We Had That

  Eagle Force: Goldie Hawk (Mego, 1981) I don't remember the exact year when I first heard of the Eagle Force figures (it was either 1981 or 1982), but I do remember that my introduction to the line came in the form of a TV commercial that I thought was absolutely awesome!  The commercial worked and I wanted these figures.  Unfortunately, when I saw them for the first time at the store, I was surprised and disappointed that they were so much smaller than all of my other action figures.  At 2.75 inches, the Eagle Force didn't really fit in with any of my other toy lines.  They were made of die-cast metal, so I always assumed that they must have cost more to make and Mego made them smaller to save money, but years later, I found out the reason for their scale was more likely because Mego had recently acquired the molds for a bunch of old Marx vehicles and playsets that were originally sold with little plastic army men.  They were too small for the 3 3/4" figu...

Raiders of the Lost Ark - German Mechanic (Kenner, 1983) Egypt, 1936: Indiana Jones has had a rough day.  He and Marion were just trapped in the Well of Souls with hundreds of snakes.  After managing to escape, he tries to take the airplane that's scheduled to transport the Ark when he's noticed by a mechanic wielding a huge wrench.  After successfully knocking out the 1st mechanic, a 2nd bigger & stronger mechanic (who witnessed the fight) approaches Indy and the biggest fight scene in the entire movie ensues!  Of course this fight scene is memorable enough that the German Mechanic was made into an action figure as part of "The Adventures of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark" toy line!  As a side note, I'm pretty sure these figures hold the record for longest title of any toy line ...ever! German Mechanic from Raiders of the Lost Ark Raiders of the Lost Ark was the highest grossing film of 1981 and kids loved it!  Since Kenner's 3.75" Star War...

Luke Skywalker in Hoth Battle Gear From the moment I saw my friend's Star Wars figures when I was a kid, I thought they were the coolest thing in the world!  For the next few years, Kenner Star Wars figures were my absolute favorite toys.  In 1980, the first wave of figures for The Empire Strikes Back arrived in stores.  They were amazingly awesome and had me even more excited about the Star Wars universe.  More Empire Strikes Back figures came out in 1981 and another wave arrived in 1982. We only get about one day of snow a year in Georgia so I thought I should take some photos of my Hoth rebel troops The first wave of 1982 included six figures: a new R2-D2 with a sensor scope, a new C-3PO with removable arms and legs, a new, black Bespin Security Guard, the AT-AT Commander, the Twin-Pod Cloud Car Pilot, and last but not least, Luke Skywalker in Hoth Battle Gear.  Although several of these were new versions of figures that I already had, I picked up all them....

Vintage G.I. Joe "Swivel-Arm" Scarlett (Hasbro, 1983) In 1964, GI Joe became the first doll for boys...I mean "Action Figure."  Hasbro was extremely careful to make sure that GI Joe was never called a "doll" because in the 1960s, the idea of boys playing with dolls was 100% not ok.  The plan worked and throughout the 60s and 70s, GI Joe was a huge seller.  However, Hasbro did make a few missteps along the way.  One of the biggest was the Action Nurse released in 1967.  Apparently, it was ok for boys to play with male dolls if they were called "Action Figures," but no matter what you call it, a female "Action Figure" was still a doll in 1967.  Hasbro learned from their mistake and never released another female character for the GI Joe line for the rest of the 60s and 70s. "Swivel-Arm" Scarlett with her Crossbow With the relaunch of GI Joe in the 80s, Hasbro reluctantly included a female figure in the line and the character of S...

Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark: Cairo Swordsman (Kenner, 1982) Cairo, 1936: Indiana Jones is having a bad day.  After being attacked by a bunch of Cairo street thugs and getting separated from his lady friend, Marion, the crowd in front of him opens and he finds himself face to face with a clearly skilled swordsman.  This potentially thrilling fight scene turns into a comedic moment of the film when, after a display of amazing swordsmanship, Indy dispatches this villain with a single shot from his revolver.  As most fans of the movie know, the scene was going to be a much more involved fight sequence and include some whip action, but actor Harrison Ford (and much of the crew) was suffering from dysentery.  As a result, his suggestion that he just shoot the guy was accepted.  Still, this character's 15 seconds of screen time was enough to earn him a slot in the first wave of four figures released in "The Adventures of Indiana Jones in Raiders of th...

The Empire Strikes Back - Bespin Security Guard (Kenner, 1980) I loved Kenner's Star Wars figures the minute I first saw them.  A kid in my neighborhood had a handful of these amazing toys on the way to school one day and I thought they were the coolest thing in the world!  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 me at the time.  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! The First 10 Empire Strikes Back action figures from Kenner in 1980 The first wave of toys from The Empire Strikes Back included 10 different action figures.  I loved the scenes on the ice planet Hoth, so of the 10 new figures, I wanted the Hoth themed figures the most (Hoth Han Solo, Hoth Rebel Trooper, and Hoth Stormtro...

Captain Eagle: Leader of the Eagle Force! (Mego, 1982) My first exposure to the Eagle Force was seeing the TV commercial and thinking, "WOW! These figures are AWESOME!"  My second exposure to the Eagle Force was seeing them in the store and thinking, "WOW! These figures are SMALL!"  For decades, The Eagle Force has been remembered for two things: 1) Mego's final bad idea before going out of business and 2) a poorly designed knock-off of G.I. Joe's "Real American Hero" line.  Well, the Eagle Force packaging has a copyright date of 1981 while the first release of 'Real American Hero' had a copyright date of 1982.  I'm pretty sure I remember seeing Eagle Force before G.I. Joe, but I'm not 100% sure about that (it was a long time ago).  Either way, I'm confident that Eagle Force was in development either before 'Real American Hero' or possibly at the same time, but certainly not AFTER, so Eagle Force definitely wasn...