Wanted: Adventure Sets for Masters of the Universe Classics
One thing that happens when you read books like G.I. Joe and Other Backyard Heroes* is that you start to piece together ideas that really make you wish you had some control over different toy lines. Over the last few days I’ve been thinking about the old accessory packs for the G.I. Joe Adventure Team — especially the deluxe sets that included vehicles — and realizing just how awesome it would be if Mattel released “Adventure Sets” for their Masters of the Universe Classics series (Amazon.com search*).
These sets, in my mind, would be a blend of miniature playset/setting and accessories. The idea behind these sets is to give collectors a cool way to display their toys and kids a pack of new bits that would help inspire play. And to make sure everything fired perfectly I would also include a mini-comic with each set, giving all of us some background on the included goodies and setting the stage for adventure.
Dark Alley Ambush
The heroes of Eternia are taken by surprise when thugs, no doubt minions of Skeletor, attack from the shadows of an alley. Dark Alley Ambush would include a narrow alleyway playset, assorted bits of junk to litter the alley floor, and two completely new action figures depicting a thief and a ruffian hired by Skeletor to delay our heroes.
The included mini-comic sets the scene as we see Skeletor hire the two thugs and assign them to attack He-Man and Ram Man, both of whom are in the city searching for information on evil’s next schemes.
Entrance to the Dungeon of Curses
Somewhere in the lost lands of Eternia lies the Dungeon of Curses, the abandoned lair of a once-great wizard who vanished many years ago. Entrance to the Dungeon of Curses includes a large wall/mound playset with an imposing mouth-like doorway and stairs leading into the ground. Accessories include the corpses of those who died at the entrance, an articulated monster of some sort (small), scattered bits of broken treasure, and torches, rope, cloaks, and various other tools for our heroic action figures to wear as they set out on adventure.
The included mini-comic sets up our adventure as He-Man and Teela are chasing Beast Man and Faker and both villains flee into the dungeon. Growling sounds inside hint at danger . . . what will our heroes do?
The Haunted Cemetery
It is said that the cemeteries of Eternia are haunted, but those stories are merely the rumors and tales parents use to scare their children at night . . . until now! The Haunted Cemetery is a collection of cemetery walls and gravestones as well as a single coffin with opening lid. The coffin holds the spectral form of an ancient knight, the action figure cast in translucent blue and covered in white and silver spray apps to help give it a “ghostly” appearance. Or maybe glow-in-the-dark, since that’s also fun.
The included mini-comic shows us Skeletor casting a spell that awakens an evil knight, summoning his spirit and binding it to the cemetery. As the haunting grows and the folk of the area are terrified, Man-at-Arms and He-Man go to investigate rumors of the haunted graveyard.
All Good Fun!
These are just three quick and simple product concepts that would give fans of the Masters of the Universe Classics series (Amazon.com search*) some great little playset and accessory sets. It’s highly unlikely that Mattel will ever produce anything like these, but if you rip out the included action figures and focus on the playsets and accessories then it would be possible for a garage operation to make these as kits that would enhance any Masters of the Universe Classics collection.
I know I would happily take a shot at buying something along these lines if someone took the plunge and attempted such a kit in resin.
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A great idea. Reminds me an awful lot of Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. And it speaks to your prior articles of including “mission outfit packs” a la the razor/razorblade business dynamic.
This probably would’ve been a fun way to get He-Man variants without getting an entirely new figure. He-Man’s off on a new adventure? Here’s some clip-on armor-bits to help him get through it safely.
@Z Foundation – Thanks! Now we just need to find a way to convince Mattel to give this idea a shot . . . or for the Four Horsemen to try something like this on their own.
I love these ideas for playset/accessory/figure sets. Sign me up.
@Matt K – Sweet! Now if we can just find a few thousand more fans maybe we can get this idea implemented! 🙂
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a real resistance towards anything new in the MOTU fan base. A lot of the sentiment I see online tends to be “re-do my vintage figures and wrap this toy line up!”.
@Matt K – If I had time I would work out a team and launch a Kickstarter project to make one of these happen (minus action figures). But I’m kinda swamped with the office.
It’s too bad someone like Target or Wal-Mart doesn’t step in and tell Mattel: “We want the line as an exclusive for one year.” That would change everything for us.
Phil, instead of helping the corporate giant Mattel sell more of their evil barbarians, redevelop your idea to accommodate some robotic heroes who need play environments, then Kickstart that! I’d support it, heh heh.
@John K. – I doubt Mattel needs my help. As to reworking and creating something to work specifically with Glyos, I’m all over that if I can convince the rest of the world to back the idea. There’s a whole set of stuff I can think of just based on discussions from the last month alone.