Flipping Off Eternia: The Craig Elmore Interview

If you’re reading this, chances are that New Jersey’s Craig Elmore has a better He-Man collection than you. I first met Elmore about 10 years ago at community college in a speech class. It was a requirement, we weren’t retarded or anything like that. The first “speech” I remember Elmore giving was on how super saiyan levels from Dragonball Z work. About halfway through his speech, Elmore paused and apologized. He said he had just smoked a bowl before class and was having trouble delivering his speech. I knew then that this kid had stones.

What I didn’t know about until a little later was Elmore’s possessed a massive MOTU collection. Like, really big. I thought I was cool with Hordak and Trap-Jaw on my desk, but Elmore puts my collecting heart to shame. 10 years burning plastic torsos down the road and Elmore is still He-Man hoarding strong.

Why collect He-Man? Why not Ninja Turtles or GI Joe?
The main figures I collect are He-Man, Thundercats, and Silverhawks. I have some Turtles, Transformers, and other toys, but growin’ up He-Man, Tcats, and Silverhawks were my fave.

Do you call them “He-Man figures” or “Masters of the Universe figures?”
Definitely He-Man figures.

Are most of your vintage figures the ones you owned when you were a kid? Or did you go back and re-buy them?
I’d say a 1/4 of em were mine from when I was a kid. When I was in high school and started looking on internet I saw some sites people made for 80s cartoons. It made me go in the attic and pull out what I had. Then with eBay and some toy shows it just got bigger and bigger and I started asking my friends if they had any.

How close are you to a complete, vintage collection? What the hell’s taking you so long?
Well money doesn’t grown on trees. I think I need about 17-18 more figs then there’s still all the dinosaurs…few vehicles and accessories…at least 45 pieces left to have em all. Most of the figs I need are the more pricier ones like Squeeeeze, Snakeface, Scareglow.

Do you fuck with She-Ra figures at all? Like, aren’t all of the Evil Horde figures like Hordak and Dragstor technically She-Ra figures?
Well, I got a She-Ra action fig that was my sisters that was thrown in with my old toys. My She-Ra knowledge isn’t up to par but i think your right. Most of the She-Ra stuff I’ve seen are movies like “Secret of the Sword” and the X-mas special when they battle.

I’ve heard that the Eternia playset is the holy grail for MOTU collectors. And a complete set is even harder to find. Do you possess the grail?
I’d rather not talk about it.

Are any of the MOTU characters gay? I think Fisto is.
Fisto sounds gay – I’ll give ya that. People have their opinion with some vids I’ve seen on YouTube.

MOTU had some weird materials on their figures. Like Moss Man and Grizzlor. Do these figures smell weird after 20 years?
Strangely enough Moss Man now smells like Grizzlor and Grizzlor smells like Moss Man.

What do you think of the modern series? The ones that came out in the early 2000s and the ones still coming out?
I was happy with the one that came out in early 2000s. The animation was sick. I haven’t bought any of the newest figures – my focus is getting the original series complete first.

Did they really use the same torso, arms, and legs for the mold of basically every male figure?
Most have the same torso with the exception of figs like Ram-Man (also gay – ed.), Man E Faces, Roboto, and the majority of Horde and snake figs.

What’s the coolest non-figure piece of merchandise you have? Like a cereal bowl or something. What’s the dumbest?
I like my MOTU power tour banner I got wen I saw the tour and my HE-MAN coffee mug. Those are two things I can’t recall ever seeing on ebay or other sites. Dumbest would have to be 2000s He-Man lollipop.

I haven’t revisited the ’87 film with Dolph Lundgren in about 10 years. How does that bitch hold up?
To me…I liked it. I don’t know. So many people say it sucks but it brings me back to being a kid every time. Courtney Cox and the babe that played Teela in it (Chelsea Field), c’mon huba huba! Gwildors comic relief didnt hurt either.

If you were a MOTU character, what would your name be? What would mine be?
I’d have to say Afr-O-More and you’d be Pat-E-PooPoo.

Thank you Elmore, you jerk.