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.

 

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!

"I'm the ghost with the most, Babe!" 

Tonight's addition is one that really takes me back.  I've always been a huge fan of the earlier Tim Burton movies (from Pee Wee on through Nightmare) and Beetlejuice in particular was one of my favorites growing up. 
Kenner's Beetlejuice line was pretty good overall athough some of the colors differed greatly from their onscreen counterparts presumably to make them more appealing; mostly noticably on Shishkabob Beetlejuice and Otho (not shown).  However the two looks here were relatively faithful and featured great likenesses even for the time.  Unfortunately there was never a figure of Lydia produced which I really would have liked to have seen as she's an integral part of the film.

Its worth noting that the heads on the "Spinhead" and "Show Time" versions (as well as a few others) have removable heads that revealed a smaller shrunken head underneath.  Of as a kid I had to have both so I could "customize" the iconic striped suit version with the normal head.

The Top 5 80's Movies That Should've Had Toylines

It goes without saying that if you didn't grow up in the 1980s you didn't grow up in the 1980s.  It was really THE time to be a kid, and the number of classic films that came out in that era definitely had a lot to do with it.  Many of those great films had toy tie-ins. Heck even some of the not-so-great ones did... Dune anyone? 

But here's a handful of films who's action figures were sorey missed in the toyaisles of our youth.

5. Rocky IV

I say Rocky IV but really the toy gods could have pulled from the whole franchise. Obviously they're all half naked boxers, but then how many wrestling toylines have there been over the years? Same ballpark.

Just imagine:

-Rocky Balboa

(red/white/blue trunks, and of course the Italian Stallion yellow/black mail away version)

-Apollo Creed

-Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan)

-Clubber Lang (Mr. T)

-Drago (He-Man)

Of course it wouldn't be right to talk about a 1980s Rocky line without at least mentioning that he was actually a proposed character for Hasbro's GI Joe: A Real American Hero line. While the figure got as far as the protoype stage (w/ card art to boot!) Coleco had already secured the rights to Stallone's likeness and the figure was scrapped leaving poor Big Boa with no one to fight.

4. Predator

If it bleeds we can kill it. If its plastic we can play with it!  This would've been GI Joe on steroids. Literally. Given the movie is violent as hell but so were Rambo and Robocop and that didn't stop Coleco or Kenner from cashing in or moms from paying out.  In all honesty I think this would've likely been a one-off series similar to Commando consisting of all of two figures: Dutch and the Predator. 

3. Blade Runner

Now this one almost took the top spot for no other reason than its one of my favorite films of all time both for its stunning visuals and philosophical brilliance.  No matter how many movies he's made Ridley Scott always manages to take you somewhere different. But I digress...  Imagine a 3 ¾ inch line compatible with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.

Deckard, Gaff, Batty, Pris, Zhora, Leon, and Rachel.  Top it off with scaled Spinner and I'd be all over that line!

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It comes with the territory. As far as I'm concerned there are four Star Trek movies. Two, three, and four which make up their own tight little trilogy and then The Undiscovered Country (number six) which serves as a nice send off to the original crew. Your mileage may vary, but everyone knows WoK is the best of the bunch.

Unfortunately Genesis failed to generate anything in toy aisles leaving us bombarded by figures from a galaxy far, far away... Not that we're complaining.  Similar to Mego's figures based off the first film, and Ertl's Star Trek III line I think a 3 ¾ inch would've been ideal here as well especially if it were helmed by Kenner.

Two words for you: Enterprise Playset.

1. Aliens

I know what you're going to say, and let me stop you.

Yes, Kenner made an Aliens line in '92/'93 as a tie-in to Alien 3. They were pretty neat toys, but a pretty big departure from anything remotely resembling the characters from Aliens.  And if that's not enough it didn't come out in the 80s. Loop hole. I win.

Just about everyone in the toy community knows about the 1979 18” Alien that Kenner made for Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror film of the same name. It didn't go over well and has now become a fairly sought after piece.

Unfortunately I think that doomed any chance the 1987 movie had for a toyline.

Having re-watched this film again recently I have to admit its screaming for toys!  You've got a handful of ethnically diverse Marines all with cool sci-fi gear and weaponry not to mention the aliens themselves and their Queen (can we say Sectaurs style hand puppet?). Then there are the vehicles.  The APC would've also made for a damn fine toy as would the Dropship and lastly there's the Powerloader that pretty much speaks for itself.

Indiana Jones and the Kenner Collection

Possibly the most underrated 80s toyline Kenner's The Adventures of Indiana Jones series is notable for being short lived but action packed. Where as Kenner's Star Wars figures were standard 5-Pointers (as in 5 points of articulation) the Indy figures also featured hinge-joint knees similar to the Butch and Sundance line some years prior.  Another point of interest is the inclusion of soft-goods on several of the figures. Additionally all three Indys as well as the German Mechanic have a spring loaded quick draw/punch action feature in their right arms.  Kenner would later perfect this concept with their Super Powers series based on characters appearing in DC Comics.

Cobra Ninja Viper

Still remember the day he came in the mail along w/ my brothers's Wolf.  That was a great day....  The old Flag Point mail away catalogs were the best!  Yeah, he's just a simple repaint of the '84 Storm Shadow but it makes for a great figure.

The Batmobile, Super Powers Collection

If you're going to get one vehicle from the Super Powers line make it the Batmobile!

General Lando and Nien Nunb (and friends)