Debs – Page 3 – Vintage Action Figures

Sam Cobra – The Renegade Bad Man by Marx!

When toy maker Louis Marx & Co. launched its response to industry rival Hasbro’s G. I. Joe (or Action Man, as he was known in the UK ) it was in the form of a 12 inch articulated cowboy “doll for boys” called Johnny West. First appearing in 1965, Johnny West marked the first character in the hugely collectible Best of the West action figure line, with clan leader Johnny quickly joined by other West family members over the years that followed – Jane, Jay, Josie, Jamie, Janice, Jimmie, and Johnty. Marx did eventually branch away from characters beginning with the letter J, and even decided to add some villains to the mix! Cue our devilishly handsome man in black here, the con-man, gambler, and gun-fighting renegade Sam Cobra.

Han Solo in Carbonite with Carbonite Block!

While my love affair with vintage Kenner Star Wars action figures burns ever strong, I confess to the odd flirtation with newer figures from the Neo-classic era (1990–2000) when they are particularly good. I’m not a huge fan of Hasbro’s 1990s Star Wars revamp (rather unimaginatively named Power of the Force 2 to distinguish it from the earlier 1980s Power of the Force series, famous for its cardbacks with special collector’s coins), but one simply can’t have too many Han Solo action figures! I was thrilled to dig out this 1996 figure from a bargain bin the other day.

Heroic Human…Robot…Monster? It must be Man-E-Faces!

Masters of the Universe, Mattel’s hugely successful action figure line of the 1980s, has proved enduringly popular. Big sellers back in the day, these figures can still be found loose on flea markets for a fair price, like this classic Man-E-Faces 1983 figure (dated stamped 1982) from the second wave of Heroic Warriors from the Original Series, which I picked up just the other day.

Almost all the figures in this line came with a built in power punch action – twisted at the waist and then released, the torso will swivel round at speed, and land a hefty punch – yet this particular figure went one better.

Maximilian Schell is Dr. Hans Reinhardt – The Black Hole by Mego

The Black Hole, Walt Disney’s 1979 sci-fi blockbuster, with its multimillion dollar state-of-art special effects and a star-studded cast featuring such notables as Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Perkins and Maximilian Schell, was clearly intended to be the studio’s answer to Star Wars. That was the plan, anyway. Instead the film has become one of those forgotten movies to which the epithet “cult” is often applied. My own memories of the movie were very dim, so I watched it again on DVD recently, happily prepared to embrace it as a lost gem.

Time for some Prehistoric Pizza with Cave-Turtle Don!

It’s been slow start to 2014 on the vintage action figure collecting front – I’ve come away disappointed and empty handed from several recent forays to markets stalls and my usual haunts. Choice figures from decades past seem to be getting harder and harder to find…But then, unexpectedly, I found a couple of gems at a new flea market this week. I never pass up the chance to add a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figure to my collection, however silly the guise, so this Donatello draped in furs caught my eye right away!

May the Force be with you this Christmas!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….Chewbacca, with Han Solo along for the ride, is heading back home for Life Day, the Wookie equivalent of Christmas. Don’t remember this from the movies? Believe it or not, this scene was actually filmed! But not for the big screen. The Star Wars Holiday Special was televised at the height of Star Wars mania in 1978. Directed by Steve Binder of the Elvis 68 Comeback Special fame, the Christmas television special took the now legendary characters from the Star Wars universe and combined them with all the Christmas trimmings of an old fashioned television variety show! Sounds great, right?

Meet a ‘Return of the Jedi’ Hero – Nien Nunb!

When Kenner started out on its 3 ¾ inch Star Wars action figure adventure in 1977 the popularity of the movie caught the toy company by surprise. It would be unthinkable today, where a marketing frenzy surrounds every film released with a potential toy franchise, but back then Kenner were so unprepared that they were unable to deliver any Star Wars action figures to toy stores in time for Christmas! The solution they came up with would become the stuff of collector legend – Kenner pre-sold empty boxes with an “early bird” order card, which could then be mailed away and redeemed for figures (Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2 or Chewbacca) when they became available. Kenner not only got away with this stunt, but seeing its success would repeat the idea later down the line with several “mail-away” or “mail-in” special offers.

Spider-Man: Mego Pocket Super Heroes

Kenner rightly deserves its place in toy making history for popularising the 3 ¾ inch figure through its vintage Star Wars line of the 1970s and 80s, with the huge success of the movie franchise proving to be a massive marketing lucky break for the company. The Mego Corporation definitely deserves a nod as the very first pioneer of the 3 ¾ inch scale, however, with their Comic Action Heroes line launched way back in 1976, and its revamped series three years later known as the Pocket Super Heroes. Featuring the already licensed comic book characters from its own classic 8 inch World’s Greatest Super Heroes line, these pint-sized action figures were only produced until 1982.