Mattel | Vintage Action Figures

Ovion from Battlestar Galactica: Insect enemy from the TV space saga!

With this 1978 Battlestar Galactica action figure of Ovion, Mattel managed to pack six points of articulation into a 3 ¾ figure. Of course, when the figure in question is an alien bug with four arms and two legs, they clearly had a head start on the articulation front! Sadly, the neck is firmly one piece with the torso, although with all those limbs I’m sure kids at the time had lots of fun with this one.

Ovion appeared as part of the first series of figures, which was launched to tie in with the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica sci-fi TV show and was a clear attempt to ride the tail of Kenner’s success with their Star Wars line.

Secret Wars: Spider-Man

Whilst Super Powers will probably remain my first choice as winners in the great superheroes action figure stand-off during the mid 1980s, when the mighty Mattel joined forces with Marvel to produce the Secret Wars line in direct competition with the DC Comics branded Kenner Super Powers product, I have to admit that I’m growing to like the Secret Wars figures more and more.

Bright colours, solid sculpts and accurate comic-book costumes and likenesses made these figures popular at the time and if you can pick up a figure that has survived with its paintwork intact like Spider-Man here, they make fine display pieces for any vintage collector today.

Pulsar: The Ultimate Man of Adventure

It wasn’t really until I had unwrapped this recent on-line purchase from his bubble wrap and held him in my hands that I fully appreciated the sheer scale of Mattel’s classic 1976 action figure – Pulsar aka The Ultimate Man of Adventure. Measuring 14 inches tall from the top of his head to his chunky clip-on boots, he positively towers over his contemporaries like Action Man or his most obvious rival on toy store shelves, Kenner’s hugely popular Six Million Dollar Man figure of Steve Austin, a pip-squeak at 12 inches.

With Kenner wiping the floor with the competition with sales of the Bionic Man, Mattel certainly pulled out the big guns when they released Pulsar in reply. Whilst Steve Austin had a peel away rubber arm that revealed his bionic gubbins, Pulsar’s entire torso was made of clear plastic to reveal his internal organs! Sounds pretty gross, doesn’t it? Open the Velcro on his stylish two piece jumpsuit, press a panel in his back and watch as his lungs and heart pump simulated blood through his arteries and veins. A solidly built toy, my Pulsar’s heart and lungs still pump just fine, although after over thirty years, the red goo that was used for blood has congealed and no longer flows.

Secret Wars: Falcon

One of my favourite action figures from the vintage Mattel’s Secret Wars 4 ½ inch series featuring superheroes from the Marvel Universe is, without a doubt, the Falcon. He may not have actually featured in Marvel’s tie-in Secret Wars limited series of comics, but fans seem more than happy to overlook that detail when faced with an action figure that looks this good!

The Falcon had, however, starred in his own 4 issue miniseries from November 1983 to February 1984, so maybe the powers that be at Marvel thought this was as a good a time as any to slip a Falcon figure into this series.

Secret Wars: Captain America

2011 looks set to be another great year for superhero action movies – Thor, Green Lantern, yet more in the X-Men and Transformers sagas, and the hotly awaited Captain America: The First Avenger, starring Chris Evans (no stranger to Lycra after his turns as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four films) will all be hitting the big screen this year. Superhero flicks, of course, bring with them a slew of merchandising and a deafening kerching! as the tie-in products fly off shelves…or gather dust if they bomb at the box office, only to land in the bargain bin months later! Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing a Chris Evans as Steve Rogers aka Captain America action figure, but in the meantime here’s a vintage Captain America from a classic line – the Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars by Mattel.

Meet Raider, a diecast Shogun Warrior by Mattel

Happy New Year! Here’s a great thrift market find I stumbled upon recently to kick off a new year of action figure blog posts. I don’t usually collect vintage diecast figures, but when this 5-inch Shogun Warrior caught my eye I suddenly understood the popularity of these Japanese robots – the sheer weight of the metal when held in the hand lends a certain authority to the figure which is very appealing.

There were four different Shogun Warriors action figures: Dragun, Mazinga, Poseidon and this one – Raider.

Masters of the Universe 1984 Buzz-Off figure by Mattel

Buzz-Off – Heroic Spy in the Sky!

Ever since the news was first announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con earlier this year that Mattel would be issuing a Buzz-Off figure in December as part of its Masters of the Universe Classics toy line, the buzz (ahem!) about this figure got louder and louder! It became immediately clear from online forums that the humanoid bee from the race of Bee People was an immensely popular character from the original MOTU line, so with release of the new figure now imminent, let’s take a timely look back at the vintage version.

He has the power! Battle Armor He-Man

Love him or hate him, there’s no doubting that the star of last week’s post – Arnold Schwarzenegger in the guise of Terminator – is a tough act to follow. …