Vintage LEO Masters of the Universe Figures

The mystery of licensed MOTU figures from India started sometime in the 1990's. The mix of classic and New Adventures figures and card styles just added to the richness of the line. Although the figures are fully licensed and produced by LEO (Mattel Toys (India) Ltd.) they are extremely rare and hard to find.

The figures come on a classic sized card although it is slightly smaller than the U.S. and European versions. Most of the figures are available on classic style red cards although there are a few different layout variations. A few of the figures were available on blue New Adventures themed cards. Many of the figures were available on a varaity of card styles.

The LEO figures were very similar to the U.S. versions but the few differences are often dramtic. The Faker with his orange Skeletor Armor & Belt, orange Havoc Staff, and black eye liner is one of the most sought after variations. Also prized is the dark blue Skeletor, although a lighter Skeletor was also produced by LEO. Two more of the rarer figures included the Flying Fist He-Man and Mantenna.

The figures and weapons are usually marked India, Malaysia, or not at all. They were not usually packaged with minicomics although I have seen a few pictures of carded ones online that appear to have a minicomic included.

Here is a list of the figures that I have confirmed to have been produced by LEO. It is far from complete but I tried to only include figures that I could personally verify. There are many others that people claim to own, have seen, or heard of. Once I get evidence of their existance I will update the list. A large variety of figures were produced by LEO although I have only seen carded examples of the ones listed below. If you have any information about any figures or variations not included please post a comment.

RC= Red Card
NA= Blue New Adventures Card

* Beastman RC
* Evil-Lyn RC
* Extendar NA
* Faker RC
* Flying Fists He-Man NA
* He-Man RC
* He-Man NA
* He-Man AIR INDIA Short Card
* Karatti NA
* Leech RC
* Man-At-Arms NA
* Mantenna NA
* Mer-Man RC
* Moss Man RC
* Prince Adam RC
* Prince Adam NA
* Ram Man RC
* Skeletor (Light Blue Skin but darker than U.S.) RC
* Skeletor (Dark Blue Skin) RC
* Skeletor (Dark Blue Skin) NA
* Teela RC

Loose examples:
* Battle Armor He-Man
* Battle Armor Skeletor
* Clawful
* Fisto
* Grizzlor
* Jitsu
* Leech w/ Darker Painting & Black Crossbow
* Leech w/ Red Crossbow
* Man-E-Faces
* Modulok
* Orko
* Spikor
* Spikor (white trident & blue limbs)
* Stratos
* Sy-Klone (paper chest decal)
* Tri-Klops
* Whiplash
* Zodac (gray Skeletor belt & He-Man sword)

Beasts/ Vehicles/ Accessories
* Battle Cat Boxed
* Panthor Boxed
* Megalaser Carded

I also was fortunate to pick up a boxed Castle Grayskull at some point. It has more black paint on the exterior and the weapons are a green-grayish color.

The prices on the LEO figures have increased dramatically over the years. The figures seem to have been quite limited and never really exported at the time. Coupled with the fact that many of the carded examples are in less than fair shape, excellent carded examples of these figures tend to fetch premium prices.

To Grade or Not to Grade

Grading the condition of figures has always been a tough job for me as a collector but especially as a seller. You never want to over-grade a figure and have the buyer upset or under-grade a figure and not sell an item. I never embraced the Condition Grading System where C-10 is Mint and C-1 is Poor. This always seemed to have too wide of a scale with no standard of what a C-8 or C-whatever is between collectors. I seemed to gravitate to the more simplistic Mint, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor nomenclature. Although it is also unstandardized, it seemed easier to see where a figure fits in. Both of these systems are very subjective and fail as a true grading system. This is where professional grading services attempted to fill a niche. I personally do not favor graded figures for my personal collection but do recognize the role they can play. Let’s take a look at some of the Pros and Cons of getting your figures professionally graded.

To be fair I will highlight what I consider to be some of the reasons I would get a figure graded. The best argument for grading figures is the preservation of the collectible. By allowing the figure to be incased protects it from UV damage, dust, and direct physical harm. It does not protect it from fire, water damage, or theft. From a seller’s point of view, getting a high grade on a high-end item ensures buyers will pay a premium. I have gotten figures graded just for this reason, so that I could maximize how much they would sell for. From the opposite perspective, buyers embrace grading because it makes buying a figure online much more reliable since it was independently graded. Action Figure Authority (AFA) also allows you to look up the item number to ensure its authenticity. These are the few positives I could think of, I am sure many of you swear by professional grading and wonder why anyone would decide not to get their figures graded. So…

Getting your figures professionally graded is expensive. It is just not always cost effective, especially if you do not plan on selling them any time soon. You may be better off investing that money in additional collectibles (or the bank). If you want to preserve your figures, just buy the acrylic cases. I have purchased hundreds of hard acrylic cases from Cloud City Collectibles (and now Toygrader.com) and these figures are protected that same as if they were sent out to AFA – for about half of the cost.

If you are a seller, realize that poorly graded figures don’t sell as easily or for as much as an ungraded figure of the same condition might. Once the item is tagged with a 70, buyers know it is an inferior condition figure. If it is not graded but great photos show that the figure could potentially get a higher grade, buyers will make their own opinions.

I personally do not always agree with AFA grading, and not because I feel they are inconsistent or wrong. Collectors all weigh flaws differently. Personally I would rather a card with flaws over a very yellowed bubble. I want to be able to see the figure. AFA’s grading system allows for high condition figures to carry a “Y” rating which I disagree with. Some collectors would rather a card with one major flaw versus a card with many minor flaws – or vise versa.

Since I mentioned it already, there are many collectors who feel that AFA (or any professional grading company for that matter) is inconsistent with their grading. We have all seen the posts on the boards of collectors who have opened a low grade figure to get re-graded only to get it back with a higher grade than the first time. Although they try to be as objective as possible, grading is still a subjective art.

The last area I will address has to do with the logistics of graded figures. There are a far greater number of ungraded figures compared to graded figures, except perhaps for 1 of a kind or very rare items. Just because AFA says it is the highest graded example does not mean that it is the best condition example out there. On a similar note, too many new figures get graded. A new figure with a grade of 85 is not impressive but a vintage 8 Back with an 85 is considered a gem. I am not sure who all these people who get a $5 200X Man-At-Arms figure graded are but I wish I knew their motive. Even if it gets a 95, who cares, it’s still a new figure that potentially has thousands like it out there.

AFA is not the only service out there, although it is the current standard for action figures. Companies like Collector’s Source Grading have tried to enter the market by creating a more complete grading scale to address some of the concerns I mentioned above. If you have seven 8 backs graded by AFA would you want the last one in a Collector’s Source Grading case rounding out your collection?

These are just my thoughts on professional grading and I know it sounds a little negative. I have used AFA in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Getting figures graded has its purpose and can be an asset to buyers and sellers alike. Don’t get caught up in the hype and make sure you make your own grading judgments. Just because it is graded doesn’t make it better than an ungraded figure. There are many gems out there that you can still hold in your hand without ¼” of acrylic separating you from your childhood.

Laser Power He-Man & Laser-Light Skeletor

Laser Power He-Man and Laser-Light Skeletor were 2 of the last figures made as part of the Classic He-Man and The Masters of the Universe toy line. The figures were only made for release in Europe and are either marked "Made in Spain" or "Made in Italy". Each one requires a AA battery to work. They are dated 1988.

LP He-Man's Power Sword lights up when you raise his arm. The LP He-Man comes in 2 different versions - one with a Classic He-Man head and the other with a new sculpt. A prototype of the LP He-Man is part of the Archives of Eternia collection and will be available for viewing at www.archivesofeternia.com shortly.

The eyes and staff of LL Skeletor light up when you raise his arm. He also comes with a purple hooded cape.

Although there are no official production numbers available for these figures they are the hardest to find (and often most expensive) figures for collectors. Over the years, I have come across a few dealers in Italy that have been able to get a couple of sets each. I have never been able to get them directly from a Spanish dealer.

Savage He-Man

With the Savage He-Man making an appearance in the Mattel booth at this year’s NY Comic Con, I thought it timely to share a cool story about the mysterious brown-haired He-Man figure.

In 2001 I was asked to supply Mattel with a few reference figures for the then “Wonder Bread He-Man” figure. Mattel was planning their commemorative series and were interested in possibly including this figure in the line.

I sent 2 figures from my collection for Mattel to use for reference. Val Staples and myself did not (and still don’t) know which, if any, weapons and accessories came with the Savage He-Man. The opinion at the time was that he may have come with the brown Man-E-Faces weapons Axe & Sword. Although this was unconfirmed I did send these weapons with the figures to Mattel because I felt he had a better chance of getting made if he had accessories.

They had the figures for about a month but nothing ever came from this …. until now. The Mattel booth at the 2008 NYCC contained a brown-haired He-Man figure. The figure on display had a weapons pack black Zodac gun & armor. Mattel said, "the figure was a potential for a deco variant later on in the line."

Here are some pictures of the actual Savage He-Man figures that Mattel used for reference as well as a thank you letter from Mattel. If you have any information about the true origins of the brown-haired He-Man figure please post.

My Collecting Story

Not unlike many other He-Man collectors, I have very fond memories of growing up amongst the battles of He-Man and Skeletor. During my college years, I became particularly nostalgic for the MOTU toys that I played with when I was a child. Most of my original toys had disappeared over the years, so I needed to buy my collection back.

I started picking up loose figures for 25 or 50 cents at yard sales and flea markets. My girlfriend (now wife) bought me a 3-foot tall plastic vacuum-form He-Man from a local antique store (which I later found out was a hard-to-find vintage store display.) About a year went by before I was able to amass about 60 different figures and a few other items.

With my introduction to eBay in 1998, I had a whole new outlet for buying He-Man figures. I was buying large collections from eBay, friends, and other dealers. Before long, my collection was getting to the point that my “doubles” were taking up a lot of space and money. I realized that I needed to start moving some of the extras so I started to sell on eBay and also created a website, The Cafe Wha?. Through eBay and The Café Wha?, I was able to amend my collection while helping other collectors add to theirs.

I was building my collection one piece at a time. Always on the lookout for new or different figures, I soon came across a loose He-Man with brown hair and black boots. It was advertised as a "Wonder Bread Mail-In Figure." Though it meant spending more than I had ever paid for a loose figure, it quickly became part of my collection.

As money permitted, I would buy carded figures to build up my MOC (mint on card) collection. At some point, I decided that I wanted to strive for a complete He-Man collection. However, I kept coming across items that I didn’t even realize existed. I found (often with the help of fellow collectors) figure variations, foreign released figures, and other collectibles like cake pans, fabric, magazines, and jewelry. My collection was continually growing but it was clear that the end was nowhere in sight.

I came across many variations on the carded figures, from the original 8-Backs to the Man-E-Weapons special pack and the Black Face Grizzlor variant. I soon located many of the cool foreign exclusive figures like Laser Power He-Man, Laser Light Skeletor, Tytus, and Megator. I found many foreign carded variations such as "Super" Hordak, European figures that came carded with a mask, and Mattel licensed Top Toys figures from Argentina. At a toy show, I came across a 3-Pack of Moss Man, Buzz-Off, and Mekaneck and thus stumbled upon the very rare field of multi-packs. I was soon able to track down other multi-packs including figure/vehicle 2 packs, figure 2-packs, and brown-boxed store catalog multi-packs.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity (thanks to friends) to buy cases of vintage He-Man carded figures and boxed vehicles. It still amazes me how they have survived over the years. In one of the purchases, I bought over 20 cases of figures; in another, I acquired a few cases of the hard to find "Powers of Grayskull" dinosaurs. Purchases like these were the highlights of my collecting experience at the time, but I was soon to find items I had never even dreamed of owning - non-production pieces such as artwork, prototypes, and Mattel documents.

I saw an ad in Lee's Action Figure & Toy Review magazine in 2000 that listed "He-Man Prototypes" for sale and I wanted to add them to my collection. I had only recently seen 2 examples of collectors having a single prototype figure and knew they would not be available for long. I called the dealer and found that this collection consisted of 17 test-shot prototype He-Man figures. I conferred with my girlfriend and soon decided to buy them all. Though they were relatively expensive and I was still in college, I felt that I would regret passing on the opportunity to purchase these rare artifacts of the He-Man production process.

One day in 2006, I received a call from Roger Sweet, one of the original creators and designers of He-Man at Mattel. This introduction led me to purchasing Roger’s entire collection of original artwork, prototypes, and documentation from his years at Mattel. These items will be made available to He-Fans at www.ArchivesOfEternia.com shortly.

I owe a large part of my collection to Val Staples, of He-Man.org and MVCreations fame. Over the years, he has been one of the most positive influences on my collecting success. He recognizes the importance of preserving and archiving items to ensure that they do not get lost, destroyed, or hidden in private collections. An episode of the television show “Fanatical” that Val and I appeared in can speak for itself.

I have found that completing a He-Man collection is a rewarding, expensive, time consuming and fundamentally impossible process. Although I am not likely to complete my He-Man collection, I am still working as hard as ever on doing so. I have made friends with many collectors who have generously helped to find and obtain items and establish sources. I hope that I have also assisted some others on their quest to get their childhood memories back as well.