Every great cult television show – and naturally, tie-in toy line – needs a dastardly foe who will try his utmost to ruin the plans of the good guys and prevent the heroes of the show from stealing the limelight through their daring deeds. Last time we looked at Captain Troy Tempest, the handsome hero from Stingray, so I thought it might be fun to follow that up with a villain from another absolute classic Gerry and Sylvia Anderson marionette TV show - The Hood from … [Read more...]
Stand by for action! It’s Captain Troy Tempest from Stingray!
As promised in my last post, here's another vintage action figure found at a flea market on my recent trip back to the UK, and like the Doctor Who collectible featured last time, this is a piece of UK television memorabilia from another cult show – Captain Troy Tempest, James Garner lookalike and the dashing hero of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's marionette masterpiece Stingray. The voice actors may have all been American – a ploy to ease overseas sales of the show – but the rest of the production … [Read more...]
Web Climbing Spidey from Spider-Man 2
One of the action figure previews to generate a major buzz and lengthy blog posts all over the Internet during the recent San Diego Comic-Con was the all new Hasbro Spider-Man with sparkly metallic finishes. It will be released to coincide with the 2012 reboot of the Spider-Man movie franchise - The Amazing Spider-Man - which sees the very talented Andrew Garfield with the unenviable task of taking over a role that Tobey Maguire played so nerdily well in the Sam Raimi trilogy. In my book, … [Read more...]
Cap-Firing RoboCop by Kenner!
When an uber-violent hit movie garners an adult-only viewers certificate as well as its cult following, it would be reasonable to assume that toy makers looking to score with a tie-in action figure or toy line targeted at kids would be facing a problem – R-rated action figures?! When RoboCop hit the big screen in 1987 and went on to become both a critical and commercial success it was nevertheless accompanied by a successful merchandising campaign aimed at kids way too young to have seen the … [Read more...]
Farewell to Harry Potter…! Expecto Patronum Deluxe Action Figure
Whilst fans have been gathering for days in London's Trafalgar Square to see the stars of the final Harry Potter movie Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows:Part 2 walk up the red carpet for the film's premiere, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at a Mattel action figure release from 2004 - the Expecto Patronum Harry Potter issued as part of the Deluxe Wizard Collection.8 inches tall and solidly built, this figure was part of the final action figure set to be released by Mattel … [Read more...]
Jack the Daredevil Sport Plane Pilot from the Fisher-Price Adventure People
If vintage action figures and toys can indeed be viewed as part of the cultural record of earlier decades, then for me personally, no figures scream “1970s” louder than those wonderful Fisher-Price Adventure People! Available for about a decade from 1975 onwards, more than 70 different figures were eventually released - mostly, but not exclusively, male figures sporting stylish flared trousers, like this very early Jack the Pilot here, date stamped 1974. These solidly built 3¾ inch figures were … [Read more...]
Remembering MJ…Michael Jackson – Superstar of the 80’s – 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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]