Eternia

He-Man - Masters of the Universe

Playsets

Mattel

1986

ETERNIA The Eternia Playset (1986/1987) was the largest playset to be produced by Mattel for the Masters of the Universe line of toys. The playset has three (3) levels featuring three (3) towers with vehicles that run around the entire playset. There are numerous accessories and pieces to the playset that makes a complete version a very rare and valuable find. Eternia could be called the "holy grail" of all Masters of the Universe (MOTU) toys. Because of "Eternia's" rare nature, there is a limited amount of information regarding the playset, its features and parts.

THE CENTRAL TOWER

"Exterior" Eternia comes with three (3) core towers. The largest and primary tower comes in two pieces and is called the "Central Tower." It comes with a "Central Tower Base" foundation. The key feature of the "Central Tower" is the "Guard Lion." The "Guard Lion" head also comes in two pieces featuring the actual "Lion Head" and the "Lion Jaw." Additionally, there are two arms, simply called the "Right and Left Lion Arms" that fit into the "Central Tower." Finally, there are two (2) Gold "Gargoyles" that guard the entrance steps to the playset leading up to the "Guard Lion."

The top tier of the "Central Tower" comes with four (4) blue "Monorail Arms." All four (4) arms fit neatly into the face of the central tower's upper tier to support the "Monorail Track" pieces. On the top of the tower, there is a place to assemble a "Laser Blaster" molded in red. Three (3) Gold "Flag Poles" with flags fit into the ledge of the upper tier encircling the "Laser Blaster."

The "Central Tower" is connected to the two smaller towers, "The Grayskull Tower" and the "Viper Tower" by way of the "Castle Ramp" and the "Viper Ramp."

"Interior"Eternia's "Central Tower" comes with three (3) floor levels officially called the "First Floor," "Second Floor" and "Top Floor." This is in addition to the ground floor level. Each level is reached by way of an "Elevator" which runs up and down on the "Elevator Shaft." The "First Floor" features the "Command Console Seat" and "Computer"console.

THE GRAYSKULL TOWER Eternia comes with two secondary towers to the right and left of the "Central Tower." The "Grayskull Tower" is a representation of "Castle Grayskull" and connects to the "Central Tower Base" and reaches into the air at approximately half the height of the "Central Tower." The "Grayskull Tower" fits four (4) brown "Monorail Arms" into its face to support the "Monorail Track." At its base, there is a "Prison" for Evil Warriors, Snake Men or Horde Characters secured by a "Prison Gate." An additional feature is a "Ball & Chain" which moves the "Prison Gate." Some collectors place a "Gold Ladder" with the "Grayskull Tower" as well. The "Gold Ladder" accessory usually attaches to the top ledge of a tower and hangs down the tower face or down to a piece of "Monorail Track."

THE VIPER TOWER Eternia's second smaller tower is the "Viper Tower." The "Viper Tower" also attaches to the "Central Tower Base" reaching into the air approximately half the height of the "Central Tower." The "Viper Tower" is a representation of "Snake Mountain" and features four (4) brown jagged "Monorail Arms" that fit into the face of the tower and support the "Monorail Track." The "Viper Tower's" central feature is the "Viper" which comes un-assembled mint in box. The "Viper Tower" comes with four (4) chains that run from the collar around the neck of the "Viper" down to the "Monorail Arms." The lower base of the "Viper Tower" is cavernous giving an Evil Warrior figure a hideout.

"MONORAIL SYSTEM"

Eternia's monorail system is made up of Thirteen (13) "Monorail Arms" and Thirteen (13) pieces of monorail track. The "Central Tower" fits five (5) blue "Monorail Arms" into its frame. The "Grayskull Tower" fits four (4) brown "Monorail Arms." The forward "Monorail Arm" on this tower attaches to the afore mentioned "Ball & Chain." The "Viper Tower" also fits four (4) "Monorail Arms." These arms are a bronze color and have more intricate detail than the arms on the opposing tower. As mentioned previously, the four (4) "Viper Tower" arms attach to the "Viper Tower" "Collar" by way of four (4) chains. The Monorail System comes with three (3) specially made vehicles that travel the "Monorail Track" encircling Eternia. A (Gray) "Power Module" connecting each car to the track powers all three (3) vehicles. Only one vehicle may travel the monorail system at a time. The three (3) vehicles are officially called the "Battle Tram Vehicle (White)," the "Sky Cage Vehicle" (Purple) and the "Jet Pack Fighter Vehicle" (Gray).

A note to collectors: This "Monorail Track" is especially sensitive and very vulnerable to breakage. It is not uncommon for "track" to literally fall apart in hand during assembly! The "Track" should always be assembled by inserting the ends together. This is as opposed to clamping one end down "over top" of the other in cases where "Track" pieces don't assemble well. Clamping "Track" pieces overtop of each other may result in further breaking of the "Track." Most pieces fit together "hard." Once two pieces of track are fit together, there is a "hard" and very snug grip that keeps the track together. Most breaking occurs when the track is pushed beyond the breaking point in an attempt to get pieces to fit snug. If the fit doesn't seem natural, there may be a need to evaluate the pieces further to determine what might make the pieces fit together better. Avoid the tendency of forcing pieces together that resist. This will cause the "track" to break. Most intact "male" ending "track" pieces have a small clamp on their surface which makes the pieces hold together. This makes it very difficult to pull the pieces apart without breaking. Avoid the tendancy to wiggle pieces in an attempt to assemble or pull pieces apart. This will also cause the track to break. Handle with care.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH THE TRACK

Collectors will find a few pieces of track that are in good shape. However, these pieces often don't slide together with the greatest of ease. One technique is to lubricate the ending pieces with an oily substance so the pieces will slide together with greater ease. In some cases, petroleum jelly or vasoline has been applied. However, most collectors sadly find more broken or incomplete track pieces today than they find un-damaged. This makes assembly a further challenge. Sometimes collections will come with pieces which have been broken off. Some of these pieces will more than likely be broken off on the underside of the track rail. One of the best practices before assembly is to attempt fitting broken pieces together to identify matches where repairs can be made. Succeeding in this will give the collector an advantage in general assembly of the monorail system because more material will then be available to support it.

In many cases, there is simply not enough material present on the end of a piece of track to assemble two pieces together tightly. Some collectors have resorted to super-gluing those pieces together in order to have a nice working system and display. Unfortunately, this has at least one drawback. Most people will need to move this playset at least once or twice in their life time. Due to the sheer size of "Eternia," it would be a disaster to try and move the playset assembled without a platform of some kind underneath of the entire structure. It is recommended that "Eternia" be displayed on a surface that can be moved without causing disruption to the playset.

Even if super-glue is the only option a collector has for assembling "Eternia's" monorail system, it is best if the collector can avoid gluing every piece. It is highly recommended that at least 4 assembly points remain un-glued in the event "Eternia" must be moved. Keeping at least 4 assembly points un-glued will allow the collector to separate the three towers which will make moving the playset much easier.

Each piece of track has a small "nodule" on its side which fits into the "Monorail Arms" on each tower. These "nodules" are also very prone to breakage. Most breakage occurs when a track nodule is being fit into one of the "Monorail Arms." This fit is also a tight fit. Do not hold the track itself when applying leverage for fitting the nodule into the arm. This can result in the nodule snapping off. When inserting nodules into the arm piece, push the nodule itself. This may require the assistance of a small tool in order to apply adequate pressure. Ultimately, applying pressure to the nodule instead of the track will re-direct the force away from the track rail.

Finally, the collector must also consider that each collection he or she acquires will have been assembled in the past. Assembly of these track pieces will cause the track to bend. Some of the track will naturally want to bend in the middle to accommodate the sloping of the system as the track encircles each tower. Unfortunately, the tendancy to bend in a particular way may not coincide with the way a new owner may try to assemble the track. In other words, a new owner of this playset may assemble two pieces of track that were formerly assembled to two other pieces on completely different sides of the playset. This alone can force the track into a position that has become foreign to it. The results can be anything from breakage of the track pieces to the pieces not fitting at all. In some cases, "Monorail Arms" and the nodules on some "Track" pieces may not reach each other or fit together at all.

ACCESSORIES & WEAPONS

There are numerous pieces of accessories and weapons that come with the Eternia Playset. Perhaps the central piece in this category is the "Weapons Rack." Additionally, there is at least one (1) "Gold Ladder" as well as four (4) "Grappling Hooks" that come with the playset. At least one (1) "Silver Cross Bow" and one (1) "Gold Bow & Arrow" (modeled after the one carried by the Masters of the Universe character "Ninjor") come with Eternia. Eternia comes with at least four (4) additional weapons appearing to be laser cannons. These weapons are molded in gold and silver.