Harrison Ford seems to have an incredible knack for being cast in cult classics – his portrayal of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner alone would have been enough to ensure him enduring cult status. Most recently, of course, the entire planet has been focussed on his reprisal of the role of Han Solo in JJ Abram's billion-dollar-grossing sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - an appearance which saw him reclaim his crown as Hollywood's highest earning actor. … [Read more...]
Stunning C-3PO sixth scale figure by Sideshow Collectibles
As regular readers of this website will know I very occasionally featured brand new action figure releases if they are of particular interest to vintage collectors. With my tickets for the first screening in Rome, Italy of JJ Abrams' Star Wars reboot The Force Awakens already purchased for tomorrow, I thought I'd join in with the global buzz with a closer look at this astoundingly good 12 inch figure of everybody's favourite droid C-3PO. … [Read more...]
It’s Alive! The Monster Frankenstein from Mego’s Mad Monster Series
With Halloween nearly upon us this seems like an excellent time to take a look at a recent vintage find that combines of two of my favourite action figure collecting passions – Universal Monsters and Mego. This wonderful Frankenstein Monster was released in 1974 as part of the Mad Monsters series, an offshoot of the hugely popular World's Greatest Super-Heroes 8-inch figure line. The set also included the Dreadful Dracula, the Horrible Mummy, and the Human Wolfman, and while they may have been … [Read more...]
Wonder Woman the Amazing Amazon – Kenner Super Powers
The Super Powers Collection by Kenner remains one of my favourite 1980s toylines. These perfectly designed vintage figures were so well constructed that some thirty years after they first hit toy store aisles their secret built-in “super power action” features almost always still work. Wonder Woman has long been top of my list of must-have figures in the line so I was thrilled when I tracked one down in full working order recently. She was missing her Magic Lasso accessory, but this … [Read more...]
Grrr…it’s Grizzlor! The Hairy Henchman of the Evil Horde
Mattel’s hugely successful 1980s action figure and TV franchise Masters of the Universe is looked upon with great fondness by many toy collectors today and has proved enduringly popular. I’m writing this post having just returned from a collectors fair in Rome, Italy and can confirm that those chunky, swivel-hipped 5 ½-inch action figures were certainly an ubiquitous presence at every stall. I should confess that as a child from an earlier generation, I’ve always been a little bemused by … [Read more...]
Ming the Merciless – The evil emperor of Mongo by Mego
Every super-hero needs an arch-nemesis, and every toy manufacture knows that too! Action figure giant Mego, the company behind some of the most collectible action figures made during the 1970s, even released an 8-inch “Super Foes” line in 1974 to mirror its Super-Heroes line. And when Mego launched a new 10-inch figure design in 1976 with a stunning Flash Gordon playset, one of the finest characters in the series, aside from Flash himself of course, was the big baddie in all three of the 1930s … [Read more...]
Flash Gordon – A Mego Masterpiece!
For kids growing up in the UK during the 1970s Saturday morning picture shows at the local cinema were a highlight of the week! This was a long time ago, of course, and it certainly feels like we were living in a galaxy far, far away...Indeed, in those distant, pre-Star Wars days a staple of kids programming was the 1936 sci-fi film serial Flash Gordon, starring Olympic swimming star Buster Crabbe in the title role, and Charles B. Middleton as his arch-enemy Ming the Merciless. A forerunner of … [Read more...]
Green-haired General Madine variant figure
When Kenner issued General Madine as part of its first wave of Return Of The Jedi 65-back carded figures in 1983 the resulting action figure followed the company’s hit-or-miss track record of movie-likenesses, with only a vague resemblance to the actor Dermot Crowley who played him on screen. Instead of Crowley’s fair beard and hair, Kenner opted instead for a thick grey Kenny Rogers-style beard and mane! This turned out to be of little concern, however, when sadly for Kenner - not to mention … [Read more...]