We Had That

Beginning their run in the mid 1970s, the Fisher-Price Adventure People were some of the earliest 3.75" action figures on the market.  In fact, they were used as the base figure for many of the prototypes for the Star Wars action figure line.  Adventure People were extremely well constructed compared to other 3.75" action figures that hit the scene shortly after.  In fact, it was much less likely that their heads would snap off (or that they would lose a limb) when compared to many of their counterparts.  As a result, there are a lot of adventure people still around today. There were around 80 different figures in the line, but the exact number depends on what you count as a "different figure."  Quite a few of the figures used the same pieces and many had only slight variations from one figure to the next.  As a result, many collectors have customized figures to expand the number of characters available.  One of the easiest ways to begin your cu...

The 3.75" action figure format became the standard size for boys figures in 1978 when the 3.75" Star Wars figures completely dominated the toy market.  From 1978 to 1982, we saw 3.75" action figures of everything from DC and Marvel comic book characters to The Dukes of Hazzard to Universal Monsters to Love Boat!  By 1982, the last wave of Empire Strikes Back figures were arriving in the stores and Hasbro was relaunching their home run G.I. Joe property from the 60s and early 70s in the new standard format of 3.75" as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.  The new G.I. Joe toy relaunch combined with an extremely well written comic book and an action packed afternoon cartoon would find such great success that it would guarantee the 3.75" action figure format continued on for another decade. However, 1982 was also the year that Mattel introduced The Masters of the Universe toy line...only they weren't 3.75" like everything else.  They were 5.5" tall ...

2018 Mego Bela Lugosi Dracula The Mego toy company manufactured many iconic toys in the 1970s and early 1980s including their  popular 8" action figure lines of Super Heroes, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes (read more about that HERE ).  Unfortunately, the company went out of business not too far into the 80s.  In 2018, Mego returned with a new batch of 8" figures which were available only at Target stores.  Most of the figures in the first wave were one character from several TV shows from the 60s to the 90s such as Alice from The Brady Bunch, Peg from Married with Children, Tootie from The Facts of Life, Kelly from Charlie's Angels, Norm from Cheers, and Fonzie from Happy Days.  However, the first wave of figures also included this very popular Bela Lugosi Dracula! This figure is amazing and easily my favorite of the first wave of 2018 Mego figures.  In my opinion, the head sculpt rivals anything the company has ever done.  The outfit is nice...

As with most boys growing up in the late 1970s, I loved Star Wars figures!  I didn't have all of them, but I certainly had most of them...at least most of the figures from Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.  But it was the first wave of 12 that really got me excited about the toys!  Well today, May 12, 2019, a re-release of 6 of those first 12 figures arrived at Target.  There was also a 7th Target figure of Grand Moff Tarkin available only with the Escape from the Death Star board game, which was unavailable at the store where these 6 figures were purchased. These action figures are available exclusively at Target and they retail for $9.99.  From what I've read online, people have been having trouble finding the figures.  A friend of mine happened to be across the street for a Target store out in the middle of nowhere and stopped by to see if they were in stock.  Even at this middle-of-nowhere location, the figures weren't on the shelves....

2018 Imaginext Series 11 wrestlers and 1986 M.U.S.C.L.E. figures The Back of my Nestle Quick M.U.S.C.L.E. can One day around 1986, I decided to make myself a glass of chocolate milk.  When I pulled the container of Nestle Quick out of the cabinet, I saw one of the coolest toy promotions ever!  Inside each container of Quick was a little pink wrestling figure called a M.U.S.C.L.E.!  I opened the container and immediately started digging around for the toy.  It was spectacular!  Not only did this coincide with the height of my interest in wrestling, but the figure smelled like a magical combination of new-toy plastic and chocolate (and it smelled that way for the entire time I played with my little pink wrestling figures).  This was my introduction to the M.U.S.C.L.E. toys. Over the time I collected M.U.S.C.L.E. figures, I picked up a pile of the little guys.  I built two wrestling rings and made miniature event posters promoting their wrestl...

2018 MEGO 8" Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley Back in the 1970s, the toy company MEGO was at the top of their game.  Toy stores were filled with their 8" World's Greatest Super Heroes, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Starsky and Hutch, and Wizard of Oz as well as a variety of other awesome action figures.  Although by 1978, rival company Kenner was dominating shelf space with Star Wars toys, MEGO was still manufacturing some amazing toys including the 12" KISS action figures!  Despite their best efforts, the Star Wars craze was a powerful force and by the early 1980s, MEGO was hurting.  Despite success with several lines including KISS and Dukes of Hazard, it wouldn't be long before the famous MEGO logo would disappear completely from toy stores across the country. For decades, MEGO fans have wondered "what if..." about a variety of toy possibilities.  Many clever customizers created their own 8" MEGO figures of characters that were never produ...