Castle Grayskull Masters of the Universe Classics playset with Map

Not very well advertised at all, Mattel restarted its Masters of the Universe property back in 2008 with the new, larger, super-articulated Masters of the Universe Classics line, almost every single product of which is (or was) only available online, usually for limited periods of time only. Designed for nostalgic grown-ups with disposable income and not for children, it's a series of very good to excellent toys (admittedly with the occasional quality control issue), trying to incorporate everything that has ever been associated with He-Man. They've tried to include items from the original vintage Masters of the Universe toys, to the 1980s Filmation He-Man and She-Ra cartoons, to the 1990s sci-fi-themed revival, to the "Millennial" toys and cartoons of 2002-2004, to unproduced concept figures that were planned but never made. It's the most comprehensive and wide-reaching reincarnation of the property to date. And now Mattel has gone and made the long-desired centrepiece of the line: Castle Grayskull.Based on the original prototype and beautifully sculpted by The Four Horsemen workshop, this version of the castle has features not seen on the Vintage or Millennial versions of this playset. There's an optional finial you can snap onto the skull dome, a new outside ledge on one of the turrets with a "secret" escape door, a "secret" entrance in the side of the castle, internal flooring for the ground floor with a docking station for flying vehicles (sold separately, of course), a third battlement level at the top of the castle with a "power orb" alcove (power orb sold separately), a dungeon with barred door and chains, places you can store weapons on the walls (including the crossed Sword of Power and Sword of Protection, sold -- as you probably guessed -- separately), decorative gold skull finials on the lift shafts that can be removed and used as swappable action figure heads, a bat-winged jet pack, several new pack-in weapons, and the laser turret now swivels. Original features brought back include: a sword-activated opening jawbridge (though the "lock" is now a concealed slot in the rocks to the right of the jawbridge), two-sided allegiance flag, carrying handle (installation optional, this time), lift that goes to all three levels, warrior-training device, ladder, throne-activated trap door, plug-in "Defender" armour and computer panels and screens (moulded in plastic this time, not cardboard cut-outs), and ability to fold out for play and display, or close for carrying and storage. Features not included this time are the weapons rack (you guessed it: sold separately) and the bit of string that moves the lift (it's now done directly by hand). This castle is huge, heavy, beautifully sculpted, gorgeously painted, and darned impressive.This is an excellent (but not perfect) update, and possibly the finest (and biggest) production version of Castle Grayskull we'll ever get. Costs were cut in some areas, but you can find some nice add-on pieces online made by small, third party, fan manufacturers (like a manhole cover for the vehicle port, or a fully-sculpted monster dungeon grate). The version advertised here comes with a poster showing nearly all the figures and beasts made for the Masters of the Universe Classics line (omitting a couple of exceedingly rare variants that were only available as convention prizes and a mysterious figure they don't want to reveal yet) up to July 2014. This poster was included for those who jumped on the bandwagon and ordered the castle directly from Mattel in the early days of the "pre-order" drive. The pictures are quite small, and there are a couple of spelling mistakes on the poster. While nifty to have as a curiosity, it's not an item particularly worth chasing.Highly recommended for those who want a nostalgia fix, those whose mothers got rid of their original Castle Grayskull when they weren't looking, or just want a massive, impressive bit of pop-culture to display. Also, if this line is something you'd be interested in, Mattel finished selling Masters of the Universe Classics figures through their MattyCollector site at the end of 2016, so if you want to play catch-up, you'll have to resort to scalpers and other secondary market options. Then, Super7 took over the MOTU License, and while they didn't have the massive volume of products Mattel was able to churn out (they offered a wave or two of four to five items roughly once per fiscal quarter), they had some very promising character selections to keep the brand going nicely. As of January 2020, the Masters of the Universe Classics line is on indefinite hiatus, with just one more item expected to be released later in the year . . . .Snake Mountain.