Debs – Page 21 – Vintage Action Figures

It’s Showtime with Kenner and Beetlejuice!

There are some action figures that seem to divide collectors straight down the middle – you either love them or hate them – and the 5 inch Kenner Beetlejuice action figures from 1989 seem to fall into that group. I personally adore these figures and have no idea why some collectors gripe about them, as they look good, feel good and have some fun interactive extras. The most eagle-eyed readers have probably already spotted the most obvious interactive element with these figures – the heads on the four different figures in this line were actually interchangeable, which means that whilst you might pick up a figure for a few dollars he might not be wearing the “correct” head with which he was originally issued!

Beetlejuice - Snakehead — Shish Kebab head

Mutatin’ Donatello

When the animated series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was relaunched in 2003 by Mirage Studios, the new cartoon kept more closely to the original Eastman and Laird comic books and whilst being kid friendly, had a decidedly darker edge. A new series, of course, in the new marketing-savvy millennium meant a bodacious number of action figures, with Playmates Toys, who had held the license since the first animated series and created the first waves of figures in the late 1980s, picking up where they had left off.

Alan Grant Jurassic Park action figure by Kenner

Jurassic Park by Kenner: Alan Grant

One of the things that becomes patently clear when one looks at action figures of as recently ago as the mid 1990s, is that kids were clearly far less demanding about having their spin-off toys actually look like the actor in the film. This 5 inch Jurassic Park action figure with the standard five points of articulation was issued by Kenner in 1993 at the height of Jurassic Park movie mania and was an enormously popular figure in a line that leaped off toy store shelves as fast as you can say “T-Rex”! The fact that the facial sculpt didn’t even come close to resembling the actor Sam Neill who played Doctor Alan Grant in the movie didn’t seem to matter one bit! He’s recognizable more than anything by his hat!

Spock Mego Star Trek Movie action figure

Mego’s Mr. Spock from Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Mego’s original 8-inch Star Trek action figures hit stores in 1974 and are arguably some of the most well known and indeed well loved figures the toy company ever produced. The Mego figures were tied to the 1960s TV series which continued to have repeat showings all over the world throughout the next decade and beyond, but when Star Trek: The Motion Picture was first announced Mego had to negotiate with Paramount to ensure that they would also get the license to produce the movie toys too.

Kenner Super Powers: The Flash!

Whilst the focus of my own personal collection of vintage action figures tends to be on movie and TV memorabilia sometimes I just can’t resist adding the occasional superhero to the stash, particularly when the figure is a real classic like this version of The Flash. Created by Kenner in the first wave of their Super Powers line in 1984, this 4 ½ inch figure really was a superb rendition of The Scarlet Speedster and like the other figures in the line had his very own Super Power – Power Action Lightning Legs.

Shrek the Third Talking Donkey Happy Meal toy

Shrek and McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys

With the final chapter in the Shrek movie series Shrek Forever After hitting cinemas worldwide tomorrow I thought it might be fun to take a look at one of the action figure gimmicks that was released in 2007 to coincide with the last Shrek film.

When Disney and the McDonald’s restaurant chain finally parted ways in 2007 the Disney gap was quickly filled by a major merchandise marketing deal with DreamWorks Animation tied to the launch of Shrek the Third. In a move that presumably addressed some of Disney’s (rumoured) concerns about the impact of McDonald’s fast food on childhood obesity, this time around the Shrek toys and action figures would be available with Happy Meals with a new healthier menu including …wait for it…fruit and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and fruit juices! To add further weight (no pun intended) to DreamWorks’ commitment to the problem, the Shrek the Third characters also appeared in a US Dept. of Health & Human Services commercial regarding Childhood Obesity Prevention.

Star Wars Variations: Big and small head Han Solo

Han Solo: Two heads are better than one!

Without wanting to seem mono-thematic here at Vintage Action Figures, last week’s look at Indiana Jones made me want to take a closer look at another Harrison Ford action figure – indeed, not one but TWO figures: the big and small head varieties of Han Solo. When in 1978 kids could finally get their hands on Kenner’s 3 ¾ inch Star Wars action figures (with 1977 stamped on the back) the Han Solo figure complete with Rebel Blaster proved enormously popular. Let’s face it, not only was he the coolest character in the movie, Harrison Ford who played Han Solo so charismatically in the movie, was the only cast member who went on to become a superstar. Soon after its release, the powers that be at Kenner looked at the original figure and decided that Han needed some work and in an unprecedented move for those days, chose to re-sculpt the head. And so the mother of all Star Wars action figure variations was born.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Map Room Indy

This 1982 Kenner Indiana Jones action figure shows our hero not in his usual brown leather jacket and fedora hat, but in the desert disguise he wore in the map room in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy discovers the secret location of the Well of the Souls aka the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.

This figure was released exclusively with the Map Room Playset and originally came dressed in a removable robe. The provided accessories gave kids everything they needed to re-enact the scene – a grappling hook, tri-pod, pick, book, rope, satchel and pistol, not to mention the all important Staff of Ra complete with headpiece, which is the key to locating the covenant, as well as the scale model of the city of Tanis.