Ah Castle Grayskull, that mighty fortress of my childhood, where many epic battles between He-man and Skeletor took place and I had so much fun playing out those great battles. To this day Grayskull looks just as mighty and fun to play with as was when I was a kid.
Thx Dan for bringing back good old memories. I used my Grayskull until the very last piece broke and the castle literally fell apart. My parents then sadly got rid of it. It is still one of the most awesome toys out there by miles.
I have a feeling that the first couple of hundred Grayskulls got a squirt from the airbrush in each eye socket and the nose, and then after a while, the guy just said "screw it", and began blasting the front of each playset with a huge blob of black paint.
By 1984 you have no idea how hard this was to find if not impossible. I was lucky to get Skull Mountain for Christmas and wish I held onto the damn thing.
I recently rediscovered my original MOTU action figures including this Castle Grayskull playset. Still just as impressive today as it was back then. Great video 😎👍
I won it in a contest in the 1985 in Italy. I still have it, and it is the most enjoyable playset evermade and now after 35 years I started to collect the MOTU origins series.
I think one of my favorite details was actually the building piece that came with the talon fighter, shaped to fit into one of the castle turrets and extend it.
I definitely remember the little kid Castle Grayskull commercial, circa 1984, I believe. I bet P-D's mouth is watering over the potential prospect of getting his hands on a new CG play set in the future to review. My pocketbook is looking a little worried though, poor little guy.
Nice piece. The absence of Grayskull or a good analog is one of the reasons, IMO, that the New Adventures don't quite 'work' as part of the mythos. (The mini-comics were setting up Starship Eternia to fill this role, but the cartoon abandoned that.) Oh, and you can see the training device in use in DC Comics Presents #47, while the trap-door trick shows up in the original commercial, issue #3 of the DC mini-series, and the storybook "The Sword of Skeletor." :)
What an awesome review! Castle Grayskull was the greatest toy ever! I will never forget going to my Grandmother's house to visit her during the summer of 1982 and as a surprise she had bought it for me! I had many adventures with that playset! I miss those days! :)
Excellent video! my neighbors have Greyskull and Snake Mountain in their shed, they have seen better days but I m hoping that their sin doesn't want it and they give to me!
I think my most favorite Christmas.....1983. It is the present I remember the most. It was given to me again in 2016. And that began my collecting career. Now all the figures (Minus Meteorbs, twisting duo, and final two figures) are in my collection room. Only missing one vehicle and Eternia otherwise. And it all began with this castle.
Ah loved this playset back in the day. So many hours of imaginative play with the heros and villains. From what i recall for the heros i had he-man (plus a power punch version), man at arms, tela, battle cat, the guy with the multiple faces, the guy with the wings, and the wee floating red jester character. I also had the bee character as well. for the villains I had skeletor with this horse i think, hordak, beastman, a kind of frog guy with suckers on his hands, feet and mouth so he could stick to things and a snake guy whose neck could extend quite a bit. Im sure i had another figure that could spit water but im not 100% sure. I also had the green dragon head vehicle with the odd rotating lower section so it could move about. Long since lost pretty much all of them but i think i have a couple somewhere in storage.
This has to be one of my favorite videos from this series. I loved my castle grayskull when i was kid played with it all the time. I have no idea what happened to it or any of my old he-man figures. I did find a bare bones grayskull at a thrift store about 15+ years ago but alas that also vanished.
Damn I had this as a kid, with all the figures also, other kids were blown away when they saw it, didn't know anyone else that had it, I moved countries at 15 and it all remained at my nan's house, sadly several years later after she passed it vanished (believe my dad gave it away, but won't fess up to it) would still love to have kept it.
During the conceptual art stages of the toyline, Mattel wasnt sure who was going to be good or bad, which could explain Beast Man at He-Man's side. Beast Man also was at one time the arch nemesis of He-Man. The art may just be Skeletor breaking into the castle and He-Man on the attack. Beast Man is proabably there as a mistake no one caught, or because it took a long time to paint that mural it was accepted as is to prevent delays in production as Mattel wanted the toy on shelves for Xmas 82.
If I'm not mistaken I think that the medieval training device found at 8:52, also appeared in the 1982 DC Comics Presents # 47 penciled by Curt Swan. There's comic panels of Prince Adam being trained by Man-at-Arms, using that device. I think that Prince Adam also destroys the machine while training, in the same comic book.
Great review - thanks. I would have loved to see Zoar positioned on top of the castle (I know she had her own stand, but did she also fit on the castle?) and also the sorcerous seated on the throne. I love all the background info you have included in this video.
Picked up both Grayskull and Snake Mountain set at a garage sale last year for a few bucks. Came with the Castle of Lions, too, and some GI Joe vehicles from 1986 and 1987. :D
hey dan, if someone had fan art they would like to send you, do you have a specific mail box for that, also, this person does not have a scanner, so is there any other way to get art work to you?
Hmmm.... now I see that weapons rack, I recall that all the weapons on it mysteriously vanished very soon after opening. My mother had a big issue with toy guns. A vague memory surfaces of child-me showing her the blaster one time...
That is true,,but i never saw the commercial in a different cartoonstyle such as this one. It looks not bad but i love the Filmation version because it has such an epic style. I wish that one of the filmstudios will take over and or buy the rights to make cartoons again in this lovely looking Filmation style.
I would still have it if my Dad didn't throw it away when he moved. It was in good shape, nothing broken or missing. When I hit about 17 he got rid of all my toys. I told him they could of been worth something. Rats!!!!
It is around 1k-2K and higher for this Playset in 2021 it depends on the condition. Good Luck in finding one complete with all weapons and features working....
There are plenty of toys like that, you just have to look for them. I'm more irked by the fact a figure I used to could have paid $5-$8 for is now $15 and hardly have accessories.
I know nothing about Masters of the Universe or Castle Grayskull. I am watching this because Castle Grayskull was used as the basis of a joke on the Sick and Wrong Podcast, Episode 597. All I can say is that American kids get some cool toys! I never had anything like that when I was a child.
I'm just saying nowadays you could never releas a playset with a skull motief with a sticker of a dungeon holding all sorts of monsters and stuff. Castle Greyskull to me represents a time when the toy industry and indeed everything made for kids had a backbone. Really though I'm just ranting.
I'm kinda shocked & disappointed that he didn't even mention how castle Greyskull could also allow for point dread & the talon - fighter playset to be neatly attached to its top tower. I always thought this was it's coolest secret.
My childhood rocked! The 80's was an awesome time to be a kid!!!
Yes it was
It was fantastic, so grateful to have seen those incredibile years as a kid
*The best*
I agree
I was one lucky child that had Castle Grayskull in the early 90s... I was so proud of it. I don't know where it has gone
Ah Castle Grayskull, that mighty fortress of my childhood, where many epic battles between He-man and Skeletor took place and I had so much fun playing out those great battles. To this day Grayskull looks just as mighty and fun to play with as was when I was a kid.
Great video, it reminds me my childhood, I was only 5 years when I got this castle as Xmas present from dad....what memories
Thx Dan for bringing back good old memories. I used my Grayskull until the very last piece broke and the castle literally fell apart. My parents then sadly got rid of it. It is still one of the most awesome toys out there by miles.
I have a feeling that the first couple of hundred Grayskulls got a squirt from the airbrush in each eye socket and the nose, and then after a while, the guy just said "screw it", and began blasting the front of each playset with a huge blob of black paint.
One of my favorite Playsets of all time! Awesome Review Dan!
best playset ever. i had a ewok village. those two were about the coolest. and the gijoe aircraft carrier.
As many of times as I have moved I am so lucky to still have mine
Still remember my grandfather surprising me with this and being so excited.
By 1984 you have no idea how hard this was to find if not impossible. I was lucky to get Skull Mountain for Christmas and wish I held onto the damn thing.
No one ever bought this for me when I was a kid :( All I could do was drool over it in the Sears catalog
me either...but i just bought 2 of them....one complete and the other almost complete....for 160 bucks...
same mate was exppensive but finaly got origins castle now
I recently rediscovered my original MOTU action figures including this Castle Grayskull playset. Still just as impressive today as it was back then. Great video 😎👍
I won it in a contest in the 1985 in Italy. I still have it, and it is the most enjoyable playset evermade and now after 35 years I started to collect the MOTU origins series.
I have started doing the same thing. I never had the Vintage Castle Greyskull, so when I saw the Origins one, I bought it.
Best playset in toy history
When I was little I always thought this castle was Skeletors? It was fun playing the villain side!
I like how you did the "walking" action with the figures
it is really nice that you included the development of the playset aswell because it is really interesting
I think one of my favorite details was actually the building piece that came with the talon fighter, shaped to fit into one of the castle turrets and extend it.
I definitely remember the little kid Castle Grayskull commercial, circa 1984, I believe. I bet P-D's mouth is watering over the potential prospect of getting his hands on a new CG play set in the future to review. My pocketbook is looking a little worried though, poor little guy.
I owned the original Castle Greyskull when I was a kid … great fun memories
Nice piece. The absence of Grayskull or a good analog is one of the reasons, IMO, that the New Adventures don't quite 'work' as part of the mythos. (The mini-comics were setting up Starship Eternia to fill this role, but the cartoon abandoned that.)
Oh, and you can see the training device in use in DC Comics Presents #47, while the trap-door trick shows up in the original commercial, issue #3 of the DC mini-series, and the storybook "The Sword of Skeletor." :)
What an awesome review! Castle Grayskull was the greatest toy ever! I will never forget going to my Grandmother's house to visit her during the summer of 1982 and as a surprise she had bought it for me! I had many adventures with that playset! I miss those days! :)
30 bucks in 1982....
I had this as a child. It served as both He-Man's AND the Real Ghostbusters HQ.
Excellent video! my neighbors have Greyskull and Snake Mountain in their shed, they have seen better days but I m hoping that their sin doesn't want it and they give to me!
I think my most favorite Christmas.....1983. It is the present I remember the most.
It was given to me again in 2016. And that began my collecting career. Now all the figures (Minus Meteorbs, twisting duo, and final two figures) are in my collection room. Only missing one vehicle and Eternia otherwise. And it all began with this castle.
Fantastic playset. Big, bold and fabulous
Ah loved this playset back in the day. So many hours of imaginative play with the heros and villains. From what i recall for the heros i had he-man (plus a power punch version), man at arms, tela, battle cat, the guy with the multiple faces, the guy with the wings, and the wee floating red jester character. I also had the bee character as well. for the villains I had skeletor with this horse i think, hordak, beastman, a kind of frog guy with suckers on his hands, feet and mouth so he could stick to things and a snake guy whose neck could extend quite a bit. Im sure i had another figure that could spit water but im not 100% sure. I also had the green dragon head vehicle with the odd rotating lower section so it could move about. Long since lost pretty much all of them but i think i have a couple somewhere in storage.
This has to be one of my favorite videos from this series. I loved my castle grayskull when i was kid played with it all the time. I have no idea what happened to it or any of my old he-man figures. I did find a bare bones grayskull at a thrift store about 15+ years ago but alas that also vanished.
Nice review. I have one of these and I love it.
Damn I had this as a kid, with all the figures also, other kids were blown away when they saw it, didn't know anyone else that had it, I moved countries at 15 and it all remained at my nan's house, sadly several years later after she passed it vanished (believe my dad gave it away, but won't fess up to it) would still love to have kept it.
Man that bring back some memories. I haven't seen some of this stuff since the mid-80s.
My mom bought two Castle Greyskulls for me & my cousin when she and I were kids for Christmas.
Best. Toy. EVARRRR! Period.
I was going to question you about knowing Mattel's Castle Grayskull Project until I saw the end of the video here.
Great review! I just didn't come too close to this toy until a few years ago. Now I'd love to get it.
Greatest toy reviewer of All-time..
Pixel Dan is just about PERFECT
During the conceptual art stages of the toyline, Mattel wasnt sure who was going to be good or bad, which could explain Beast Man at He-Man's side. Beast Man also was at one time the arch nemesis of He-Man. The art may just be Skeletor breaking into the castle and He-Man on the attack. Beast Man is proabably there as a mistake no one caught, or because it took a long time to paint that mural it was accepted as is to prevent delays in production as Mattel wanted the toy on shelves for Xmas 82.
If I'm not mistaken I think that the medieval training device found at 8:52, also appeared in the 1982 DC Comics Presents # 47 penciled by Curt Swan. There's comic panels of Prince Adam being trained by Man-at-Arms, using that device. I think that Prince Adam also destroys the machine while training, in the same comic book.
thank you for this...
Great review - thanks. I would have loved to see Zoar positioned on top of the castle (I know she had her own stand, but did she also fit on the castle?) and also the sorcerous seated on the throne.
I love all the background info you have included in this video.
Man now i wanna watch that Castle Grayskull tv spot again.
I never got this castle for Xmas.....I did find one in the trash years after it first came out. I must have been 11 or 12
nice review of the vintage castle Grayskull
Picked up both Grayskull and Snake Mountain set at a garage sale last year for a few bucks. Came with the Castle of Lions, too, and some GI Joe vehicles from 1986 and 1987. :D
lucky man...very lucky man..
An interesting look to the origins of one of the most iconic toy playsets ever produced.
funnily i remember having this castle as a kid in the 90s, without even knowing about the whole masters of the universe series
Hey good morning big guy to u and ur family. This is sledgemaster. We liked your video and be happy today and god bless
My cousin owe the player growing up and had fun playing with it and now I owe one for my collection in 2003
Nice video!! I still wish it was bigger and also at least 3 sides.
I love how he *animates* the figures
Excellent !. What do you think about the new one !?, MOTU classic.
Was my favorite toy back then.
What was the clip shown at the beginning?? I don't remember ever seeing it before...
It the intro for the convention
I had this when i was a kid !
i love you for making that reference.
hey dan, if someone had fan art they would like to send you, do you have a specific mail box for that, also, this person does not have a scanner, so is there any other way to get art work to you?
so glad i finally own 2 of them.....
Can the Sorceress action figure sit in the throne, or does the sculpt make that impractical?
I remember that the dungeon sticker was the one that I actually mess up when placing it, it got folded and I hated myself for that ! hahahah
Awesome playset
Hmmm.... now I see that weapons rack, I recall that all the weapons on it mysteriously vanished very soon after opening. My mother had a big issue with toy guns. A vague memory surfaces of child-me showing her the blaster one time...
I Wonder how much it did Cost back in the late 80's? I had the Castle back in the Good old days 😀.
Pixel Dan,,,, are you gonna get the CGI version of castle greyskull?
Hi pixeldan can you do a review of the 1980,s He man figures please
Thanks for this video!
what about the addition of Point Dread and the Talon Fighter?
sold seperately
SUPER NICE HOW YOU PLAY WITH THE FIGURS LIKE OLD TIME
Dan is funny as hell.... good stuff...
Still have mine :D great vid
I always rember every He man finger had a story book
That is true,,but i never saw the commercial in a different cartoonstyle such as this one.
It looks not bad but i love the Filmation version because it has such an epic style.
I wish that one of the filmstudios will take over and or buy the rights to make cartoons again in this lovely looking Filmation style.
great review on a great piece
I would still have it if my Dad didn't throw it away when he moved. It was in good shape, nothing broken or missing. When I hit about 17 he got rid of all my toys. I told him they could of been worth something. Rats!!!!
My brother had this when he was a kid I was into Transformers I wish I had kept Grayskull
It is around 1k-2K and higher for this Playset in 2021 it depends on the condition. Good Luck in finding one complete with all weapons and features working....
Was Castle Grayskull blackened near the eyes originally?
Nimish Goray the person in charge of the play set at the time decided the front wasn't detailed enough so he told the workers to spray paint the front
@@themysteriouscatperson9483 roger sweet said that?
I've still got mine. Also I still have my Snake Mountain. Also I still have my fright zone. I wish I had all the pieces that went with them though.
I've been looking for mine in the garage for years...I think I'm just gonna have to go on ebay.
those pieces are pricey now..
Awesome review. Quality.
I had this as a kid
Can't believe you didn't mention the flag had two sides which represented what side had control of the castle. For me it was most always Skeletor.
you know it.....
By the power of grayskull!!
awesome i wish i had this
did the castle include any figures?
Hayden Moncada no
figures sold seperately
no mattel charged 30 bucks retail...and sold 3.5 million units in one year alone....
How much did it cost at the time of the release?
30 bucks retail..
There are plenty of toys like that, you just have to look for them. I'm more irked by the fact a figure I used to could have paid $5-$8 for is now $15 and hardly have accessories.
i just bought a heman for 40 bucks...no weapons just his chest piece.....intact 100 bucks easily now....
legend opf a set still got it and talon fighter iconic please do snakemountain
Never saw the original commercial..nice cartoon style even that it isn t Filmation.
i think its safe to say grey skull has a lot of dark and evil power too
I remember kicking, screaming and crying in the store for this, pulling such a fit, until my Wife caved in and let me get it.
I always wondered, as a kid, why He-Man and Skelator's swords clipped together. Huh.
to what are you referencing?
Heh, be cool if the original had the "Torture Table" but then again remember the "Aurora Monster sets" and the screamy fits they caused...
yes...
got it for xmas, box was bigger then me
i just got one myself...today it arrived...complete and looks like no one ever played with it.....still baffled that i got it for 100 bucks....
Still looking for that flag at the top.
30 bucks on ebay....or you can buy the sticker sheet on ebay for 20 bucks...mine is starting crumble....
Sweet!
nice video take it you got a mint one somewhere and you forgot point dread that ataches to it
I know nothing about Masters of the Universe or Castle Grayskull. I am watching this because Castle Grayskull was used as the basis of a joke on the Sick and Wrong Podcast, Episode 597. All I can say is that American kids get some cool toys! I never had anything like that when I was a child.
I'm just saying nowadays you could never releas a playset with a skull motief with a sticker of a dungeon holding all sorts of monsters and stuff. Castle Greyskull to me represents a time when the toy industry and indeed everything made for kids had a backbone. Really though I'm just ranting.
I'm kinda shocked & disappointed that he didn't even mention how castle Greyskull could also allow for point dread & the talon - fighter playset to be neatly attached to its top tower. I always thought this was it's coolest secret.
I worked this out from seeing the two playsets separately, but never got a chance to put the two together.
I saw it at a friend's house with the dungeon fully walled up. I'm guessing this was also Point Dread.
I have the POWER!