Tag Archives: Masters of the Universe

Honey, I Shrunk the Grayskull

When I was 4 years-old, my Castle Grayskull playset felt gigantic in my hands, but when I found it packed away in the garage in my teens, I was surprised by how small it felt. Grantmasters has triggered that memory with a miniscule Grayskull so small that the in-scale Battle Cat and Panthor are mostly just a collection of minifigure hands. But the hands aren’t the only creatively used minifigure parts. A ring of minifigure legs make up the top of the tallest tower, and the castle’s namesake skull is making use of some arms. It’s some NPU that totally has the power.

Sorcery and Diminution!

LEGO Orko has me under his spell

I may be revealing my age but I remember getting up early for Saturday morning cartoons powered by a big bowl of sugar cereal, watching Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, and Johnny Quest (not at the same time, I’m sure). And I instantly recognized Orko even if I didn’t remember his name, or that he was a Trollan sorcerer, the last of his species. Maybe I’m also remembering the black mage from the Final Fantasy franchise… anyway, this model by Alex Jones is a perfect likeness, and I must say, fantastic use of the hands from Bigfig Sandy from the Monkie Kid theme. The hat is made from separate segments joined around his bright azure ears.

Orko

More than twice the power of traditional Grayskull

The original Masters of the Universe figures stood about 5 and ½ inches tall. Robert Lundmark’s take on four of the series’ major characters measures more than twice as high. Standing at 32 cm (a little more than a foot), these brick-built versions of Man-At-Arms, He-Man and Battle Cat, Skeletor, and Beast Man would take the power of Grayskull to new heights if they found themselves transferred to Eternia. Robert’s done an amazing job at capturing these warriors in LEGO form. Every detail from Battle Cat’s armor to Skeletor’s havoc staff is instantly recognizable. Plus, the use of the Bionicle shin guard on Man-At-Arms’ neck armor is so close to the actual thing that it made me do a double-take.

Rejectz of the Universe

Netflix is about to debut a brand-new “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” cartoon, and the Rejectz are here to commemorate the occasion. Builder Iain Heath’s Rejectz are a “so ugly they’re adorable” alternative to LEGO’s official Brickheadz. The heroes and villains of Eternia have definitely fallen under Iain’s spell, as Man-At-Arms, He-Man, Orko, and Skeletor are replaced by Arms Guy, Heh-Man, Urhg, and Boner.

Builder spotlight: Orion Pax and his pop culture extravaganza

LEGO builds of movies and TV are kind of a big deal. Everybody builds something from their favourite media, be it a character, vehicle, location, or a whole scene. Some people do it so consistency and with quality that their creations become icons in the community. This is where builder and LEGO Masters Germany contestant Alex Jones (Orion Pax) comes in. I recall seeing his numerous Transformers builds as early as ten years ago. Since then, he has graced us with a wide variety of wonderful vehicles from movies and TV shows. Not only that, he also built replica objects from the ’80s. And now, Alex shows them all off on his brand new website.

Click to see more of Alex’s builds!

By the power of BrickHeadz

Since 1982, He-Man and Skeletor have been entwined in an epic planetary battle for some reason. In the TV series The Toys That Made Us, the He-Man episode explains that even the designers at Mattel admitted their idea was light on plot. Also, controlled substances may have been involved. After all, these are the designers who came up with characters like Fisto, Stinkor and Snout Spout. Still, their Masters of the Universe line was a raging success and sparked the imaginations of kids in the 80s and more than a few adults now. One such adult is Eric Druon, who has captured He-Man and Skeletor’s likeness nicely as LEGO BrickHeadz. By the power of Grayskull, I have the power…to be adorable!

Lego-He-Man-Skeletor-01

Spydor vs. Windraider

Alex Jones (Orion Pax) proves that Prince Adam isn’t the only one with “fabulous secret powers” with his latest nostalgic 1980’s project, The Masters of the Universe. The latest installment in the series focuses on two vehicles the evil Spydor and the heroic Windraider. Alex brings his usual arsenal of weapons to the build including a wicked eye for detail and a willingness to go beyond the purist mindset. For more information on the Masters of the Universe project, head over to Mr. Jones’ website Orion Pax Designs for more He-Manliness.

Spydor vs Windraider

I’m not sure why, but every time I see a reference to He-Man, I’m reminded of the Village People. You can’t stop the music.