Well, if you are reading this, then Sher has decided to let me
continue writing for her Web-Magazine. This is the first in a series of
three articles that explain my best choices for toy lines from the 1980's
and 1990's. Why not the 1970's or 1960's? Well, I was not around then and
did not have any of those to play with. Each article will focus on two
lines that I like and one I dislike, and with each
will have a small description of why I like/dislike each line and the best
and worst figures from each.
Likes:
Line: GI Joe (1982 - 1994)
Company: Hasbro
As mentioned in my previous article, this was my favorite when I was
a small child. It had hundreds of action figures and at least 150 vehicles
for use with the figures (not counting for recasts for the various sub-lines
like Sky Patrol, or the Night Force.) The action figures were only 3.75" tall,
but offered outstanding playability with their joints being balled so that they
had a full range of motion. This allowed you to seat them in a vehicle with ease,
rather than having to force them in. The figures were also vary well sculpted
with different faces for each figure (or masks for some), and uniforms that
looked like clothes, rather than painted on spandex like on today's figures.
The figures also came with some type of weapons and/or accessories that
seem appropriate for the figure. For example, the figure `Doc,' who was the
teams doctor came with no weapons, but came with a helmet, stretcher and
other accessories that might fit for his character. The weapons and
accessories that came with the figures were also vary well sculpted. You
could see on the backpacks some of the buckles that held them closed (although
they were a single piece of plastic), and on the guns they looked like scaled
down plastic versions of the real thing. The package art on the figures and
vehicles looked vary real and almost not like artwork at all.
It added to the fact that the figures were almost like real people.
The GI Joe line was the only line other than the Star Wars line (at
the time) that had vehicles to scale with the figures. The vehicles were
vary detailed like the figures, and gave you something to use against your
buddies Cobra forces. A good thing with the vehicles was the variety that
Hasbro provided. You had all sorts of land vehicles like tanks and jeeps,
aircraft, and boats for either side. As the line went on, the vehicles just
got bigger and bigger. First, was the USS Flagg aircraft carrier play
set put out in 1984, (I know not a vehicle, but it was in the comic.) When
fully assembled, it measured over seven feet long, and you had to break it
down into three pieces to put it away. This was the first one they put out,
and they did not do so again until about 1987 when they released the Defiant
space shuttle launch complex. It was three feet deep and four feet tall when
raised. Both of these vehicles were only out about two years before Hasbro
pulled them. Because of these vehicles massive size and cost at the time they
were first released (over $100), these are now the Holy Grail of any collection.
Best Figure: Mutt and Junkyard (My first figure.)
Worst Figure: The Fridge (Why was this figure made?)
Best Vehicle: USS Flagg Aircraft Carrier (I always wanted one.)
Worst Vehicle: Cobra Buzz Boar (Not the best sculpt on a vehicle.)
Line: Star Wars (1977 - 1983)
Company: Kenner
I chose this line simply because it was the other one I was raised
on. I remember the first ones I got. I did not so much play with them as the
card they came on because I remember cutting it up into the separate
pictures and gluing the ones I wanted onto a sheet of paper and taking it out
for my parents. The figures themselves for the first few years were not the
same caliber as the GI Joe line, but I'm not going to pick nits here. Like
the GI Joe line, these figures were scaled to 3.75 inches with some
taller or shorter than the others were. Some of the figures were a dead on
sculpt of the characters from the movie. I have a Yoda sitting on top of my
computer and the figure looks vary similar to the character in the movie
(save for the fact that he looks like he just sucked on a vary bitter lemon.)
You can make out the fingers on the hands and on most of the figures, although
most of them had rather plain hands, but that was for simplicity's sake, I
guess. The paint jobs on most of the figures is good, and most new toy lines
could learn from the way Kenner did their painting. What they did for this
line that most toy makers neglect to do now, is fabric capes and robes. The
Jawa action figure, even though it was only two inches tall, had a fabric robe.
These days the Jawa's are single plastic with no covering at all, just all
one mold. The weapons for the line were the only thing that really harmed
the line in any way. Most of the "blaster" weapons in the line were not vary
detailed at all. At least Kenner provided some variety with the blasters though,
by making them all sorts of sizes and shapes. Most of the figures that came with
lightsabers had them installed into the figure's arm and could be retracted and pulled
out just by moving a tab on the arm.
The vehicles in the Star Wars line were what really made the line.
They were not as detailed as the ones in the GI Joe line, but they held
their own. I personally liked the Millennium Falcon vehicle/playset. It was
the only big vehicle we got out of the line and I just loved it. It was to
scale so that you could put Chewbacca and Han Solo in the cockpit while you
had Luke and the droids sitting in the back playset part of the ship. I think
this was also the first toy line that used electronic sound effects with some
of its vehicles that just added to its playability. The Rebel
Snowspeeder vehicle had blasters that lit up and made noise, and the
Millennium Falcon I know made at least one special sound effect. Towards the
end of the line, they started doing vehicles with some special gimmick. The
Speeder Bike vehicle, for example, has a small button you pressed and it would
come apart in three pieces sending its rider flying.
I think that the thing that ultimately made the toy line was the
fact that Kenner had kept all the action figures, vehicles and playsets in
circulation the entire six year run of the toy line. This allowed you to get
the characters that you wanted later if you missed the initial release of the
line. This is something that is sorely missed in new toy lines. It allowed
you to get the figure you wanted without having to put up with the hassle of
having to wait out the speculators like we are doing now.
Best Figure: Yoda (He's probably one of the figures I'm glad I got)
Best Vehicle: Millennium Falcon (Just the K00Lest thing to own)
Worst Figure: Dengar (This figure is just to top heavy)
Worst Vehicle: The white TIE Fighter (Come on they're gray)
Although most toy collectors extol the greatness of this line, I'm
here to tell you that it's not all what it's cracked up to be. When I got my
first Spawn figure back in 1994, I got it home and cracked it open, and two
things struck me. First, was that the figure had a nice paint job and was a
decent mold. Second was that the cape was separate from the figure, and tough
to get on and stay on. Since then the subsequent lines have been just plain
bad. I had a Mother One figure from the Wetworks line that his company did,
and within 2 weeks the head had popped off and has been unable to be reattached.
Even my youngest brother has been burned not once, but twice, with the Badrock
figure he got. Once he got one with a broken missile launcher and another with
the same thing. The only one who seems to have had any type of luck with
this toy line was my brother Nate, whose Overtkill and Clown Violator
figures seem to have no problems so far.
Other than the problems listed above, McFarlane Toys has started a
trend that has spread to the other companies called short packing. For those
of you that are not familiar with toy collecting terminology, short packing
means in a case of figures at least one of the figures will have only one
figure in it. Generally the figure that is short packed is either large,
like the Maxx figure they produced in 1996, or female like the Angela figure
they produced in 1995. Frankly, this is just plain wrong. If you are going to
make large action figures like the Maxx figure then either put more in a case,
or produce a separate case so that they can sell more. Now the toy company has
licenses for the major movie monsters, the X - Files and the band Kiss. All I
can say is that he needs to hurry up and start cranking out a quality product
before he loses more money. I have not purchased one of his action figures
since the Mother One incident, and I do not plan to any time soon.
Best Figure: None (and don't you forget it)
Worst Figure: Any of the Spawn variations other than the original one.
That about wraps up this edition of Best and worst of the 1980's
and 90's. Next month I will be focusing on the major toy lines licensed by
Marvel and DC, Secret Wars and Super Powers.
As always you can send questions, comments, flames or anything else
to torach@hotmail.com, and I will
get back to you soon enough.
As always I reserve the right to kick the ass of anyone who dares take this
off collectortimes.com and use it as their own. If you do I will personally
subscribe you to every porn mail list I can find. You can count on that.
