Mako, Tigersharks, LJN, 1987

Mako, Tigersharks, LJN, 1987, a photo by Wizard of X on Flickr.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, LJN, 1982

I'll admit I'm not the biggest E.T. fan. I think I saw it too young to really be taken in by its magic. That said I do appreciate the cultural significance of Spielberg's friendly alien.
I actually found this vintage E.T. pvc figure at a garage sale this morning, and I thought this picture fitting what with the Blu-Ray coming this Tuesday.

A Fistful Of Leias

Princess Leia (Star Wars)

Princess Leia sort of broke the mold of the traditional "Princess in Peril" cliche. From the getgo she's gunning down Stormtroopers and talking trash to the most feared men in the galaxy and then there's her not-so-subtle comments aimed at her rescuers. 

Princess Leia, Hoth Outfit (The Empire Strikes Back)

This next one is my favorite of the Kenner Leias, but I've always prefered the ESB looks of the main cast in general. The body/outfit sculpt is a vast improvement over her '77 predecessor, but I think that one got the better looking headscupt of the bunch. 

Princess Leia, Bespin Gown (The Empire Strikes Back)

The "Bespin Gown" was a short-lived wardrobe change late in the second act of Empire that really only serves to show you that Han and Leia are getting settled in right before everything goes to pot. 

As far as the figure goes this is probably my least favorite version of the five. That said I dig the fact that she has graphics on her vinyl "dress". Can't think of any of the other vinyl caped figure from the line that had anything like that.

Princess Leia, Boushh Disguise (Return of the Jedi)

The jail break sequence is without a doubt the better part of Jedi and it really starts to get interesting once the runt of a Bounty Hunter that brought in Chewie is revealed to be none other than Princess Leia incognito. Although its fairly uncertain as to which point Jabba and his crew discovered the ruse it served its purpose long enough for her to finally free Han Solo from Carbonite.

Princess Leia, Combat Poncho (Return of the Jedi)

A peg warmer in her day this one is likely my second favorite Leia. The soft-goods poncho is very nice as is the removable belt. Then there's the always impressive removable helmet, something I wish the Rebel Commandos and Endor Luke had. Unfortunately sans poncho she lacks in much of any paint detail, but the overall sculpt underneath is great. 

But wait there's more!  ;)

A while ago a buddy of mine sent me an extra Endor Leia sans accessories so I decided to paint her up to resemble her outfit in the later part of Jedi only in true Kenner fashion with a limited color pallet.  

Endor Landing Party

"I don't think the Empire had Wookies in mind when they designed her, Chewie."

Meet The Bronies

Not to be confused with Brownies.  "Your mother was a lizard!"  Ah, Willow....

Anyway, to break it down Bronies are quite simply boys who like Hasbro's My Little Ponies.  Generally its the new MLP television series Friendship Is Magic (helmed by Lauren Fuast of Powerpuff Girls fame) that has the boys scoping the girls isle. The series premiered in the Fall of 2010 and in true Hasbro fashion spawned countless toys and Happy Meal promos.  Fast forward a couple years and there are now Conventions based around the phenomenon with a documentary film soon to follow. 

Personally I haven't watched a cartoon since that new He-Man series from ten years ago, but from what I understand MLP: FIM is good as cartoons go.

The Pony err... unicorm shown above was a flea market rescue.  I found her in a box of junk covered in what I think was decade old cola.  She cleaned up good with a little soap and water though. As a kid I always scoffed at My Little Ponies because they were generally all the same figure with different paint.  The irony of that is I was an avid Masters Of The Universe fan. Needless to say Mattel is still the king of getting people to buy the same toy over and over again by slapping a new head on it.

Thundercats Supporting Cast

While the Thundercats met many allies over the course of the cartoon only a few were made into action figures. 

Hachiman

Named so for the God of Warriors in Japanese mythology Hachiman was a one-time foe and eventual friend to the Thundercats on Third Earth.

This figure tends to catch some minor flak from the TC community because he's not very accurate to his cartoon portayal from the waste down.  He's missing some padding around the hips, legs, and rear.  Still, I think the headsculpt realy makes up for a lot of it. 

Oddly enough while you'd expect his action feature would drive both arms downward in forceful chop it instead turns him from one side to the other sort of like a He-Man figure but not as spastic.

Snowman of Hook Mountain

Introduced in the episode "The Lord of the Snows" during the first season of Thundercats.   The Snow Knight can conjur weapons out of ice with his bare hands.  Of the six Thundercat allies LJN made I think this guy is my favorite.  Unfortunately LJN nevr made a Snow Meow to go alongside the Snow Knight; however, KidWorks did rease 2" scale miniatures versions as a boxset.

Tuska Warrior

Turmagar looked a good bit different in the toon, but I really like the design of this figure.  The rifle is actually reused (albeit resized) from LJN's Dune line.  While I have no doubt that he was intended to be a singular character I like to think of the Tuska Warrior as an army builder. Every line needs at least one!

That pretty much wraps up the Thundercats' allies except for the RoBear Berbills, but I'll save them for another time. 

Thundercats Are Loose!!!

Thundercats Hoooooooooooo!

So here's the thing I'm a big fan of pretty much any 80s property/character that I find even remotely nostalgic.  Its an addiction.  But while I have strong feelings for GI Joe, and He-Man, and Super Powers my heart definitely belongs to Thundercats. 

The beast of it is I didn't actually have very many of them as a kid.  Lion-O (w/ Snarf), Mumm-Ra, and Slythe pretty much summed up my collection.  It wasn't until my young adult years that I finally had the whole team.  Tonight we're just going to cover the main cast though as they debuted back in good 'ol 1985. 
Now let's introduce the team!

Lion-O

Cheetara

Panthro

Tygra

Jaga

Wily Kit

Wily Kat

And lastly the Thundercats Miniatures from KidWorkz.