We Had That

1982 Kenner "Raiders of the Lost Ark" Indiana Jones Action Figure The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in theaters on June 12, 1981.  At just under $390 million, it was the highest grossing film of the 1981.  Audiences loved it.  Critics loved it.  Kids wanted action figures!  Kenner was already a well known toy manufacturer thanks to their gigantic hit with their line of 3 3/4" Star Wars figures and toys, so it was no surprise that they were the company to release 3 3/4" action figures for Raiders of the Lost Ark as well.  However, kids would have to wait until 1982 for the figures to hit the shelves. 1982 Kenner "Raiders of the Lost Ark" figures: Toht, Indiana Jones, and the Cairo Swordsman The first wave of four figures included Indiana Jones, Toht, the Cairo Swordsman, and Marion Ravenwood.  There was a second Indiana Jones in a "Desert Disguise" that came with the Map Room playset and a mail-away Belloq in his cere...

Zee Toys / Zylmex Metal-Man: Roton With a confusing similarity in appearance to some of the 3 3/4" Mego Micronauts and little to no advertising, the Metal-Man toy line of die-cast action figures has all but faded into obscurity.  Of the figures released, the blue and silver Radon is the one I see most often (click HERE for my Radon review), but he was hardly the only Metal-Man on the shelves! Metal-Man action figures: Major Mercury, Roton, & Radon  Today, I would like to take a look at Roton, the red and silver Metal-Man who seems to have possibly been released later in the line.  Radon, Major Mercury, Sergeant Silver, and Corporal Chrome have all been found on cards marked 1976 while as far as I know, Roton has not.  Additionally, Roton has been seen with fewer packaging variations than the rest of the figures, so it would make sense if the others hit the stores before Roton.  I have seen him in the 1979 Zee Toys catalog, so I know that he...

Masters of the Universe - Ninjor action figure (1987) In the 1980s, the ninja craze was in full swing.  From movies like The Octagon, Enter the Ninja, American Ninja, and Ninja Death Squad to video games like Shinobi, Saboteur, and Ninja Gaiden, to comic books like Daredevil (with characters like Kirigi & Elektra), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Tick (which made fun of the fact that ninjas were everywhere) you couldn't get away from ninjas in the 80s.  Ninjas started silently creeping onto the toy shelves at least as early as 1982 with the Eagle Force character "Savitar," but it was GI Joe's "Storm Shadow" that truly brought the ninja action figure to the masses in 1984.  Remco had Ninja Strike Force, Hasbro had Ninja Warriors, and Soma had Master Ninjas. GI Joe "Storm Shadow" - Masters of the Universe "Ninjor" - Eagle Force "Savitar" The original Masters of the Universe toys first came out in 1982....

RA-7 aka Death Star Droid (Kenner, 1978) As I've mentioned before in other posts, Star Wars dominated my world in 1978.  I loved Star Wars figures and played with them every day in the late 70s and early 80s.  I had all 12 figures from the first wave and I thought they were all awesome.  When the second wave of figures came out in 1978, I was thrilled to have some new characters! Death Star Droid and R5-D4 (Kenner, 1978) Wave two included 8 new figures.  The Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing flight suit was my favorite of the second batch of figure.  The aliens were obviously awesome as well (I had the cardboard cantina set, so I was lucky enough to have the Blue Snaggletooth! click here for my review)  I wasn't crazy about Power Droid ( click here for my review), but I did like R5-D4 and the Death Star Droid.  Even as a very young kid, there was something weird about them.  I wouldn't have been able to articulate it at the time, but...

Masters of the Universe 2002 Mekaneck The original Masters of the Universe toys first came out in 1982.  Each year, new figures were introduced all the way through 1988.  The character "Mekaneck" was part of the third wave of figures which came out in 1984.  Mekaneck's action feature / gimmick was that his neck could extend.  When the original action figure was twisted at the waist, his neck would extend straight up.  Although the figure came out in the third wave when the line was very popular, he wasn't really one of the main characters for Masters of the Universe back in the 80s.  While characters like Beast Man and Teela were featured on all kinds of merchandise in the 80s including stickers, lunch boxes, drinking cups, paint-by-numbers sets, erasers, etc.; Mekaneck only appeared on one puzzle (off to the side fighting Clawful).  He was only included in three episodes of the original cartoon series and five of the mini comics (and he was just...