Biggest Toys of the 80's - U.S.S. Flagg, Fortress Maximus, Eternia
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 10:31 am
Greetings All,
Just a fun thread I wanted to put together because there has been so much buzz about the Mattel Creations Crowdfunded Eternia that is probably going to meet this goal as of this writing, if not very soon.
As a child of the late 70s & 80s. MOTU was my first real connection in terms of toys, which shifted to TF years later. I never was into GI Joe toys, but I appreciated them for what they were, and I thought the animated series was neat.
However, with little dispute, I think most toy collectors would agree that the BIG 3 items to have, if someone were to have any would be:
GI Joe: The U.S. S. Flagg: Released in 1985 for $89.99 USD
Masters of the Universe Eternia Playset Released in 1986 for $89.99 USD
AND
Transformers: Fortress Maximus Released in 1987 for $89.99 USD
Just a couple of things to note, I believe TRU was probably marking things up slightly even way back when, because I remember getting Fortress Maximus as a gift in 1987, and it was $100.00 USD ($99.99 plus tax). So I'm pretty sure all of these retailed for right around $100.
Also, depending on where you lived, some might make a case for Grand Maximus, which was a repaint of Fortress Maximus released only in Japan in 1988, which means far fewer were produced. Also perhaps the GI Joe Defiant Space Shuttle Complex, which was quite huge and expensive as well, but we can have those discussions another time.
Basically just as a fun question... If money was no issue for your parents, but you could only choose ONE of these Three items to own, which would it be, and why do you say so?
For me, like I stated, I owned Fortress Maximus. It was a gift from my Grandparents, because there's no way my parents could have got it for me. I saw Eternia ONCE at a store called Mervyn's Toys (Mervyn's was a store basically like Kohl's, but went about of business about 20 years ago, but they did well at least California form the 1950's through the early 2000's).
However, Even though all my toy collecting and passion is for Transformers today, I still have a strong MOTU nostalgia, even though I dont collect the toys anymore. I had pretty much every MOTU figure, vehicle, accessory and playset from 1982-1985 (had Grayskull, Snake Mountain & The Fright Zone). But in 1986, obviously Transformers had taken over as my primary interest, so I only got probably about half of everything from 1986, and about a quarter of 1987 MOTU offerings, which is sad, because those last 2 years had some of the coolest ideas.
I think though looking back...Even though I had Fort Max, and I tried to keep it in good shape, pieces were broken & lost. However in the early days of eBay, I was able to obtain a new green door cheap and fix him, and get a couple pieces I was missing to restore it to 100% complete. Had I obtained Eternia instead, no doubt many pieces would have been lost and Broken.
Still, I believe that Eternia is super Rare (allegedly only 4000 ever made, when the intent was to make 40,000) *I heard this on Geek Dad Life's Youtube Video last Sunday, I have no idea if this is factual. I have no idea how many Flagg's or Fort Max's were made, or still exist. I know collectors will often Frankenstein parts for all 3 of these items, in hopes of ever making a completed set.
Also, if I had Eternia instead of Fort Max, it likely would have been sold with the rest of my original MOTU collection in 2000. It might have raised the overall value of my collection slightly, but not nearly as much as it would be worth today.
I guess in Hindsight, Fort Max was the one I had, and was probably the one best suited for me. But there's no denying...those other Big Ticket items are really impressive.
Just a fun thread I wanted to put together because there has been so much buzz about the Mattel Creations Crowdfunded Eternia that is probably going to meet this goal as of this writing, if not very soon.
As a child of the late 70s & 80s. MOTU was my first real connection in terms of toys, which shifted to TF years later. I never was into GI Joe toys, but I appreciated them for what they were, and I thought the animated series was neat.
However, with little dispute, I think most toy collectors would agree that the BIG 3 items to have, if someone were to have any would be:
GI Joe: The U.S. S. Flagg: Released in 1985 for $89.99 USD
Masters of the Universe Eternia Playset Released in 1986 for $89.99 USD
AND
Transformers: Fortress Maximus Released in 1987 for $89.99 USD
Just a couple of things to note, I believe TRU was probably marking things up slightly even way back when, because I remember getting Fortress Maximus as a gift in 1987, and it was $100.00 USD ($99.99 plus tax). So I'm pretty sure all of these retailed for right around $100.
Also, depending on where you lived, some might make a case for Grand Maximus, which was a repaint of Fortress Maximus released only in Japan in 1988, which means far fewer were produced. Also perhaps the GI Joe Defiant Space Shuttle Complex, which was quite huge and expensive as well, but we can have those discussions another time.
Basically just as a fun question... If money was no issue for your parents, but you could only choose ONE of these Three items to own, which would it be, and why do you say so?
For me, like I stated, I owned Fortress Maximus. It was a gift from my Grandparents, because there's no way my parents could have got it for me. I saw Eternia ONCE at a store called Mervyn's Toys (Mervyn's was a store basically like Kohl's, but went about of business about 20 years ago, but they did well at least California form the 1950's through the early 2000's).
However, Even though all my toy collecting and passion is for Transformers today, I still have a strong MOTU nostalgia, even though I dont collect the toys anymore. I had pretty much every MOTU figure, vehicle, accessory and playset from 1982-1985 (had Grayskull, Snake Mountain & The Fright Zone). But in 1986, obviously Transformers had taken over as my primary interest, so I only got probably about half of everything from 1986, and about a quarter of 1987 MOTU offerings, which is sad, because those last 2 years had some of the coolest ideas.
I think though looking back...Even though I had Fort Max, and I tried to keep it in good shape, pieces were broken & lost. However in the early days of eBay, I was able to obtain a new green door cheap and fix him, and get a couple pieces I was missing to restore it to 100% complete. Had I obtained Eternia instead, no doubt many pieces would have been lost and Broken.
Still, I believe that Eternia is super Rare (allegedly only 4000 ever made, when the intent was to make 40,000) *I heard this on Geek Dad Life's Youtube Video last Sunday, I have no idea if this is factual. I have no idea how many Flagg's or Fort Max's were made, or still exist. I know collectors will often Frankenstein parts for all 3 of these items, in hopes of ever making a completed set.
Also, if I had Eternia instead of Fort Max, it likely would have been sold with the rest of my original MOTU collection in 2000. It might have raised the overall value of my collection slightly, but not nearly as much as it would be worth today.
I guess in Hindsight, Fort Max was the one I had, and was probably the one best suited for me. But there's no denying...those other Big Ticket items are really impressive.