Biographies and Factions pages. This time it's an unannounced figure which appeared briefly on the Matty Collector site - Hordak Spirit. Imagine Hordak as a strawberry lolly and you'll have a good idea what this peculiar creation looks like. He's been described as 'fan-demanded', but I suspect this is another indulgence by Mr Neitlich. Spector II, anyone?

10th May 2013

I've added a couple of photographs of Snake Face to the site. He's a great figure. I hope it isn't too long before we see Tung Lashor (I'm not so worried about Sssqueeze). The new photos can be found here.

3rd May 2013

It's been a little while since the last update. This one endeavours to get more or less up to date on the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Snake Face has arrived at Vaults and I hope to get some photographs of him on the site fairly soon. Hopefully it won't be too long before the now overdue Icon Castle Grayskull model arrives too. We've had some recent good news - the SDCC exclusive is a two pack containing original line characters Rokkon and Stonedar. 'Exclusive', however, is a misnomer in this case, because the figures will be released in the same format on Matty Collector in early August (as long as the date remains as published).

28th February 2013

Today is an important day at Vaults: Ram Man and Jitsu have arrived! These figures are important additions to the Classics line. As I mentioned in my last update, these two were the only figures missing from the original line's first three waves. While there were some excellent characters after this point (including Scare Glow and the Evil Horde figures), the first three waves probably represent the best of the Vintage MOTU line. I have added new photographs to the site.

5th February 2013

Two new and long-awaited additions are now on the Official Biographies and Factions pages. Yes, Ram Man and Jitsu are nearly here! The last characters from the Vintage line's first three (and most important) waves finally make their appearance in the Classics. Within a week we should also have the names of a few more 2013 releases.

20th January 2013

This is the first update of 2013, and it brings with it several new photographs: Rattlor, Mosquitor and Procrustus. All three Classics figures are great, so I'm pleased to be able to start the year with images of characters who first appeared during the original era. Procrustus is a treat for pre-Filmation fans, coming as he does from the best of the Gary Cohn minicomics, The Magic Stealer! A later character, the giant Granamyr, has also arrived at Vaults, and he, alongside Procrustus, is featured on the updated Land of Giants page. I've included a scan of Rudy Obrero's box art too. Finally, Netossa from the POP era is featured on the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

8th December 2012

There have been a few bits and pieces updated on Vaults, but I'm not going to mention them all here today. I wanted to use this update to acknowledge the Create A Character winner Daniel Benedict's excellent Castle Grayskullman figure. The figure arrived very recently at Vaults and I am impressed with the design. This month also promises to be a great end to the year, because the December sale features Evil Horde member Mosquitor, the dragon Granamyr, and the legendary giant Procrustus.

6th November 2012

Three new additions to the Official Biographies and Factions pages are now online: Dekker, King Randor (Eternos Palace / Filmation cartoon variant) and the eagerly awaited winning entry from the fans' create-a-character contest, Castle Grayskullman.

20th October 2012

Mekaneck was one of my favourite Vintage characters. I did not even know about him or the other figures from the third wave until I received him as a birthday present. Today Classics Mekaneck arrived at Vaults, and I am as pleased with him as I was with my original. I have added photographs of Mekaneck, Spikor and Dragon Blaster Skeletor to the photographs page.

10th October 2012

It hardly seems possible, but it's nearly He-Man's thirtieth birthday! The official date has been given as the 12th October. In the next day or two we should see the artwork for the proposed Classics Castle Grayskull, which, I am sure, many fans are looking forward to. In the mean time, Rattlor, Frosta and Cy-Chop have been added to the Official Biographies and Factions pages.

23rd September 2012

Funny isn't it? We get told the Classics line is in jeopardy and then we get an announcement this weekend that Mattel is intending to release a new Castle Grayskull model (subject to enough orders). The model will probably be released in a year's time. The line cannot have been doing that badly then! I think the refocussing of the line on the original line and its spin-offs rather than obscure new characters is a positive step, and it is what fans want. Adding Castle Grayskull to the mix is a good move, even if it seems contradictory to the earlier message. The design will be based on Mark Taylor's concept sketch rather than the original playset, although I hope the latter does influence the design to some degree. If this goes well I predict that Snake Mountain will appear in 2015.

13th September 2012

The extremely rubbish Sir Laser-Lot arrived at Vaults today, so he has been duly photographed for the 30th Anniversary page. I have created a new page about the Toys'R'Us two-packs which featured variants from the MOTUC and DCUC lines. The page has photographs of the Stratos and Mer-Man variants. You can find the new page under the Classics section on the home page or by clicking here.

12th September 2012

September is lining up to be a good month for Vintage fans with both Mekaneck and Dragon Blaster Skeletor due to be released. Also on sale will be the eagerly anticipated Snakemen Warriors. So it is going to be a good month but an expensive one! The Official Biographies and Factions pages now feature these characters.

3rd August 2012

We are now in interesting times... the future of the Classics is allegedly in some jepoardy due to a significant reduction in purchases of the 2013 subscription. I remain completely unconvinced that the line will end this year though, regardless of subscription sales. We are fairly used to Mattel's propaganda and doom-mongering by now. The most exciting news to come out of all of this is the assurance that in 2014 the list of Vintage characters to be made into Classics figures will be completed. It's an interesting promise because it reveals that the threat of extinction cannot be as dire as suggested and also that Mattel publicly acknowledges that the Vintage figures are clearly the most successful in the Classics line-up. It's a point I have been promoting since the start of the line, and with all due respect to various forum members who want to see more figures from the spin-off lines, it's quite apparent that the silent majority (the buyers who don't contribute to forum discussions) are most interested in the nostalgic figures. Further good news is that Ram-Man and Jitsu are scheduled for the first two months of 2013. Their arrivals will mean we have Classics versions of all of the iconic first three waves of Vintage figures, and that is a very significant milestone. In the meantime, the Official Biographies and Factions pages now feature the next anniversary figure: the very dull Sir Laser-Lot.

8th July 2012

There is a new page in the Classics section about the two new MOTU comic titles from DC Comics. Masters of the Universe is available for digital viewing only. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is available in both digital and print versions. The stories are weak but it's good to see that the Classics seem to be doing well enough to be supported by other media.

3rd July 2012

The Official Biographies and Factions pages now feature a long-awaited fan favourite figure - Spikor. This year has turned out well for Classics versions of Vintage characters. Hopefully this will continue next year. We will soon have some indication of what is coming next year as the SDCC reveals are imminent.

24th June 2012

Now that we have a few of the thirtieth anniversary figures, I thought it was time to add a new page to Vaults to mark the occasion. Photographs of Fearless Photog, Draego-Man and The Mighty Spector are featured on the new page. As the other anniversary figures arrive at Vaults I will add more pictures. You can see the new page by clicking here.

17th June 2012

Stinkor has arrived at Vaults and I have added two photographs of him to the photographs page. Hopefully next month we should find out which figures are still to come this year and during the first quarter of 2013 (in addition to those we already know about).

7th June 2012

Great news arrived yesterday for Vintage fans (unfortunately just a little late for yesterday's update). Dragon Blaster Skeletor has been announced as 2012's third quarter variant. Read more and see a photo of the prototype here. Am I being a little cynical by speculating that the flurry of Vintage characters is an attempt by Mattel to recover from their dreadful customer service at the beginning of the year and to try to sell more subscriptions for next year?

6th June 2012

The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated with the June 2012 Classics figures. The figures are Horde Prime, Snake Man-At-Arms and Griffin.

19th May 2012

There are now new photographs of Kobra Khan and Thunder Punch He-Man on the site. Hopefully Stinkor will arrive at Vaults in about a month and Spikor a month later. After that, the Classics line will be missing Vintage figures for a couple of months. However, the Horde member Mosquitor should be making an appearance later in the year. Even better news is the announcement yesterday that Mekaneck will be the October 2012 figure. Read more and see photos of the prototype here.

23rd April 2012

The Official Biographies and Factions pages have been updated with the May 2012 Classics figures. The figures are Stinkor (a Vintage character), Slush Head (a waste of plastic from the NA line) and Mighty Spector (the 30th anniversary figure designed by Scott Neitlich). Of the three figures, the one I am most looking forward to is Mighty Spector. Recent news is that we can expect to see Mosquitor by the end of the year. Another figure from the Vintage list is welcome, because this is the anniversary year afterall, and we have still only seen Classics versions of about half the Vintage toys.

7th April 2012

After a wait of four and a half months since ordering, Wind Raider has arrived at last at Vaults. I have been looking forward to adding a new page about the first vehicle of the Classics line, and you can see it here. I have also added new photographs of Snout Spout, Sorceress and Fisto.

3rd April 2012

Just a quick update to let you know the biographies and photos of Thunder Punch He-Man and Draego-Man have been added to the Factions and Official Biographies pages. Thunder Punch He-Man is a Vintage line variant who now joins the Classics. Draego-Man is an original character designed by the Four Horsemen as one of this year's six 30th anniversary figures.

13th March 2012

One of the best characters from the Vintage line - Kobra Khan - is being released in his Classics incarnation this month. It is a shame that his biography ignores his origin as one of Skeletor's warriors and allies him with King Hssss, even though the packaging doesn't appear to have the Snake Men logo. It all seems rather confused. The customer service situation is still as bad as it ever was, with none of the promised improvements materialising. There are some good re-releases coming this month - Webstor, Clawful and Buzz-Off - which does a little to balance out the lack of progress elsewhere.

9th February 2012

This should be a month of great excitement for Classics collectors with the release of Sorceress and Fisto, but many fans are wondering if they will actually see the figures owing to the ongoing subscription cancellation fiasco. Also affected are the subscription exclusive Shadow Weaver and the 30th anniversary figure Fearless Photog. Mattel and Digital River's customer service is a complete mess. And if you were wondering, no, there has been no response to my customer service article or the numerous complaints threads on the Internet forums. The biographies page has been updated with the Star Sisters (enough said), Fearless Photog, Fisto, Shadow Weaver and Sorceress.

4th February 2012

It has taken far too long for him to arrive, but now Demo-Man has made it to Vaults, and I have added a page about the figure who first appeared as a concept sketch for Skeletor. See the new page here. I have also added a Scarabus feature to the site. The Scarabus figures are designed by the Four Horsemen. Even though they are not MOTU figures, they are so good that I thought they should be featured here.

1st February 2012

I had hoped to start the MOTU 30th Anniversary year with some good news, lots of new pictures and some exciting new pages. Sadly, the shipping delays have meant that 2012 has started poorly, and it will probably be a while before things get going on Vaults. To add to the frustration, I and hundreds of other customers have recently encountered yet more serious customer service mistakes by Digital River. Three years into the line and things have reached a peak of incompetency! That is why the home page has a big red banner on it, and I have written a new article about the many customer service issues plaguing the Classics. There will be new pages coming in the next few weeks, but for now Mattel's customer service failings need to be discussed.

31st December 2011

I am pleased to add a link to Jukka Issakainen's Scrolls of Eternia with this update. Elsewhere there are a couple of small edits to pages in the Classics section. Best wishes to all Vaults visitors and MOTU fans for 2012, and thank you for your support.

13th December 2011

This entry brings with it updates to the Factions and Official Biographies pages. The first MOTUC vehicle is being sold on the 15th of this month, and it's a great choice: Wind Raider! One of the earliest Vintage vehicles, Wind Raider has been updated for the Classics. A really nice touch is that the Rudy Obrero, the artist who did the box art for the original model, has provided the box art for the Classics version. Battleground Evil-Lyn and Demo-Man are the December figures, although the latter has been delayed, so shipments will be delayed until January.

26th November 2011

I have updated the Factions page. It now includes a reference to the Galactic Protectors, which is the renamed heroic warrior line from the NA days. The awful Icarius is the first GP figure. I say awful not just because the NA themes are best forgotten, but because the figure is actually really poorly designed and built. The accessories have a tendency to fall off and he has © 2011 Mattel 1186MJ 1 NI made in China embossed on his buttocks. How anyone can think of this figure as cool is far beyond my reasoning.

11th November 2011

The biographies for Snout Spout, Swiftwind and Bubble Power She-Ra (yes, there really is a figure with that name!) are now on the Official Biographies page. These are the November 2011 Classics figures. Snout Spout is a character from the original Masters line - something of an oddball but actually rather good. POP fans should be happy to see both Swiftwind (She-Ra's steed) and the first She-Ra variant, which is actually more of a replacement of the first version than a true variant, because she incorporates design changes. She is known as She-Ra 2.0 by some. Extraordinary really, because she isn't a minor software update. She-Ra 2 would have been just fine.

14th October 2011

I'm not excited about this one - the biography for the NA Icarius figure is now on the Official Biographies page - purely for the sake of completion, you understand. The New Adventures space thing doesn't fit in with the MOTU themes this site preserves. Fortunately these figures are few and far between in the Classics line.

26th September 2011

A surprise delivery today has meant I have been able to add some new photographs to the site sooner than I was expecting. You can now find images of Megator, Leech and Hurricane Hordak on the Photographs page.

20th September 2011

I have put two photographs of Man-E-Faces on the Photographs page. Fans of the original Man-E-Faces will remember his awkward top-heavy design which did not look very much like the minicomic illustrations in The Ordeal Of Man-E-Faces!. I am glad to say that Classics Man-E-Faces leans much more towards the artwork than the vintage toy.

7th September 2011

September is a good month for Classics Evil Horde figures with the release of Leech and Hurricane Hordak. The biographies for both figures are now on the Official Biographies page. The Classics Factions page has also been updated with the images.

11th August 2011

Just a quick one this time to say Man-E-Faces and Megator are now up on the Official Biographies and Classics Factions pages. I have also updated the Links page to feature Luke and Aaron Eischen's great new fan website. Welcome aboard, guys! Thanks also to MegaGearMax and He-Man54 for their feedback about my MOTU stories.

29th July 2011

I have been holding back on updating Vaults during the last couple of months because I have been preparing some big additions to the site and wanted to announce them all at once. The NEW and UPDATED images on the Welcome Page are a new feature which I will probably display until future updates are added. I don't intend to link to all of the revised or new pages here, but I will mention a few specifically. I am pleased to welcome Jason Daniels as a guest contributor. Jason has written a great story for the site and I hope you enjoy reading it in the Guest Writers section. I have added the first interactive element to be seen on Vaults - a Masters quiz. And if that were not enough, Masters minicomics have returned! I am delighted to publish my own set of five online illustrated stories here. I hope you like all of the new features!

15th May 2011

The biographies for Classics Battleground Teela and The Faceless One are now on the Official Biographies page. Battleground Teela is a Teela variant based on artwork from the minicomics of the vintage toy line. This version has been created due to a lot of fan encouragement, and the team at Mattel deserve praise for deciding to develop this figure. The Faceless One is a character who did not appear until the 2002 cartoon series. This is his first appearance as a figure.

15th April 2011

The biography for Classics Catra is now on the Official Biographies page. Catra was from the Princess of Power toy line originally. Although there will be some non-vintage characters like Catra released this year, recent news suggests vintage fans will do fairly well with Clawful, Man-E-Faces, Megator, Hurricane Hordak and Leech all making an appearance. I am also pleased that Procrustus has been trademarked, which means the four-armed giant from the best ever minicomic, The Magic Stealer!, will be produced at some stage.

13th March 2011

The biographies for two new Classics characters have been released and these are now available to read on the Official Biographies page. Much like during the vintage line, Skeletor has been waiting for a steed, and once again the Savage Cat Panthor is the first to fulfil that role. There has been much debate among fans whether Panthor should be flocked (given a fur covering), but I am glad he has not been designed that way. Owners of the original Panthor will remember how quickly the fur rubbed off! Panthor will be released in April alongside another character from the vintage line, Sy-Klone.

19th February 2011

February has been an interesting month for fans of the Classics, because some of the figures coming later in the year have been named. I am pleased that Man-E-Faces and Clawful are on the list. Mattel have missed an opportunity with Clawful though, because he is one of those figures ideally suited to a second head design, but the company has made it clear that there will not be a second head. This is a shame because, as I have illustrated on the Building Armies page, fans may be inclined to buy extra figures when the creative opportunities are there. Clawful would have been an ideal candidate. The biographies for two new Classics characters have been released and these are now available to read on the Official Biographies page. This time it is Battle Armor Skeletor and King Hssss. The latter was, of course, known as King Hiss in the vintage line, which is the preferred name on this site.

26th January 2011

The biographies for three new Classics characters have been released and these are now available to read on the Official Biographies page. The February 2011 figure is Bow, who was part of the Princess Of Power line. The 2011 subscription includes more figures than the 2010 sub, as the decision was made to make the additional quarterly figures and the larger figures (or two packs) part of the package. For this reason, the Shadow Beast figure will also be released. The Shadow Beast was a creature who first saw the light of day (metaphorically-speaking only) in the Filmation cartoon. The subscription-only figure is a He-Man variant with the clumsy name Preternia Disguise He-Man. This version of He-Man was seen in the last minicomic at the end of the vintage line and was not made into a figure. The other news is that the numerous re-releases scheduled for 2011 now seem to be the sale of old stock rather than new production runs.

15th January 2011

One of my favourite MOTU characters has arrived at Vaults in his Classics form. Buzz-Off is one of the best figures of the line so far. I have added a couple of photographs of him to the Photographs page. Hopefully 2011 will be a good year for the Classics line. It looks like quite a few figures are going to be re-released, so if you missed out first time around you may be able to fill the gaps in your collection. These sales are not necessarily going to be reissues though. Mattel has started selling left-over stock for some characters, rather than have a second production run, so availability might be very limited.

22nd December 2010

Two new images and biographies have been added to the Official Biographies page. Vikor, who is based on Mark Taylor's original concept drawings of He-Man, is the January 2011 figure. Vikor is therefore an important figure in the MOTU history and reinforces the barbarian origins of the line. Also coming in January is the Eternian Palace Guards two-pack. For a line that is currently claiming not to be producing Filmation characters, it is worth noting that the guards are far closer to the cartoon designs than the various minicomic illustrations the designers could have used. The biographies are reproduced on this site unedited with the usual smattering of mis-placed punctuation and capital letters. The poor grammar of the biographies is now firmly established!

28th November 2010

I have created a new page in the Classics section about accessories and props which can be used with the figures. The page features some Spy Monkey Creations weapons and items from the latest Weapons Pak. Click here to view the page. I have also added some photographs of Roboto and Grizzlor to the Photographs page.

26th November 2010

I have updated the Warrior Lists page. The list of warrior titles from the original toy line was not quite complete, but I have recently found some sources which have helped to fill the gaps. Some new discoveries have been added to the Links page.

21st November 2010

The biography of Classics Buzz-Off has been added to the Official Biographies page. Buzz-Off was one of my favourite characters from the original line, so it is good to see the Heroic Spy in the Sky join the Classics.

15th November 2010

Having managed to place my order successfully on Matty Collector today, I can relax and turn my attention to other things! Just a quick message this time to say the Links page has been updated and checked to make sure the links are current.

14th November 2010

A few years ago I found an English MOTU jigsaw puzzle from 1983, and I have been meaning to scan it and display it on Vaults for ages. Well I have finally done it and added a link under the Art section. The puzzle features several characters from the early days of the vintage line, doing battle outside Castle Grayskull. There may have been a series of puzzles like this, but this is the only one I have seen. Here is a direct link to the new page.

27th October 2010

The Fixing Stratos page has been expanded and renamed as the Repairing Figures page. I have also added three new pages with lots of images and discussion: the Building Armies page, the End Of The MOTU? page and the Non-Originals page.

6th October 2010

The biography of Classics Grizzlor has been added to the Official Biographies page. It is great to see a second Horde character join the Classics line up. King Grayskull's new biography has also been added to the page. The biography is rather different from the original version, which suggests the master plan hinted at by Mattel is perhaps not as sound as was described.

9th September 2010

The biography of Classics Roboto has been added to the Official Biographies page. Roboto was a figure in the vintage line originally. I am not keen on this character, but the Heroic Mechanical Warrior does have a lot of fans. Roboto is due to be released on the 15th October on Matty Collector, along with the remaining Zodac stock. Zodac is therefore the first re-release who has not been reproduced. We shall have to see if this occurrence is a one-off or not.

1st September 2010

Images and biographies of Chief Carnivus and Gygor have been added to the Official Biographies page. Chief Carnivus is a cartoon character associated with the 2002 MOTU relaunch. He was not released as a figure with that line. Gygor is another character who was never produced as a toy, but his origins are much earlier than Chief Carnivus'. He was a prototype character from the original MOTU line of the 1980s.

29th August 2010

I am pleased to announce some major additions to Vaults Of Grayskull! I have added three new MOTU short stories and a three-part novel called Resurrection. These new tales, alongside my Grayskull trilogy and earlier short stories, form a collection named the Grayskull Saga. You can download a PDF file containing all of the stories, so you don't have to stay online to read them. I have also added six new pages to the Classics section: Collecting Classics, A New Canon, Map Of Eternia, Land Of Giants, Club Eternia and Four Horsemen. It is also time for some new photographs. Fans' favourites Orko, Prince Adam and Whiplash have been added to the Photographs page. Not only that, I have added a page to the Fiction section about Castle Grayskull.

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!