Thursday, July 19, 2007

Off Limits

[Castle Greyskull: where everybody knows your name]
Written by GL

If you happen to be stuck in a fairly endless and wondrous world called Eternia, I recommend you steer clear of Castle Greyskull. It doesn't appear to be one of the more exhilarating tourist hot-spots of that world; it's dry and dark, there's no furniture, no wi-fi and barely any company to speak of (save the super-hot, eagle-headed Sorceress). Even the King and Queen of Eternia don't seem to want to do any form of surprise inspection of the place. But Castle Greyskull does make one heck of an awesome play-set.

[The Sorceress Of Greyskull: super hot like Stifler's mom]

Part of the original 1980s series of He-Man, Greyskull is a legendary and mythical location situated in a barren wilderness. It serves as the base of operations for the Masters of the Universe and home to The Sorceress. Its origins were unknown except for the fact that it was constructed to protect an unspecified source of power from those who would misuse it.

As a location it has a limited number of internal scenes including a war room and an armory (although the place is most commonly viewed from the outside).

The castle is surrounded by a large moat-like pit, although it is more likely to say that the castle is perched on an isolated cliff. The pit is said to be bottomless (in one episode He-Man states that it actually leads to the center of Eternia).

There are a number of magical doors inside the castle that serve as portals to various locations in Eternia, including Snake Mountain, home of the dastardly Skeletor.

[The Greyskull Computer Room: not too shaddy, needs a woman's touch]

Castle Greyskull might probably be the most radical looking playset in the universe. It could a stage prop at a Slipknot concert, or a find addition to any Bruneian rock garden. Let's not discount the fact that the set had its share of gimmicks; a tower gun, a main throne chair, a training room, an elevator, trap door, draw bridge, weapons room, even a computer prop. A computer prop? That's right, a computer room.

[Original Promo: monkey awesome]

Those of you wanting to learn more, or reminisce more, about the inner workings of this totally awesome playset can head over to X-Entertainment. There you'll find an in-depth look at your favorite, all-time, classic Castle Greyskull and it's features. Don't say I never did nothing for you:

X-Entertainment: Unlock The Secrets Of Castle Greyskull

The original playset was released in 1981 to 1982, along with the first debut wave of the toy line. It was also the only He-Man playset to be released of that line (Snake Mountain and all the others came later)

Although Castle Grayskull was made as a playset for both the 1980s and 2002 Masters of the Universe toy lines, the 1980s version was, by far, the coolest. The price was generally within reach of the parents' budget range - seeing as so many kids had one. The castle was also user-friendly, possessing many settings and functions suitable for the 5" action figures it was built to compliment, as well as being small enough to be put away at the end of a play session, unlike some other toys.

[The Playset: disposable and well-cast]

I loved this playset will all my heart; the design was unique and the mechanics of it were well thought out - the idiot toy manufacturers of today have lost all that flair the industry had in the 80s. That's probably the biggest shame of the action figure industry today. Happy sharing, super friends.