Whilst it was Hasbro who first coined the phrase “action figures” for military dolls aimed at the boys' market in the late 1960s with their G.I. Joe line, and in particular Palitoy's UK version known as “Action Man”, the legendary Mego company also earned a place in action figure history in the early 1970s with their own short-lived adventure hero line - Action Jackson. Selling well only briefly, and ultimately a commercial failure, these 8 inch figures with a wonderful range of costumes, were … [Read more...]
Mego
The Mego brand name was synonymous with action figures during most of the 1970s. The Mego Corporation displayed enormous business acumen in its purchasing of the licensing rights to many successful movies, television shows and comic books, such as classics like Planet of the Apes and Star Trek, as well as their bestselling The World's Greatest Superhero line which featured Marvel and DC Comic book heroes.
Production features of interest:
- the Mego Bubble Card placed the clear plastic bubble containing the action figure in the middle of the card;
- action figures were made with interchangeable heads so that generic bodies could be more easily mass produced then transformed with the addition of only different heads or clothing;
- in 1976 founder David Abrams turned down an offer to license toys for a certain upcoming Sci Fi flick...that film was Star Wars!
The Mego Corporation closed shop for good in 1983 and vintage Mego action figures have since become highly collectible.
Ivanhoe: The World’s Greatest Super Knights by Mego
Whilst legendary toy makers Mego are probably most famous for their 1970s 8-inch line of comic book characters the World's Greatest Super Heroes, some of their most highly collectible figures today are a very different range of swashbuckling literary and historic heroes – The World's Greatest Super Knights! Ivanhoe here, was released alongside the Black Knight, King Arthur, and his knights Sir Galahad and Sir Launcelot, in what was a spectacularly detailed series of beautifully made action … [Read more...]
He IS the greatest! Muhammad Ali ‘The Champ’ by Mego!
“Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, The greatest sports action figure is Muhammad Ali” I'm a huge admirer of Muhammad Ali and a massive fan of Mego's vintage 8-inch action figures from the 1970s, so this Ali meets Mego action figure has always been a must-have item for me. I finally managed to track one down at a fair price in an online store recently and have had it in my possession for only a short time, but I became instantly smitten the moment I unrolled him from the … [Read more...]
Mego Lion Rock World War II Japanese Fighter Pilot by Polistil of Italy
The great Mego Corporation initially balked at the idea of creating a series of World War II themed figures in the 1970s – after all, this would have meant entering into head to head competition with Hasbro's military G.I. Joe Adventure Team action figures in the US – but they liked the idea enough to try it out across the Atlantic, handing the reins to European distributor Lion Rock. The resulting series of 6-inch figures released by various different European toy companies saw some truly … [Read more...]
The Human Torch meets Robin in a mega Mego mashup!
Collecting vintage 8 inch Mego action figures from the World’s Greatest Super Heroes line can sometimes bring some fun surprises as we saw a while back with my Superman figure with Spider-man's red torso. Whilst many anomalies may well have left the factory that way during the long production life of these hugely popular figures, some toys have clearly been pieced together Frankenstein-style with spare parts from assorted characters or even reproduction accessories. I'm not entirely certain … [Read more...]
Mego Superman: Putting the Super into the World’s Greatest Super Heroes!
We can rebuild him, we have the technology is a phrase we know and love from old The Six Million Dollar Man episodes, but if you're a collector of vintage Mego 8-inch action figures the expression could easily apply to any toy you are hoping to restore – it is by no means uncommon to come across loose uncarded vintage figures that have been cobbled together with spare limbs from various different figures or restored with repro parts and accessories. Late in the run of their World's Greatest … [Read more...]
Thumbs up for Fonzie, the star of Mego’s Happy Days line!
Earlier this year I posted a series of articles taking a close and covetous look at my sister's childhood collection of vintage Mego 8-inch action figures that we had recently uncovered in our parents' loft in pristine condition. What a wonderful surprise, therefore, to unwrap my Christmas gift from my sister this year and discover another absolute classic from Mego – a vintage 8-inch Fonzie from their Happy Days line! Aaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!! Is this the coolest action figure ever made? Thanks sis! … [Read more...]