Mattel & Hot Wheels Guide: Masters of the Universe, Brick Shop and the Hammond Collection

Mattel is the company behind Barbie, Hot Wheels and He-Man, which covers most childhood bedroom floors since the sixties. These days it also makes a lot of things aimed at the grown-ups who used to own those bedroom floors: movie-accurate Masters of the Universe figures, buildable Hot Wheels cars with metal parts, and dinosaurs big enough to need their own shelf.

That split between toys and collectibles is exactly what makes Mattel confusing to buy for. Some boxes are for a six-year-old, some are for a forty-six-year-old, and a few are for both. Here's how to tell them apart, and what to get for whom.

MOTU Chronicles: SkeletorHot Wheels Premium: F1 McLaren

Who are Mattel?

Mattel was founded in Los Angeles in January 1945 by Harold Matson and husband-and-wife Ruth and Elliot Handler. The name is a mash-up of "Matson" and "Elliot", which is the sort of thing you can do when it's your company. It's headquartered in El Segundo, California.

The highlights:

• 1959: Barbie arrives and becomes Mattel's best-selling toy of all time.
• 1968: Hot Wheels launches on 18 May, with a design team that included car and aerospace specialists.
• 1982: Masters of the Universe and its 5.5-inch He-Man figures arrive, followed by the cartoon that made Skeletor a household name.
• 1993: Mattel buys Fisher-Price, home of Little People.
• 2016: Mattel wins the Jurassic World toy licence, taking it over from Hasbro.
• 2025: Mattel Brick Shop launches, starting with Hot Wheels building sets.

The ranges, explained in plain English

• Masters of the Universe Movie Chronicles: The collector line for the 2026 live-action film. 6.5-inch collector scale (our listings say 17–18cm), heavy articulation (Skeletor has 30 points) and window boxes that look good on a shelf. Skeletor's box is rated 6+. Figures run £26.99–£34.99 at the time of writing (Skeletor, He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Tri-Klops, Trap-Jaw), Teela and Ram Man are £31.99, and Battle Cat is £39.99.
• Masters of the Universe movie toys for kids: Alongside Chronicles, Mattel makes a simpler, smaller movie line for younger fans. Our 14cm Skelegoon is £14.99.
• Masters of the Universe Origins and Masterverse: The two ongoing collector lines outside the film. Origins (since 2020) is vintage-styled 5.5-inch figures that look like the 1982 toys; Masterverse (since 2021) is the premium 7-inch line with more detail and articulation.
• Hot Wheels for collectors: Beyond the pocket-money mainline cars, Mattel makes premium 1:64 lines for adult collectors, and runs the Red Line Club, a paid membership on its Mattel Creations site that sells members-only cars.
• Mattel Brick Shop (Hot Wheels): Brick-built Hot Wheels cars aimed at adult builders. The Elite series is 1:16 scale; we have the '24 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and '94 Toyota Supra MKIV at £43.99 each.
• Jurassic World Hammond Collection: Mattel's premium, film-accurate dinosaur line for collectors. Indominus Rex (66cm) is £60.99 and Scorpios Rex (43cm) is £45.99.
• Little People Collector: Fisher-Price's Little People, redone as pop-culture sets aimed at adult fans. The Harry Potter blind-pack display of 12 is £99.99.
• KPop Demon Hunters: Mattel makes the toys for the Netflix animated film. The Rumi & Jinu 2-pack is £44.99.

Little People Collector: Harry PotterKPop Demon Hunters: Rumi & Jinu

Masters of the Universe: the 2026 film and the toys that go with it

He-Man finally got his big-screen reboot. Masters of the Universe, directed by Travis Knight and produced with Amazon MGM Studios, hit cinemas in June 2026, with Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, Camila Mendes as Teela and Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn. It went to Prime Video in the US not long after, so plenty of new fans have met Skeletor this year. Not bad going for a franchise with a man called Trap-Jaw in it.

Mattel split the movie toys into tiers, and knowing which tier you're looking at saves a lot of disappointment:

• Chronicles (collector line): Movie-accurate sculpts, lots of articulation, character weapons (Skeletor gets his ram-headed Havoc Staff), display-friendly packaging. These are the ones to buy if you saw the film and want it on your shelf.
• The kids' line: Smaller (our listings are 14cm), simpler and cheaper, built for play rather than posing. Great for a young fan; a letdown if you were expecting Chronicles.
• Origins stylings: Mattel also released movie characters done in the vintage Origins look, for people who want the film's cast to sit with their 1980s-style figures.

If you're new to He-Man figures generally, here's the family tree in one breath: the original 1982 toys; Masters of the Universe Classics for collectors from 2008 to 2020; a spell where Super7 held the licence; then Mattel took it back with Origins in 2020 and Masterverse in 2021. The movie lines sit alongside those rather than replacing them. Super7's era is covered in our Super7 guide, and if you want He-Man's world as a proper statue, Iron Studios makes Masters of the Universe pieces too (see our Iron Studios guide).

Chronicles: He-ManChronicles: Battle CatChronicles: Trap-Jaw

Hot Wheels for grown-ups

Hot Wheels has always had an adult following, and Mattel now caters for it properly:

• Treasure Hunts: Low-production cars hidden in the regular mainline. A standard Treasure Hunt carries a small flame-in-a-circle logo. A Super Treasure Hunt has a "TH" mark on the car, Spectraflame paint and Real Riders rubber tyres, and the card may show a gold logo behind the car. Know these before you pay a premium for something a seller calls "rare".
• Red Line Club: Mattel's paid membership for serious collectors, running for over 20 years, with members-only castings and early access to some releases.
• Mattel Brick Shop: The new one, launched in 2025. There are three tiers: Speed (1:32), Elite (1:16) and Premium (1:12). The Elite '24 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is 793 pieces, rated 10+, and comes with a matching 1:64 die-cast car, a metal signature plate, working steering and a removable bonnet with the engine underneath. The Supra is 824 pieces. Mattel says the bricks work with other building brands, so they'll sit happily next to whatever's already on your shelf.

Brick Shop is the obvious gift for a car person who's done every brick-built supercar going: it's a build and a display piece in one, and the die-cast car in the Aston Martin box is a nice touch.

Brick Shop Elite: Aston MartinBrick Shop Elite: '94 SupraBrick Shop Premium: Miura

Jurassic World: the Hammond Collection

The Hammond Collection is Mattel's top-end Jurassic line: more articulation, more accurate sculpts and packaging made for collectors. The Indominus Rex is the showpiece, 66cm long, in its camouflage colours from the first Jurassic World, with a removable tracking implant (the one she claws out in the film), swappable claws and a posable tail. Mattel rates it 8+. The Scorpios Rex is the hybrid from season three of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, at 43cm.

Fair warning: "66cm" is the length, and it's a lot of dinosaur. Measure the shelf first.

Shown: Jurassic World Hammond Collection Action Figure Indominus Rex 66 cm

So which one should you buy?

If it's a present for a young He-Man fan

• The kids' movie line, starting at £14.99 for Skelegoon, is the right size and price for play.
• Step up to a Chronicles figure (Skeletor is rated 6+) if they're careful with their toys and want the "proper" one.

If it's for an adult who grew up with He-Man

• Chronicles Skeletor at £26.99 is the cheapest way in and, frankly, the best character.
• He-Man plus Battle Cat (£34.99 and £39.99) is the classic pairing and a properly impressive gift.

If it's for a car person

• The Brick Shop Elite Aston Martin Vantage GT3 or '94 Supra at £43.99 each. Rated 10+, so fine for an older kid too.

If it's for a dinosaur fan

• Scorpios Rex (£45.99) for a Camp Cretaceous fan; Indominus Rex (£60.99) if you want the big centrepiece. Both 8+ territory.

Shown: Jurassic World Hammond Collection Action Figure Scorpios Rex 43 cm

If it's for a pop-culture collector

• The KPop Demon Hunters Rumi & Jinu 2-pack (£44.99) or the Little People Collector Harry Potter display (£99.99).

How ordering works with us

Our Mattel collection is mostly fed by our European distributor. A few pieces are on the shelf, but most are listed as pre-orders we bring in especially for you: you order, we order it in, and it ships to you when it lands. New releases are genuine pre-orders with release windows. Every product page shows its own availability and timing, so check there, particularly if it's a birthday or Christmas present with a deadline.

Pre-ordering is how you avoid paying resale prices once a popular figure sells through. See everything we can bring in at pre-order on demand and collectibles pre-orders.

The honest bit: what we'd swerve

• Buying the wrong tier: The kids' movie figures and the Chronicles figures share character names. Check the size and price before you buy, or you'll hand a collector a play figure (or a five-year-old a 30-joint figure with tiny accessories).
• Paying "Treasure Hunt" prices for a normal car: If there's no flame logo or TH mark, it isn't one, whatever the listing says.
• Chasing one character in blind packs: Blind packs are a lucky dip. Buy them for the fun of the surprise, not because you need one specific figure.
• Movie-merch speculation: Buy the characters you like. Nobody, including us, knows which film toys will be worth more in five years.
• Sun and dust: Brightly coloured plastic fades in direct sunlight. Keep window boxes out of sunny spots, and a quick dust beats a deep clean.

The short version

• Mattel started in Los Angeles in 1945; Hot Wheels arrived in 1968 and He-Man in 1982.
• For the 2026 film, Chronicles is the collector line and the 14cm figures are for kids.
• Chronicles Skeletor (£26.99) is the best-value way in.
• Brick Shop Elite sets are 1:16, rated 10+, and make an excellent gift for car people.
• The Hammond Collection is premium Jurassic: the Indominus Rex is 66cm long and rated 8+.
• Learn the Treasure Hunt marks before you pay over the odds.
• Pre-order popular figures; check each product page for timings.

Browse the full Mattel and Hot Wheels collection, or widen the net with our action figures and toys and collectibles ranges.

Final thought: Mattel is at its best when it remembers that its collectors used to be its customers. Get the kids the kids' line, get yourself the Chronicles Skeletor, and tell nobody which one you were really shopping for.

Further reading: still stuck for presents? Our Christmas gift bundles for 2026 might help, and if you're a lifelong toy-aisle nostalgic, our Super7 figures guide is next.