Wun-Dar the Wonderbread Savage He-Man. His remaining mysteries reviewed and solved.

[@jamesoblivion]

I've said this for years, as someone who has, and has had, this figure since the promotion. I've been called a liar, delusional, told that I don't remember my own childhood, etc. No matter how many times it's explained, some people will never accept that its not a hoax.

[@spectorcreative1872]

The truth is out there. Or at least with you! Glad you can feel redeemed!

[@bonemasterd1]

Sounds like something Val Staples would say. He has shot down everyone's theories and personal memories. He either wants this to remain a mystery or wants to be the one to solve it.

[@TheCakesCup26]

@@bonemasterd1 willing to bet he’s one of the people who did.

[@Phantasia_Workshop]

This makes perfect sense. Nicely done. As far as I’m concerned, the discussion is over

[@spectorcreative1872]

To me the pieces all fit. Especially the « why did man e faces get extra weapons factor ».

[@ScareglowSkull]

Solves two mysteries.

[@iuliavictrix]

In my country is late night. But I won't go to bed until I get this precious information.

[@peppermintspacecapsule9898]

Mine too! 😊👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hope it was worth it!

[@iuliavictrix]

@@spectorcreative1872 Of course it was!!! Excellent job, Mighty Spector. Case fully solved!

[@peppermintspacecapsule9898]

@Júlia Judgess @Spector Creative 👍👍👍

[@colt5189]

Actually, I think the more "occam's razor" on why her figure didn't have any weapons and seeing some bags of the "Wonder Bread" He-Man with a couple of weapons. Is that maybe Mattel initially only sent out a bare Special Edition He-Man, but after getting her letter. They then decided to start throwing in a couple of weapons to add value while keeping it cheapish. I think that would make way more sense and would be an easy running change than Mattel doing the costly move of sending out a regular figure. Has anyone ever seen a sealed promotional bag of a regular figure? Maybe a sealed bag with a regular figure and a buy 3 get one free promo material? Also I think the timeline of this fits perfectly. Because back when I figured this was a Mattel promo, I figured it must have been before the MOTU cartoon. Which helps explain why it's such a rare promo figure.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is certainly possible too. I am sure their are fine details to this promo that we may never know, but your theory is just as valid!

[@godofzombi]

"Man-e-faces isn't a weapons guy like Man at arms." He's a an actor, so would that mean the extra weapons would be his stage props?

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is certainly one way to look at it!

[@ninasmithers1016]

That would also explain the reason the weapons he had were the generic Grayskull weapons.

[@FromTheRoomOfLittleEase]

That's what my mom said. It was in the wake of and really still during the "multiple personalities" housewife obsession from the seventies so like a lot of humorous implications in 80s toys and cartoons it spoke to adults pretty clearly at the time. My Mom said: "Well, I guess his other personalities are used to using different stuff." My dad often enjoyed these figures humorous names and this was his favorite "Many faces? Sounds like your aunt _____"

[@AzraelThanatos]

Another thing that might be part of this would be that it started out without weapons, the letter came in and they rushed a weapons pack for the rest of the ones made before shifting them to another use due to the price increase. The brown hair actually makes sense for the paint job as well, it's the same brown as his loincloth fur, so limiting additional paints needed. But the main thing would be that they started out with just the figure in the packs, someone complained about the lack of anything with him, they glance around at the various weapons available to do cheaply...perhaps the recolored pack was going to be used for other things already (Not Man-E-Faces, but someone, it could even be possible that there was just going to be a pack of weapons available due to people just losing them or wanting more of certain ones, and there was already the weapons rack from Greyskull...so a pack of gear could be possible). For the rest of the existing figure, they add a few of the weapons they rushed...which the added cost might be above what they'd want to do for the figure and just go back to overstock figures to send rather than making more of them to clear space. The weapons in the color put in with Man-E-Faces to get rid of them, and possibly test the waters for adding special weapons to future figures that the initial run may not have sold so well...

[@spectorcreative1872]

All great thoughts and especially your thought on the color being the same as the loin cloth is spot on. Anytime the same color can be used in more than one place on a figure it saves money in overall production

[@alucard000000000000]

But the loin cloth was molded in brown plastic, not painted.

[@korydoe4813]

This all makes sense, and I am still very happy to have my "wonder bread he man" which i believe is authentic and not a painted he man. I also received man e faces with the extra weapons for Christmas way back when, I still have him and most of the re colored weapons as well. Great video as always Scott!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Nice! So cool you have one

[@timothytangemann8870]

All of this makes perfect sense once it’s laid out like this. It even makes sense when you throw in the Man-E-Weapons carded figure. I remember seeing that in stores and was confused as to why he had an orange gun and red weapons. By the time I got a Man-E-Faces though it was without the extra weapons. I think you pretty much solved this mystery, dude. Keep the Masters videos coming I really enjoy those.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thanks! Once the pieces come together, especially the Man E Face weapons I think clarity comes to light!

[@kampuskop]

Bravo Sir...... I feel satisfied that you have cracked the case.... It warms my heart to know that 20 years ago when some of these mystery figures made their way to Ebay, that they were not all fake and that the figure was indeed both real and rare!! I still contend that Mattel should absolutely partner with Wonder Bread to release this figure in some way as part of the new Origins retail line. Good job Sir!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Now that would be awesome! Make it happen Mattel

[@GARY84ROCKS]

@@spectorcreative1872 Full circle big time!

[@fitnessabcvideo]

This is great, how many sites have built themselves off the mysteries of masters of the universe figures, and along comes our fella here and blows it all out of the water

[@spectorcreative1872]

Just trying to help! In no way discounting all the previous thought that has gone into this!

[@TheSickNeeds]

The first vision for the Conan movie was changed over and over again and that wasn't done overnight. It took almost seven years to bring to the screen. The original treatment/screenplay was written by Edward Summer with some collaboration by Roy Thomas who had written and edited the Marvel Comic Book series. They were not the ones that did the final script that was actually used. Conan had already been a Marvel Comic since 1970 and they also did a magazine as well. Their number one comic in the late 70s was Starwars. It would make all the sense in the world for serious consideration being put into doing another toy line over the course of the nearly seven years leading up to the Conan movie actually being released. Roy Thomas was the Conan writer at Marvel doing 150 issues and was the Editor and Cheif of the Company for a number of years..... also doing the film Adaptation of Starwars for the company and a few issues that followed (the first ten issues)..... he did have a second chance on Conan as he was the writer of Conan the Destroyer (the second Conan Movie). It would be beyond interesting to know at what point Mattel was beginning to look at doing a Conan toy line. You had 12 years of comics prior to the Conan movie coming out and many years of potential scripts being passed around starting with Roy Thomas how had a huge hand in the number one toy line/comic/movie adaptation ever...... so it would make sense for Mattel to be sitting and waiting for an opportunity to join those ranks...... once the "script was flipped" to someone else with a much more adult vision it makes sense for them to pull out at that point...... but what of these events happened when?

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, all this is true, but the idea that Mattel would make toys for a license they did not have the rights to is just not possible.

[@TheSickNeeds]

@@spectorcreative1872 That early 80's era had Blackstar and Thundar the Barbarian cartoons and Conan comics and magazines had been popular for some time......the name Roy Thomas pops up again because he is known to have made some contributions to writing on Thundar the Barbarian... it was a hot time for the "Barbarian Market"..... hot enough that Mattel wanted in... so its very possible that there was hopes to get a Conan License but being committed to jump into that barbarian market that they would go for it even if they didn't get the license to do it with Conan. Conan came out in 82 but filming had started in the end of 1980, the project had started in 1975 but it took 2 years to get the rights to do it and from there they already cast Schwarzenegger and had a presentable first draft of the script by 1978... Had the movie been more kid friendly it would have been a no brainer to do toys as it would have easily been the barbarian that was known by the widest group of people and not just those watching Saturday Morning Cartoons. Mego had already done a Conan figure in 1975..... Mego had a huge share of boys figures in the 70s until Starwars rolled into town. In 1980 and 81 combined Mego reported a lost of $40 million and close to another $20 million in 82. If there were to be a Conan toy line they were not in position to do it....they filed for Chapter 11 in mid 1982.

[@berkajr3685]

Very great video again. To those who do not believe you... well there are those who still claim the moon landing is fake.... It does make perfect sense. And this is probable the closest we'll ever get to the truth. Thanks :)

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wait... the moon landing was real?

[@ryanlemay6296]

I love the style of this video. The rapidfire info made it even more entertaining!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you liked. I was going for something a little different

[@SimbasGuardWT]

Excellent follow up ToyGuru Mason.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well thank you. (folds hands in Sherlock manner)

[@rmk3020]

I think think this is my favorite video of yours yet. Great tone, gags, and presentation. You made a great case.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thanks. It is actually my new personal favorite too!

[@salamitommy9939]

I love everything He-Man and wish I had all of my old figures and stuff from the 80's. It's awesome people in the industry like yourself put this info out there to the fans and I've enjoyed the videos I've seen you make on the topic. And holy shit, all of the responses to comments?! You sir are a legend!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hey if someone takes the time to comment I want to make sure I respond. This is the way.

[@schwaaard]

Well said! I think Batman--often said to be one of the greatest detective minds in comics--would tip his cowl to you, sir! I had no idea he existed until now, and I'm glad I discovered this AFTER the mystery has been resolved. I hate cliffhangers. :)

[@spectorcreative1872]

When you eliminate the impossible, the improbable no matter how unlikely must be true.

[@ericrook78]

Okay, things are making more sense with this figure now. So if he was a repainted He-Man for this buy 3 get 1 free exclusive would he have been produced in the same quantities as regular figures? Or would they have done a smaller run of him compared to say a standard He-Man or Skeletor figure.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh much smaller. Promo figures always get a tiny run as is. And if this figure was pulled or swapped out after the complaint letter, smaller still for the units that actually made it out

[@robertwishin2868]

I think we are all spoiled by the internet anymore. A running change happens now, it is on every fan page across the planet in a few minutes. The Mail away figure has different weapons, we have a list of all running variations identified with pics. When this figure came out, there wasn't a fan collecting magazine even or wide spread comic and collector shops tracking it at all. How many kids remember what the shipping box looked like and how much of the memory is the Mandela Effect? It is like when I talk to friends that still swear they had the rocket firing Boba Fett and they knew they had it because they played with it. The fact that you have this worked out this well is the most plausible history I have ever seen for this figure.

[@jamesoblivion]

Can we please stop saying "Mandela Effect" instead of just calling it what it is..."inherently flawed human memory?" This is not directed specifically at you...this is a suggestion for everyone.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is a good way of looking at it. Imagine what the internet would have said about the Star Wars sequels (as in Empire and Jedi) or Temple of Doom back in the day!

[@JeffTheFutureJaros]

Oh Hell Yeah, another vid, been anticipating this one! Thanks Guru!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Most welcome! Hope it met expectations

[@JeffTheFutureJaros]

@destructarr you too man, i'm taking a break for a while on the vids as you probably could tell. still at it though!

[@JeffTheFutureJaros]

@@spectorcreative1872 It did for sure man, keep up the solid work, interesting & entertaining vids you put up, you can tell you know your stuff from working with Mattel. Thanks Again!

[@NomicFin]

I think the reason "Wun-Dar" He-Man has brown hair is to reduce the number of paint applications. He also has a brown loincloth and if they also use brown for his hair they could just use the same color, meaning one less color of paint use and therefore slightly lower cost.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is completely legit. The fewer paint colors on a figure in total the less expensive it is to make. And clearly this "Free" figure was being made to be as inexpensive to produce as possible. Great thought!!

[@justinbaker9880]

Also, He-Man was likely their top seller and if word got round that if you could buy any other 3 figures and get him for free it wouldn't have helped him sell.

[@GASH_one]

09:30 I just imagine that the extra weapons are wooden props, since Man-E-Faces is so to say an actor with 3 different roles. That makes it logical to me.

[@TitularHeroine]

That's a pretty cool idea.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hey that could work as an in universe explanation

[@GARY84ROCKS]

@@spectorcreative1872 Keep workin' it! I love your angles on MOTU lore, and (in the most respectful way) envy that you got to play with that world-building stuff officially!

[@mmarquez5765]

I'm convinced the first time, now I am convinced more. Good job sir.👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

So that qualifies as "super convinced"!

[@mmarquez5765]

@@spectorcreative1872 Yes it do.and yes I am.

[@blackblade1286]

Awesome! I see Toyguru is a perfectionist! :) The last Wundar video explained 95% of the story, but now with this video the last remaining 5% were resolved. This makes totally sense! If now somebody still comes up with a question and stating he or she is still not convinced, then I really do not know anymore. :-D Great video! Love it! Thanks Scott!

[@spectorcreative1872]

I am most appreciative! And yes, I don’t like to leave any mystery until it is fully solved.

[@AintNobodyAtAll]

Fantastic video... I accidentally had my KZbin set to 1.25x speed and Scott sounded like he was sick of everyone's jibber jabber, lol.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I'm never sick of it!

[@geechie-don7157]

Great stuff. Now lets discuss that pilot MOTU commercial with the animated short mixed in...Tela on Battlecat and what not...no Power sword in the commercial and Skelly looked so cool

[@spectorcreative1872]

Ah, now that is really cool animation if you have seen it

[@rolandkatsuragi]

For a series of extrapolations, this logic is sound

[@spectorcreative1872]

Can't beat the logic baby!!!

[@ehenyor]

Two things to keep in mind: 1) there are people who can extrapolate

[@burntvirtue]

Conan The Barbarian was in production starting in the late 70's and was released as early as March of 1982. If this Mattel promotion didn't take place until 1983, it absolutely could've still had Conan influence.

[@biggreek4022]

I think I figured out the weapons confusion....In the letter she clearly states its a Hem-man figure and doesnt come with any of his weapons...The way I read that is the figure didnt come with any of He-mans original weapons not that the figure itself came with no weapons at all.....Like ok this is clearly He-man why no Power sword , shield or axe I think was her point.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Funny I was thinking EXACTLY the same a few weeks back. you nailed it. By no weapons I think she meant not "he man's specific weapons". Nice job.

[@biggreek4022]

@@spectorcreative1872 Definitely!...It was the first thing I thought of when i heard her letter..She was clearly upset and they admitted fault thats why I think Mattel claims the figure never existed....Would make them look bad since im sure within the company at the time the situation was known..

[@MatticusPrime1]

A nice summary of this mystery. I’m still confused that no one at Mattel seems to remember any of this. Perhaps because it was so short lived?

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is likely why. Also, no one who worked on this promotion is still at Mattel!

[@ehenyor]

@@spectorcreative1872 but what about Power-Con? I remember my kid had Stridor in hand and engineer came right up and explained all the work he did on it to him.

[@DarthScrewtape27]

I wish I had known about this mystery. I could have answered it. Yes there was a buy 3 get one free figure offer in a magazine, my mom let me mail away for it. To my 4 year old mind it took forever, then when it finally got there it was a shirtless He-man with a single red shield. I think In my heart of hearts I knew I thought it was lame. But I nonetheless persevered and invented a story for him, he was he mans secret brother who I named “Me-man! I remember drawing battle damage with crayons and markers on him. Good times!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Great to know! And I think more "proof" that the figure was given 1 or 2 random accessories from the red selection. With all of the red selection going to Man-E-Faces after this promo was canceled. Thanks for chiming in!

[@theuberbob]

If I understand the promotion correctly for your free toy you could choose between MotU, Barbie, Dazzle Dolls, and Monchichis. What did you get if you picked any of the non-MotU brands? Was something special done for them as well, possibly leading to a Wonder Bread Monchichi or Barbie (or Dazzle Doll, whatever the heck those were) or was something sent from stock?

[@spectorcreative1872]

That I do not know. But I do Wonder...

[@battleramblog]

I agree with most of this - definitely not a Conan figure for many reasons, some of which you've touched upon. Barb wasn't referring to Faker - otherwise she would have mentioned the blue skin, not just the hair color change. However, Faker was released around the same time as the Buy 3 Get 1 Free promo, in April 1983. Also, based on the packaging codes, the first release of Man-E-Faces had the extra weapons, it wasn't a later revision. Man-E-Faces came out at least by Feb 1983, the first figure in the 1983 wave of figures. So it would be Special Offer He-Man who inherited some of Man-E-Faces' weapons, not the other way around.

[@TheWizardOfJim]

This has all put me in mind of a Bubble Yum promotion where, if you found a special wrapper, you were supposed to get a free MotU figure. I found one of those wrappers, we sent it in, and in 4-6 weeks we got back... some stamps and a coloring book, and a letter stating that they were out of figures.

[@spectorcreative1872]

What! Someone get my lawyer on the phone!

[@mrjiggy716]

Do you think there is any chance on some of the more popular MOTU classics figures like a best of, getting re issued in the near future? I understand they have new lines and are working towards a movie/TV show line. However some of the MOTU classic figures are going for high triple digits and most are double or triple their original MSRP on the secondary market. The demand is obviously there, It makes little sense to leave money on the table.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Honestly, that is up to Mattel, but based on their plans for Origins and Masterverse as the future of the line, I would bet no, at least for the foreseeable future.

[@espendahl9719]

Interesting video.I did not know of this special He-Man until we got internet late 90s,early 2000s.I remember as a kid, I used the Zodac black armour,black gun and the power sword on Tri-Klops body with He-Man head.Though it looked cool after the masters movie came out.Little did I know it was actually a He-Man / Wun-Dar that came with those weapons and armour later in a adult collector addition.

[@spectorcreative1872]

The great thing about the weapons pak is you can use them for any adventure and any character!

[@espendahl9719]

@@spectorcreative1872 Yes and that was so cool when I was a kid.The best part about The Masters Of The Universe toys was as a kid,you used the imagination playing with the toys and it was cool bringing them out in the forest and play.By the way,what kind of education does one need to make or design toys?I have a bunch of ideas.

[@waffensuperninja]

A really cool 3 parter! Loved it!

[@spectorcreative1872]

And now the trilogy is done.

[@jamesoblivion]

Thoughts on the gap in the sculpt between the belt and trunks? That wasn't a common feature in the line, for a line that reused EVERYTHING, and a figure that's a repaint.

[@spectorcreative1872]

This figure was clearly done on the "cheap" which likely accounts for those details

[@archlogan5573]

You are killing it sir. Awesome info!

[@spectorcreative1872]

So glad you are enjoying the channel so much. Feel free to share videos with anyone you know!

[@gcshaw8078]

Awesome video but wished you would have mentioned the black harness accessory see some wearing

[@spectorcreative1872]

See the first video! This is pt2

[@euhin]

His loincloth is brown, in order to save cost, the hair uses the same brown paint. Mystery solved.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Exactly! The fewer paint colors the cheaper to make

[@falleneldor]

A genuine "wonder bread" he-mans hair is a different shade of brown from the shorts. Its a good indicator of a custom if the carpet matches the drapes.

[@ehenyor]

@@spectorcreative1872 I kept waiting for you to state this in your awesome video. ;)

[@OzzieAstaroth]

Whatever the case may be (and this does seem to make the most sense here) I want a new Wundar figure. lol I voted for Wundar in that recent poll from Mattel but it didn't win. Hope it gets released at some point anyway. Maybe it too will be a mail away exclusive. :-)

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hear that Mattel? Make it happen!

[@fatihuludag]

I never saw this figure as Wun-Dar or came with black Zodac accessories... as I got my one with the promo sheet... it was for me a promo figure released by Mattel in 1983. Black Zodac armor and gun released in 1984 with Weapons Pak.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yup. That is what happened!

[@cykodestructo5316]

I've watched almost all your videos I really like the sarcastic tone this one takes. Just saying. Keep it up

[@spectorcreative1872]

Thanks. I was experimenting this time. I might do more like this!

[@EckerKyle]

I think his hair was brown bc his shorts were brown, that way they only used black and brown paint.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Exactly!

[@colt5189]

Funny thing, is I had always assumed this was a long forgotten Mattel promo. Reason being is I never believed that Wonder Bread would have had a promotion where they had Mattel make up a bunch of special edition He-Man's to send out. As from what I can recall back in the day from my own experiences, is I only ever recalled special promos like this coming direct from the manufacturer. Especially when it involved an alternative paint job. Kind of like with Earthworm Jim when they sent out that green painted version of Earthworm Jim from Playmates as a special promotion.

[@spectorcreative1872]

And the fact that zero paperwork or evidence has ever shown up linking this to Wondner Bread!

[@colt5189]

@@spectorcreative1872 Yeah I know, having no evidence this was part of "Wonder Bread" also made me not believe that. And then that led me to conclude it must have been ran by Mattel. Have you ever seen a sealed bag of a "regular figure" as part of the buy 3 get on free promo? Or have they all been bare chested "Wonder Bread" He-Man figures?

[@armadacab]

Maybe at first the repaints was shipped naked, and after some complaining, Mattel molded and added the random red weapons (and even sometimes, some zodak armor finded in some warehouse). This could explain why some figures had accessories and some others not. Like a some sort of run change. We can even ipotize that the red weapons were packed with MF only after the offer was ended.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Anything is possible, but I do think this is clearing things up logically

[@danielelliott4670]

Hi Scott, so I believe you indeed found the origin of this figure. Have you thought about trying to snail mail, or look up the mother to ask her if she remembers any details or if she sees a pic (or this video) can prove that is the figure received??

[@oneminutefixed5003]

Has been done hours after he posted the first video. Her son was also contacted and behold his words (paraphrasing here) "o remember it was a brown haired he-man with no weapons"

[@spectorcreative1872]

I think we should let her be. I"m sure she doesn't want to be dragged into this.

[@plazma2891]

Scott I love your vids they bring me back to my childhood and they have good information as well thank you so much hope to see more thank agen

[@spectorcreative1872]

More are coming daily! Thanks so much for taking the time to post.I am most grateful

[@kup98ss49]

I think they were trying to make him look like the He-man in the comic, before he got the power vest. The darker colors and lack of armor gives me that feeling. They just didn't do a good job of getting the point across. If they put a piece of paper in there explaining that, I dont think there would have been an issue. This promo was most likely started before the cartoons premier in Sept of 1983, so the kids only knew about the He-Man in the comics. No Prince Adam yet.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I think they were just going for a logical inexpensive deco, but hey anything is possible in toys

[@fiveways]

Conan the Barbarian came out in 1982. It was in pre-production in 1980/1981. You are giving the pre-production dates for Conan the Destoryer.

[@spectorcreative1872]

True. And to add to that, He-Man was in pre production in 80 ad 81, so still no access

[@discolas]

My question would be, were there any plans for a storyline involving Wundar? I really like your videos and inside knowledge! Thank you!

[@spectorcreative1872]

That would be up to Mattel and Universal!

[@discolas]

@@spectorcreative1872 Thank you for your answer

[@noahhenson1669]

Personally I think you nailed it. It all adds up. Mysteries (plural) solved.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Can't beat the logic baby!

[@sgzartan]

Quick points: 1. The Conan The Barbarian movie was released in May 1982, not 1983. Conan The Destroyer was released in 1984. 2. The Remco Conan figure looks like they modeled the head after the Wonder Bread He-Man.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well I never worked for Remco and don't know how they modeled their figures, but Mattel did sue them and won due to their figures being MOTU rip offs. And thanks for the good fact checks!

[@TheSickNeeds]

Did a bit more digging on the Conan chain and came up with some interesting morsels if info..... In 1979, Western Publishing ceased to be an independent company when Mattel Inc. purchased the company..... the comic book imprint for Western was Whitman/Goldkey..... Goldkey was the imprint put on single issues that were sold while Whitman was the name branded on versions that were sold in 3 packs...the three packs were sold in department stores/toy stores and other traditional and not so traditional spots for comics.... they sometimes did distribution this way for Dc comcis and branded them Whitman.... and on the rare occasion Marvel Comics..... here is a 3 pack of Conan Comics Distributed By Whitman Comics...... While the Comapany was Owned by Mattel. www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=30739397 It proves nothing in the world of plastic toys but it does provide a link in the pulp world and business world.

[@TheSickNeeds]

The issues in the 3 pack were published in the summer of 1979 but if from other publishers (DC mainly and Marvel) weren't put into the three packs until some months after....once they had left the news stand but before they had to be stored for any period of time....which is why the description of that link above states Circa 1980.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Wow that is awesome! Thanks for doing the digging and posting that here. Very nice.

[@TitularHeroine]

Hahaha -- !! GREAT video. Love it. I can totally imagine a foreman reiterating to over-wrought employee "I dunno, whaddya want me to do. Grab two and huck 'em in there." Then some unlucky tyke gets mailed a figure with two shields. PS: I always thought the multiple accessories worked with Man- e- Faces because his whole concept is changing personality along with changing his form. Thanks again for another cool vid!! 👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yeah once you add in the why did man e faces get extra weapons piece, the puzzle really comes together!

[@davecinelli1068]

Actually Wundar was intended to be Conan The Barbarian, in competition to Hasbro's Star Wars line and was cancelled because a Mattel employee viewed the movie and of course the violence and nudity did NOT make a children's line of toys. Marvel Comics turned countered threatening lawsuits, because Wundar's dark hair made him resemble Conan, it was claimed the resemblance was TOO close. The big reason people DIDN'T mail away for Wundar is because the ad did NOT guarantee that you would receive Wundar, I doubt Mon-chi-chi of any of the others would stem the tide in battling Skeletor's evil forces.

[@PrincessAmi9756]

So, does that mean to have a complete, complete vintage collection one needs to get a version of Wondar with each of his different weapon combinations?

[@oneminutefixed5003]

I hope you're joking

[@PrincessAmi9756]

@@oneminutefixed5003 Who, me? ...never!

[@PrincessAmi9756]

Well, let's see... by my math, there'd be 37 different weapon combinations, and they seem to sell for about 5k on ebay, which would be... I dunno, $185,000? ...I mean, if they all exist, and if it my math isn't wrong.

[@sliderx1897]

@@PrincessAmi9756 sounds attainable

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well.... maybe yes. I think. Now that we know this is legit.

[@falleneldor]

The color of the weapons is the same as Teela's weapons iirc, so perhaps it was a surplus of that color plastic. As for why He-man has brown hair, what if it was just ment to be another jungle man from he-mans tribe? We see brown hair guy named Ceril in the DC mini series which was late 1982 or early 1983? Man-E shows up very randomly in the 3rd final issue of the DC comic book.

[@spectorcreative1872]

The brown shorts likely caused this as well. The fewer overall colors you use on a figure the less expensive. If he had green hair, he would have had green shorts (if you will)

[@robearnest7613]

Only one question remains, Scott!: If this figure did indeed come out around 1983, how did I get a brand new one LAST YEAR WITH ALL THE WEAPONS?? HUH?? RIDDLE ME THAT?? I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU EXPLAIN... Oh, wait a minute... that's right. I took a loose Prince Adam and painted his body and legs flesh tone, hair dark brown, garments brown, boots black and took the weapons from the weapons pack and painted them reddish brown to make my personal custom Wun-Dar. Oops, my mistake.. Well, ahem...everything seems in order, mystery solved and all...keep up the good work Scott👍😁

[@spectorcreative1872]

Time Travel is also a possible explanation.

[@robearnest7613]

Lol! All joking aside this was some good investigating on your part. A little bit of speculation but still very most likely it happened the way you illustrated it. Actually I think the brown coloring was very intentional. He Man was supposed to be from a barbarian/ nomadic tribe (concept influenced from Conan lore/art) and if you were just going to do a repaint he man as a figure brown and black would make the most sense (like saying: you have He-Man, here's Strong-Man he a cousin from He-Man's tribe!) The real kicker to this solved mystery, and really the cause of the mysterious-ness of it all for the last 37 years is why WHY was there no info AT ALL given with his figure when it was mailed even if it was promotional?? I remember getting a mail away 'mummy' Mum-Ra from the Thundercats line when I was a kid that had no info, just a figure in a bag. BUT, he didn't need to because that version of the character had already been established. Kids knew who it was because it had been on the TV show continuously by the time the promotion was offered. This was a brand new toy line with brand new characters no one had seen before ever and just barely out of the infancy of its introduction to kids. I understand that Mattel's Marketing and Production has a budget and giving away a figure has to be cost effective, but WHY would they give away a new figure with no personal info (even if he is a He-Man repaint)? How could they not see kids would be uninterested or disappointed with this because they didn't know who this was? He didn't need a mini comic, but every character had at least a name on their card, like: Teela, Warrior Goddess. Even if you didn't read the comics or watch the show you still knew who all the characters were. Mattel could've put a small piece of paper with the MOTU logo on it saying: Strong-Man, he's He-Man's cousin, or something like that and kids would've been like, oh ok cool. It seems Mattel was in such a hurry to get something cheap out there they didn't stop to think about kids asking who this was... Maybe that was the intention all along, maybe they decided not to tell who he was because the idea was for the consumer (kids) to give him a name/origin... I would like to think that Mattel figured: We tell kids who these toys are. With this one, let's let the kids say who he is and where he comes from. ...I'd like to think that but I'm not sure that Marketing at Mattel, at least at that time, would have been so philosophical/sentimental...

[@MrDrokkul]

I guess the only thing that I wonder is if people pulling the 2 random weapons to put in actually pulled random weapons wouldn't that mean that the stock on hand to pack in with Man E Faces would also be randomized? I guess if they came up short they could just run some more off, though.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I think for Man E Faces they said "put in all 5" not a random two.

[@MrDrokkul]

@@spectorcreative1872 Right, but if they were using from the stock of weapons they ran off for W.B. He-man they would have to run more for M.E. Faces in order to pack him with all 5. Because some of those would have been randomly packed with WB He-Man. So its not just a case of using leftover stock, unless they ran off a ton of the weapons expecting to give away a bunch of WB He-Mans and then suddenly stopped giving out WB He-Man and THEN said, "Well what are we going to do with all these weapons now?"

[@RoseWaltz]

i remember having the figure as a wee Lil'Papallion i bought him at a goodwill second hand store for just under a dollar and we thought he was a mis-paint or a knock off either way he was played with to death

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well played with is better than not having!

[@t8ntpliscan468]

The only part of this story that is hard to believe, is that a customer sent in a letter, it was marked received, then an executive sent an official memo, on the same day the letter was 'received', to correct (stop a possible P.R. nightmare) the issue at hand. That, my friend, is good customer service. It's not everyday a large corporation runs that efficiently. I'm sure the memo, in total, cost more than the whole run of that particular figure did to produce (materials, but maybe man hours, too). Between the paper stock, letterhead, time taken to type said letter (probably typed up by their secretary), the other employees needed to deliver the letter, and the other 6 executives it went by before agreeing on a solution. I missed like 6 other things involved, but I found it funny because, offices will office...

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well keep in mind this was the early 80's. A very different time

[@tonyjackson4078]

There is one question remaining. Where DID the Wonder Bread connection come from? It was obviously strong enough in some assumption for the Wun-Dar name and cheeky loaf of bread accessory.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Honestly, I think it is people remembering the card offer and just extrapolating.

[@ehenyor]

@@spectorcreative1872 imagining, not extrapolating.

[@aesopfrogox4310]

Man, I really enjoy your videos. Thanks again. 🐸👍

[@spectorcreative1872]

Topic suggestions always welcome!

[@wyattbenjamin9177]

Since this promotion was obviously very early on in the Masters of the Universe storyline, likely before the filmation series, do you think it is possible that Wun-Dar was meant to be He-man from before the Goddess gave him his armor in the first mini-comic?

[@spectorcreative1872]

No, I think he was designed to be a inexpensive repaint ideal for a free promotion with very little thought into his "storyline" or bio

[@justinhampson569]

My only question is that why was this specific complaint letter kept by Mattel in their archives? I am sure they received many letters in those years as it was the only way to lodge a written complaint...still a mystery in that!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Likely because this letter resulted in the figure being pulled from the promotion so it was significant.

[@justinhampson569]

@@spectorcreative1872 ok, makes sense.

[@TheNightBadger]

00:02:30 Wait... Conan the Barbarian came out before '83. It was released mid '82. Conan the Destroyer came out in '84.

[@spectorcreative1872]

True, and good point. But MOTU was worked on in 1980 and 81.

[@TheNightBadger]

@@spectorcreative1872 But isn't the theory that Conan was offered to Mattel, who started developing figures, then when they saw the script thought it would be too violent, and kept going with what they had by creating their own Barbarian-esque spin-off?

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Good stuff! Well, that explains the Man-E-Weapons I had as a kid, anyway.

[@spectorcreative1872]

That really is/was the big mystery. Once that piece fell into place it all resolved!

[@kurokoro]

Man seeing this figures just make me want to get them so bad now that im an adult, must be my inner child trying to reach out but doesn't understand the wallet issues from being an adult.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh i get that 100%

[@rayvenkman2087]

Seeing your work on Motuc and DCUC, I do wonder how you would have done toylines for properties like Crash Bandicoot or Sonic the Hedgehog had the licences to do them.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I would have given them all green lantern power rings and spinning head action features obviously

[@rayvenkman2087]

@@spectorcreative1872 Needs more collect and connect pieces.

[@rayvenkman2087]

I think in Crash’s case, you’ll have a robust line of characters and variants to make figures out of. Especially with 2019’s Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fuelled opening the doors for repaint potential and giving toy companies a good justification for selling recolours of already tooled bucks.

[@scockery]

10:28 Moe-Sters of the Universe? Moe: "Hello, Moe's Tavern." Bart: "Yes, I'm looking for Manny, last name Tarms." Moe: "Is there a Manny Tarms here? Hey, Manny Tarms, you got a phone call." Duncan: "I'll take it. Hello, I'm called Man-At-Arms." Bart: "Look I gotta be honest, sir, this was a prank that went south."

[@Phantasia_Workshop]

“Alright, better luck next time.”

[@spectorcreative1872]

Hahahahaha

[@LeeONardo]

Talking of promos in the UK Weetabix had one for both girls and boys, girls could get one of two Barbie's and boys could get one of two Transformers "gestalt" limbs - Fireflight or Dragstrip. Initially I sent for Dragstrip and he came in a nice purpose made (sealed compartments!) plastic bag. I got enough tokens to send for Fireflight ... a month later I get a package with a letter telling me that they no longer had the items and that they hope I would be happy with UK "classics" release of Jazz instead. Yeah, I was happy with that! xD

[@spectorcreative1872]

That is awesome! Toy memories are the best.

[@GARY84ROCKS]

No mention of the convenience/coincidence idea of the Heroic Warrior man of "many faces" coming with many weapons? Seems notable.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Exactly!

[@tomasgordilloreale5841]

11:45 i don't know where that sound comes from but it cracks me everytime

[@spectorcreative1872]

I had to kill a rubber duck that was escaping

[@blackcatgraphics1483]

I'm curious if when they decided to cut the promo short, if they had someone destroy any remaining unshipped units, or maybe they repurposed the body for a later release? Is there another figure that has a similar color scheme, minus the He-man head?

[@EP1C_GHOSTMSMYT]

For the figure its easy. Just repaint as he-man and send out as normal

[@spectorcreative1872]

They wouldn't repurpose the body as that would cost even more money. Likely they gave out any remaining stock at industry events or even used it for local events where you knew what you were getting (vs. a mystery mail away) or in the end destroyed remaining units. This is likely the reason people remember getting him in a few ways.

[@extremesegaa9239]

Well I'm convinced this is def how it probably happened. After the letter part. Good to see a 30 some year old mystery put to rest

[@spectorcreative1872]

Victory!

[@genesanford9412]

This guy comes up a lot (more in the past ) in stories,& conversations . Before the net ,things like this were legends.I was lucky nuff to get real MOTU ,let alone mail-aways.My dad was against those dreaded "mail away your money" comic book ad things ,or anything that remotely resembled one. I blame Star Wars for that.He was PISSED !!! when the delay got us a piece of paper ,instead of toys.After that Christmas ,no more mail away ANYTHING.Even my MOM was barred from any mail orders cept Sears,Pennys & Aldens,M&W.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Some mysteries jus take time, but they do unravel eventually. I do apprecaite and am grateful for the comment. Thank you for taking the time. Ah toy memories... the best

[@JamesChessman]

Great videos but still, we don't know for sure, so it's still a mystery. Your hypotheses sounds good but we can't rule out other explanations, like maybe someday we'll find that there really was a Wonderbread promotion. Also, what if there is some kind of paranormal explanation, like the toy could have come from a different timeline, and just a few of those toys slipped into our timeline, for some reason...

[@spectorcreative1872]

I think if their really was a Wonder Bread promo some evidence would have shown up by now. They did the cards as seen in the first video

[@JamesChessman]

@@spectorcreative1872 Thanks, I think you solved the mystery as much as possible. But still slightly mysterious, and paranormal explanations are not impossible... :D

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

I figured the reason his hair was brown was to match his loincloth. Only opening two cans of paint keeps the price that little bit lower and Wondar was clearly being made on a budget.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Super budget!

[@Quantumhawk]

Ok, I think I got most of this. Just trying to understand why they were mailing out loaves of Wonderbread to people who bought He-man figures. Was it normal Wonderbread or wheat?

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was pumpernickel

[@jeremyjamesdewitt]

The only question I have left is why the sculpt on his shorts, right under the center of the belt, is missing a bit of sculpting. That would mean the tooling had an error in it. They made other characters with furry shorts after this one, and they don’t have it missing. I guess that’s why I always assumed he was made before the regular He-Man, and they fixed it before the full run started. It’s the biggest giveaway that one found in the wild is legit, and not a custom.

[@spectorcreative1872]

It could just be because of the rush to do the figure to meet the promotion deadline.

[@jeremyjamesdewitt]

So, maybe there was something on the mold during the production run?

[@misterknotsmarte]

​@@jeremyjamesdewitt Yeah, I have looked for a normal Heman paint with the Wundar shorts, but not found one. You'd think with the parts swapping that some Wundar shorts would be used later somewhere...why a special mold? Also, the boots are dipped, not sprayed like the early Heman?

[@Brian_is_Not_Sus]

What about the black Zodac armor from the weapons pak? Did he come with it ?

[@spectorcreative1872]

No, just a lot of people used it for him

[@mantran8495]

Question : is there anyway to contact that mom that wrote the letter to Mattel president( if she still alive)? Maybe her son ,probably a growing adult today. This will confirm their special edition he-man figure even more

[@spectorcreative1872]

Oh lets let her be. I"m sure she does not want to be part of this!

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

A Saturday night treat!!!

[@spectorcreative1872]

Glad you like!

[@rodrickadamginsburg8960]

@@spectorcreative1872 always and are you even the least bit surprised at this point?

[@markc5406]

I agree with what was said that he wasn't a Conan figure, but Conan The Barbarian came out in 1982. Conan The Destroyer would've been in pre-production.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Yes, that is a good point! But work on He-Man would have started in 1979-1980 and Mattel would not have made a toy for a license they didn't have. Too risky from a legal issue.

[@markc5406]

@@spectorcreative1872 Oh I agree with you, I just wanted to make sure the timeliness were straight. I'm sure part of that idea came from the fact that before seeing the script, Mattel had the license while developing the He-Man line. Were prototypes made? According to the documentaries on the subject both were promoted to stores at the same time, they just pushed the MOTU brand over Conan due the content of the film and of course, Mattel owned MOTU. In fact,, I think Universal at least thought about litigation believing Mattel didn't operate in good faith. I understand that Wun-dar is not based on or a byproduct of the former Conan line. I would just enjoy following the Conan rabbit hole a little longer and see what was, if anything was produced for it. Could be a neat video.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

But is there photographic proof she got that figure? I just think someone in the 90s repainted an old figure, claimed it was authentic and sold it to the gullible.

[@silvershamrock3]

No there is no proof of anything. This is just Scott trying to get subscribers so he can monetize his videos.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well the letter is genuine as it is followed by multiple responses from Mattel executives. What would possibly be the motivation for them to fake this in 1983 when it is date stamped?

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

@@spectorcreative1872 Not saying the mattel figure sent was fake. Saying that the others were faked by individual sellers years later.

[@jamesoblivion]

Here we go again....

[@TheToyBoy1978]

I was just wondering if there was any extrapolating done in this video? lol JJ Really enjoyed this and the last Wun-Dar upload.

[@spectorcreative1872]

none what so ever.

[@bonkaz7]

Have you ever discussed why He-man in the classics line has red around his eyes like he’s been crying all night or allergic to Eternia’s flowers?

[@spectorcreative1872]

It was the first production units. This tends to happen on almost all toy lines where the very first figure or wave is a bit like a sacrificial lamb where mistakes will inevitably need to be corrected.

[@FNHot]

I think Scott should think about doing a Micro Machines commercial.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Ha! I'll apply now that they are back in production

[@FNHot]

@@spectorcreative1872 knew you'd get the reference! =) Mile a minute in that video there buddy, very impressive!

[@oneminutefixed5003]

05:44 by very quickly you mean a whole year? What did CPI pay for exactly? Why was a figure mentioned in the grayskull Netflix documentary?

[@spectorcreative1872]

You would need to ask the producers of the documentary that. I can't hedge a guess.

[@transfan1988]

Hi! a little question, how common was for Mattel to keep this kind of letter? It seems like they kept it because it was the reason why they halted or changed the promotion... right?

[@spectorcreative1872]

No, I don't think they kept it for that reason. They keep pretty much all letters like this.

[@ehenyor]

@@spectorcreative1872 When I was a kid, my brother and I sent in a couple of new figure designs. We received a nice letter back telling us that our letter and designs would be stored for safe keeping. We thought it was a polite response and the letters were tossed, but now I would not be surprised if they really are stored in a box somewhere.

[@Thunderbird1337]

Why isn't there just someone from Mattel who worked in the marketing department back then and can say how exactly it was? Can't be so difficult.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Well... honestly a lot of them have passed. It has been 40 years and most people in marketing were between 40 and 50 years old, so, well the math....

[@plazma2891]

do Mattel still have the tools for eternia ? do you think they will re-produce it for origins? I think it would sell good this time the could change the colors a bit to tell apart. I was the lucky cool kid on the block that got eternia for xmiss year it was released but like a dumb dumb threw it out around 94 or 95

[@spectorcreative1872]

Tools only last about 5 years. We even had to re-tool the basic MOTUC parts toward the end of the line.

[@LuderSatan1]

Though Conan came out in 1982, so technically Mattell could have made Wun-Dar in Conan´s image. But I doubt it, since Conan was a PG movie. It could also be that the Wun-Dar just was the orinal Hee-Man, and then they changed the hair color. And then they just had hundreds of brown haired hee-mans, they needed to get rid off.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Conan was rated R. This is why Mattel did not pursue it.

[@TBustah]

It makes sense, but it’s just conjecture. The only part with any real proof behind it is that it was a mail-in promotion. Maybe it really was just a cheap repaint, but I still think it’s possible that it was some abandoned product that they were trying to unload through the promotion.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Conjecture yes, but also built on my knowledge of how the toy industry works and how mail away figures are created.

[@TBustah]

@@spectorcreative1872 For sure, I’m just saying there’s nothing concrete.

[@tonymedina8640]

Awesome!

[@spectorcreative1872]

And now?

[@simongreiff8242]

Why do he have the extra space under the belt? 🤔 Wonderbread he-man is the only figure with that detail.

[@spectorcreative1872]

Likely due to rushed production.

[@RyanParreno]

Scott; why does Wun-Dar's carpet match the drapes?

[@spectorcreative1872]

Using as few paint colors as possible is also a cost saving measure.

[@williamdezynski7342]

Now that I hear this, I think someone I knew had this figure when I was a kid and he called him some other name then He-Man, obviously a name he gave him or someone did.

[@spectorcreative1872]

I wish I had seen it in the 80's!