What classic figure brings back a childhood memory and why

[Executioner]

When I think about particular figures, like bcrduke I can still remember the stores where I actually bought most of them. That's how much of an impression they had on me.

[Baddwarff]

I know it is cliche', but the Original He-Man is what comes to my mind first. It was the first time I got something before my older brother did. G.I. Joes, Transformers and G0-Bots, he would get one, I would get one. But one time, when my grandparents came to visit, they brought me a He-Man and my brother something else. But it was the first time I had something first. He eventually got a Stratos and we got plenty more, but we never got a Skeletor.

[mollusc herald]

The whole line brings up memories for me. They are some of my best childhood memories. MOTU was a huge source of fun and solace for me.

This.

Of the new figures the ones that I was most excited for were ones I never had vintage- MAA, Tri-Klops, Stratos, Beastman. I remember playing with Tri-Klops and Beastman at my friends house and thinking they were the coolest. Whenever a friend showed me a new toy I would be fascinated.

Many of the vintage figures were presents or I created adventures for.
Attack Trak: I received from my parents after someone cut my bike lock and stole my new bmx.
Skeletor: My first figure. I had him on a camping trip and I mesmerized myself by having him appear before my very eyes through the smoke of the fire. Ha
Man-E-Faces: rare, unexpected Easter treat.

Like Executioner and BCRDuke said I remember many of the places I got individual figures from as well.

[Executioner]

but we never got a Skeletor.

Deprived childhood! I feel for you man.

Like Executioner and BCRDuke said I remember many of the places I got individual figures from as well.

My brother and I had every single vendor in the city sussed out, and when ever we went the the mall it was a coordinated effort to get to those locations as fast as we possibly could to see what new figure smight be there. Zellers, Sears, K-Mart, and two Toy Stores in the mall, and if that didn;t pan out we'd whine until we got taken to another mall with a few more locations.

Ah, so awesome.

[Wakko]

OK, here we go... the toy of choice for me for much of my childhood had been Star Wars, but then one day in a store called McCrory's I spotted He-Man figures, and I was fascinated: they were big, bulky, colorful... man, they looked like fun. I had to go stare at them every time we went in that store. But I never thought to ask for one, because for some reason I thought I was only allowed to collect Star Wars.

That Easter (1983, I think), there was a Tri-Klops in my Easter basket. My mom was the best. Soon, I was using my Star Wars figures to fill in the ranks of the MOTU universe (a Luke Skywalker figure was He-Man, Leia was Teela) just so I had other characters for Tri-Klops to interact with.

Now that I had Trike, I needed more. But He-Man was nowhere to be found in those days. Seriously, he was super-rare. My parents didn't buy us toys very often (unless it was a birthday or Christmas), so the next few times I had the opportunity to get a MOTU figure, I ended up with Mer-Man and then Ram-Man, still two of my all-time favorite figures, even though it was He-Man that I really wanted.

Finally, one day my mom and I were in a Montgomery Ward, and my mom said I could get a figure. Alas, still no He-Man to be found. I was about to get a Stratos, when a sales lady asked if she could help us. I said I couldn't find He-Man anywhere. She told us to wait a minute. She came out of a back room with a He-Man figure that someone else had put on hold. She smiled and said, "I don't think they're ever going to come back for it." I was elated!

Other random memories:

My mom got her hair cut right next to a store called Toy Town, and she would let me browse there while she was getting her hair done. I walked in the store one morning and saw, for the first time, an entire end-cap of MOTU figures I'd never even heard of before: Clawful, Kobra Kahn, Whiplash... it was like mecca. I grabbed one of each figure (five or six, I think) because I was sure someone would buy them all before my mom was finished. She came in the store, smiled, and said, "You can put those back. You're getting them for Christmas." Sure enough, I did... all of the above plus Buzz-Off, Man-E, Mekaneck, Dragon Walker, both birds, Panthor, and Castle Grayskull. It was probably my most favorite Christmas ever.

Two of my other MOTU memories involve my dad, on two separate occasions where he offered to take me to a store to get a MOTU figure (I must've been a particularly good boy that week). On the first occasion I remember, he took me to K&K Toys where, from among the plethora of MOTU figures, I picked Evil-Lyn. "You want to get a girl figure?" he said. And I was like, "Dad, you have no idea how bad she is." Even as a kid I knew she was second only to Skeletor. I was excited to get her.

The second occasion, dad took me to Kiddie City, and I picked up Stinkor -- another case of finding a figure I didn't even know existed. On the way home, I opened him up, and my dad exclaimed, "WHAT STINKS?!" He took the figure away from me, sniffed it, and laughed out loud. "It actually stinks!" I think he was even more amused than I was.

Final memory... on a trip shopping with my grandma, I found Two-Bad. Not only was he yet another figure I'd never heard of before, but the top half of his card was ripped off, so I didn't even know what his name was! It was actually several months before I saw another figure with Two-Bad pictured on the back before I knew his name. But my kind grandma bought that one for me.

I had a lot of vintage figures back then, including Teela, Man-at-Arms, Orko (bought the day before the start of school by my dad as a bit of a sympathy gift... I hated the end of summer), Battle Cat, Roton, Attak Trak, Stratos, Trap-Jaw, Prince Adam, Moss Man. I wish I could remember the circumstances surrounding the aquisition of all of them, because the ones I do remember sure do make me smile.

[Kobra Khan's Mist]

I had many figures that I liked. I did not have a lot of the original 8 so I have fond memories of the second wave. I had Ba he-man and BA Skeletor, Fisto, clawful, whiplash and jitsu. My favorite mini comic is the clash of arms where fisto has to go up against a few bad guys that I had.

My favorite one one was kobra khan. I loved the action feature mist. He would control the masters to do his bidding until the water dried off. Webstor's action hook was cool too. I really miss action features on today's figures.

My mom would take me to Dillards to find MOTU there, including, one day, an original He-man.

[pinkslipx84]

Of the figures that have come out, Evil-Lyn. She's one of the few me and my brothers shared that i KNOW was mine.
Of figures i hope we get, Castaspella, I remember my grandmother buying her for me. I'm not sure why it stands out in my mind so much. But it does.

[Dayton72]

The original He-Man is probably the most nostalgic for me. I remember seeing him hanging on the shelf at Gemco in San Diego. The shipment was so new that they only had He-Man. I asked my Mom for an advance on my allowance and she said yes. I had to push the cart through the grocery section and stare at him for over an hour before we got home.

After that I would say Ram Man, Tri-Klops, and Trap Jaw. They were the ones I was most excited about when I found out about them.

[MOTU_Maniac]

I NEVER owned any of the vintage MOTU growing up , BUT I had a cousin that had them and he brought them over on 2 occasions when he came to visit. The figures that I remember playing with (and hence most sentimental to me today) are:

~Stinkor
~Mer-Man
~Buzz-Off
~Sy-Klone
~Whiplash
~Ram Man

[Executioner]

I remember my Evil-Lyn and Tri-Klops figures came packaged together in a little bag rather than the blister card packaging, does anyone else remember that?

I had no idea He-Man was rare back in the day, my brother and I got the original 8 no problem. I remember some of the later figures being more elusive, like Two-Bad... when we finally got our hands on him we were ecstatic!

[Chroniklor]

Well, Moss Man (and probably Stinkor will do the same too) takes me right back to those fantastic years. Whenever I open up my bin and smell 'that old toy smell'... man, very intense.

Another odd thing: I can remember of almost any vintage figure when I got them, why and who gave them to me (e.g. Extendar, birthday, my grandmother...). Weird.

I must say I hold dear memories to Kobra Khan. One day my dad 'had to work late', so my mother and I already started eating dinner. What I didn't know of course, was the fact that my dad was actually on his way to the toy store to get me a new MotU figure. When he got home he rushed to the bathroom and filled up KK with water (again without me knowing). Next, he came down and surprised me by squirting me with KK's action feature! I laughed mao and was very glad to get a new toy. So whenever I look at Kobra Khan in my display case (like right now), I always remember that moment. Sweet, sweet trip down memory lane...

[Executioner]

Well, Moss Man (and probably Stinkor will do the same too) takes me right back to those fantastic years. Whenever I open up my bin and smell 'that old toy smell'... man, very intense.

Another odd thing: I can remember of almost any vintage figure when I got them, why and who gave them to me (e.g. Extendar, birthday, my grandmother...). Weird.

I must say I hold dear memories to Kobra Khan. One day my dad 'had to work late', so my mother and I already started eating dinner. What I didn't know of course, was the fact that my dad was actually on his way to the toy store to get me a new MotU figure. When he got home he rushed to the bathroom and filled up KK with water (again without me knowing). Next, he came down and surprised me by squirting me with KK's action feature! I laughed mao and was very glad to get a new toy. So whenever I look at Kobra Khan in my display case (like right now), I always remember that moment. Sweet, sweet trip down memory lane...

My Dad did something similar... we had Castle Grayskull all set up for us on Christmas morning... and one of mine and my brothers favorite things to do was make huge battle scenes with our figures, so my Dad took all our figures and made an awesome display for us to wake up to.

Also... when we were kids we called them "He-Man guys" not "Masters", my son actually does the same now.

[yance]

Please forgive me for my english. The first MOTU figure that i have was Mer-Man. My (late) father bought it for me at the grocery store.That figure (and the cardback art) was the one that attracted me to this great toyline. I remember i wanted Beast man and Skeletor soooo bad hen i looked at the cardback while i wasn't play my Mer-Man figure. My father just passed away about 4 months now, every time i looking at MOTUC Mer-Man figure i also looking the memory of my father.

[Jubilation]

I had quite a few of the MOTU figures but the one's which I always seemed to pick up more than others were Buzz-Off, Jistu, Clawful, Whiplash, Mantenna, Grizzlor, Skelator and He-Man.

On the POP side I was lucky that my olds did not impose rules on toys I was allowed as a boy so the whole "POP been for girls" thing was never an issue and it's so cool that they were open minded like that. My favourite's were She-Ra (first release), Catra (first release), Castaspella, Entrapta, Mermista, Frosta and Flutterina. I used to have Catra as leader of the "evil girls" and her group had Entrapta, Castaspella and Double Trouble in it.

[Barbecue17]

Good thread! It'd be awesome to have one of these in the general discussion for other toy related memories (I can remember where nearly all of my G.I. Joes came from). I was born in 83, so most of my MOTU memories are of later toys or of getting things 2nd hand.

Grizzlor always reminds me of my Uncle Mike. Went I went to visit my Uncle Mike, he would always take me to the toy store or K-Mart to pick up some toys. On one trip I took my Uncle Mike took me to a store where the new MOTU movie figures had been released (I could have only been around 4 or 5. He told me that I could pick two. I can't remember which two I grabbed, but I ended up asking for three. Uncle Mike agreed that three would be fine, so I started leaving with Gwildor, Saurod, and Blade. I then saw Grizzlor. I grabbed Grizzlor and told my Uncle Mike that I needed Grizzlor, also. He said, "Fine, grab Grizzlor too."

When we got back to Uncle Mike's house, my mom asked why I had so many toys: Uncle Mike told her, "Well, I let him pick three, but he needed Grizzlor too." My Uncle Mike passed away very suddenly when I was in 1st grade and those action figures were always really special to me. Funny how a piece of plastic can hold so many memories.

[enoch]

Same here, I remember in nashville a store named hills. They would set up actual displays of the toys out of box and package. I loved the visuals. Even used cotton for clouds. They wouldnt do that now.

[Alexx]

Also... when we were kids we called them "He-Man guys" not "Masters", my son actually does the same now.

Yes! High five! I honestly have never heard of other folks calling it that. To this day I still call 'em "He-Man guys." I mean, I've never found a need to correct myself 'cause people just know what you're talkin' about!

[Eternian Poet]

I still call 'em "He-Man guys."

For me, it was - & is - "He-Men"

[Chroniklor]

My Dad did something similar... we had Castle Grayskull all set up for us on Christmas morning... and one of mine and my brothers favorite things to do was make huge battle scenes with our figures, so my Dad took all our figures and made an awesome display for us to wake up to.

Also... when we were kids we called them "He-Man guys" not "Masters", my son actually does the same now.

Nice memory there, Executioner. Oh sure, I/we never called them Masters, we did call them something along the line of "He-Man guys" as well, but in Dutch then... (I would give you the translation but that would violate the forum rules)... I guess this has a lesson to it: respect your old man :-D

[baronterror]

MossMan, and I'm sure Stinkor, because scent is in such a direct link to certain memories and I can remember clearly sitting on my front porch with Stinkor and Mossman, just smelling them while the other guys just sit there and wait for me to begin (or continue) playing with them.

In that same memory I remember playing and examining quite closely Spikor, so that when I get a Spikor in my hands, I will be overwhelmed with gratitude and love. He's my most wanted figure from the vintage line, probably because I got a Two Bad in 200x line (not that I actually have one yet, but he's out there and I've seen him).

Otherwise Battle Armour He-Man gave me a good jolt of happy memories. I fully expect Thunder Punch He-Man to trump that when I get him in hand, as I never as a child had the basic He-Man, and Thunder Punch was my "main" he man, because he had a harness.

Kobra Kahn was a blast. Not as strong as I thought, but was notable as he was the only figure I had from childhood still. And I spent so many mornings drinking water from Kobra Kahn's Spray. For a long time (it seems) saturday morning cartoons were always watched while drinking Kahn Mist.

[NastyNate]

Yes! High five! I honestly have never heard of other folks calling it that. To this day I still call 'em "He-Man guys." I mean, I've never found a need to correct myself 'cause people just know what you're talkin' about!

HAHAHA my brother and I always called them He Man guys when we were kids. I STILL do!
When I was a youth my absolute favorite was Mer-Man. I took him everywhere with me. One day my dad asked me this simple question: "Nathan, why is his name Mer-Man?" I simply replied, "because dad... he has MER on him." I walked away and continued doing my thing. My parents STILL talk about that story and tease me about it to this day. So when Classics Mer-Man came out he was the first and ONLY MOTUC figure I owned. He cost me around 40 bucks at MotorCityComicCon when he first came out. Since that fateful day I have bought a HUGE collection (a little over a year ago) and now have every figure that has been released (minus SDCC King Greyskull)

[DisneyBoy]

Well, I think She-Ra fans are in kind-of a unique situation in that these MOTUC figures finally look more like the Filmation characters, so each new figure feels very new, even if we owned the originals back in the day. My childhood memory of struggling to keep She-Ra on Swiftwind did come back to me the first day I tried to pose the MOTUC She-Ra on her steed. Even with all her new articulation, there's no one way to get her to stay on! Some things never change

[Teacher of Madness]

I was a huge Filmation fan when I was little, and Orko was about my favorite thing on the planet.

My paternal grandfather would have Christmas Eve, Easter and Thanksgiving parties for his three children and their spouses at his house. I was the only child in that extended family until I was 7, so my parents let me open a christmas gift early to keep me busy before going to the party, and it was Orko, which of course blew my mind.

I remember one of the first things I did was pull his hat off to see what Orko looked like without his hat. Then at my grandfather's house I ran to everybody individually excitedly showing them what Orko looks like without his hat. Since only my parents had children then I doubt my aunts and uncles even knew what He-Man was. My grandfather thought my 5-year old enthusiasm was hilarious, and kept asking all night what Orko looks like with his hat off to try and get me riled up.

Starting the next christmas I would always get my grandfather an orko trinket of some kind as a gift, and did so until Orko things stopped being made a few years later. When he passed away, as we were cleaning out his house I found all that Orko stuff, and I still have it.

It's crazy how many memories I have that connect He-Man to some key moment in my early life, but that's the most important one for me. Opening up my MOTUC Orko was like that moment again, and I just bought two more carded on Monday, mostly because Orko is nothing but a huge happy memory for me.

[shadowfall1976]

Trap Jaw brings back the most memories, making him take rides on a zip line I created in my room. Then Prince Adam, then Thunder Punch He-Man, He-Man, Battle Armor He-Man, Dragstor (still needs to be made) zipping across the tables in my house. Tri-Klops also has a lot of memories tied to him.

I remember always losing accessories, and having like 5 He-Man figures at different times because I lost those accessories, or arms or something to them....

Faker brings back a lot of memories, and was the 3rd Classics I bought, because I never had the chance to get him, he was always sold out in the stores, or was never there, so once I tracked one down cheap I bought him, finally adding him to my collection....also my favorite color is blue....so that helped. My friend had him, and I always played with him when I was there....I remember "accidentally" almost walking out with him, but my Mom found him in my toys just before we left...He was my most favorite figure I never had.....

And other than Faker (but I never had him anyway) all the ties I had to my figures was from Filmation, it was the story I followed, and what brought my figures to life.

And which is why I set out only to get the figures that made up my childhood collection, but once I got in the door, I found many more....but why I can also leave if I ever had to after I get my last 5 needed figures, and a couple wanted ones.

[Executioner]

Yes! High five! I honestly have never heard of other folks calling it that. To this day I still call 'em "He-Man guys." I mean, I've never found a need to correct myself 'cause people just know what you're talkin' about!

Sweet!! I was worried I'd be laughed at here, but whatever... its just what we called them, and yeah, still do!