Gray Custom Action Figure Art - Masters of the Universe Classics

Gray is the alter-ego of He-Ro, the protagonist of "The Powers of Grayskull" storyline that was to carry the original Masters of the Universe toy line through 1987. But when the line was cancelled later that year, the character fell into obscurity. Many years later, a print-proof of the card-art from Eldor, another character from TPOG, surfaced and on it was an image of Gray. (You can see my custom MOTUC Eldor here.)

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of the "alter-ego" storyline in MOTU but I am fascinated by the plot of The Powers of Grayskull. The stories were to be set in Eternia's past when the planet was known as Preternia which means they were going to explore the origins of Castle Grayskull and the source of He-Man's power. Had the line continued, would Gray have been credited with building the castle? (King Grayskull was later credited with building the castle in the 200X cartoon series.)

But even more appealing to me than the plot is the setting; a savage prehistoric world with cybernetic dinosaurs and magic. This may seem like a strange mash-up of ideas but Masters of the Universe has always been about strange mash-ups combining sword and sorcery with advanced technology.

I don't seem to be the only one excited by this forgotten era as I recently discovered artist Alex Gimenez's vision of it in this awesome illustration in his DeviantArt Portfolio.

While Mattel did make He-Ro early in the Masters of the Universe Classics line, Gray is nowhere in sight. And with Prince Adam being relegated to an accessory for the 2010 SDCC Exclusive Orko figure, I feel our odds of getting Gray are extremely low. So, inspired by Alex's illustration and feeling like we won't be seeing him any time soon, I remedied the situation with the custom piece below.

Gray is a combination of five MOTUC action figures and includes a sculpted necklace and belt buckle.















I put a lot of love into getting his details right. I hope you dig him. If you do, be sure to follow this blog so you don't miss out. Until next time, I remain The Insidious One.

Skeletor Filmation Style Custom Action Figure Art - Masters of the Universe Classics

In 1983, Filmation Associates introduced He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to the masses with a nationally syndicated cartoon series. For many, this interpretation of the brand is the be-all and end-all for Masters of the Universe. From He-Man's reluctant use of violence to Skeletor's shrill tantrums, Filmation more than put it's stamp on the brand. Most notably were it's visual contributions; from the colorfully painted backgrounds to the streamlined character designs...and who can forget Man-At-Arms' Mangum P.I. mustache.

While I personally prefer the darker Pre-Filmation era of MOTU, I know there are many loyal Filmation fans. In fact, I was recently part of a very heated discussion at He-Man.org where they expressed their desire for Filmation versions of characters in the Masters of the Universe Classics line.

I weighed-in strongly opposed to the idea because to me, the "Filmation-look" means simplified details and design choices that make the characters look silly; ie removing He-Man's belt and bracer details and changing Tri-Klops's eyes to geometric shapes.

However, I eventually learned that what I was envisioning was not what they desired. They still wanted all the great details of a MOTUC figure, but wanted colors and styling to reflect those of the cartoon. With this in mind, I created this tribute to Filmation Skeletor in MOTUC.



The first visual that comes to mind when I think of Filmation Skeletor is the angry brows of his all yellow skull. To capture this look, I sculpted new angled brows to give them that "I'm-berating-Beast-Man" arch and then painted the whole face a very saturated yellow. I added some even brighter yellow highlights and then added a gloss finish to the sockets of his eyes and teeth to make them gleam with evil.

Next, I replaced the three-toed reptile feet (or "duck feet" as some say) with boot feet and repainted all the armor to make it more closely resemble the purple color of the animation cells. Then I added a glossy finish to some of the armor details to break up the solid color.

I sculpted the "crystal ball" between the horns of his Havoc Staff. In the Filmation cartoon, Skeletor used this crystal ball to view his evil plots unfolding. I repainted the handle, painted the skull black and then dry brushed it with a dark metallic. Finally, I painted Skeletor's finger nails an evil glossy black.



You might wonder why I know so much about a cartoon that isn't my preferred vision of MOTU. All I can say to that is that I grew up in the 80's...and I plead the fifth.

I hope Filmation fans dig him. I made him for you. If you do, be sure to follow this blog so you don't miss my latest creations. Until next time, I remain The Insidious One.