"200X" Masters of the Universe Redesigns
Back in the early 2000's, toy company Mattel enlisted the aid of the master toy design collective known as the Four Horsemen Studios (www.sourcehorsemen.com) to re-imagination their classic Masters of the Universe line.
The relaunch was amazing, and I immediately fell in love with all of their hyper-detail and immense detail.
However, the redesigns of most characters were (smartly) trickled out in small releases, so many of us in the fan art community took to designing our own "4H-inspired" versions of classic MOTU warriors.
These were posted all initially on www.he-man.org, in their wonderful Fan Art Forum, and through these designs I was able to meet an amazing amount of new friends and collaborators! I even had the immense pleasure of showing these designs around in a big binder at San Diego Comic-Con at the Mattel booth - some of the old school Mattel guys were really excited about some of the designs (Snake-Face especially) and it was a huge honor to be able to "talk shop" with these guys. I also had the pleasure of going through the binder with the Four Horsemen's Eric Treadaway and getting feedback on each and every design. It was great!
Unfortunately, the line ended that same year, and the relaunch was shelved. Some characters were released later as "Stactions" by NECA and the Four Horsemen, so we all got to see some of their original visions after the fans had designed their interpretations.
Small as they may be, these designs are still some of my favorite pieces - not for what they are in and of themselves, but because of the amazing legacy of memories, friends, and experiences they enabled me to have.
The following gallery is a compilation of my designs that my wife/co-worker/manager has spruced up with with some new color, contrast, and highlighting filters. Enjoy!
