He-Man Toys: Scented Secrets Of Masculinity

why did he-man toys smell like cologne

In the 1980s, Mattel's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toy line included an action figure called Stinkor, an anthropomorphic skunk with the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stinkor's distinctive smell was achieved by mixing patchouli oil with the plastic used to make the toy. This resulted in a pungent odour that couldn't be washed away, and earned Stinkor the title of Evil Master of Odors. Stinkor's scent has proven to be long-lasting, with vintage toys still emitting a strong odour decades later.

Characteristics Values
Year of release 1985
Toy company Mattel
Toy name Stinkor
Toy description An anthropomorphic skunk with the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Toy's smell source Patchouli oil mixed into the mould

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The Stinkor toy was an anthropomorphic skunk with the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Stinkor, an evil humanoid skunk warrior, was released in 1985 as part of the fourth generation of Masters of the Universe action figures. An anthropomorphic skunk with the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stinkor was a D-list villain, essentially a repainted version of an original He-Man baddie named Mer-Man, wearing recycled armour. Stinkor's odiferousness was achieved by Mattel mixing patchouli oil into the mould. No amount of washing Stinkor could make the smell go away, and the scent was so strong that it would hit you as soon as you opened the box where the toy was stored.

Stinkor's ignoble pedigree didn't end with being a Frankenstein of existing He-Man parts. The writers of the Masters of the Universe cartoon show wanted nothing to do with him, refusing to write an episode about a character who was "a walking fart joke". Stinkor's only canonical appearance in the original Masters of the Universe is a mini-comic packed in with the figure called "Stench of Evil".

Stinkor was also released in the form of a stamp and a zipper clip, and was featured in several articles in recent years. Although Stinkor was never a central character in the Masters of the Universe mythos, he is well-remembered and seems to have been popular with children.

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The scent was achieved by mixing patchouli oil with the plastic

The scent of the He-Man action figure, Stinkor, was achieved by mixing patchouli oil with the plastic. Stinkor, an anthropomorphic skunk with the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger, was released as part of the fourth generation of Masters of the Universe action figures in 1985. Mattel, the company that created Stinkor, also mixed patchouli oil with the plastic of Stinkor's nemesis, Moss Man, to create a pine scent.

Stinkor's scent was so strong that it would not fade away, even after washing. This led to many parents "accidentally" throwing Stinkor in the trash or burying him in the backyard. Stinkor's strong scent set him apart from other scented toys at the time, such as Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony figures, whose scents would usually fade away over time.

The process of mixing patchouli oil with plastic was also used to create the scent for Moss Man, another He-Man action figure.

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Stinkor was released alongside other toys like Moss Man, Two-Bad, Roboto, and Sy-Klone

Stinkor, an evil humanoid skunk warrior, was released in 1985, alongside other toys like Moss Man, Two-Bad, Roboto, and Sy-Klone. Stinkor was a new character made up entirely of pre-existing parts. He was a repaint of Mer-Man with armour from Mekaneck and the shield from Castle Grayskull. Stinkor's smell was achieved by mixing patchouli oil into the plastic mould.

Sy-Klone was released in August 1985 and was created by Mattel Designer Roger Sweet, under the working name "Tornado". He was one of the few vintage Masters of the Universe figures with ball-jointed shoulder articulation. His colour scheme was simplified to blue and yellow, with red highlights.

Roboto was introduced in the episode "Roboto's Gambit", where he was a robotic chess opponent created by Man-at-Arms. He was instrumental in alerting He-Man to Tri-Klops' presence and causing a distraction that allowed He-Man to reach Tri-Klops and destroy the skeleton warrior control device.

Moss Man was a repurposed Beast Man with scratchy green astroturf glued on, who smelled like pine because it had been baked into the plastic.

Two-Bad was featured in the episode "Separation", where he visits a wizard named Fermus to help him separate into Tuvar and Badra again.

shunscent

Stinkor was a D-list villain, a repainted version of an original He-Man baddie named Mer-Man

Stinkor, an anthropomorphic skunk with the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger, was released as part of the fourth generation of Masters of the Universe action figures in 1985. He is a D-list villain, a repainted version of an original He-Man baddie named Mer-Man, wearing armour recycled from another action figure called Mekaneck. Stinkor's ignoble pedigree didn't end there. The writers of the Masters of the Universe cartoon show wanted nothing to do with him, refusing to write an episode about a character who was "a walking fart joke". Stinkor's only canonical appearance in the original Masters of the Universe is a mini-comic packed in with the figure called "Stench of Evil".

Stinkor's odiferousness was accomplished by Mattel mixing patchouli oil into the mould. Mattel did the same thing with Stinkor's nemesis, Mossman, a repurposed Beast Man with scratchy green astroturf glued on who smelled like pine because it had similarly been baked in.

The result was that no amount of washing Stinkor or playing with him could make the smell go away, prompting untold numbers of mothers to "accidentally" throw Stinkor in the trash or bury him in the back garden. Stinkor exuded stench from his every pore.

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shunscent

Stinkor's only canonical appearance was in a mini-comic called Stench of Evil

Stinkor, the "Evil Master of Odors", was a villain in the Masters of the Universe franchise. Stinkor's only canonical appearance was in a mini-comic called "Stench of Evil", which was packaged with the Stinkor action figure. The character was never featured in the Filmation cartoon series, as the writers considered Stinkor to be a "walking fart joke".

Stinkor was introduced in 1985 as an action figure from the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toy line. The Stinkor action figure had a semi-foul scent, giving it the distinction of being one of the few toys whose "action feature" was an odour. The toy was created by Mattel by reusing the mould of another villain in the Masters of the Universe line, Mer-Man. The Stinkor figure was chemically treated with patchouli oil to smell musky. The unique scent was achieved by mixing the plastic used in the mould with patchouli oil, instead of spraying or coating it, to prevent the smell from wearing off over time.

According to the toy biography, Stinkor is from a race of skunk humanoids called Peleezeans, and his real name was Odiphus. In the 2002 version of the He-Man cartoon, Stinkor's origin is finally revealed. Stinkor was originally a common thief named Odiphus and resembled a large house cat. A chemical accident mutated Odiphus into Stinkor and gave him his horrible stench. Stinkor himself is not immune to his own stench and must wear an oxygen mask to breathe properly.

Frequently asked questions

Mattel mixed patchouli oil into the mould when creating the He-Man toy Stinkor, giving it a distinctive smell.

Scented toys were a popular gimmick at the time.

Yes, Stinkor's nemesis, Moss Man, was scented like pine.

Yes, scented toys were usually marketed to girls. Examples include Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony.

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