There are some big grail pieces sought after by collectors of 1970s and 1980s vintage toys, many of them coming from the popular franchises of the time such as Star Wars and Masters of the Universe. Yet a recent Heritage Auction proved that cult classics also have a place at the table when it comes to commanding the best prices from those looking to expand their collections with some truely forgotten items. While many kids of the 80s were playing with He-Man and Skeletor, Mattel were also putting out action figures based on some movies and shows that did not quite take off in the way they were planned to. One of those was Flash Gordon. A movie based on the pulp comic hero was released in 1980, but despite a strong showing in Europe the film was a dud in the U.S., and the franchise drifted away only to become a cult classic and pop culture of the future.
Despite not doing huge things at the time, it seems that the toys released to coincide with the film are providing some big wins when it comes to collector’s auctions. A Vultan figure – based on the loud and brash character played by Brian Blessed in the movie – with a professional AFA grading sold as part of Heritage’s latest toy lots, fetching $6,875. To put that in perspective, while it may not be the five-figure sums paid for certain toy grails, it was more than a set of three “8-back” Masters of the Universe figures that sold for exactly the same price. That set comprised of classic Mer-Man, Zodac, and He-Man himself, with the former two appearing on G2 cards while He-Man has a G0 original run card. One big difference is that the Masters of the Universe figures are not graded, which can often see figures going for less than they would with that magic number attached. Regardless, the price comparison proves that sometimes even the more forgotten vintage toys can bring a big auction win.
If you ask most people to name a toy line that was popular in the 1980s, it is unlikely that Flash Gordon will be on the list. Moreover, anyone who can name Vultan as a character who blew cinema speakers with his boisterous booming voice 46 years ago is clearly a lover of classic sci-fi and fantasy movies of the decade. However, the toy based on the character is one that serious collectors of 80s memorabilia will have had on their radar for a number of reasons. The figure was added to the line in its third wave, which becomes significant when considering that later waves tended to be released in smaller numbers and less people bought them as the initial mania for a new toy line wore off. Finding Vultan in excellent boxed condition now is something that is very hard to do, and that adds value that cannot always be replicated by the mass-produced early figures of the He-Man line.
There are always exceptions to all rules when it come to collecting, and particularly when it come to how grading impacts the value of a vintage action figure. It is almost certain that if all three Masters of the Universe figures featured in the lot here had been given a strong grading, then they would have sold for well over $10,000 – He-Man alone can sometimes hit that value. Similarly, if this Vultan figure had not been graded, then even as a boxed example it would have probably dropped a couple of thousand dollars. Instead, the high Y80 grading – the third highest on record and eighth-highest example known to exist – is what helped to make sure it could compete with some of the biggest names in 80s action figures and come out on top.
