TIMELINE: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985. TOYS: DC Superhero cars, Golden Girl action figures, Karl May action figures, MOTU merchandise, Die Cast cars, Playmobil figures. MANUFACTURERS: Corgi, Mattel, Siso-Trend, Bburago, Inventive Concepts. COUNTRIES: US, Germany, Netherlands.
Tag Archives: He-Man
MOTU 1983 View-Master Gift Set
The latest addition to TVTA’s toy room is this superb 1983 View-Master MOTU gift set.
I must have been about nine the first time I looked through a View-Master – Planet of the Apes and Disney images are what I remember seeing, all in wonderful 3-D colour. It was like staring through two keyholes that promised magical lands, heroes and creatures… a whole new dimension to the wide-open eyes of the nine-year old me. If kaleidoscopes were the Stickle Bricks of the optical toy world, then View-Master was the Lego 🙂
So, onto the MOTU gift set, and fabulous secret powers were revealed to TVTA when we attempted to photograph a few sample images of He-Man and his pals direct from the View-Master. No easy task. Here are our (2D) results …
Onto the box, which hasn’t fared too badly over the years, and some attractive artwork along with a very pleasing overall design …
Front
Reverse – note the cut-out window through which light could enter, enabling you to view the images of a reel before purchasing the gift set.
Sides
Ends
And finally, a French ad featuring the gift set …
Thank you for inserting “up for viewer” with us 🙂 Please check out our main View-Master page which has tons of stereoscopic delights for your eyes!
A mixed bag of MOTU for your viewing pleasure
Masters of the Universe 7 inch record story book. 1985. France.
I love how they used the actual toys to illustrate the cover of this!
1983 Masters of the Universe 7 inch record from France, and Secret of the Dragon’s Egg Super Adventure
Masters of the Universe Danish comic cover 1987
Two ads, Masters of the Universe toys
“He-Man”
Mattel relaunched the Masters of the Universe toy line with a 1989 line called He-Man, which featured a more streamlined look for the action figures. The storyline shifted the adventures of He-Man and Skeletor away from Eternia and into outer space.
He-Man and Masters of the Universe transfers
Castle Greyskull maze puzzle page
Masters of the Universe – vintage toy and merchandise adverts
Masters of the Universe, sometimes referred to as MOTU or He-Man, is a franchise created in 1982 by Mattel. The brand quickly became, and still is, hugely popular, providing a range of action figures and playsets, video games, comics, books, an animated TV series, a feature film and many other items of merchandise sold internationally.
Fabulous secret powers were revealed to TVTA when we managed to get our mitts on a number of super cool MOTU adverts from around the world! Enjoy.
Action figures, Denmark
Action figures, Dominatori Dell ‘Universo, Italy.
- Italy. 1984.
- Italy. 1986.
- Italy. 1986.
- Italy. 1986.

Intertoys Speelboek 1987 Autumn Catalogue. Netherlands.
MOTU knockoffs?

Mighty Laser Lite Sword 1986 and Mighty Force Weapons Set 1987. Netherlands.
Updated October 2021 with new images.