Castle Greyskull

[remember]

Castle Greyskull was the type of 80s toy you always really really wanted, but in reality only the boy next door would get it for Christmas. So, every day after school you'd have to lug all your He-Man figures over to play. It was also huge - and the kind of slimy colours that any gore-seeking little boy went crazy for!Castle Greyskull was said to be located on the fictional planet of Eternia. It featured in the television animation of Masters Of The Universe in the 80s. Inside, it was believed the secrets to conquering the whole of Eternia were kept, which meant the castle was constantly being ambushed by the likes of Skeletor and Snake Men. Luckily, guarding these much-coveted secrets was The Sorceress and He-Man and his mates.During the television show we find out that the secrets are kept within a room that contains The Guardian, plus two doors - one leading to the secrets and another leading to ultimate destruction. But the castle homed a lot more besides that. Open out the vast plastic mould on its hinge to find various caverns, inlcuding a Throne Room, the Hall of He-Man, a Travel Corridor (where various portals lead to other places in Eternia, like Snake Mountain), a laboratory, a room for practising spells and a bedroom for The Sorceress. Perhaps the most impressive feature - well, certainly when you're seven years old - is the main door to the castle. This acts like a drawbridge and is shaped like a moster's mouth - surely that should be enough to ward of the enemy, you'd think. If it wasn't, below the drawbridge is an abyss that's dark and barren - basically very uninviting - which He-Man says leads to the centre of Eternia. I never owned Castle Greyskull, but a friend of mine did and I used to take my He-Man figures round to his house to play with.Castle Greyskull got its inspiration from the Star Wars toys, and had lots of little spikes all over the floor so that you could attach the characters feet.The great thing abotu the castle was that it was enormous (or at least it seemed like it when I was 7!) and the whole of the front opened up to reveal the inside of the castle. This was particularly cool, since on the TV show you never saw much of the inside!

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[Richard1978]

Re: Castle Greyskull

I knew 2 brothers who had loads of MOTU stuff (along with loads of Star Wars, Action Force & Secret Wars, their parents must have been from big families!) Castle Greyskull was one thing they had early on, & got Snake Mountain which had that voice distorting device in it.

They used to think it was odd that I wanted to play with the MOTU toys even though I wasn't that keen on the cartoons.

[Derekflint]

Re: Castle Greyskull

I always felt that the cartoon didn't sit comfortably with the original toy line up - Battle Cat was even fiercer with the armour off!

As for Castle Greyskull, it didn't quite live up to its potential. The artwork on the box was dark and foreboding; and the exterior of the toy looked promising. But the internals lacked the same level of commitment. Almost like it came from another toy line.