History of Toy Playsets and the greatest of them all: CASTLE GRAYSKULL from Mattel in the MOTU line
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
- Scott ToyGuru Neitlich provides a brief history of the "toy playset" and gives a deep dive on the history, naming and details of Mattel's CASTLE GRAYSKULL from the Masters of the Universe (He-Man) toy line. Is it the greatest toy playset of all time. The answer is yes. The history is a click away!
Развлечения
A buddy of mine, found one with box in a house he bought, he gave it to me..missing a few items , but with box! you can't beat that!!!!
Now that is the power of Grayskull!
The Stygian Moat would have been so AWESOME!!! I had Castle Grayskull as a boy and that would have been a fantastic feature, I love the dungeon sticker it scared me, but I loved it!
I would have loved to ha e included this with the classic release too. And I was scared to by that creepy dungeon sticker!
I always felt that one of the keys to the success of Castle Greyskull was it's positioning in the fiction. It wasn't the place where the good guys lived (Thundercat's Cat's Lair or the TMNT Sewer - well, apart from the Sorceress, anyway) or the means of transport to get *to* an adventure (the Millennium Falcon or USS Flagg), it was a prize to be fought over by both sides and therefore, by definition, be a place where conflict would occur that could be played out with the figures.
Exactly. It was like capture the flag, and it was the flag
That's awesome that they got the same artist to do both versions of the Castle Grayskull box art.
I was pretty blown away!
The box art was and still is incredible. That's what sold me! Even as a kid, I would just sit and look at the beautiful paintings, but I loved the simple line art, too.
Yeah Rudy did an amazing job
I know what you are talking about. As a kid I would go to the toy shop and stare at the wonders that were depicted on the Hero Quest box on a regular basis. 80's artwork is still the best. My passion for this kind of art continued when I grew a bit older with the discovery of a back then new style of music called Death Metal and it's cover artworks :)
Same here! The new origins figures have amazing art work on the vehicles!
The beautiful box art just flooded my imagination, I was lucky enough to have had the original castle with around 15 figures, two animals and two vehicles. Just wish now that all the adults around me didn't convince me to get rid of them...so at around age 14, I did.
Brings back so many memories!
Yet another great video sir! Castle Grayskull was THE centerpiece for all my childhood adventures, as I didn't get some of those play sets. GI Joe would use it as a mountain base & Cobra would team up with Skeletor to take it back. Ah the memories... Thanks again!
Glad you continue to enjoy.
I was lucky enough to have Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain, and Eternia. Castle Grayskull was my first large playset, so it holds a very special place in my heart. But Eternia was the greatest of all time. I never had any issues with the monorail breaking. The scale was ENORMOUS! It took at least 4 hours to assemble, add all the stickers, etc.
I wish I could gave had Eternia. I've heard what a hassle it was to set up! I guess you never take it down after that!
Great vid Spector! As a kid I also always thought the Castle belonged to Skeletor since his face was a skull!
You and the box art artist!
@@spectorcreative1872 It made sense to my 6 year old imagination LOL
I still have mine. Wish I still had the original packaging and box, but it was a big summabish as I recall LOL. Great video 😎👍
Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for tunning in
I got 4 castle zendos. My whole family got me them for Christmas one year.
That is crazy!@
So glad to watch this Scott! Thanks!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed. Comment is most appreciated.
Same here!
Thanks for producing another Fantastic Video. I have been watching all of your content over the last couple days.
I am extremely grateful for that! Reposting videos on social is appreciated as well to help spread the word. Have a wonderful day and happy viewing!
@@spectorcreative1872 Im not sure if its only me, but the audio in your videos seems slightly muffled. I have to really crank up the volume to get the same level of sound compared to other feeds and commercials. I have noticed this on a few different devices.
I will never forget getting that ewok village for Christmas
It's awesome that the Mega Construx remake brought back the features of the prototype with the ledge and the original top of the helmet. Wasn't aware of this. Guess I need to build the torture rack myself now :)
Well everyone needs a torture rack
I had a castle zendo play set and some other toys of that line. Ahh 1982, wish I had more pictures of my gifts.
If we only had time machines.
I honestly didn’t own one at the time but I owned one later. It was a great toy. I own the origins Castle and I have customized it to give it a grungier look while customizing the WWEternia ring to make a base for the castle.
My heart broke a bit when you dismissed/dissed Castle Zendo, heh. Arco's 'Other World' line is very dear to me. Enjoyable video, man!
Oh I was being sarcastic.
I never went back to re-collect the vintage line (mom gave it all away back in the day) but I did start collecting MOTU again in the 200X era, and then on to Classics. I absolutely LOVE my Classics Castle Grayskull! Even after having it for years already, I still find myself gazing at it in awe. You all did such an amazing job designing it and I'm thankful for your dedication and hard work bringing it to life. I'm really stoked for Snake Mountain, which is apparently starting to ship! Scott, how involved were you in the SM design? Will you be doing a video on that?
Yes, I was involved in the snake mountain project all the way up to sculpt. I'm sure a video will happen sooner or later. Thank you thank you for the kind words. It means so much.
Interesting video Scott. Castle Greyskull was indeed impressive but my favorite playset when I was a kid, believe it or not, was Transformers G1 Fortress Maximus! The play features on him were great and transforms into a solidly build 2 foot tall robot. Insane stuff for a kid indeed. The new Classics Snake Mountain is probably my absolute new favorite! I mean that thing is just insane. Hope you will do a video on Snake Mountain, would love to see it!
Oh that Transformers playset/characters was truly awesome. Wow I miss the 80s;
And now you can buy it again!!! I already pre-ordered and I'm super excited. My 40th birthday is in March, and I'll be getting a new He-Man cartoon with Revelations and a few weeks later a Castle Grayskull be mail to geek out over. My kids can have their video games, I'm seeing this bad boy up on the table and playing like I'm 6 again!! Lol
Have a feeling this placeset will come back every ten years forever! It is timeless
I am enjoying your videos thank you, sir.
Well thank you! Share with your friends! It helps the channel a ton. Thanks for leaving a comment too!
Great insight as always. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed! Reposts are always appreciated
Great video! How did I not notice this video when it was released? Oh, yeah -- RUclips isn't notifying subscribers of anything that doesn't net them millions of views in one day.
At the 4:20 mark -- I didn't have the Castle Zendo, but for my birthday one year, I got a bunch of "The Other World" items. Same birthday that netted me Man-E-Weapons, if I remember correctly. They were cheapish bendies and solid chunk figurines with glowing weapons, but the one item I really did like was a hybrid monster called the Froggacuda. Natrually, in its own mini-comic, the dang thing was slaughtered by the heroes one panel after it first appeared.
Maybe that could be a topic for you: nifty figures of cool-looking characters who get deaded seconds after they're introduced. Froggacuda, Greedo, Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, Jaga, S.T.A.R. from "The Black Hole" . . . . 🤣
Death by coolness huh? I like that idea. I wonder is Sean Bean is available...
@@spectorcreative1872 🤣
I got an Origins Castle Grayskull this week; I'm so disappointed that they didn't include the robot. No cutout, no sticker, nothing!
No sticker. Shame
3:26 That look of happiness could cure cancer.
Ha!
Hi Scott, thanks for another great video! I'm surprised you didn't mention Barbie's house/Big Jim's command base as predecessors of Castle Grayskull, because the idea of the elevator was totally taken from those. Actually, it'll be great if one of your next videos focuses on how heavily MOTU borrowed features from other Mattel lines, e.g. Big Jim (Battle Cat, Zoar, Man-E-Faces, Trap Jaw...) and Hot Wheels (Battle Armor He-Man/Skeletor)
Yeah there were a ton of other examples. I wanted this video to be more about Castle Grayskull vs a history of playsets in total
Holy grail item I got one about five years ago and my daughter loves it
Nice! Glad she enjoys it
80's kid here, There was never such a spectacle as one could behold in my day to see for your own eyes, NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE, BUT 4 and a HALF playsets being utilized in one bedroom area. It consisted of...
Grayskull on one side
Eternia 3 tower set middle
Snake Mountain on other side
The Fright Zone off to a side and perhaps even
The Slime pit close to The Fright Zone as BOTH were HORDAK'S
With action figures covering everywhere else and
the battery powered tram circling Eternia towers with
several rides on both sides.... THOSE WAS THE DAYS!
Still got All sets in my parent's attic, one day I'll have to do a massive restore and check the figures and rides and such and see if I can re-paint, repair, and at least ONE more time get it all together and running again...
another idea, wouldn't doubt it a bit if Stinkor's legs still stink, and Moss Man smells like a Pine Tree
They certainly were!
I wish it came with the playmat back in the day it looked awesome!
Maybe Origins will include that!
i had that garage at 2:12 when i was little and i would use that as one of the bases for my action figures to live in
Yeah those little people play sets were the bomb
Great video. You know a european toy from the 80s called "busy bears of hippity hollow"? They are like mini playsets in the form of juicer, coffee bottle, telephone etc. Very cool.
I WILL have to look that one up!!
Hey man love your vids I actuly wish we had gotten a palace eternia back in the day it could have been bomb ass if done right
I know right! So needed that playset
@@spectorcreative1872 hey I was wondering I have a small channel but I love action figures very much and would be honored if you might Grace your presence on a live stream with me some time as sort of a interview type deal. I'll leave me email here if you wish to think it over drop me a email tsollamies@hotmail.com thanks for listening and keep up the good work
I always saw castle grey skull as the base of Skeletor and it will always be the Well of Souls to me.
And that is 100% legit! Imagination play is the best
@@spectorcreative1872 If I could I would have loved to explain to the owners of MOTU how the three planets the line focus on work more like parallels of the same space. This suggests that Skeletor is his world's answer to He Man and so on. Thanks for listening and for keeping this alive. If we ever meet drinks or meal on me.
As a kid I just assumed that Greyskull was grey at one time and turned green with age (maybe algae).
I always wondered why a Green Castle wasn't called Greenskull!
@@spectorcreative1872 it's funny that it never occurred to me to question it.
I always assumed that the grey stone was covered with moss. The amazing (and kind of random - apparently there are not two castles painted identically) paint job heavily suggested that
I don't like the new Castle Grayskull playset. But I do LOVE the new box art for the Castle Grayskull. I wish we were getting a playset based on the new box art.
Ah when box art does not match the toy. That would be a great video....
My little brother had castle zendo.... It was awesome
Really? What was it like?
@@spectorcreative1872 it came with a bunch of smurf like action figures. Then some larger bendible guys (1/2 motu size) and a rideable 2 headed dragon. The castle was a two level affair with not much decor. My mother bought so my little would not be jealous of my grayskull. I remember us both being impressed with it. My mother would of got it on sale 😂
I have a pair of cousins who had a vintage Grayskull. It was really cool. :-)
... Until, that is, they left it in the driveway one day, and their dad accidentally backed over it with his car. o_o'
Oh no! Not the car vs the castle!!!!
@@spectorcreative1872Sadly, Grayskull fell that day. -_-
I actually had that castle Zendo...it filled in for grayskull and later the Cat's Lair until I actually got it.
I;'ve heard that from many!
Thanks, Scott!
Glad to entertain and inform!
i wish i had as a kid. only had snake mountain and that was a let down...lol
Hoping to find the Origins Castle grey in stores
It is possible but the line is a bit on clearance here
If Origins is successful and they need to create a new playset the Den of Souls would be a cool name. Create another castle or retool Grayskull, or even something new.
That wold be cool!
You should chat with Mark Weber of What’s on Joe Mind, he was the brand manager for G.I. Joe and Transformers at Hasbro for several years. You both have very good insights on how the industry works or doesn’t.
I'll see if I can connect with him!
I am grateful that Funko made the best value Castle Grayskull homage, the Batcave Castle. I'd never shell out what the secondary market sellers are asking for Grayskull, original or MOTU classics. I know Snake Mountain is available with a $600 price tag for collectors, but I wonder if Mattel still has the tooling for an OG Grayskull for mass market retail release?
Oh that Savage Batman line is nuts! In a good way
Can't wait for Origins Castle Grayskull.
I hope it is awesome!
nice one!
Glad you like it! Any help reposting is most appreciated
I honestly wish that the prototype Castle Grayskull would be the one that we are getting for Origins.
It would make sense right?
@@spectorcreative1872 adding to this wish they would have made the jaw entrence big enough to have he-man riding in on battle cat
Could Point Dread fit in the dungeon are of Castle Grayskull? One time I was at the house of a kid who had Castle Grayskull (I never did, but I did ask for it), and his had the dungeon walled off. I was always wondering why no one else ever had it. I know Point Dread could be mounted on top of Castle Grayskull, but does it fit here? That's the most obvious explanation for what I saw.
2:11 I remember having that parking garage and the barn. My parents sold all my Fisher-Price toys in a garage sale except maybe the castle, which I got when I was a little bit older but still not too old for Fisher-Price. And yeah they all had action features. Trap doors were very common in Fisher price playsets. they were always long and narrow, and a curved part popped out that was used to make one end heavier. The castle was about the only one it made sense in. That set still guided my adventure play as a kid because the knight was depicted patting the side of the dragon's head on a stained glass window printed on the castle's labeling, so he was definitely a good guy, so dragons in my mind could easily be on either side and not necessarily evil, but He-Man showed that, too with Granymyr, even though he wasn't very personable. I never had one of those generic fantasy playsets, though, although I did have a generic "Dinosaurs & Cavemen" playset from Dimensions for Children. I think I bought it used, but I augmented it like mad with other packs including the infamous Taiwanese ones (that influence D&D monsters) that it showed on the box but were not in it.
No it could not
Looked up Castle Zendo on eBay and the box says it was made by Arco Industries in 1983. I know in the late 80s/early 90s Arco was the "letter of credit" arm of Mattel doing low cost toys and players and carry cases, was Arco part of Mattel that far back in the 80s?
I believe they were part of Mattel's South American/Mexico distribution but I could be mistaken
I did have the 80s castle grayskull and sadly ingot to late to collect the classics line I am still struggling to get some figures. But getting the castle. Gray skull now it is almost impossible without. Going broke in the process lol
It looks like the new Origins line will have a castle, so there is always that option!
@@spectorcreative1872 that castle is way to small. And I am sure don't have as many cool features. And details
Yea, really hard to shell out $1000 for one.
Origins castle grayskull I want but not here again I'm waiting
Great video always wish came with the Matt still got my castle still complete awesome best playset ever
Art framed on the wall
So do you have it ?
I have my Classics Castle. My vintage one I think is in my parents garage
I had Castle Grayskull, but I imagined it was my school & all my figures were my teachers & classmates. :p
What a cool way to play! I'd go to that school anyday
@@spectorcreative1872 I think I wanted control over "characters" in my life. 😄
You had a Hogwarts ahead of your time!
Thank you enjoyed! 🧙🏻♂️
Glad to hear. Thanks for the comment and watching
You're welcome.
Seriously, no mention of the Castle of Lions? One of my cousins had it, & I think Grayskull. I had the M.A.S.K. gas station. Soon, Hasbro's releasing the Autobot Ark, as a Titan Class figure, which has some playset elements, but they also chose to give it a robot mode. And Teletraan-1 as an accessory (it also becomes a micro-scale bridge, that fits inside), & also made Teletraan-1 the new altmode of the existing Transformer, Mainframe.
I;ll be sure to hit that one next time
Don't mean to be nip picky here but the ghostbusters firehouse didn't have lights and sound ited been even more amazzing had it had those features
Good point. I had my info wrong. I'll add that to the correction list!
Love the Castle, the king for me though is the USS Flagg. I own them both. Along with Snake Mountain, the Terrordrome, and Defiant. No Eternia though. Too pricey for me.
Yeah those old playsets are getting expensive
When i was a kid...my brothers friend had the U.S. Flagshipp and we spent an entire saturday playing with it when it was new! Today i feel honored of having played with it....i say that because now its an expensive piece of art that you cant have any kid play with it!
Don't tell Retroblasting that you forgot to mention the Death Star playset. They might get upset.
Oh not knocking the Death Star. It had the best foam based trap ever.
If you dont agree with Retroblasting...he will attack you! He has issues and following of haters already!
3:43 Laura Legends cameo!
He he
The more I watch these collector's videos the more it seems like a family! One channel leads to another happens often for me. Laura lead me to looking up the He-Man Power Tour which lead me here!
he-man had a Mandalorian in it I never realized that then that means that Eternia is in the same universe as masters of the universe
This is the way.
You mention in another video about the play patterns of boys vs. girls. Am I imagining things, or is the Castle Greyskull playset (façade, open concept, no roof) and the MOTU action figures play pattern more of a girl-type play pattern? After all, Mattel basically made some minor cosmetic alterations and did the same thing with the Princess of Power figures / Crystal Castle after the success of MOTU. Literally the only difference between the two lines is the color scheme and that many of the Princess of Power dolls have rooted hair. What's the difference in the play pattern? Where does doll end and action figure begin?
And if Castle Greyskull is the king of 1980s playsets, then the Barbie Dream House is definitely the queen. The 1979 Barbie Dream House was given a few minor facelifts, but it still shows up in 1990s retailer catalogs. That thing really went the distance.
Oh the Barbie Dreamhouse sure is. But MOTU was designed as a boy toy. The idea of girls playing with a skull based castle was not intentional. That is why it was capture the flag and not "fantasy house".
@@spectorcreative1872 well, that's just a question of theme/genre. It's still about creating a fictional aspirational narrative with props. The aesthetic of the dollhouse doesn't make it any less a dollhouse, and the dolls are still dolls. Boys just like 'manlier' dolls, and have a different story in mind. Castle Greyskull is clearly a dollhouse, and the play pattern differs only superficially from the Barbie Dream House style of play from where I'm sitting. Instead of a stove, there's a computer. Instead of a balcony, there's a drawbridge. It's all just a vessel for the imagination to tell a story.
My dad told me he had to drive an hour out of town to get mine for Christmas. Cause the playset was all sold out in our area.
What an awesome Dad! Great toy memory. thanks for sharing
Heh, the Thundercats Lair image showed Laura Legends. Whee.
We try to please
Impulse preordered the Origins Castle from Walmart yesterday. Is that Laura Legends at 3:45?
They are doing an Origins Castle?
Spector Creative Just got revealed, in a way.
Kayle Mathew Comendador I would have answered him, but I didn’t know if that was a serious question or not. Pixel Dan tweeted some photos a friend of his took.
Yep available for pre order now , with a spring 2021 release date
Yes, she's Laura Legends. You should have a look at her review of the Cats Lair, it's pretty good
Is that Laura Legends @ 3:50?! I do believe so! 😀
Potentially
Glad I’m not the only one who spotted that!
it was named after the original He Man, King GraySkull who's sword was given to him by the He Ro then to Vikor then to Wundar then to Vykron then to Oolar then to of course He Man
Yea but in the real world…
So the castle was named after a King in the story, but in development by a Queen?
I suppose
what is the name of the statue at 12:01?
It’s the Hero Icons Castle Grayskull
3:52 Laura Legends!
Yes!
A friend who helped cofound my channel owns the Castle Grayskull playset from the original toy line, and I did a video about it on my channel if you’re curious, to get on my RUclips channel you can go to my Instagram profile page, and the url for it is on there, and you can click, or tap unto it and it will take you there, and you can: like, share, and scribe to it if you like it.
Will do!
Do we know what the first toy company was? It’s not Marx or Milton Bradley is it?
Check out my history of toys video!
i think my friend had the filmation Ghostbusters haunted house
I wish I did
6:28 looks like Castle Grayskull has Bell's Palsy.
From a certain point of view
I feel like a jerk for trying to correct a bona-fide expert, so PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was "DWELL of Souls."
"Well of the Souls" is a biblical thing that found its way into Raiders of the Lost Ark.
1: you are never a jerk
2: I am wrong A LOT
3: I do think it is Well of Souls. Noting this development was in 1980 pre Raiders.
4: I could be mistaken.
Correct. It is Dwell of Souls.
We need a story arc to show how grayskull was made
Castle Zendo looks neat. i never saw it. if Castle Greyskull didn't exist that might be something i would have wanted. but maybe it was a ripoff ? whos to say
Crazy right!
Castle Zendo - Fortress of Mystery and Power for Kermit the Frog 🐸
i spell it ey not ay, is that just me?
Not sure if their is a correct one!
The U.S.S. FLAGG is the greatest for the 80’s kids!
For a ship that fit under your bed...
Greater than the U.S.S. Flagg???...hmmm???...
Ummm YEAH!
He had a gray photo of a skull castle so......he named it after his girlfriend?
Yup.
Wish i never knew that..i liked the unknown mythos of it
lol You actual think Castle Grayskull is better than the GI Joe Defiant Launch Complex? Man, drugs are a helluva thing!
I was massively disappointed by Castle Grayskull when I was a kid. The box art was so awesome my imagination went crazy. Then I pulled it out of the box & my first thought was WTF is this crap??? It was way too small for the figures, everything was unpainted & it was just 2 crappy hollow walls that folded up like a suitcase. I didn't want a suitcase I wanted a castle.
Snake Mountain was also a huge disappointment because it had that giant goofy looking face & it looked nothing like the TV show.
And I just laughed at the Eternia playset. I had Grayskull & Snake Mountain. But I didn't take Eternia seriously. Eternia is one of the dumbest things I ever saw.
Hey everyone has their favorites and it is always a personal thing. That Joe set was awesome, but to me Castle Grayskull was the best. That doesn't mean you are wrong for liking the Joe set!
This video isnt about the Terrordrome😉
Ha! Come on, that one was not Castle Grayskull! Butit was cool
@@spectorcreative1872 Grayskull is definitely a top tier, top 5 playset.