Debs – Page 14 – Vintage Action Figures

Remembering MJ…Michael Jackson – Superstar of the 80s – by LJN Toys

Sooner or later every toy blogger must face the million dollar question when it rears its ugly head – is that an action figure…or is it a DOLL?! Reis O’Brien provides what is possibly the last word in the action figures versus dolls debate over at About Action Figures, and by his standards, our Michael Jackson here teeters dangerously on the edge of doll-dom – to make things worse, LJN Toys, whose wresting figures and Thundercats lines are 100% in the action figure camp, even used the D-word in their television commercials for this Michael Jackson figure! With the second anniversary of MJ’s untimely passing coming up this Saturday 25 June, however, I thought this would be a great occasion to look back at this wonderful piece of Michael Jackson memorabilia, issued at the very peak of his career in 1984.

Give me the truth before I take it from you! Barricade from Transformers

The countdown to the release of the third Transformers live action movie – Transformers: Dark of the Moon, or more simply Transformers 3 as it’s being trailed here in Italy – is well underway! Megan Fox may have jumped the franchise (or, if you believe the gossip columns, been pushed out by director Michael Bay), but Shia LaBeouf is still hanging on in there, looking all grown up in this movie and ready to be dragged back into the Transformers’ war…again! These CGI epics may have their detractors, but I’ve always enjoyed them so couldn’t ignore this 3 ¾ inch Barricade action figure from the first 2007 Transformers movie when I found him on a thrift stall recently.

Star Wars Variations: C-3PO (Removable Limbs)

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have recently been re-watching the original Star Wars Trilogy again on DVD. The Empire Strikes Back inspired me to dig out one of Kenner’s major Star Wars 3 ¾ inch action figure variations, the C-3PO (or See-Threepio) Removable Limbs version, and display him just as he appears in the movie – disassembled and slung into a harness carried on Chewbacca’s back. Remember the scene when Chewie is trying to fix 3PO?

Oh, my! What have you done? I’m BACKWARDS. You flea-bitten furball!

Goku from Dragon Ball Z

The collection of Japanese Anime action figures is very much a sub-genre within action figure collecting as a whole and I certainly wouldn’t profess to having anything other than the slightest passing knowledge of the subject. Having said that, however, I know a handsome looking action figure when I see one, so this impressive sculpt of Dragon Ball Z hero Goku immediately caught my attention when I saw him on a market stall in Rome recently. Curiously, Japanese animation TV series have always been enormously popular in Italy – far more so than in the UK where I was born and raised – so it isn’t that surprising to discover Anime related merchandise here, although this particular figure was a spectacular find!

Christopher Reeve as Superman action figure by Hot Toys

Pre-Order Christopher Reeve as Superman by Hot Toys!

As regular readers of this blog will know, I take a very occasional look at a brand new action figure release if it’s likely to be of interest to vintage collectors…or if I’m so excited about a figure that I can’t wait to spread the word about it! I mean, seriously folks, who could resist mentioning this Superman 12-inch Figure from the 1978 classic superhero film Superman that Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys have just revealed to the world?

With a stunning movie-accurate hand-painted likeness of Christopher Reeve it’s certainly sending some major ripples through the toy blogging universe right now and would seem to be the Superman we’ve all been waiting for! He even comes packaged with a detailed light-up figure stage imitating the Fortress of Solitude.

Vintage Matchbox Pee-wee Herman action figure

I know you are, but what am I?!… Pee-wee Herman!

Love him or hate him, if you were alive in the 1980s you can’t have missed American comedian Paul Reubens in the guise of his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman. Star of Pee-wee’s Playhouse, an enormously successful and groundbreaking Saturday morning television show for kids in the US, worldwide audiences were first introduced to him via Tim Burton’s debut film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which turned the road movie on its head and Pee-wee Herman into a cult favourite.

The last couple of decades have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Reubens, both professionally and personally, but finally, Pee-wee Herman is back with a hit show on Broadway starring all the old Playhouse gang, so to celebrate (as I love Pee-wee to bits) I thought it would be fun to look back at this vintage Matchbox Pee-wee Herman action figure that was issued at the height of Pee-wee mania in the late 1980s.

Star Wars Variations: Black Bespin Security Guard

By the time that this classic 3 ¾-inch Star Wars action figure variation came out – first on a tie-in card for The Empire Strikes Back and then repackaged for The Return of the Jedi – it was already clear that toy manufacturers Kenner were happily set on helping kids re-enact all three movies using the entire cast, down to the smallest walk-on role! I actually watched The Empire Strikes Back again a few weeks ago on DVD and must have blinked at the wrong moment, because I could barely remember the appearance of this Bespin Security Guard – in either his moustachioed Caucasian variant, or this, his African-American version.

Frankenstein Monster – Mini Monsters by Remco

Universal Monsters action figures, it seems, will never go out of fashion. Only this week the Intertubes were buzzing with news of the latest Diamond Select retro cloth Dracula and the Mummy figures, which are set to hit stores this Autumn, following the success of the Wolf Man and Frankenstein last year. These new figures are highly reminiscent of Remco’s 9-inch Universal Monsters from 1980, of course, which spurred me to share another classic Remco action figure from the same year – the Frankenstein Mini-Monster. At 3 ¾ inches, these figures were pint-sized plastic Universal Monsters released in conjunction with the larger figures (hence the “Mini” moniker), but have arguably become even more popular than their larger counterparts and have enjoyed almost continuous adoration from monster movie and action figure fans ever since.