Masters of the Universe...you know...the classic toy line, cartoon, comic phenom of the dirty 80s, right? C'mon, you gotta know a little about He-Man and his pals, right?! Well, the Masters of the Universe (MOTU) franchise was huuuge back then...still has a following today. It was so big, other toy companies tried to cash in on the craze by making their own little figures that looked
eerily similar to the popular MOTU ones. These figures were often cheaply made by cheap toy companies. These particular figures that borrow the idea of a more popular line are called "knock offs". Knock offs don't only exist in the toy world...you should know. Any time some
thing is popular, it's bound to have imitators! There is a whole crap-load of knock off MOTU figures out there. So, so many! I love MOTU KOs to death...got me quite a collection.
To start off...both my rambling about dorky stuff like toys and show off my collection and love for MOTU knock offs, I'll start with these guys: Jinetes del Espacio...from Spain...made in Spain...for kids. Yeah.
I ain't no translator, but I did take Spanish in junior high, senior high, college,
and am surrounded by Sanish-speakers most of the day, so I know at least a little Spanish. Roughly translated...horsemen from space? Sounds dumb. It kinda looked to be translating as "space cowboys"...which is slang for an astronaut...maybe? Eh, I guess it is actually just "Space Riders". Yep.
Story behind these...well,
my story in regards to getting these...Back in the early days of me collecting MOTU knock offs, I had come across so many, and was still trying to get an idea of what lines were popular or well-known, trying to find out what was what. I had seen many body styles and sculptural aesthetics and didn't know who or what went in what knock off line. I had seen the style of figure and horsey thing before...I just didn't know what they were! Over time, I had gotten into KOs more heavily, joined some discussion boards, made some collectin' chums...yadda, yadda...saw a few on eBay. DAMN!!! So awesome, and rare looking...I had seen the riders and the horses in people's collection pics out in many places throughout the annals of the internet. I had to have at least
one of the three listed on the 'Bay. I bid, and lost. Crap. Good thing, 'cause at the time, I had saved up big bucks to buy an Eternia playset for Masters of the Universe, but bailed on the idea since I'd have no room for it! I bid...a lot...several hundred in a fit of mania...yeah, I sometimes do that...ouch! Kinda glad, though...those auctions ended at over four hundred apiece. Some KO collectors are just crazy, eh? I had posted on how much I had loved these, and a kindly fellow collector sold me a set of three for much, much less (no offense to the original auctioneer). So damn happy! I had gotten a hold of some. I still had no name or manufacturer. I kept searching. Finding pics of these was hard enough, and finding info was even
harder. AUGH!!! Got invited to a really cool private forum, and ended up getting some sweet pics of more of these figure types, but still no name! One of the boys ended up selling me a set again...whoopie! These are the two in the picture...these were packaged...with the name and the manufacturer. Mystery solved. Oh, and this company, JUYBA, made many KOs in this style...Ninja Turtles, Marvel Heroes, Ninjas, and even MOTU knock offs
without the horses and with weapons! Nice.
Here's a spread of my current collection of Jinetes del Espacio toys. I'll post single reviews some day...if I feel like it...sorry to be a tease! I know more characters exist, and we'll talk about them...over time...and HEY...found out how to edit posts, too...good for me!
Gimme a break...I'm slow...
and new at this, okay?
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