The Black Hole, Walt Disney’s 1979 sci-fi blockbuster, with its multimillion dollar state-of-art special effects and a star-studded cast featuring such notables as Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Perkins and Maximilian Schell, was clearly intended to be the studio’s answer to Star Wars. That was the plan, anyway. Instead the film has become one of those forgotten movies to which the epithet “cult” is often applied. My own memories of the movie were very dim, so I watched it again on DVD recently, … [Read more...]
Friar Tuck: Robin Hood and his Merry Men by Mego
The legendary Medieval outlaw Robin Hood has been a hugely popular figure in English folklore for centuries. Armed with bow and arrow and sword, he would steal from the rich to give to the poor, and then head back to his hideout in Sherwood Forest with his band of fellow “Merry Men”. With love interest in the shape of Maid Marian, and the Sheriff of Nottingham as his arch enemy, the story of Robin Hood has been a perennial favourite with Hollywood filmmakers since the early days of silent … [Read more...]
Action Jackson is my name, bold adventure is my game!
Whilst it was Hasbro who first coined the phrase “action figures” for military dolls aimed at the boys' market in the late 1960s with their G.I. Joe line, and in particular Palitoy's UK version known as “Action Man”, the legendary Mego company also earned a place in action figure history in the early 1970s with their own short-lived adventure hero line - Action Jackson. Selling well only briefly, and ultimately a commercial failure, these 8 inch figures with a wonderful range of costumes, were … [Read more...]
Ivanhoe: The World’s Greatest Super Knights by Mego
Whilst legendary toy makers Mego are probably most famous for their 1970s 8-inch line of comic book characters the World's Greatest Super Heroes, some of their most highly collectible figures today are a very different range of swashbuckling literary and historic heroes – The World's Greatest Super Knights! Ivanhoe here, was released alongside the Black Knight, King Arthur, and his knights Sir Galahad and Sir Launcelot, in what was a spectacularly detailed series of beautifully made action … [Read more...]
The Human Torch meets Robin in a mega Mego mashup!
Collecting vintage 8 inch Mego action figures from the World’s Greatest Super Heroes line can sometimes bring some fun surprises as we saw a while back with my Superman figure with Spider-man's red torso. Whilst many anomalies may well have left the factory that way during the long production life of these hugely popular figures, some toys have clearly been pieced together Frankenstein-style with spare parts from assorted characters or even reproduction accessories. I'm not entirely certain … [Read more...]
Mego Superman: Putting the Super into the World’s Greatest Super Heroes!
We can rebuild him, we have the technology is a phrase we know and love from old The Six Million Dollar Man episodes, but if you're a collector of vintage Mego 8-inch action figures the expression could easily apply to any toy you are hoping to restore – it is by no means uncommon to come across loose uncarded vintage figures that have been cobbled together with spare limbs from various different figures or restored with repro parts and accessories. Late in the run of their World's Greatest … [Read more...]
Thumbs up for Fonzie, the star of Mego’s Happy Days line!
Earlier this year I posted a series of articles taking a close and covetous look at my sister's childhood collection of vintage Mego 8-inch action figures that we had recently uncovered in our parents' loft in pristine condition. What a wonderful surprise, therefore, to unwrap my Christmas gift from my sister this year and discover another absolute classic from Mego – a vintage 8-inch Fonzie from their Happy Days line! Aaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!! Is this the coolest action figure ever made? Thanks sis! … [Read more...]