Castle Grayskull

[mjj1976]

On the off chance that someone here might've already expressed interest in it, I decided to do a forum search for Castle Grayskull. To my surprise, there was a thread where it was actually mentioned (though only in passing). Because I don't know precisely where this topic fits, I've chosen to post it here, in the requests section...

I've done a few telephone and e-mail Q&A sessions with artists involved in the creation of the Masters of the Universe toy line, and would very much like to see an interior map of Castle Grayskull, as envisioned by them. To that end, I'd like to know if anyone here is willing to discuss and/or participate in such a project.

There'd likely be no money involved, and the results (if any) would be made freely available on the Internet. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

[The Cartographist]

mjj - I doubt very much that the makers of the toyline had much (if any) of an idea in their head with regards to the interior layout of the castle. I doubt even that the cartoon creators had much of an idea.

Now, surprisingly (to me at least), there is a huge fan following on the internet for all things He-Man. IF someone has taken the time to do it (I expect that someone has), you could probably find a fan-generated map of the castle somewhere.

I don't have the time to participate, but I would be interested in how your search goes, and if you uncover anything.

Cheers.

"Tim"

[Redrobes]

I remember thinking about that as part of the Werthers Skull entry but the skull was more like Skeletors place than He-Mans.

We also had a mention of Orco here

I have watched a lot of the cartoons and although is been some years I don't remember seeing any scenes where they were either not just at the front (drawing sword mainly) or inside some generic room. Any kind of map would surely be plucked entirely from imagination. Theres also some plastic toys of the castle which I guess somebody must have thought up too.

I have thought about doing the Harry Potter castle because there are numerous references to places in there and one could read through it making notes of them with page numbers and join up all the dots. I always had the suspicion that Rowling had a map planned for continuity before starting as the continuity over the whole set of books is near perfection.

I think it would be fun to see either of these but I dont really have the time to consider doing them. But your welcome to use the Werthers Skull interior if thats useful to anyone for a Snake Mountain map.

[RPMiller]

I have thought about doing the Harry Potter castle because there are numerous references to places in there and one could read through it making notes of them with page numbers and join up all the dots. I always had the suspicion that Rowling had a map planned for continuity before starting as the continuity over the whole set of books is near perfection.

There is a map of Hogwarts and the surrounding area as well as castle interiors.

http://www.hp-lexicon.org/atlas/hogwarts/atlas-h.html

Enjoy!

[mjj1976]

To help correct some common misconceptions: Masters of the Universe first existed as a toy line. Mini-comics were packaged with the figures, and while their stories were a bit simplistic, they weren't the quite farce that the cartoon made things out to be. Back then, before the cartoon "ret-conned" things, He-Man was just a heroic barbarian (i.e., not the secret identity of Prince Adam).

Mark Taylor was the main conceptual artist for the early toys, and he had a rather sinister vision of Castle Grayskull in mind. In his theme, the castle was built around the actual skull of a dead giant, the castle extends far below ground, and the combination of imprisoned evil forces and noxious swampland project a withering aura that makes long-term habitation next to impossible.

More specific to my ends is the fact that he provided a picture of the original prototype sculpt, which looks far more detailed and castle-like than what got distilled for easy tooling and mass-production. I'm not saying that this is nearly enough information to plot out a full interior design, but it's a good start.

I hope to discuss the design further with Mr. Taylor, and perhaps get a map from him. However, if he doesn't have the layout cemented in his mind, it might also work out in reverse, with him approving a design created here.


P.S.: As for Harry Potter, provided that the plans are accurate, I wouldn't mind seeing a 3D explorable version of Hogwart's made. (And if I haven't already mentioned it, that's what I hope to accomplish in the long run for Castle Grayskull, too.)


P.P.S.: There have also been several incarnations of Masters of the Universe over the years. My interest for this project is solely in the first line (c. 1982), and even then, only before the cartoon.