We Had That

My first childhood Hoth Rebel Soldier (Kenner, 1980) I loved Kenner's Star Wars figures the minute I first saw them!  I begged my mom to take me to the toy store right away, but had to wait until the weekend and that was an eternity for a little kid.  By the time The Empire Strikes Back action figures were arriving in stores in early 1980, Star Wars figures had become the main toys that I played with and I was very excited about having new figures for the first time in over a year! Rebel Soldiers in the snow on ice planet Hoth! The scenes on the ice planet Hoth were some of the most memorable scenes in The Empire Strikes Back for me.  Because Kenner released the Bespin Luke Skywalker in the first wave of Empire Strikes Back figures, they didn't include a Hoth Luke in that wave.  Since I had a Hoth Han Solo, my figures were definitely going to have adventures on Hoth.  As a result not having a Hoth Luke Skywalker, my original Hoth Rebel Soldier was hi...

Marvel Comics and Mattel Toys team up for The Secret Wars! By 1984 Mattel had a hit with their Masters of the Universe toy line, but they were looking for the next big thing.  Mego, who had been making action figures of DC and Marvel characters throughout the 70s and early 80s, had gone out of business.  That meant the licenses for DC and Marvel were open to new toy possibilities.  Kenner ended up working with DC for their Super Powers action figure line and corresponding comic book series.  This left Marvel open to work with Mattel.  According to toy legend, a focus group determined that kids like the words "Secret" and "War," so the toy line and corresponding comic book series were called "Secret Wars." Mattel's 1984 Secret Wars Captain America Leads the Team! The Secret Wars comic book was a 12-issue mini-series written by Jim Shooter.  The basic premise is that a cosmic being takes a group of heroes and a group of villains, puts th...

Masters of the Universe vintage Faker (Mattel, 1983) Mattel released the original Masters of the Universe toys in 1982.  Due to their surprisingly huge popularity, Mattel wanted to get more figures on the shelves as quickly as possible.  Although I've read numerous conflicting accounts, from the evidence that I've seen, it looks like the character Faker was the first figure released after the first wave of 8 figures.  He was subsequently included as part of wave 2 and is often listed as a wave 2 figure even though I believe he was actually released between waves 1 and 2.  I'm not sure how long the original Faker was available in stores, but I do know that at some point, he was discontinued.  In 1987, a slightly different version of Faker was re-introduced as part of wave 6, the last full wave of new figures. Masters of the Universe vintage Faker (Mattel, 1983) Faker re-used the molds for He-Man, but cast him in blue with purple boots and fur s...

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero "Snow Job" action figure (Hasbro, 1983) Back in the 1960s and 70s, G.I. Joe was a groundbreaking 12" action figure.  The toys began in 1964 as a line of military figures in the 60s and dominated the Boys Toys market.  Unfortunately, the Vietnam conflict divided the country politically.  Hasbro wanted to stay as far as possible from any of that drama and gave G.I. Joe a very successful face-lift in 1970 turning him into a 12" action / adventurer.  This version of G.I. Joe lasted until 1976.  In 1977, "Super Joe" was introduced as the new, short-lived 9" version of G.I. Joe, but the Super Joe line was cancelled in 1978. (left) 1960s 12" "Painted Head" GI Joe in Ski Patrol outfit, (right) 1983 3 3/4" "Snow Job" After a few years with no G.I. Joe products on the shelves, Hasbro decided to give it another try.  The 1982 "Real American Hero" re-launch was a huge hit!  I was i...