As promised in an earlier post, here’s another vintage Mego 8-inch action figure that was found in a recent loft exploration at my parents’ home. Like Batman, the Lizard and Cornelius, this was another of my sister’s childhood toys, but of all of them, this Fist Fighting Robin probably made me smile the most when I first set eyes on it. Once again, this is a figure in almost perfect condition with only one immediate defect – the original paper logo glued to the left side of his tunic is missing and instead the letter “R” has been carefully drawn in its place! What made me smile was the thought that very probably, as big sister, I was more than likely the guilty culprit who had wielded the felt tip pen all those years ago, although I honestly can’t remember!
Decades: 1970s
The Lizard: Mego and the World’s Greatest Super Heroes…and Villains!
The World’s Greatest Super Heroes was the line that made Mego’s name, kicking off with the most famous characters from DC Comics and then moving into the Marvel Universe with a plethora of new heroes appearing from 1975 onwards such as Captain America, the Hulk and Spider-Man. A line of good guys only would have been no fun at all though, so a couple of villains were thrown in for good measure – The Green Goblin and The Lizard. When Mego’s UK distributors Palitoy added Marvel characters to their Fist Fighting line a few years later, however, The Lizard was the only Marvel bad guy to make the assortment.
Cornelius from Planet of the Apes, a Mego classic!
As promised in last week’s post, here’s another of the Mego action figure treasures from the loft that were excavated on my last trip back home to visit family in the UK. Like the Fist Fighting Batman we looked at last time, this is another highly collectible action figure that my sister played with as a child. Of all her toys, this 8-inch Mego Cornelius figure is one that I remember in particular as being one of her absolute favourites. As kids we adored the Planet of the Apes TV show and would tune in every Saturday morning to watch it during the mid-1970s.
Holy Fist Fighting Super Heroes, Batman!
I recently returned home to Rome from my summer holidays in the UK visiting friends and family. I managed to pick up a few action figure bargains in flea markets, but also made some exciting discoveries in my parents’ loft! As a kid back in the 1970s my younger sister had some pretty cool action figures. I vaguely remembered her having owned a Batman and Robin and a Planet of the Apes figure, so had been itching to send Dad up into the attic for some time to check if they were produced by the mighty Mego! It took some digging around to find them – thanks Dad! – but eventually a biscuit tin was found which proved to be a treasure trove of Mego figures in fantastic condition. Clearly, my sister played with her toys very carefully! I’ll share all of the finds over the next few weeks, but to kick things off here’s Batman, one of the Mego Fist Fighting Super Heroes.
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.
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.
Star Wars Variations: Grey-haired Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi
Back in 1977, the only Obi-Wan Kenobi anybody had ever heard of was played by veteran British actor Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars movie. Ewan McGregor, on the other hand, who would slip on Obi-Wan’s cloak in the prequels, must have been just about old enough to play with the Kenner action figures which belatedly appeared in 1978, but was probably still too small to have seen the movie at the time!
Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi was one of the original so called “12-back” Star Wars 3 3/4″ action figures, meaning that he appeared in the first 12 figures range which were featured on the reverse of the original action figure blister packs.
Buck Hunter and the Marx Safari Adventure line
Every now and again I’ll buy an action figure simply because it looks interesting even if I haven’t the faintest idea as to what, precisely, I’m buying! This was the case with this chap – I loved his natty 1960s-style clothes and boots – he looked like some generic spy or military figure, although I simply couldn’t place him. The Italian postal service leaves little to be desired and I’d all but given him up for lost, but after a month he finally turned up in the post from the US the other day.