Few characters in the original Star Wars trilogy have divided fans more than the Ewoks, with those that love 'em on one side, and the rest of us, who would happily throttle the flea-bitten teddy bears, on the other! Unfortunately, they're rather hard to avoid in Return of the Jedi. I do confess, however, to actually rather liking this vintage Kenner figure of Logray, the Ewok Medicine Man - and not just because he looks like a sinister version of Garfield the cat!Logray is impressive as one … [Read more...]
Let’s twist again… with Kenner Super Powers Red Tornado!
It's been a while since I featured any of the figures from one of my all time favourite 1980s toy lines – Kenner's Super Powers. Hands down one of the best crafted action figure series ever, these sturdy 4 inch superheroes, with their accurate paint work, near perfect comic book likenesses, and their built in “super power” action gimmicks, continue to be loved by collectors today. I plan to collect them all!Kenner's Super Powers had a short, but sweet shelf life and ran for only two series … [Read more...]
Find and fulfill your destiny: Harry Hamlin as Perseus in Clash of the Titans!
Ahh, who can resist a 1980s blockbuster?! The 1981 version of Clash of the Titans, based very loosely on the Greek myth of Perseus, certainly had it all: epic special effects, Styrofoam sets, stop-motion monsters, and a cast boasting not only the cream of British theatre such as Laurence Olivier as Zeus and Maggie Smith as Thetis, but also a then relatively unknown young actor called Harry Hamlin in the starring role. A box office smash back in the day, it's a cult classic amongst fantasy film … [Read more...]
Another Warrior is on the Mesa: TRON Warrior by TOMY!
When Walt Disney released the science fiction movie TRON in 1982 its special-effects and computer animation were seen as ground-breaking. A moderate box office success on its release, TRON has since achieved cult status, and the film is often cited as being the inspiration behind the CGI effects and computer animation in today's blockbusters. Pixar boss John Lasseter has even claimed that “without TRON there would be no Toy Story.”TRON was, of course, the perfect movie for a tie-in marketing … [Read more...]
Popeye and Olive Oyl Bendees by Amscan
Before super-heroes donned their capes and took over the world of the comic books, another kind of hero inspired a generation - Popeye the Sailor! In fact, he recently celebrated his 84th birthday, having first graced the pages of the King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre way back in 1929. Over the years he has appeared, not only in print, but also in cartoon shorts and full length movies on the small and big screen, and his face has been used to endorse just about everything from oatmeal to … [Read more...]
Han Solo wraps up warm on Hoth!
One of the things you'll notice when flicking through the recent (and highly recommended) Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection* coffee table guide is just how many pages are dedicated to everybody's favourite Star Wars rebel Han Solo. A whopping nine pages feature the man himself in all his various costume changes, including this vintage 3¾ inch Kenner version in his Hoth Outfit as modelled in the stunning opening sequence from Irvin Kershner's The Empire Strikes Back. … [Read more...]
Uncanny X-Men: Cyclops with Laser Light Eyes!
Long before Simon Cowell launched his reign of terror over TV networks the world over, in the 1980s our Cyclops here was already part of a very different X-Factor team in the Marvel Comics X-Men spin-off comic book series of the same name. One of the mutant X-Men since the very first issue in 1963, the Stan Lee / Jack Kirby creation is one of the most enduringly popular characters of the entire X-Men universe, so when Marvel relaunched the X-Men in 1991 Cyclops was swiftly incorporated back into … [Read more...]
Don’t call me Prune Face!
Many of the minor characters in the original Star Wars trilogy suddenly found themselves labelled with brand new politically-correct fancy names in the extended Star Wars Universe when complicated back stories were invented for even the smallest characters with only split-second screen time. Take good ole Prune Face here, for example, who we are now informed is a Dressellian resistance fighter from the planet Dressel whose real name is “Orrimaarko”. Still can't place him? Next time you're … [Read more...]