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| Front. |
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| Back. |
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| Side. |
If you think its a bit weird to carry your Galaxy Warriors in a MOTU case, then I suggest the "generic" Fantasy case above.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Fantasy Carrying Case
I know it isn't the best way to store your Galaxy Warriors figures long term if you want to preserve them in good condition, but if you want to briefly carry a few figures somewhere you could do it with some vintage style. Check out this cool Fantasy Action Figure carrying case made by Tara Toys in 1983 (below). This case has cool art and would make a nice display piece behind your figures if you don't want to use it to carry stuff.
This Fantasy Case is an item made specifically to "cash in" on the Masters of the Universe action figure craze. MOTU produced their own carrying cases, one of which is below.
If you think its a bit weird to carry your Galaxy Warriors in a MOTU case, then I suggest the "generic" Fantasy case above.
If you think its a bit weird to carry your Galaxy Warriors in a MOTU case, then I suggest the "generic" Fantasy case above.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Anubi on Rhino
A cool image of Anubi riding the Rhino Avenger from Imperial's toy-line Dragons, Knights and Daggers. The Imperial beasts are really cool, fit the Galaxy Warriors well, and are easier to find than the four Fearful Beasts from the warriors line; the Mammoth, Dinosaur, Tiger and Horse.
Thanks to the Toywalker, who I got this image from. His cool blog is found HERE.
Thanks to the Toywalker, who I got this image from. His cool blog is found HERE.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Warriors becoming Fighters: The mixing of two toy-lines.
How are the the toy-lines Galaxy Warriors and Galaxy Fighters connected, and why are they connected?
[If you are not very familiar with the Galaxy Warriors, you might want to start with What are the Galaxy Warriors? before reading this very interesting post.]
Logos:
The design of the logos for the two lines is really similar. It appears to be the same font and style.
Reused Characters:
The connections between Sungold's Galaxy Warriors and Sewco's Galaxy Fighters are numerous and curious. The Warriors were released first, in 1983, and the Fighters came a year later in 1984. Three figures from the Warriors line are copied, with identical sculpts, in the Fighters line: Baltard, Magnon, and Anubi. A fourth Warrior, Sahak, is basically copied but given a slightly different head to become the Fighters' Kobra. The Warriors' Baltard was also copied a second time in the Fighters line, when the topknot on his head was removed and he was given an eye patch, thus becoming Batoon.
Comparing the back of the two Galaxy Fighters blister cards (below) shows us some interesting connections between the Fighters and Warriors lines. The first image is the card back for the earliest release of Galaxy Fighters and it shows the Castle Doom set which was never produced. It also uses the Warriors' names Magnon and Anubi for two characters that were copied from the Warriors line. The second image shows a later release card back were the name Magnon has been changed to Daton, and Anubi has been changed to Walph. Also, Castle Doom has been removed. The first card back shows Baltard, while on the second one he has been replaced by Batoon, who is just a slightly altered Baltard.
Warriors on Fighters Boxes?!
One beast and one vehicle were released in the Fighters line and both came in a box that was the same except for its cover artwork. This "Fighter Box" is interesting because it shows not only Fighters, but also Warriors.
The Fighter box image (below) shows Magnon the Galaxy Warrior riding the beast Pegasaurus. The box image is interesting because Magnon is clearly holding a Galaxy Warrior shield and sword, neither of which were released in the Galaxy Fighters toy-line. We also know that this is Magnon and not his Fighters counterpart, Daton, because his hair is blonde, not black. It should also be noted that both Magnon and Baltard are wearing Galaxy Warrior harnesses instead of either of the two harnesses actually released with in the Fighters line.
The artwork for the Fighters' Pegasaurus box (below) once again clearly shows the Warrior Magnon. He is even wearing his Warriors "sun-harness" and wielding the long sword from the Warriors line. Neither that sword or harness were released as part of the Fighters toy-line. They were exclusively Warriors accessories.
Questions:
Why are Warriors shown on the artwork and in images on the top of the Fighters box, when actual fighters are used on the images on the side of the box? (see images below)
If actual Fighters were available for pictures, then why use Warriors in one of the images? And why use a Warrior in the artwork? Why use the Warriors' Magnon, when you show the Fighters' version of Magnon, the black haired Daton, on the side of the box? Similarly, why show the Fighter release of Baltard on the side of the box, while using a Warriors version of Baltard on the top of the box?
Blister Cards:
The blister cards for the two lines have a similar overall format. Pay attention to the double stripes motif across the top of the cards.
The double stripes are basically the same color on both the Warriors and Fighters blister cards, and the artwork on the Fighters card is just a repaint of the Warriors art in a slightly different pose. It is interesting to note that the Sun Hawk (above) is an early release Fighter and later Fighters came on a card that was much different than the Warriors cards (below).
The Swords and Sorcerers Connection:
Please read this POST for a full analysis, but basically the Swords and Sorcerers blister cards were Fighter cards with a Warriors logo on them. Also, the S&S releases included both Warriors and at least one Fighter.
Final Thoughts:
The use of Warriors on the Fighters box might indicate Sewco's desire to have their Fighters considered an extension of Sungold's Warriors, which already had roughly a years worth of exposure in the consumer marketplace. It might be as simple as Sewco trying to take over Sungold's small corner of the muscled-fighter action figure market. After all, Sungold probably couldn't complain because they stole the body design for their figures from Mattel's He-Man, which spawned the muscled-fighter market that these companies were trying to "cash-in" on.
I also wonder if Sungold and Sewco were connected in some way. Some of the similarities between the Warriors and Fighters seems too great for Sewco to have been simply copying Sungold's figures. The body sculpts and the three head sculpts shared between the two lines are so identical that that we must assume that some molds were shared between the companies, legally or illegally. Of course, these were made in Hong Kong in the 1980s where there were no copyright laws. But Maybe they were partner companies or made some deal where they legitimately shared molds and figure designs in the hope of boosting the sales of each others products.
[If you are not very familiar with the Galaxy Warriors, you might want to start with What are the Galaxy Warriors? before reading this very interesting post.]
Logos:
The design of the logos for the two lines is really similar. It appears to be the same font and style.
Reused Characters:
The connections between Sungold's Galaxy Warriors and Sewco's Galaxy Fighters are numerous and curious. The Warriors were released first, in 1983, and the Fighters came a year later in 1984. Three figures from the Warriors line are copied, with identical sculpts, in the Fighters line: Baltard, Magnon, and Anubi. A fourth Warrior, Sahak, is basically copied but given a slightly different head to become the Fighters' Kobra. The Warriors' Baltard was also copied a second time in the Fighters line, when the topknot on his head was removed and he was given an eye patch, thus becoming Batoon.
Comparing the back of the two Galaxy Fighters blister cards (below) shows us some interesting connections between the Fighters and Warriors lines. The first image is the card back for the earliest release of Galaxy Fighters and it shows the Castle Doom set which was never produced. It also uses the Warriors' names Magnon and Anubi for two characters that were copied from the Warriors line. The second image shows a later release card back were the name Magnon has been changed to Daton, and Anubi has been changed to Walph. Also, Castle Doom has been removed. The first card back shows Baltard, while on the second one he has been replaced by Batoon, who is just a slightly altered Baltard.
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| Early Galaxy Fighters card back before name changes. |
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| Later Galaxy Fighters card back after name changes. |
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| Galaxy Fighter Daton, with black hair. |
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| Galaxy Warrior Magnon, with blonde hair. |
One beast and one vehicle were released in the Fighters line and both came in a box that was the same except for its cover artwork. This "Fighter Box" is interesting because it shows not only Fighters, but also Warriors.
The Fighter box image (below) shows Magnon the Galaxy Warrior riding the beast Pegasaurus. The box image is interesting because Magnon is clearly holding a Galaxy Warrior shield and sword, neither of which were released in the Galaxy Fighters toy-line. We also know that this is Magnon and not his Fighters counterpart, Daton, because his hair is blonde, not black. It should also be noted that both Magnon and Baltard are wearing Galaxy Warrior harnesses instead of either of the two harnesses actually released with in the Fighters line.
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| Galaxy Fighter box showing two Warriors. |
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| Detail of Warriors riding on Fighters accessories. |
The artwork for the Fighters' Pegasaurus box (below) once again clearly shows the Warrior Magnon. He is even wearing his Warriors "sun-harness" and wielding the long sword from the Warriors line. Neither that sword or harness were released as part of the Fighters toy-line. They were exclusively Warriors accessories.
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| Box art showing the Galaxy Warrior Magnon. |
Why are Warriors shown on the artwork and in images on the top of the Fighters box, when actual fighters are used on the images on the side of the box? (see images below)
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| Actual Fighters on the Fighters box including Daton, the Magnon "knock-off". |
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| More Fighters on the Fighters box. |
Blister Cards:
The blister cards for the two lines have a similar overall format. Pay attention to the double stripes motif across the top of the cards.
The double stripes are basically the same color on both the Warriors and Fighters blister cards, and the artwork on the Fighters card is just a repaint of the Warriors art in a slightly different pose. It is interesting to note that the Sun Hawk (above) is an early release Fighter and later Fighters came on a card that was much different than the Warriors cards (below).
The Swords and Sorcerers Connection:
Please read this POST for a full analysis, but basically the Swords and Sorcerers blister cards were Fighter cards with a Warriors logo on them. Also, the S&S releases included both Warriors and at least one Fighter.
Final Thoughts:
The use of Warriors on the Fighters box might indicate Sewco's desire to have their Fighters considered an extension of Sungold's Warriors, which already had roughly a years worth of exposure in the consumer marketplace. It might be as simple as Sewco trying to take over Sungold's small corner of the muscled-fighter action figure market. After all, Sungold probably couldn't complain because they stole the body design for their figures from Mattel's He-Man, which spawned the muscled-fighter market that these companies were trying to "cash-in" on.
I also wonder if Sungold and Sewco were connected in some way. Some of the similarities between the Warriors and Fighters seems too great for Sewco to have been simply copying Sungold's figures. The body sculpts and the three head sculpts shared between the two lines are so identical that that we must assume that some molds were shared between the companies, legally or illegally. Of course, these were made in Hong Kong in the 1980s where there were no copyright laws. But Maybe they were partner companies or made some deal where they legitimately shared molds and figure designs in the hope of boosting the sales of each others products.
Turly Gang
In the early 1990's a company called euro play released a series called Turly Gang, which was a knock-off line combining Ninja Turtles, Galaxy Warriors & Fighters, and a line called Lord of Insects. Check out the Knock-Off Collector's article on these guys and Toywalker's article.
The line only came out in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Below are some images of Galaxy Warriors knocked-off in this line.
The line only came out in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Below are some images of Galaxy Warriors knocked-off in this line.
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| Turly Gang Ygg infront of original Galaxy Warriors Ygg. |
Awesome toy alert!
This doesn't relate to the Galaxy Warriors, but it was so cool I had to share it. Please check out the full review on Weirdo Toys. This thing has interchangeable heads ... and they glow in the dark. Completely Awesome!
Swords & Sorcerers: Are they Galaxy Warriors?
The original Galaxy Warriors line consisted of twelve characters. At least a year later two new Galaxy Warriors appeared (Deevil and Rahh), sold in the UK on blister cards with the title "Swords and Sorcerers" next to a Galaxy Warriors logo (below). Examining the S&S Warriors raises some interesting questions. The most important of which is, should these figures be considered as "official" characters in the Galaxy Warrior toy-line?
The back of the S&S blister card (above) shows the four figures in the line.
ACAMAS TOYS:
Looking at the S&S releases (above) the first interesting thing to notice is that this is not being released by Sungold. On the bottom right corner of the blister cards is a logo for Acamas Toys. As far as I know, these figures were still stamped Sungold on them, but Sungold is not actually releasing them. Perhaps Acamas was a subsidary of Sungold. Or maybe they bought some Galaxy Warriors so they could release them on their own.
Who was Acamas Toys? It appears that Acamas Toys was a company that released products in the UK. They released a figure called Automan in 1984 in the UK. (Information about Automan found Here). They also released a Darth Vader costume in 1983 (below). The Acamas Toys logo can be seen clearly on the box.
Acamas had to licensed to release the Darth Vader costume or it would have been sued. Thus, we can assume that Acamas was officially licensed to release these S&S Galaxy Warriors in the UK.
Another curious thing about the S&S figures is their connections to Sewco's Galaxy Fighters. At least one Galaxy Fighter, Sun Hawk, may have been released under the Swords and Sorcerers title (below).
Sun Hawk is packaged with his normal Galaxy Fighter accessories, and the Galaxy Warriors (below) all come with their appropriate Galaxy Warriors accessories.
Pay close attention to the artwork on the Swords and Sorcerers blister card. Now check out the Galaxy Fighters release of Sun Hawk (below).
Essentially, the S&S blister cards are the Galaxy Fighters card with a Galaxy Warriors logo on it, being released by neither Sungold or Sewco. The Swords and Sorcerers Galaxy Warriors are an interesting "curiosity" and more research is needed to answer the many questions they raise. [I list those questions at the bottom of this post.]
Conclusions:
So, should these figures be considered as "official" characters in the Galaxy Warrior toy-line? For now, I consider Deevil and Rahh to be acceptable additions to the Galaxy Warriors toy-line, but it should be remembered that they were not part of the original 12 figure and 4 beasts toy-line (seen in the below image).
Although they were never released individually on blister cards that had the Sungold stamp, they were shown on a strange version of the beast-box, which did bear the Sungold stamp (2nd image below). This image comes from a beast box where Rahh is packaged with the Horse. (Please see the Horse's page for details.)
Current Unanswered Questions:
1a. Is the Sun Hawk on S&S card legit or did someone make a custom "Mint on Card" Sun Hawk by placing him on a S&S blister card?
1b. If the Sun Hawk release is a legit part of the S&S line, then why does this line include both Galaxy Warriors and Fighters? Even if Sun Hawk is not legit, then why is the blister card a Galaxy Fighters card with a Warriors logo on it?
2. Where were the Sword and Sorcerer figures released? Were they only UK releases? Perhaps Sungold and Sewco made some deal with Acamas Toys to release some figures under a different title in a particular country or region. If they agreed to this, then why place just a Galaxy Warriors logo on the card and no reference to Sewco's toy-line the Galaxy Fighters? Also, why only include one of Sewco's Fighters and Four of Sungold's Warriors?
3. Were Sungold and Sewco connected in some way? Was one a parent company of the other, or were they just Hong Kong "allies" in the cheap action figure business, willing to share molds and art with one another? If they were connected companies then the combination of Warriors and Fighters elements in the S&S releases would make sense.
4. Why did Sungold release two new Galaxy Warriors in the S&S line? Why not just release a second wave of Warriors on the blister cards they already had? And why only release two new figures anyhow? They could have easily just repainted old figures and given them a different name, or made minor changes like removing Baltard's topknot (which the Galaxy Fighters actually did, in order to create a new character).
5. Were Deevil and Rahh produced at the same time as the original 12 figures, but only released later? Maybe Sungold decided 14 figures was too many for the initial release and they needed to cut it down by 2. If this is the case, then maybe Rahh was considered to be too much like Mattel's He-Man, and maybe Deevil was seen as too much like the Galaxy Warrior Thor.
Please note: When, and if, I can answer any of these questions I will post updates.
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| Magnon, released in the S&S toy-line. |
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| Deevil |
The back of the S&S blister card (above) shows the four figures in the line.
ACAMAS TOYS:
Looking at the S&S releases (above) the first interesting thing to notice is that this is not being released by Sungold. On the bottom right corner of the blister cards is a logo for Acamas Toys. As far as I know, these figures were still stamped Sungold on them, but Sungold is not actually releasing them. Perhaps Acamas was a subsidary of Sungold. Or maybe they bought some Galaxy Warriors so they could release them on their own.
Who was Acamas Toys? It appears that Acamas Toys was a company that released products in the UK. They released a figure called Automan in 1984 in the UK. (Information about Automan found Here). They also released a Darth Vader costume in 1983 (below). The Acamas Toys logo can be seen clearly on the box.
Acamas had to licensed to release the Darth Vader costume or it would have been sued. Thus, we can assume that Acamas was officially licensed to release these S&S Galaxy Warriors in the UK.
Another curious thing about the S&S figures is their connections to Sewco's Galaxy Fighters. At least one Galaxy Fighter, Sun Hawk, may have been released under the Swords and Sorcerers title (below).
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| The Galaxy Fighter, Sunhawk. |
Pay close attention to the artwork on the Swords and Sorcerers blister card. Now check out the Galaxy Fighters release of Sun Hawk (below).
Essentially, the S&S blister cards are the Galaxy Fighters card with a Galaxy Warriors logo on it, being released by neither Sungold or Sewco. The Swords and Sorcerers Galaxy Warriors are an interesting "curiosity" and more research is needed to answer the many questions they raise. [I list those questions at the bottom of this post.]
Conclusions:
So, should these figures be considered as "official" characters in the Galaxy Warrior toy-line? For now, I consider Deevil and Rahh to be acceptable additions to the Galaxy Warriors toy-line, but it should be remembered that they were not part of the original 12 figure and 4 beasts toy-line (seen in the below image).
Although they were never released individually on blister cards that had the Sungold stamp, they were shown on a strange version of the beast-box, which did bear the Sungold stamp (2nd image below). This image comes from a beast box where Rahh is packaged with the Horse. (Please see the Horse's page for details.)
Current Unanswered Questions:
1a. Is the Sun Hawk on S&S card legit or did someone make a custom "Mint on Card" Sun Hawk by placing him on a S&S blister card?
1b. If the Sun Hawk release is a legit part of the S&S line, then why does this line include both Galaxy Warriors and Fighters? Even if Sun Hawk is not legit, then why is the blister card a Galaxy Fighters card with a Warriors logo on it?
2. Where were the Sword and Sorcerer figures released? Were they only UK releases? Perhaps Sungold and Sewco made some deal with Acamas Toys to release some figures under a different title in a particular country or region. If they agreed to this, then why place just a Galaxy Warriors logo on the card and no reference to Sewco's toy-line the Galaxy Fighters? Also, why only include one of Sewco's Fighters and Four of Sungold's Warriors?
3. Were Sungold and Sewco connected in some way? Was one a parent company of the other, or were they just Hong Kong "allies" in the cheap action figure business, willing to share molds and art with one another? If they were connected companies then the combination of Warriors and Fighters elements in the S&S releases would make sense.
4. Why did Sungold release two new Galaxy Warriors in the S&S line? Why not just release a second wave of Warriors on the blister cards they already had? And why only release two new figures anyhow? They could have easily just repainted old figures and given them a different name, or made minor changes like removing Baltard's topknot (which the Galaxy Fighters actually did, in order to create a new character).
5. Were Deevil and Rahh produced at the same time as the original 12 figures, but only released later? Maybe Sungold decided 14 figures was too many for the initial release and they needed to cut it down by 2. If this is the case, then maybe Rahh was considered to be too much like Mattel's He-Man, and maybe Deevil was seen as too much like the Galaxy Warrior Thor.
Please note: When, and if, I can answer any of these questions I will post updates.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Recent Updates
I just updated the following posts with some new images and information:
Monster Castle playset?
Freedom Fighters by Sungold?
Monster Castle playset?
Freedom Fighters by Sungold?
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Custom Galaxy Warriors
Custom Galaxy Warriors made using the bodies of figures from the Masters of the Universe Classics toy-line.
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| Spikes and Tiger Man. |
Friday, April 5, 2013
Rahh and Magnon and weapons.
A nice image of Rahh and Magnon from a private collection. The weapons in front of them are a mixed assortment. The two shields to the far right are Galaxy Warrior shields, and the large curved sword is also a Galaxy Warriors weapon. The rest of the accessories comes from Imperial's toy-line Dragons, Knights & Daggers.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Freedom Fighters by Sungold?
Baltard released under the title of Freedom Fighters. Oddly, this appears to be a Sungold release. The Sungold emblem is visible on the bottom left of the blister card. Judging by the shape of the blister card I would guess this was a late 1980's release, or even early 1990's.
The blurry image above is Huk released as a Freedom Fighter by Sungold. Although it is hard to see in this small image, the artwork on the card is a copy of the Frank Frazetta painting that inspired the design of the character Huk. (For more information about the design of Huk see, The Frazetta Connection)
The back of a Freedom Fighters card (below), showing all twelve re-released Galaxy Warriors. Ygg and Anubi have different color schemes here, making them the most intriguing of the re-releases. There are also two new shield stickers replacing the tiger and bird stickers from the original Galaxy Warriors line.
Sungold stamp:
The original releases of the Galaxy Warriors were stamped "Sungold: Made in Hong Kong" on their right leg. The next releases, what I call version two, came with the stamp on their backs (see image below).
I have recently seen a Thor figure with the stamp on the back, but the stamp has been simplified and the "Made in Hong Kong" portion has been removed (below). Could this simplified stamp be a sign that this figure was a re-released Freedom Fighter?
Questions still to be answered:
1. When were these released?
2. Are these figures stamped with just Sungold on their backs?
3. Where were these released?
The blurry image above is Huk released as a Freedom Fighter by Sungold. Although it is hard to see in this small image, the artwork on the card is a copy of the Frank Frazetta painting that inspired the design of the character Huk. (For more information about the design of Huk see, The Frazetta Connection)
The back of a Freedom Fighters card (below), showing all twelve re-released Galaxy Warriors. Ygg and Anubi have different color schemes here, making them the most intriguing of the re-releases. There are also two new shield stickers replacing the tiger and bird stickers from the original Galaxy Warriors line.
Sungold stamp:
The original releases of the Galaxy Warriors were stamped "Sungold: Made in Hong Kong" on their right leg. The next releases, what I call version two, came with the stamp on their backs (see image below).
I have recently seen a Thor figure with the stamp on the back, but the stamp has been simplified and the "Made in Hong Kong" portion has been removed (below). Could this simplified stamp be a sign that this figure was a re-released Freedom Fighter?
Questions still to be answered:
1. When were these released?
2. Are these figures stamped with just Sungold on their backs?
3. Where were these released?
Galaxy Warriors as custom parts.
Someone has creatively used Galaxy Warriors and Fighters mixed with Masters of the Universe accessories to create some cool custom figures.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Deevil and Rahh
There were two Galaxy Warrior figures not released with the initial series on "standard" Galaxy Warrior blister cards. Instead, they were released on cards with the title of Swords and Sorcerers (see image below). These blister cards are pretty cool because they still sport the Galaxy Warriors logo and they provide the name of the character. The two figures on the left, Deevil and Rahh, are the two figures exclusively released on these "S&S" cards. Should these figures actually be considered "legit" Galaxy Warriors? Go HERE to find an answer to that question.
1. Deevil
Deevil is really cool with his yellow eyes and his horned helmet.
2. Rahh
Rahh is less exciting than Deevil and he is the most "He-Man looking" character in the Galaxy Warrior line.
Another toy similar in appearance to Rahh can be found in Sparkle's Defenders of the Planets toy-line that was produced in 1985. The Defenders featured a hero named Orion (below) that bears an uncanny resemblance to Rahh. Of course, both figures resemble He-Man, and it is almost certainly He-Man that was the predominant influence behind both Orion and Rahh. Especially since both figures's accompanying toy-lines were made to cash-in on the popularity of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Deevil is really cool with his yellow eyes and his horned helmet.
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| A really beat-up Deevil figure. |
Rahh is less exciting than Deevil and he is the most "He-Man looking" character in the Galaxy Warrior line.
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| Rahh's back, with Sungold stamp on right leg visible. |
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| Orion. |
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| Orion. |
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| Rahh. |
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| A blurry but nice picture of Rahh. |
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