I actually did my own design for a Savage She-Ra, only she is called Bre-ad as a continuation of the Wonder Bread naming convention. In my design, I based her off of my own sister and gave her black hair. I also incorporated the reused parts gimmick by giving her a silver cobra mask as reference to toy Teela's headdress. Oh, and I also gave her Wun-dar's color scheme, and a blue cape. I wish there were way I can show it on TH-cam without making an entire video myself. So unless you guys know of a way to show it off to the greater MOTU community, I'm all ears.
That's exactly what I was thinking. Which coincides with that speculation that he was a Mattels running change due to that lawsuit over the Conan similarities. Suggesting they probably had all these left over after manufacturing them but couldn't legally sell them but I guess could give away for free as an incentive. 🤔
@@spectorcreative1872 I take away from is this was Conan (originally) before they decided not to sell toys for a R rated movie, but they had toys already made. Because they didn't own the rights to Conan they couldn't advertise it. So they used it to move products, and give what they had already made free. Can sue someone for giving away something free, even if you know what it really is. Like buying a PS1 for $150, but they give you 50 burned off games for free.
This is one of the examples I give to friends when explaining how easy knowledge is to lose over the span of years. So exciting to find out what the real story is!
@@spectorcreative1872 @Spector Creative Oh it blows my mind. It's like finding actual legitimate proof of Bigfoot. When I read the part of the letter where Ms Hackenberg states "They next suggested painting him in the right color.", that's when my eyes widened and I thought "Holy crap- that _has_ to be the Wonderbread He-Man figure!!". So insane that out of everything in the Mattel archives, a letter from a single customer decades ago would be the lynch pin in solving this case. Well done sir!
This figure was available in two ways. One was the buy3, get one free promo you mentioned. Another way was a summer promotion through Toys R US. It was the same figure, and still came in a bag, but sometimes included a random set of weapons, some more likely than others.
How dare you send my children a toy that will become one of the most sought after items in toy collecting history. I threw right in the trash next to the rocket-firing Boba Fett I received from Kenner.
Barb would never know about the contribution she’d make to solving one of the greatest mysteries to plague mankind - can we rename him Barba-or as a mark of respect?
Who does the He-man dopplerganger action figure called the faker, have a strong reference to? If you've said that the faker; has a strong reference to Superman's dopplerganger Bizarro, you've already just answered correctly! Like we've all said it before; what's the difference, it's all the same.
I discovered your channel like a month ago when one of your vids came up on my Suggestions. I've watched all of your MOTU vids since! He-Man got me into super-powered heroes & led to my collecting comics & toys; of which I've amassed an enviable collection! It all started with He-Man. I've been watching vids on TH-cam since it started & this is THE FIRST EVER video that I turned a Premiere Notification on for! Keep doing the AWESOME job that you are doing, Scott!
that woman/mother/aunt was very aware of what her kids had in their bedroom ! it s so rare. i think that 99% of our mothers never got into it ! Anyway, it s a very good clue !
1) I think most moms have SOME idea what their kids play with, if not all the details. They ARE the ones buying these things after all and usually picking them up all over the house. Not to mention my mom was a stickler for never buying me the same toy twice... so there were never any mistakes at christmas or birthdays... She had SOME clue. 2) This mom/aunt obviously was listening to these kids whining about how the figure was crap enough to write the letter and complain. She may not have known at the time it arrived, but i get the distinct impression that the kids made her PAINFULLY aware of just WHY it was such a disappointing figure. And really, putting myself in their shoes... free toys are nice, but a naked weaponless figure that's the wrong color and has no name/bio/minicomic?? He-man but no power sword or vest?! Yeah, I'd have been pretty disgusted too. NOW I wish I had one... but if that showed up in the mail back then... I'd have been pretty ticked off ;)
I think my Mom knew who I had back in the day. She knew enough to buy me Prince Adam when she saw him on the pegs and I had NO idea he even existed. But I agree, most parents in the 80s probably had no clue.
This was a time when adult collectors didn't really exist, I mean I am sure there were a few but not like today so as a kid if you expected to get he-man you wanted he-man, not his weird shirtless relative.
@@guitarguru.3572 I know 7yo me would have been PISSED at getting a nekked, swordless He-Man with the wrong hair. Particularly since He-Man was the only figure anyone ever wanted to get me. I had two of almost every He-Man. Not 2 of each figure made, 2 of each run of He-Man himself. I think they were doing it deliberately...
My guess is that no weapons were not included in the initial mailout (as the letter was asking where the weapons were) - and the 'special' He-Man in the plastic wrap could be from a later mail out where weapons were added (as a result of the complaint letter). Maybe even the armour from the Grayskull weapons pack was included in later mail outs to help quell any reasons for additional complaints...?
Makes sence they stopped sending him out which means theres prolly an even lower number of his toy then we think. Well I can see the cost rising on him yet again thanks scott 😂
(I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying this, but here goes..) I'm thinking that the figure didn't come with weapons because he WAS 'special' and wasn't supposed to be handling any weapons...😎 (I know. I'll go stand in the corner now.)
They came with 2 random reddish brown weapons. I had tomahawk style axe and shield, another kid I knew got the axe a short sword instead of the shield. I was so disappointed I sold mine a couple months later at a yard sale 😩
No, no, I can offer you an answer. The promotion did not work buying any three figures, you had to buy three but one of them had to be Man-E-Faces (mandatory). This was due to an overstock of Man-E-Faces to which Grayskull Castle weapons were added in another color to make it more attractive (it was a poorly sold figure). The only weapon that the Savage He-Man carried was the brown shield, but since that shield fitted perfectly with the three brown weapons that the Man-E-Faces of the promotion brought "as a gift", the natural thing was that the children let's add those brown weapons (originally in the Man-E-Faces blister) to the Savage He-Man. From a rigorous point of view, the Savage He-Man came with only the brown shield in a transparent bag. All the best.
The early 80s were kind of a tough time, as my dad had to work in MD and VA for meager wages, because there was no work at all in WV at that point. My mom also could only find minimum wage employment. They were both 18 when I was born. Somehow, they managed to make sure we had every single MOTU toy that came off the line. That’s a collection I still have to this day. I can put one of the figures in my hand and close my eyes and almost be taken back to the exact moment when it was given to me, as most of them were surprises. I don’t believe I ever had this figure, but it sure seems familiar.
I live in Iowa and my dad had to go to Colorado for work in the early 80s and he always brought me back a new MOTU toy. I still have them but they are very played with. Crazy how similiar our experiences were growing up
So now that you've concluded he had nothing to do with Wonderbread but was still a mail away figure, I believe we should now call him Mail-Or, the insufficient He-Man.
I like Wun-darr. It harkens back to Thun-darr the barbarian, who looks suspiciously like a proto-He-Man visually. I actually like Thun-darr more than He-man. Go ahead, fans poor on the hate.
This is the video I've been waiting years for. Good work solving a mystery I've lost hours reading, and wondering (or should that be Wun-dar-ing) about. Good work. :)
11:32 clearly states that Mattel did send a special edition figure, but you say at 11:48 that Mattel expects said they should have specified that it was not a special edition figure. Based on the internal documents, and the mother’s letter itself, I think you either misspoke or were wrong in your initial reading. The mother wrote in to Mattel upset because she received a special figure. At 12:59 the mom suggests “painting him the right color” not pairing him the right color as you stated. Mattel rectified this by sending her some comps. I think this is all pretty clear, as you eventually state at the end. Nice finds!
Yeah I think what I was trying to say (and by her words) as she interpreted the figure as a "special edition" of He-Mna (i.e. different colors) but without the vest or weapons
@@spectorcreative1872, but why? Perhaps the boys are still fans of the toyline and would enjoy sharing their memories if they had any. It's not like this is a hit piece on the family, it's just a fun and interesting story about an action figure.
bro i know you regret revealing her name but what’s done is done. somebody’s gonna track her down, so maybe it’s best if you pin an announcement at the top of the comments that you are in the process of politely contacting her for an interview, possibly even as a mattel follow-up to her letter? that way you can contain the awkwardness if she otherwise gets a bunch of unsolicited contact
I guess we know who wears the fur loin cloth in Barb's house. "Use the weapons from the castle." - "Why don'tcha buy us more, -------?" - "Alright, I will get you a free guy from the company."
I've been thinking about how it was questioned why a copy of the coupon was included with this figure, but in the time before the internet, if they wanted to perpetuate the promotion, including the coupon with the figure was probably the best way to do so. You were sending it out to someone with a proven track record and interest in redeeming it, and probably didn't have a copy because they'd sent it in to you.
I just discovered this channel and have been binge watching with my 7 year old son. I just saw the earlier Wundar video yesterday. Keep up the great work!
This really got me on the edge of my seat. You're going to wait till Wednesday to tell us. I can't wait to hear this and compare it, I've been sitting on two of my authentic Wonder breads and I made a couple custom ones. Can't wait!!!
@@Tayfrog I'd say the prior consensus was this was Mattel's Conan paint job before they switched to something appropriate for kids - if so it would be to get rid of surplus figures.
Mattel denies that this figure was ever made. There is absolutely no real proof out there. It certainly wasn't a Wonderbread promotion because they have denied it too. People swear up and down that they got theirs through Wonderbread and we now know that's a lie. Now, suddenly, it was some other promotion. I call bullshit on the whole thing. Someone out there made a custom, and then many others followed suit and made more customs. It's funny how many just popped up after the first one was found. Its also convenient that it came with weapons from a weapons pack that was sold to the public, ams some came.with the weapons and some didn't, lol. You never seen these things anywhere until then. I don't believe any of them are legit. It's the greatest toy hoax of all time. A letter from a mom, supposedly, doesn't cut is as being hard evidence of it. People can fake letters, and it seems to happen with so many toy prototypes that some magical letters pop up suddenly from a mom or someone claiming to work for a company that this or that exists.
Excuse me, sir. this is the internet. That is just too logical to be correct. Where is the conspiracy, the twist? The secret Illuminati plot? But seriously, that is a cool find, and definitely seems to solve the unsolvable mystery!
Just bought origins He-Man and Skeletor from Wal-Mart. Got home and pulled up youtube to play a video while opening them up. This was the first suggested video, this was very interesting to watch. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
I'm quite surprised that the He-man dopplerganger action figure called: the faker whom was colored teal blue, never carried around an orange 🍊 2-edged axe and shield.
This is really cool! So glad you found this and we're so much closer to figuring out the truth. I still feel like there may be some things left to sort out in the mystery, but this is really damn close to the end. Thank you for finding the letter!
Love this! One of the greatest toy mysteries apparently solved. It never made sense to me that it was a Wonder Bread promotion. The math just didn't add up.
Makes sense! My moms frequented outlets with used toys etc. No "wonder" we had this, cause kids who got them didn't want them lol. Oh well, he was our Faker :-)
I miss those toys outlets. Remember getting Inhumanoids Tendril and Transformers Jetfire from a Sears Outlet in Quakertown, PA for just $20 each. Same place weird stuff like cardboard Bespins and Cantinas would show up.
@@spectorcreative1872 figure idea.... Stackor, the heroic detective of Eternia....solving murders, robberies and paranormal encounters. Perhaps he was the one who busted Scareglow......and he'd come with sword with a magnifying lens in the hilt, along with cluebook.
The mystery of Wonder *BREAD* He-Man solved? I *KNEAD* to know! Stop *LOAF* ing around and tell us! I'll take any *CRUMBS* of info I can get! This channel and its videos are really on a *ROLL* !
I always thought that this particular variant looked *so* much like a PUMPING IRON era Arnold Schwarzenegger, (CONAN himself!), that maybe someone at Mattel said " *No way! We've got to ditch all of these figures ASAP before we get slapped with a lawsuit!* " Maybe that's why they gave the retail release HE-MAN blonde hair instead! 😆😆😆
Mind = Blown! You cracked it, Scott! You really cracked it! I sincerely hope this is one of your proudest moments as a toy collector. I'm glad you found this before those letters were inevitably destroyed somehow! Hard copy records. So vulnerable.
This 100% confirms my memory on this figure. I never had it, but my close friend growing up got it as a mail away figure....I just didnt know which one. BOOM!! to all the dang naysayers that trolled us!! Keyboard warriors are blessed that we cant reach through the screen and throttle them sometimes. Glad to see some evidence to validate our belief.
@@spectorcreative1872 0f course! Hey I was wundaring if you can make a Zodac video? Need to know why the "spiky" forearms and boots weren't use with the Classics Line and whatever info you might have about the figure. Thanks in advance! JP.
@@spectorcreative1872 I was thinking the same thing while watching. Wouldn’t it be wild if she found out her letter was being talked about almost 40 years later? Or her son found out? Maybe he’s still a collector.
Great video!!!! I always love your videos and this one really hit home. A year or 2 ago I was on the hunt for a Savage He-Man/ Windar. I went down the rabbit hole of the supposed history behind him and then how to identify a true vintage version vs a customized figure. Happy to say that my own investigation resulted in an authentic figure!!! Thanks again Scott and keep the videos coming, your fellow toy geeks love them!
Spector Creative makes me want to hunt down another one! I did that with Scare Glow,, one green staff and one glow staff. Then I went down the variant rabbit hole for other MOTU figures.....collecting is a sickness, but a good one!
@@fatihuludagIve collected vintage he-man for decades now and found a couple wonderbread's in the wild in late 90's but never in bag. I remember seeing that baggy photo way back in the early days of he-man.org and thinking it was the most legit sealed one I've ever seen. An i always kept a look out for one in a baggy like that. I'm curious how you came to acquire it? Was it something you found at a yardsale or something. Or was it one you had from childhood and never opened.
@@The82bstewart It is long ago in the 90's I've got this from a toy seller. My Wonderbread was in a baggy with the promo-flyer and the sword only, that looks like incl. Man-E-faces with Extra Weaponary issue. I still kept the baggy. My figure also looks never untouched no any paint wears - really new! I believe it was available in 1983, why same brown weapons put to Wonderbread He-Man and used also for Man-E-Faces. The promo-flyer is definitive printed for the 1983er Mattel collection.
Thank you so much for shedding great evidence on this mystery. My question is how come Mattel did not recognize the figure as one from their own promotion? I have read several articles that state that Mattel "had no record of this figure nor had any verification that they produced it." Thanks again.
I was kid from the middle of nowhere. And I had this figure. And pretty much the entire line. My mom gave all my MOTU figures away when I was ten or so. So, kid memory... I was sure I did, but then second-guessed myself.
Sorry, can we just not even discuss politics here? This is about He-Man, and after four years of literally EVERYTHING being about politics, I'm sure many of us who've silently suffered have had quite enough of it. Thanks.
@unclassified Political orientation is like sexual orientation and religious orientation: The majority of us don't care, and it should be kept private or should only be brought up when relevant. And it's not relevant here, and frankly I hope it never is.
Not only does this solve MOTUs most long standing figure mystery, but it also explains the earlier dismissal as this figure being from that promotion. After that lady wrote in it seems like Mattel’s response was to stop sending this figure as redemption and start sending another in its place, and being this early on it also explains why most people seem to remember receiving Beast Man
@@spectorcreative1872 😄 Lol no, it’s a random ‘80s-style song that thousands of people online are trying to identify. Here’s the song plus backstory & “the search thus far” coverage: th-cam.com/play/PLg5_FYJzTkK_cDtcEG665jpS5ucB2hubL.html
I have one of these and the stamp on the lower back is dated 1981 like all the first round of figures. I can't help but wonder if these weren't made early on, but due to the whole legal battle with the Conan movie, they changed the hair color of He-Man to blonde to differentiate the character. The result was these brown-haired figures already made, which they decided to distribute via the promotion.
@Bunyon Snipe Fortunately, there is a very explicit list on how to make sure it is real. There are no less than five telltale clues and a whole bunch of miniscule details to confirm it. Some are near impossible to fake.
I had that toy! It was one of the contests we actually won as kids. It was just as the lady figured. It didn't have all the armor. I was like 12. My nephew and I had them, and he took the 'Conan He Man' as we named it, but did not call it Wonder Man. After over 38 years, I have no idea what became out it. It was not just in Wonder Bread, but also an ad in Sears and Toys r Us mail in offers. The skinnier carded one was another, but you covered that. Now I have some 2020 classics, 38 years later, He Man and Skeletor and their battle cats. So I get to have my Conan He Man too. Ha. Nah, I will have to buy the reissue.
I really hate I was never able to get my hands on a Wun-Dar from the Classics line. Trying to buy the ones I missed out on now is pure insanity. Have you seen the prices these things fetch on the secondary market lately? I hope you feel the love for what you've been involved in creating. There's still a great interest in Classics. You've really done a great service to the MOTU world!
Thanks so much for this video and your evidence which confirms what many of us knew all along. Im so glad to have my “special edition” on the shelf. And he isnt holding a weapon but I have the sword at his feet.
I know they put some of the Man-E-Weapons with savage he-man, but I received a small collector case the other day. It had been left alone mostly since the mid 80's. When I pulled out the top tray to see what was underneath a Man-E-Face and small box fell out with a few other items. Inside the box was all of the Man-E-Weapons and his laser pistol, but there is a mysterious 6th red item that nobody knows what it is. Same material and color as the Man-E-Weapons, but is shape like a plain round spear.. Girth is the size of a sword handle and length is 3 inches, really looks like a stylus we would use today. If you know anyone who can help please let me know, thank you.
The reason Wundar never caught on in the 80's series line up is NOT so much that he lacked armor and weapons and/or that he was a mail away figure, even though sending in box tops/proofs of purchase was an inconvenience. Mattels big mistake was: 1) You had to buy 3 specific figures: Man-E-Faces, Tri Klops and Trap Jaw (why only these 3 figures is unknown) and 2) When you sent in your box tops/proofs of purchase, there was NO guarantee that you would receive Wundar, one might've gotten a Barbie or Strawberry Shortcake instead. Mattel felt they weren't obligated to make guarantees to the MOTU Fan Base.
Essentially Wonderbread was blamed for something they didn’t even do and instead it was in fact Mattel that created it and were possibly so embarrassed by this letter that they hid it. But at least you should have credit for it! (Rightly deserved at that, you’re amazing). Glad to say the most conclusive information on the long standing Masters Of The Universe mystery has arrived, I don’t think Barbara wants to be known for He-Man anymore than she was through that letter to Mattel in 1983 though!
Great investigative reporting! The interesting thing is this woman was upset. Little did she know how valuable the figure would become. Also they considered trying to “paint” him the correct color. You misread her handwriting at that point. So how many people were disappointed and threw him out or repainted him? So happy I found this. So silly but I have thought about this from time to time for about 8 years.
@@oh-totoro As with anything it will depend on several factors but even poor condition might fetch $300. Nice condition I’ve heard of $1,500 or so. That was at least 10 years back. He is much more well known today because of videos like this. Who knows how that affects things. Will guys find them and put them for sale now that they know what they are. Or will there be many more collectors looking. There are some very rare MOTU stuff where the prices will be more consistent-and would top $1500. This one is just so different it is hard to say.
My Aunt was a cupon clipper long before there were reality shows about it. Being a family with 5 kids she did mail aways for everything. I remember my cousin getting this with a bunch of weapons. We always called him Conan. I'm pretty sure she also got a Barbie with this same offer.
Here is my take on this figure is that THIS WAS NOT THE BEGINNING OF THIS FIGURE BUT THE END. People always talk about how he had dark hair so it was feared that legal action would be coming at them from Conan so presto change-o blonde hair and we're all good. I've also heard stories of them being a give away at toy conventions to introduce the line.... which sounds interesting...... if there was any truth to it would be the beginning of the figure..... could have been a rush job.....which....if true could explain why he may have come with various weapons or armor or nothing.....and had that as the start of his life cycle and the give away as the end of his life cycle....giving ample time for him to have been paired with different accessories...... all a bunch of guess work of course......but I've seen him paired with the black armor wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to many times over the decades to believe that that just happened to be the choice of a ton of people to add to him from the weapons pack. Then one would assume to see him paired with various coloured weapons from that pack as well.... not just the black gun from the pack. The Wonderbread story as I heard it was that people were mailing away expecting to get cards and were sent an apology once the cards ran out along with the figure to make up for the cards.... and who on earth would complain about that? a figure instead of cards???? Done Deal!!!! even if he does look faker then faker......but such an awful price to pay for not supplying cards right? No company in their right mind take a hit like that...... right? end the promotion asap and just give away a few figures at the tail end to have it over and done with.... that would make sense................... The first He-man figure was out in 1981..... Faker Heman came in 1982..... would they really produce a lesser looking figure after that in order to try and continue to grow the brand? The buy three get one free was an attempt to DUMP THE FIGURE without showing him anywhere. If He-man had shown up on the shelves in 1981 with Black hair........every kid on earth who watched cartoons would have confused it with Blackstar!!!!! because He-man and the Masters of the Universe didn't air until 1983! Blackstar wanted some confusion to tap into the success of He-man because only once He-man aired did Blackstar start to produce a toy line (your show is canned but it looks like this popular show since its done by the same animation studio...lets cash in while we can)......... but the confusion method would have been a bad way for Masters of the Universe to try to start something and grow it.... Considering this, the idea that these figures were produced with black hair but then pulled before they were packaged and went out is pretty easy to believe.... then use them for various give aways as not to take a total loss on an initial run.... hand a few out at a convention to show what the toys are going to look like, dump some in a buy three get one free then drop the last batch off at wonderbread before you have to bury them in the deserts of New Mexico and hope that Atari throws their product on top. Many possibilities....much more believable when combined (like 2 halves of a sword! HA!). Not for one second do I believe that they came up with a buy three get one free promotion idea and decided this would be a great new figure with which to do that. Barb Hackenberg isn't buying that idea and neither am I!!!!!
Adding to my strong opinions about people not simply adding armor to the figure from the weapons pack..... the buy three get one free offer........the purchases had to have been made between January 2, 1982 and June 30, 1983, and submitted proofs of purchase postmarked by July 15 1983..........The Weapons Pack that featured the black armour came out in 1984....one or two years is a lifetime to kids who were the age that played with He-man figures.
The letter questions where "his force field armor + weapons" are, implying the figure came with no armor and no weapons at all. It doesn't say the figure came with the wrong weapons or fake weapons or anything like that, only questioning why the figure didn't come with his armor or weapons. With so many people, even in the comments section here, claiming he came with the black armor, or came with different maroon weapons, not just the sword and axe, it would seem that what Mattel threw in the bag with the figure was more or less random. I also like the idea that was thrown in in the comments, about how Mattel possibly initially mailed the figure out with no accessories whatsoever, and only after the complaint letter started to include the random accessories in the bag.
I want to point out that the first word of the second page of Barbara’s letter is “painting” not pairing. The kids were suggesting it be painted the right color. Which is even more solid evidence.
Revisiting this video it only makes sense to send a special edition figure. In the letter it states that they made sure not to buy doubles so any figure they receive is okay(the son and nephew have a shared collection). But how in Hades did Mattel know what figures you already have and are missing? A special edition figure would ensure you get a figure you dont already have. Makes sense to me. I really believe had this figure been properly carded and packaged it wouldnt have been an issue.
I definitely had the Castle Grayskull trading card. I also remember a childhood friend of mine having the figure and another guy in College had it. Neither one of them had the black Zodac armor with the figure. This makes a lot of sense.
Amazing. Only someone with your specific work history could have solved this mystery. Well done. The letter from the consumer was stamped received on August 16, 1983, and responded to from the Marketing VP on September 14, 1983, both dates prior to the premiere of the Filmation syndicated series. So these documents are from the Mineternian days. Wow...
Great work, however... As a purist, I think the nail in the coffin should be tracking this lady down, and presenting her with a few images (all but one, faked) and have her identify the figure. If nothing else, what a neat story to hit her with as being part of the now history of the line.
So, now we need a Barb-Ra (Savage She-Ra, Wun-Dar's twin sister), who hails from the mountainous region of Hackenberg! :)
Nice! Make it happen Mattel
Ha mattel would still probably deny this figure
Sounds like a simple custom. Could be possible with the upcoming Origins She-Ra.
I actually did my own design for a Savage She-Ra, only she is called Bre-ad as a continuation of the Wonder Bread naming convention.
In my design, I based her off of my own sister and gave her black hair. I also incorporated the reused parts gimmick by giving her a silver cobra mask as reference to toy Teela's headdress. Oh, and I also gave her Wun-dar's color scheme, and a blue cape.
I wish there were way I can show it on TH-cam without making an entire video myself. So unless you guys know of a way to show it off to the greater MOTU community, I'm all ears.
@@cooltrainervaultboy-39 you can post literally a shoot or shoots in a video format
So boiled down, it was basically "Buy 3 MOTU Figures, Get a Free Conan!"
Well, not really Conan. Wait till you see the video I have on that in a few days!
That's exactly what I was thinking. Which coincides with that speculation that he was a Mattels running change due to that lawsuit over the Conan similarities. Suggesting they probably had all these left over after manufacturing them but couldn't legally sell them but I guess could give away for free as an incentive. 🤔
@@spectorcreative1872 I take away from is this was Conan (originally) before they decided not to sell toys for a R rated movie, but they had toys already made. Because they didn't own the rights to Conan they couldn't advertise it. So they used it to move products, and give what they had already made free.
Can sue someone for giving away something free, even if you know what it really is.
Like buying a PS1 for $150, but they give you 50 burned off games for free.
So..how many were shipped?
Thank you Barb Hackenberg, where ever you are.
To Barbara!
This is one of the examples I give to friends when explaining how easy knowledge is to lose over the span of years. So exciting to find out what the real story is!
And now that you know?
@@spectorcreative1872 @Spector Creative Oh it blows my mind. It's like finding actual legitimate proof of Bigfoot. When I read the part of the letter where Ms Hackenberg states "They next suggested painting him in the right color.", that's when my eyes widened and I thought "Holy crap- that _has_ to be the Wonderbread He-Man figure!!". So insane that out of everything in the Mattel archives, a letter from a single customer decades ago would be the lynch pin in solving this case. Well done sir!
And knowing is half the battle
This figure was available in two ways. One was the buy3, get one free promo you mentioned. Another way was a summer promotion through Toys R US. It was the same figure, and still came in a bag, but sometimes included a random set of weapons, some more likely than others.
@@matts1166 And how do you know this? Do you have another letter from another mother?
How dare you send my children a toy that will become one of the most sought after items in toy collecting history. I threw right in the trash next to the rocket-firing Boba Fett I received from Kenner.
Interesting how fate is not without a sense of irony.
A kid could put his eye out!
To be fair, it was the kids that refused to play with it. She mentions it in the letter, they didn't want anything to do with it.
I was so disappointed in mine (he came with a tomahawk style axe and a round shield). I sold him right away at a yard sale when I was 11 😞
And FOR FREE!! no less! #shameful
Barb would never know about the contribution she’d make to solving one of the greatest mysteries to plague mankind - can we rename him Barba-or as a mark of respect?
That would be most appropriate!
Someone needs to track her down
Track her down time this could take years
I guess that's better than Get-Wun.
Maybe simply calling him "The BARBarian" would suffice. :) ...Also gives a nod to his possible tie-in with Conan. ...Who was also a Barbarian.
This is the first time a Karen ever did anything positive for humanity.
I’ll take it!
Who does the He-man dopplerganger action figure called the faker, have a strong reference to? If you've said that the faker; has a strong reference to Superman's dopplerganger Bizarro, you've already just answered correctly! Like we've all said it before; what's the difference, it's all the same.
haha, you win!
Who is this Ka Ren ?
I wouldn't call her a Karen. She was very in touch with her kids desires and was very informed informed with the characters in the line.
To think, the answer lied within a badly photocopied letter from an unhappy mother
Stranger things have happened.
So we can thank a Karen for this knowledge?
Unhappy kids. The mom was writing on their behalf
Remember the Monty Python skit : "we were lucky if we got a beating at home !"
Wow! So for all these years, there actually was a lost vintage Masters of the Universe figure!! Wundar is legit!!!!
Totally legit. I thought it was a bootleg too. I was wrong.
Not sure why anyone would possibly think it wasn’t legitimate...
@@namelessjedi2242 Many of us never heard of it as kids and the evidence is easy to fake.
I discovered your channel like a month ago when one of your vids came up on my Suggestions. I've watched all of your MOTU vids since! He-Man got me into super-powered heroes & led to my collecting comics & toys; of which I've amassed an enviable collection! It all started with He-Man. I've been watching vids on TH-cam since it started & this is THE FIRST EVER video that I turned a Premiere Notification on for! Keep doing the AWESOME job that you are doing, Scott!
Thanks! I am so grateful to get feedback like this. Hope you continue to enjoy!
that woman/mother/aunt was very aware of what her kids had in their bedroom ! it s so rare. i think that 99% of our mothers never got into it ! Anyway, it s a very good clue !
And I wonder if they stopped shipping him after this letter...
1) I think most moms have SOME idea what their kids play with, if not all the details. They ARE the ones buying these things after all and usually picking them up all over the house. Not to mention my mom was a stickler for never buying me the same toy twice... so there were never any mistakes at christmas or birthdays... She had SOME clue.
2) This mom/aunt obviously was listening to these kids whining about how the figure was crap enough to write the letter and complain. She may not have known at the time it arrived, but i get the distinct impression that the kids made her PAINFULLY aware of just WHY it was such a disappointing figure.
And really, putting myself in their shoes... free toys are nice, but a naked weaponless figure that's the wrong color and has no name/bio/minicomic?? He-man but no power sword or vest?! Yeah, I'd have been pretty disgusted too. NOW I wish I had one... but if that showed up in the mail back then... I'd have been pretty ticked off ;)
@@scottm2828 you would be surprised at the lengths people would go to acquire something free especially if they had to buy something to get it.
I think my Mom knew who I had back in the day. She knew enough to buy me Prince Adam when she saw him on the pegs and I had NO idea he even existed. But I agree, most parents in the 80s probably had no clue.
I can't believe this lady is complaining about receiving a special edition figure.
When we sent a free Slimer figure to Ghostbuster fans we had a lot of hate mail.
@@spectorcreative1872 o.O
This was a time when adult collectors didn't really exist, I mean I am sure there were a few but not like today so as a kid if you expected to get he-man you wanted he-man, not his weird shirtless relative.
Her kids probably drove her up the wall about it.
@@guitarguru.3572 I know 7yo me would have been PISSED at getting a nekked, swordless He-Man with the wrong hair. Particularly since He-Man was the only figure anyone ever wanted to get me.
I had two of almost every He-Man. Not 2 of each figure made, 2 of each run of He-Man himself. I think they were doing it deliberately...
I'm calling it now, he is not, in fact, made out of bread.
Damn. You got it.
@@spectorcreative1872 I -knew- it!
😂😂 facts
Welp, the original Mailibu Stacy was made out of dried onion meal, so you're probably right!
he is totally made out of bread i ate mine 30 years ago with butter and jelly
My guess is that no weapons were not included in the initial mailout (as the letter was asking where the weapons were) - and the 'special' He-Man in the plastic wrap could be from a later mail out where weapons were added (as a result of the complaint letter). Maybe even the armour from the Grayskull weapons pack was included in later mail outs to help quell any reasons for additional complaints...?
I also think after this letter they stopped sending this figure out.
Makes sence they stopped sending him out which means theres prolly an even lower number of his toy then we think. Well I can see the cost rising on him yet again thanks scott 😂
(I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying this, but here goes..)
I'm thinking that the figure didn't come with weapons because he WAS 'special' and wasn't supposed to be handling any weapons...😎
(I know. I'll go stand in the corner now.)
They came with 2 random reddish brown weapons. I had tomahawk style axe and shield, another kid I knew got the axe a short sword instead of the shield. I was so disappointed I sold mine a couple months later at a yard sale 😩
No, no, I can offer you an answer. The promotion did not work buying any three figures, you had to buy three but one of them had to be Man-E-Faces (mandatory). This was due to an overstock of Man-E-Faces to which Grayskull Castle weapons were added in another color to make it more attractive (it was a poorly sold figure). The only weapon that the Savage He-Man carried was the brown shield, but since that shield fitted perfectly with the three brown weapons that the Man-E-Faces of the promotion brought "as a gift", the natural thing was that the children let's add those brown weapons (originally in the Man-E-Faces blister) to the Savage He-Man. From a rigorous point of view, the Savage He-Man came with only the brown shield in a transparent bag. All the best.
The early 80s were kind of a tough time, as my dad had to work in MD and VA for meager wages, because there was no work at all in WV at that point. My mom also could only find minimum wage employment. They were both 18 when I was born. Somehow, they managed to make sure we had every single MOTU toy that came off the line. That’s a collection I still have to this day. I can put one of the figures in my hand and close my eyes and almost be taken back to the exact moment when it was given to me, as most of them were surprises. I don’t believe I ever had this figure, but it sure seems familiar.
Toys given are done so with so much love!
I live in Iowa and my dad had to go to Colorado for work in the early 80s and he always brought me back a new MOTU toy. I still have them but they are very played with. Crazy how similiar our experiences were growing up
Judging by the prices in those ads, nowadays it's "Buy 1 for the price of 3 in 1983"...No wonder I had a bunch of those figures when I was a kid! 😄
Ha!
So now that you've concluded he had nothing to do with Wonderbread but was still a mail away figure, I believe we should now call him Mail-Or, the insufficient He-Man.
There seem to be a lot of new name suggestions today!
@@spectorcreative1872 And we have you to thank for that!
@unclassified Male-Man
I like Wun-darr. It harkens back to Thun-darr the barbarian, who looks suspiciously like a proto-He-Man visually. I actually like Thun-darr more than He-man. Go ahead, fans poor on the hate.
I call him Musclor, it's the international name for HeMan
This is the video I've been waiting years for. Good work solving a mystery I've lost hours reading, and wondering (or should that be Wun-dar-ing) about.
Good work. :)
Thank you! The solve was by accident but I think we can say solved!
Very interesting vidéo. You finally solved the WB he-man mystery. Thank you Scott !
Glad you enjoyed and thanks for watching and commenting!
11:32 clearly states that Mattel did send a special edition figure, but you say at 11:48 that Mattel expects said they should have specified that it was not a special edition figure.
Based on the internal documents, and the mother’s letter itself, I think you either misspoke or were wrong in your initial reading.
The mother wrote in to Mattel upset because she received a special figure. At 12:59 the mom suggests “painting him the right color” not pairing him the right color as you stated. Mattel rectified this by sending her some comps.
I think this is all pretty clear, as you eventually state at the end. Nice finds!
Yeah I think what I was trying to say (and by her words) as she interpreted the figure as a "special edition" of He-Mna (i.e. different colors) but without the vest or weapons
@@spectorcreative1872 I’m glad you definitively put the mystery to rest.
This lady or her kids need to be tracked down for an interview!
Oh let’s let them be please!
@@spectorcreative1872, but why? Perhaps the boys are still fans of the toyline and would enjoy sharing their memories if they had any. It's not like this is a hit piece on the family, it's just a fun and interesting story about an action figure.
bro i know you regret revealing her name but what’s done is done. somebody’s gonna track her down, so maybe it’s best if you pin an announcement at the top of the comments that you are in the process of politely contacting her for an interview, possibly even as a mattel follow-up to her letter? that way you can contain the awkwardness if she otherwise gets a bunch of unsolicited contact
@@barnacleburrito3728 i believe that was a Michigan address
I guess we know who wears the fur loin cloth in Barb's house.
"Use the weapons from the castle." - "Why don'tcha buy us more, -------?" - "Alright, I will get you a free guy from the company."
Well this was almost 40’years ago now..
I've been thinking about how it was questioned why a copy of the coupon was included with this figure, but in the time before the internet, if they wanted to perpetuate the promotion, including the coupon with the figure was probably the best way to do so. You were sending it out to someone with a proven track record and interest in redeeming it, and probably didn't have a copy because they'd sent it in to you.
Yes! I think you are completely right. New updates for this subject coming on Saturday.
I just discovered this channel and have been binge watching with my 7 year old son. I just saw the earlier Wundar video yesterday.
Keep up the great work!
Welcome to the channel! Grateful you took the time to comment.
This really got me on the edge of my seat. You're going to wait till Wednesday to tell us. I can't wait to hear this and compare it, I've been sitting on two of my authentic Wonder breads and I made a couple custom ones. Can't wait!!!
You will enjoy!
@unclassified lol
Wow! It was a Mattel promotion!!! Also, one of the pictures used of Wun-Dar is mine! I'm so stoked!
Thanks for posting it! Glad it was online to use. ;-)
@@spectorcreative1872 question, was the wundar he-man created for the promotion, or was the promotion created to get rid of him?
@@Tayfrog I'd say the prior consensus was this was Mattel's Conan paint job before they switched to something appropriate for kids - if so it would be to get rid of surplus figures.
@@lucasbachmann I think you have some truth there!
Mattel denies that this figure was ever made. There is absolutely no real proof out there. It certainly wasn't a Wonderbread promotion because they have denied it too. People swear up and down that they got theirs through Wonderbread and we now know that's a lie. Now, suddenly, it was some other promotion. I call bullshit on the whole thing. Someone out there made a custom, and then many others followed suit and made more customs. It's funny how many just popped up after the first one was found. Its also convenient that it came with weapons from a weapons pack that was sold to the public, ams some came.with the weapons and some didn't, lol. You never seen these things anywhere until then. I don't believe any of them are legit. It's the greatest toy hoax of all time. A letter from a mom, supposedly, doesn't cut is as being hard evidence of it. People can fake letters, and it seems to happen with so many toy prototypes that some magical letters pop up suddenly from a mom or someone claiming to work for a company that this or that exists.
Wow, that was great. A fitting end to a great toy mystery. Now we know, and knowing is half the battle ;)
The next toy mystery is "what is the other half of the battle"?
@@spectorcreative1872 25% Red lasers, 25% blue lasers. I saw a pie chart that said so. Mmmm.... pie...
Scott, great video explaining WB He-Man origins. What a treasure to find a simple letter that confirmed this figure.
I was freaking out when I first read it!
@@spectorcreative1872 what a way to find something so conclusive!
Excuse me, sir. this is the internet. That is just too logical to be correct. Where is the conspiracy, the twist? The secret Illuminati plot?
But seriously, that is a cool find, and definitely seems to solve the unsolvable mystery!
Ah yes, I should have had a twist at the end that the figure was really a GI Joe.
@@spectorcreative1872 Well, I’m sure GI JOE time travelled at some point. It was the 80’s; everybody did. 😉
Just bought origins He-Man and Skeletor from Wal-Mart. Got home and pulled up youtube to play a video while opening them up. This was the first suggested video, this was very interesting to watch. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
You are oh so welcome. Enjoy your Origins figures
In honor of Scott's work to bring closure to this mystery, my MotU Classics Spector figure will now be displayed alongside Wundaar.
Nice. I appreciate that
I'm quite surprised that the He-man dopplerganger action figure called: the faker whom was colored teal blue, never carried around an orange 🍊 2-edged axe and shield.
This is really cool! So glad you found this and we're so much closer to figuring out the truth. I still feel like there may be some things left to sort out in the mystery, but this is really damn close to the end. Thank you for finding the letter!
Truly it was a surprise to me too!
Love this! One of the greatest toy mysteries apparently solved. It never made sense to me that it was a Wonder Bread promotion. The math just didn't add up.
And now it all comes together!
That skeletor image at 09:25 is amazing
Ha!
Makes sense! My moms frequented outlets with used toys etc. No "wonder" we had this, cause kids who got them didn't want them lol. Oh well, he was our Faker :-)
Nothing wrong with that!
I miss those toys outlets. Remember getting Inhumanoids Tendril and Transformers Jetfire from a Sears Outlet in Quakertown, PA for just $20 each. Same place weird stuff like cardboard Bespins and Cantinas would show up.
You are the MAN! And even more YOU ARE THE TOYGURU! Thanks for sharing the good stuff!!!
So glad you enjoy and grateful for the comment. Please do share with others if you can!
“Perhaps you can help solve the myst- Oh. Looks like it has already been solved.” - Robert Stack.
A man gone too soon.
@@spectorcreative1872
figure idea....
Stackor, the heroic detective of Eternia....solving murders, robberies and paranormal encounters.
Perhaps he was the one who busted Scareglow......and he'd come with sword with a magnifying lens in the hilt, along with cluebook.
I dig the video. This is well thought out and uses good detective work and speculation correctly. Subbed.
Welcome to the channel! I have a sequel to this video coming on Saturday to answer some remaining questions
The mystery of Wonder *BREAD* He-Man solved? I *KNEAD* to know! Stop *LOAF* ing around and tell us! I'll take any *CRUMBS* of info I can get! This channel and its videos are really on a *ROLL* !
A man who would pun would pick your pocket.
That's a pretty.... rye... observation, there.
I'mma take those puns and put 'em on a bun.
I don't get a rise out of bread puns.
Still doesn't explain how they came to be made in the first place, nor why Mattel deny responsibility for them.
I always thought that this particular variant looked *so* much like a PUMPING IRON era Arnold Schwarzenegger, (CONAN himself!), that maybe someone at Mattel said " *No way! We've got to ditch all of these figures ASAP before we get slapped with a lawsuit!* "
Maybe that's why they gave the retail release HE-MAN blonde hair instead! 😆😆😆
Actually, he was made blonde because Ray Wagner the President of Mattel was blonde!
@@spectorcreative1872 , Ahhh! You've given us *another* piece of the puzzle! HE-MAN's hairdo... SOLVED! 👍👍👍
Pumping Iron came out '77 , someone at Mattel mightve seen it
Amazing! That was a fantastic video. Well done for solving the mystery.
So glad you enjoyed. And I am still amazed myself that we finally nailed this one!
Am interested. Been wondering if this would ever get cracked
And now solved!
Thanks for sharing all of this information, Scott. I now demand a Barb Hackenberg MOTU figure!
Make it happen Mattel
awesome scott!!! after all this years finaly we know, thank you so much 👍
It has been a long time coming!
Mind = Blown!
You cracked it, Scott! You really cracked it! I sincerely hope this is one of your proudest moments as a toy collector. I'm glad you found this before those letters were inevitably destroyed somehow! Hard copy records. So vulnerable.
Thanks so much! The first time I read this memo when I found it a few weeks ago I was stunned.
@@spectorcreative1872 I can only imagine!
This 100% confirms my memory on this figure. I never had it, but my close friend growing up got it as a mail away figure....I just didnt know which one. BOOM!! to all the dang naysayers that trolled us!! Keyboard warriors are blessed that we cant reach through the screen and throttle them sometimes. Glad to see some evidence to validate our belief.
I saw WB He-Man in 1984-86 period , its real regardless what haters say , it was factory painted......only saw 1 kid who had it however
Yes, I too am so glad we finally have some proof!
Congratulations Scott, I think u nailed this case closed! I wonder if the lady or her kids kept the figure, awesome stuff!
Well she will now be part of MOTU history!
Free-Man!
That would be a good name too!
@@spectorcreative1872 Free-man wun-dar the master of the savage jungles of Eternia.
Great vid as always Spector-Man! Thanks a lot for sharing MOTU knowledge! I really appreciate it.
You are most welcome! Please do feel free to repost and share to others.
@@spectorcreative1872 0f course! Hey I was wundaring if you can make a Zodac video? Need to know why the "spiky" forearms and boots weren't use with the Classics Line and whatever info you might have about the figure. Thanks in advance!
JP.
good job Spector on your time travel mission complete
Agent Spector, AWAY!!!!!!
9:25 paint me like one of your French girls... NYAAAAA! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
King of the world you know
@@spectorcreative1872 🤣
From this moment on, we shall refer to this version as Barb-Arian Hackenberg He-Man!
I hope she is out there somewhere!~
@@spectorcreative1872 I was thinking the same thing while watching. Wouldn’t it be wild if she found out her letter was being talked about almost 40 years later? Or her son found out? Maybe he’s still a collector.
I think this new name suggestion, or some version of it, wins!
I vote for "Barb-arian" !!! Brilliant 🤘
Great video!!!! I always love your videos and this one really hit home. A year or 2 ago I was on the hunt for a Savage He-Man/ Windar. I went down the rabbit hole of the supposed history behind him and then how to identify a true vintage version vs a customized figure. Happy to say that my own investigation resulted in an authentic figure!!! Thanks again Scott and keep the videos coming, your fellow toy geeks love them!
And now we know he is forever actually part of the line from Mattel!
Spector Creative makes me want to hunt down another one! I did that with Scare Glow,, one green staff and one glow staff. Then I went down the variant rabbit hole for other MOTU figures.....collecting is a sickness, but a good one!
This my photo with Savage He-Man and the promo-flyer it comes in a baggy... :-)
Well thank you for posting it online!!!!
@@spectorcreative1872 No problem :
)
@@fatihuludagIve collected vintage he-man for decades now and found a couple wonderbread's in the wild in late 90's but never in bag. I remember seeing that baggy photo way back in the early days of he-man.org and thinking it was the most legit sealed one I've ever seen. An i always kept a look out for one in a baggy like that. I'm curious how you came to acquire it? Was it something you found at a yardsale or something. Or was it one you had from childhood and never opened.
@@The82bstewart It is long ago in the 90's I've got this from a toy seller. My Wonderbread was in a baggy with the promo-flyer and the sword only, that looks like incl. Man-E-faces with Extra Weaponary issue. I still kept the baggy. My figure also looks never untouched no any paint wears - really new! I believe it was available in 1983, why same brown weapons put to Wonderbread He-Man and used also for Man-E-Faces. The promo-flyer is definitive printed for the 1983er Mattel collection.
Thank you so much for shedding great evidence on this mystery. My question is how come Mattel did not recognize the figure as one from their own promotion? I have read several articles that state that Mattel "had no record of this figure nor had any verification that they produced it." Thanks again.
Because the people who worked on it are long gone from the company.
I was kid from the middle of nowhere. And I had this figure. And pretty much the entire line. My mom gave all my MOTU figures away when I was ten or so. So, kid memory... I was sure I did, but then second-guessed myself.
Oh man, too bad you didn't keep this one!
That is pretty amazing that lady's letter made it all the way to the top like that, very rare for a large company to rectify anything.
One of the biggest unsolved misteries of modern history.
About to be solved!
that and how Biden/Harris won. lol
Sorry, can we just not even discuss politics here? This is about He-Man, and after four years of literally EVERYTHING being about politics, I'm sure many of us who've silently suffered have had quite enough of it. Thanks.
@unclassified Political orientation is like sexual orientation and religious orientation: The majority of us don't care, and it should be kept private or should only be brought up when relevant. And it's not relevant here, and frankly I hope it never is.
Not only does this solve MOTUs most long standing figure mystery, but it also explains the earlier dismissal as this figure being from that promotion. After that lady wrote in it seems like Mattel’s response was to stop sending this figure as redemption and start sending another in its place, and being this early on it also explains why most people seem to remember receiving Beast Man
Exactly! It is a double solve.
Nice 👍🏼 Now we can concentrate on identifying “The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet” 😆
The hamster dance?
@@spectorcreative1872
😄 Lol no, it’s a random ‘80s-style song that thousands of people online are trying to identify. Here’s the song plus backstory & “the search thus far” coverage: th-cam.com/play/PLg5_FYJzTkK_cDtcEG665jpS5ucB2hubL.html
I thought youtuber "Whang" already solved that.
@@JinzoCrash He’s covered it several times (see playlist above) but it’s still unsolved.
NICE! Fantastic work bro.
Most appreciated! Feel free to post on social media to anyone else you think might find this channel interesting!
Almost 5.5 K, LET’S keep up the good word spreading!
My goal is 10K by the end of the year! Can we do it???
@@spectorcreative1872 if everyone does their part, YES!
I have one of these and the stamp on the lower back is dated 1981 like all the first round of figures. I can't help but wonder if these weren't made early on, but due to the whole legal battle with the Conan movie, they changed the hair color of He-Man to blonde to differentiate the character. The result was these brown-haired figures already made, which they decided to distribute via the promotion.
I have a video coming tomorrow to put a cork in the whole "He-Man is Conan" argument once and for all! ;_)
Scott, you are a true treasure! I'm glad that I found this channel.
And I am glad to have you as a watcher!
Some of us knew this already, because we had one as a kid. If y'all would just listen...
If only!
Just bought one, hopefully didn’t get scammed 😂
No you didn't! It is still rare
@Bunyon Snipe Fortunately, there is a very explicit list on how to make sure it is real. There are no less than five telltale clues and a whole bunch of miniscule details to confirm it. Some are near impossible to fake.
Seriously, thank you for this video and your Sherlock skills! A real Master of the Universe, you are!
Still crazy that this paper showed up! And you are welcome
Solved by a "Karen" !😂
They should do a "Goldberg's" episode of this . Beverly can get Adam a whole set of motu figs by her complaint 😀
They actually called Mattel once asking for vintage toys to use as props!
**Goldbergs**
I had that toy! It was one of the contests we actually won as kids. It was just as the lady figured. It didn't have all the armor. I was like 12. My nephew and I had them, and he took the 'Conan He Man' as we named it, but did not call it Wonder Man. After over 38 years, I have no idea what became out it. It was not just in Wonder Bread, but also an ad in Sears and Toys r Us mail in offers.
The skinnier carded one was another, but you covered that. Now I have some 2020 classics, 38 years later, He Man and Skeletor and their battle cats. So I get to have my Conan He Man too. Ha. Nah, I will have to buy the reissue.
That is fantastic!
I really hate I was never able to get my hands on a Wun-Dar from the Classics line. Trying to buy the ones I missed out on now is pure insanity. Have you seen the prices these things fetch on the secondary market lately? I hope you feel the love for what you've been involved in creating. There's still a great interest in Classics. You've really done a great service to the MOTU world!
Yeah, crazy what the current secondary market is!
The mystery finally solved? Great video! thank you
I'm going to do a follow up soon to answer the remaining questions that seem to have popped up.
This was interesting. I accept it. Just waiting for the nay sayers to start/create their response to his.
Cognitive dissonance is a hard fence to get over.
this might be old news now, but I appreciate your excellent detective work.
Case closed. Great job Detective Spector!
Elementary.
Thanks so much for this video and your evidence which confirms what many of us knew all along. Im so glad to have my “special edition” on the shelf. And he isnt holding a weapon but I have the sword at his feet.
Nice!
Incredible revelations!! Very very strong evidence its a real official Mattel figure! Thank you Scott for solving this!!
I'm thrilled I could!
I know they put some of the Man-E-Weapons with savage he-man, but I received a small collector case the other day. It had been left alone mostly since the mid 80's. When I pulled out the top tray to see what was underneath a Man-E-Face and small box fell out with a few other items. Inside the box was all of the Man-E-Weapons and his laser pistol, but there is a mysterious 6th red item that nobody knows what it is. Same material and color as the Man-E-Weapons, but is shape like a plain round spear.. Girth is the size of a sword handle and length is 3 inches, really looks like a stylus we would use today. If you know anyone who can help please let me know, thank you.
Jesus, just get to the point! Skip to 12:00 to avoid Scott’’s ramblings.
I know right? I ramble like a champion.
The reason Wundar never caught on in the 80's series line up is NOT so much that he lacked armor and weapons and/or that he was a mail away figure, even though sending in box tops/proofs of purchase was an inconvenience.
Mattels big mistake was: 1) You had to buy 3 specific figures: Man-E-Faces, Tri Klops and Trap Jaw (why only these 3 figures is unknown) and 2) When you sent in your box tops/proofs of purchase, there was NO guarantee that you would receive Wundar, one might've gotten a Barbie or Strawberry Shortcake instead.
Mattel felt they weren't obligated to make guarantees to the MOTU Fan Base.
Really? This is going to be BIG!
I hope so.
Essentially Wonderbread was blamed for something they didn’t even do and instead it was in fact Mattel that created it and were possibly so embarrassed by this letter that they hid it. But at least you should have credit for it! (Rightly deserved at that, you’re amazing). Glad to say the most conclusive information on the long standing Masters Of The Universe mystery has arrived, I don’t think Barbara wants to be known for He-Man anymore than she was through that letter to Mattel in 1983 though!
Pretty much
I can't wait two days I wanna know now !!!
you're denying me my
self entitlement
LOL......can't wait
Answers are coming
I'm convinced.. Thanks for sharing... very nice video.👍
Glad you liked. I'm convinced too.
Great investigative reporting! The interesting thing is this woman was upset. Little did she know how valuable the figure would become. Also they considered trying to “paint” him the correct color. You misread her handwriting at that point. So how many people were disappointed and threw him out or repainted him? So happy I found this. So silly but I have thought about this from time to time for about 8 years.
As somebody who liked He-Man back in the day, but knows nothing about modern collecting, how much is this figure worth now?
@@oh-totoro As with anything it will depend on several factors but even poor condition might fetch $300. Nice condition I’ve heard of $1,500 or so. That was at least 10 years back. He is much more well known today because of videos like this. Who knows how that affects things. Will guys find them and put them for sale now that they know what they are. Or will there be many more collectors looking. There are some very rare MOTU stuff where the prices will be more consistent-and would top $1500. This one is just so different it is hard to say.
Wow! I never knew there was any doubt as to Wundar's validity. Great find!
The mystery is solved!
My Aunt was a cupon clipper long before there were reality shows about it. Being a family with 5 kids she did mail aways for everything. I remember my cousin getting this with a bunch of weapons. We always called him Conan. I'm pretty sure she also got a Barbie with this same offer.
More proof in the pudding! Thanks for sharing!!!
Bar-Bie, the Pink Warrior!
Here is my take on this figure is that THIS WAS NOT THE BEGINNING OF THIS FIGURE BUT THE END. People always talk about how he had dark hair so it was feared that legal action would be coming at them from Conan so presto change-o blonde hair and we're all good. I've also heard stories of them being a give away at toy conventions to introduce the line.... which sounds interesting...... if there was any truth to it would be the beginning of the figure..... could have been a rush job.....which....if true could explain why he may have come with various weapons or armor or nothing.....and had that as the start of his life cycle and the give away as the end of his life cycle....giving ample time for him to have been paired with different accessories...... all a bunch of guess work of course......but I've seen him paired with the black armor wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to many times over the decades to believe that that just happened to be the choice of a ton of people to add to him from the weapons pack. Then one would assume to see him paired with various coloured weapons from that pack as well.... not just the black gun from the pack. The Wonderbread story as I heard it was that people were mailing away expecting to get cards and were sent an apology once the cards ran out along with the figure to make up for the cards.... and who on earth would complain about that? a figure instead of cards???? Done Deal!!!! even if he does look faker then faker......but such an awful price to pay for not supplying cards right? No company in their right mind take a hit like that...... right? end the promotion asap and just give away a few figures at the tail end to have it over and done with.... that would make sense................... The first He-man figure was out in 1981..... Faker Heman came in 1982..... would they really produce a lesser looking figure after that in order to try and continue to grow the brand? The buy three get one free was an attempt to DUMP THE FIGURE without showing him anywhere. If He-man had shown up on the shelves in 1981 with Black hair........every kid on earth who watched cartoons would have confused it with Blackstar!!!!! because He-man and the Masters of the Universe didn't air until 1983! Blackstar wanted some confusion to tap into the success of He-man because only once He-man aired did Blackstar start to produce a toy line (your show is canned but it looks like this popular show since its done by the same animation studio...lets cash in while we can)......... but the confusion method would have been a bad way for Masters of the Universe to try to start something and grow it.... Considering this, the idea that these figures were produced with black hair but then pulled before they were packaged and went out is pretty easy to believe.... then use them for various give aways as not to take a total loss on an initial run.... hand a few out at a convention to show what the toys are going to look like, dump some in a buy three get one free then drop the last batch off at wonderbread before you have to bury them in the deserts of New Mexico and hope that Atari throws their product on top. Many possibilities....much more believable when combined (like 2 halves of a sword! HA!). Not for one second do I believe that they came up with a buy three get one free promotion idea and decided this would be a great new figure with which to do that. Barb Hackenberg isn't buying that idea and neither am I!!!!!
Adding to my strong opinions about people not simply adding armor to the figure from the weapons pack..... the buy three get one free offer........the purchases had to have been made between January 2, 1982 and June 30, 1983, and submitted proofs of purchase postmarked by July 15 1983..........The Weapons Pack that featured the black armour came out in 1984....one or two years is a lifetime to kids who were the age that played with He-man figures.
The Wonderbread Cards were 1986 if it matters to anyone.
Check out this follow up video for a bit more insight! th-cam.com/video/ah4KAUdJV6Y/w-d-xo.html
The letter questions where "his force field armor + weapons" are, implying the figure came with no armor and no weapons at all. It doesn't say the figure came with the wrong weapons or fake weapons or anything like that, only questioning why the figure didn't come with his armor or weapons.
With so many people, even in the comments section here, claiming he came with the black armor, or came with different maroon weapons, not just the sword and axe, it would seem that what Mattel threw in the bag with the figure was more or less random. I also like the idea that was thrown in in the comments, about how Mattel possibly initially mailed the figure out with no accessories whatsoever, and only after the complaint letter started to include the random accessories in the bag.
I have a follow up video coming on Saturday to address outstanding questions!
Thank you Barb! And Scott.
Most welcome. Glad it was enjoyed!
Connected, but unrelated question. What colour or colours was the Man-E-Faces gun available in the Weapons Pak here in the US? I hope you can help.
Well his gun was orange
@@spectorcreative1872 I seem to remember red, though I’d didn’t have the Weapons Pak, I’m putting together a loose one. I’ve seen red ones on eBay.
Thanks you for explaining about these mysterious figure for years everyone wonder about it. Awesome información ✌🏻😎
Glad you liked! More to come soon too
This was solved years ago by somebody online on a forum. This is my favorite toy period. And as far as I know he came with diff weapons.
Hey I'm up for all info we can get
i could swear a photo surfaced of a kid playing w one
Awesome video and discovery, i hope this puts the mystery to a rest for everyone.
I think it will. I am also going to do a reflections video in the next day or so to capture some of the feedback and comments.
I want to point out that the first word of the second page of Barbara’s letter is “painting” not pairing. The kids were suggesting it be painted the right color. Which is even more solid evidence.
Clearly my ability to read is questionable
Good ol Barb, solving mysteries over 40 years later.
Wow! I have been wondering about wonder bread he-man for years. Such a cool adventure with this figure.
It was wasn't it!
Revisiting this video it only makes sense to send a special edition figure. In the letter it states that they made sure not to buy doubles so any figure they receive is okay(the son and nephew have a shared collection).
But how in Hades did Mattel know what figures you already have and are missing?
A special edition figure would ensure you get a figure you dont already have. Makes sense to me. I really believe had this figure been properly carded and packaged it wouldnt have been an issue.
I definitely had the Castle Grayskull trading card. I also remember a childhood friend of mine having the figure and another guy in College had it. Neither one of them had the black Zodac armor with the figure. This makes a lot of sense.
Crazy how it does right?
Amazing. Only someone with your specific work history could have solved this mystery. Well done. The letter from the consumer was stamped received on August 16, 1983, and responded to from the Marketing VP on September 14, 1983, both dates prior to the premiere of the Filmation syndicated series. So these documents are from the Mineternian days. Wow...
Crazy right! I am just so glad to have paperwork finally!
Great work, however... As a purist, I think the nail in the coffin should be tracking this lady down, and presenting her with a few images (all but one, faked) and have her identify the figure. If nothing else, what a neat story to hit her with as being part of the now history of the line.