Many small toy manufacturers from the 1980s created toys that strongly resembled the reigning king of the era, He-Man. This was far from a new practice, for it was always cheapest to knock off the most popular toys around. Even though true fans will easily spot a cheap knock-off, enough parents and unaware customers would grab these cheap toys for a gift. With this in mind, Soma created the Fantasy World toy line.
The Soma Fantasy World Toy line
The Fantasy World toy line entered the market in 1983 with a clear likeness to Mattel’s hit toys. Unlike other manufacturers, Soma did not attempt to create a basic storyline for this line. They placed eight action figures with an overarching barbarian fantasy style. So, there were no cartoon shows or comics to draw awareness to the toys. Fantasy World did not even have any basic plot or bios on the back of the cards. Instead, the card backs only displayed images of all eight action figures from the toy line.
Fantasy World featured eight characters, all with similar appearances and toy sculpts. First was the human warrior Fanstar, who resembled a Roman soldier. Next was the blue-skinned Hellord, who had a shield shaped like a cat’s head. Another human warrior, Herocon, had little more than a sword and round shield to his appearance. The slate-skinned Ironmask had a shield shaped like a cat’s head and a trident. Fantasy World featured a third human character, Tirkin, who wore a bit more armor than Herson. He also held a round shield and a mace hammer. The green-skinned Dragonman came with a spear and a demon-faced shield. There was also the dark-blue-skinned Nizard with a flamberge sword and a demon-faced shield. Finally, there was the beast-man Piro, who came with a short axe and a demon-faced shield.
In addition to the standard action figures, Soma created two boxed sets with mounts for their characters. Once again, taking a page from more successful toy lines, the Fantasy World mounts were giant cats. One was a black panther, while the other was a grey panther. Both of these sets came with a warrior action figure.
The legacy of the Fantasy World toy line
Few collectors were aware of Soma’s toy selection in the 1980s. Likewise, the manufacturer has remained relatively unknown today. Thus, there have been no calls to remake the Fantasy World toy line. These toys still have a small group of collectors interested in keeping their legacy alive.
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