Castle Grayskull
Masters Of The Universe Fortress of Mystery and Power for the Heroic Warrior
About This Vintage Toy
Castle Grayskull is a medieval-style stronghold on the planet Eternia located in a legendary/mythical location on the edge of the Evergreen Forest. The castle is home to the Sorceress and holds the many mysteries of the spirit and magical source of the power of King Grayskull. The fortress also serves as a refuge for He-Man and their allies. Skeletor and his evil minions frequently target castle Grayskull in his mission to attain the secrets and power from within the mysterious castle.
The Castle Grayskull playset is often considered one of the most iconic toys of the 1980s. The concept originates from a series of sketches created by Mattel staff designer and Artist Mark Taylor in the 1970s. It is rumored that Taylor conceived the early concept sketches sometime around 1975, before his official employment at Mattel. It is also rumored that Taylor was not pleased with the original sculpting from Mattel’s in-house sculptors and, with the assistance of Ted Mayer, took it upon themselves to produce a version more to his original conceived concept.
This iconic playset is packed with fantastic play features, including a trap door, a working elevator, a drawbridge style door, weapons rack with additional weapon accessories, and can close into a carrying case. One of the most innovative features was a walking door mechanism that could only be opened from the outside by using both halves of He-Man and Skeletor’s powers swords. The action figure included a sword that can snap together when combined. The He-Man sword was molded and extended extrusion, and Skeletor’s sword was manufactured with the opposite indentation. This allowed both swords to snap together, forming a more robust and durable sword. Once combined, the sword could be inserted into the keyhole and used to unlock the mechanism to open the castle gate.
In addition, Mark Tayler’s wife, Rebecca Salari Taylor, designed the playset’s decal artwork, including the dungeon sticker, flag, cardboard pieces, and graphic elements used in the Castle Grayskull playset.
Included Parts & Accessories
Playset Variations
The smaller Turret floor section features a molded clip extrusion designed to Secure the laser cannon base section. Earlier versions of the playset did not include the extrusion clips. In addition, during the manufacturing process, the assembly line employed a spray paint operator that manually painted each playset. You can see from the black paint area, especially around the eyes and nose of the castle, that each place appears to be different as a result. Interestingly, this would make every single version ever produced a variant in itself; as of now, two castles are painted the same.
Original Packaging
The Castle Grayskull playset packaging featured a rectangular box with two full-color sizes, and the remaining signs are printed in two colors only, red and black. The now-iconic artwork was illustrated by artist Rudy Obrero whose depiction of Castle Grayskull was instantly captivating drawing in young children when the products were out on retail shelves.
Included Instructions
The 1982 Masters Of The Universe TV Commercial
Collector’s Price Guide
How To Use This Price Guide
MLC = “Mint Loose Condition” This is when the action figure or Vehicle is in excellent condition, and is loose and “complete” with all original accessories, but without the packaging and original included paperwork.
MIB = “Mint in box” This is when the collectible is in excellent condition, and is loose and “complete” with all original accessories and original included paperwork.
MWC = “Mint with Card Back” This is when an action figure os is excellent condition, and is loose and “complete” with all original accessories, however included the original card back fully intact. If the original blister bubble is intact, It can bring additional value depending on the condition of the blister bubble.
MISB = “Mint in Sealed Box” This is when the Collectible is in excellent condition, and is factory sealed and was never opened or used.
MOC = “Mint on card” This Is when the action figure is in excellent condition and is factory sealed and it’s original blister bubble and was never opened or used.
COMPLETE = “Complete” This is when the collectible is 100% complete with all of its accessories. Additional paperwork included with the original package does increase the overall value but does not necessarily consider the item complete
DISCLAIMER: All values are estimated by Retro Toy Quest and subject to change and discrepancy, depending on the advanced nature of any collector. Retro Toy Quest holds no responsibility for any possible inaccuracies displayed within this reference guide, and values may often fluctuate in the current collectors market prior to or after published updates. Variants, Unpunched, Graded, Early Releases, International, and other unique variations may fetch a higher price point on the collectors market.
