1970s | Vintage Action Figures

Mr Fantastic by Mego polaroid head and shoulders shot

Plastic Fantastic! Mister Fantastic by Mego

For fans of the Marvel Universe, there’s been no shortage of movies and TV shows over the past fifteen years – or rather, a mind-boggling onslaught of never-ending films and reboot after reboot! The Marvel Cinematic Universe has released 36 films so far, with at least nine more in the pipeline at the time of writing.

Next up is Fantastic Four: First Steps, centred on the iconic Marvel Comics team. This will be the 37th instalment in the MCU and marks a new chapter for the legendary heroes, following the second cinematic reboot in 2015, which bombed catastrophically at the box office.

P-P-Pick up a MEGO Penguin!

Colin Farrell has been busy collecting awards for his recent turn as Oz Cobb (a modern spin on the original comic-book name Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot), aka The Penguin, in the television miniseries spin-off from The Batman (2022), starring Robert Pattinson as the man in the cowl. It’s fair to say this gritty crime drama is a far cry from the Penguin of my childhood! While I’m also a fan of the downright creepiness of Danny DeVito’s portrayal in the Tim Burton reimagining of the Batman universe, I’ll always have a soft spot for Burgess Meredith’s Penguin.

‘I am Dracula … I bid you welcome!’ The Dreadful Dracula from Mego’s Mad Monster Series

Could there be a better occasion than Halloween for reviving a blog from the dead? So here we are again folks … weeeee’re back!!! Mwahahaha!! Anybody who has followed this blog in the past will know that I’m a huge fan of Mego 1970s action figures. I’m also a huge fan of the old monster movies that were produced by Universal Studios from the 1920s through to the 1960s, so the Mad Monsters line by Mego comes top on my list of all-time favourite action figures. They may not have been officially licensed products, but they manage to skirt licensing laws and produce four figures that are spookily reminiscent of their silver screen counterparts.

Robin Hood and Mego’s Super Merry Men

Who doesn’t love Robin Hood? He’s everybody’s favourite Medieval subversive, known for his archery skills, noble acts, and his commitment to robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. Despite being a fictional character, Robin Hood has become a cultural icon, inspiring numerous adaptations in literature, films, and television shows. The legend of Robin Hood continues to captivate audiences around the world and Hollywood revisits his tale with regularity, although the last attempt to revamp the classic with Taron Egerton wielding the longbow, was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards! Ouch! Stealing from the 1% to feed the 99%? Better quash that concept, don’t want the movie-going peasants to get any strange ideas, do we now…?! But I digress…

R2-D2… Now with Sensorscope!

Since first starting this blog almost fifteen years ago there has been a huge amount of change in the Star Wars universe. The generation of kids who grew up watching the prequels – episodes I to III – are now adults and the action figures they played with back in the day have officially crossed that magical albeit arbitrary line of twenty-years, the minimum requirement to becoming ‘vintage’. Meanwhile, many of the Generation X-ers who derided the prequels so much, are now revisiting them. Hating Episodes I-III was the cool thing to do, right? Maybe it took a series of even more divisive sequels in the shape of J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker, and Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi – episodes VII-IX for those of you who are still counting – to provoke a prequel reappraisal. And there is nothing quite like a powerful injection of nostalgia to kick-start a Renaissance!

It’s Clobberin’ Time with The Thing by Mego!

Nobody could deny that Ben Grimm got a tough deal in life. Sure, he gets to be a superhero called The Thing, who together with Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman and the Human Torch, is one of the founding members of the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics Universe, but his monstrous form is far from glamorous… and unlike his fantastic cohorts, he is stuck that way! The Thing, however, remains one of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s enduringly popular creations.

Up, up and away! Comic version 12-inch Superman by Mego

On the very last day of 2019, inspired by the release of the last Star Wars reboot movie, and some successful forays into local street markets, I decided to relaunch this blog with a post dedicated to Princess Leia. Within a few short months the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy (where I live) was in lockdown, and my plans for this blog (not to mention everything else!) got pushed to the back burner. Toyissimi, Rome’s huge action figure collector’s fair, was postponed, and then postponed again, so it’s been a lean time for the collection. All this to emphasize my surprise and joy to unexpectedly happen upon a small Sunday market last weekend – the very first one I’ve seen since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions here – and spot this terrific Mego Superman figure, displayed in the unlikeliest of poses, sitting on a toy horse!

Remembering Princess Leia Organa

We’re back! Surprise! Did you miss us?! This blog may have been on an extended hiatus for a few years, but never fear, dear reader, the vintage action figures collection has continued to grow, albeit with greater focus on specific toy lines. With The Rise of Skywalker, the third and final Star Wars reboot movie (making number IX in the entire series if you insist on counting the prequels) recently hitting cinemas just in time for Christmas, and the Disney Channel’s small screen offering The Mandalorian wowing critics and Star Wars fans alike, what better time to go right back to where it all started, with one of the earliest Kenner Star Wars action figures: Princess Leia Organa.