The Action Figure and Toy Collecting and Discussion Thread!

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by cooleddie74, Apr 7, 2012.

  1. TrickyDickie

    TrickyDickie Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2003
    Location:
    In a painting, darkly.
    On one of the other websites I frequent, I started a thread about the ride-on toys that I had as a child. I thought folks here might appreciate the material, which gets into some long-forgotten stuff.

    Here's what I had:

    Red pedal car made in Italy. The hard plastic seat was prone to cracking where the two bolts mounted to the tubing. Wheels / tires were not great, so my dad replaced these wire ones with some lawn mower wheels on the one I had:

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    Eldon 'Hot Foot' battery-operated. Cool as hell, but the battery failed after a few charges and we could not locate another one for some reason:

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    'Big Wheel' by Marx:

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    'The Pioneer #49' train by Marx. They had a gold plastic accordion apparatus on the underside that, when you pushed the gold plunger on the topside, would make a fairly realistic old-time train whistle sound. Some had a red-colored accordion on the underside:

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    I had a LifeSaver's ride-on toy that was evidently inspired by this:

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    The toy was quite basic....a big gray tube with an oversized rainbow LifeSaver's label, white plastic wheels, and a white handle. It was quite unstable and would dump you on your butt very easily! Haven't found any photos yet.

    I also haven't found a photo of a tricycle like I had, but will add a post when / if I do. I also had a Radio Flyer red wagon.

    I found images of something else that I had....a hand-me-down one of these. Taylor Tot stroller / walker. Mine did not have the push handle on the back or the floor pan. They had been removed. Without that stuff, I could just get in and go like hell. [​IMG] Many of them were just open-wheel versions, but mine had the fenders like you see here:

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    With some bloodhound-style detective work, LOL, I found out the story about the Life Savers toy. In the late '60s and early '70s, The Worcester Toy Company, in Massachusetts, made a whole line of 'pop art' ride-on toys. They were sort of the Andy Warhol of toys. I came across an image of the Heinz pickle and the style of the handle looked very familiar. That's all it took to track down the rest. Here are some catalog images from back in the day. Although I have not found an image of the Life Savers version yet, the company saved some money by using the identical mold for that one and the one for Campbell's soup. Where that one is white, the Life Savers one was a silver-ish gray to represent the foil on the candy roll. The handle and wheels on the Life Savers roll were white, where the Campbell's are blue. The Life Savers had its rainbow stripe label where the Campbell's has the soup can label. If you look closely, you will notice that the ends of the Campbell's soup toy have a pattern. That was to represent the folds on the ends of the Life Savers foil and shows that the company did not bother to change that for the soup can. The Life Savers came first and to cut costs they just used the very same mold. In both cases, the labels were just thin plastic sheets glued on to the polyethylene bodies. The first catalog page is from 1971 and the second is from 1972. Notice that the style of all of the wheels was changed. I believe that was done because of the instability caused by the earlier wheels. My Life Savers version was earlier and had the white wheels like you see on the earlier Heinz ketchup bottle. Based on the black and white ad, which has the updated wheels on the Heinz pickle, I believe that the wheel design change was incorporated circa mid-1971:

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  2. TrickyDickie

    TrickyDickie Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2003
    Location:
    In a painting, darkly.
    I also managed to locate images of the exact same model of Radio Flyer red wagon that I had. My wagon was a workhorse over the years, hauling dirt, rocks, garden stuff including potted tomato plants, peppers, and cabbages when we were ready to plant them in our gardens, a water pump on wooden skids, and a lot of other stuff. It was much more versatile than a wheel barrow:

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    Still searching for the tricycle....
     
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  3. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    Got the QMx Mini-Masters Locutus of Borg. More a mini-statue, but very nice.
     
  4. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2006
    Location:
    Georgia, USA
    Went to Wally*World Wednesday to grab some sundry items and decided to browse the tot section. I thought that the staff may have displayed some merchandise tying into "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" which will be released in theaters next month. I didn't really believe anything would be on the shelves or pegs yet. and nothing was. However, a clerk asked if I needed assistance and noted my wants. Almost "furtively", she recommended I return next week, stating it in a way almost as if she "knew" something, but could not openly admit it. Meh, I was likely reading too much into her reply, but still...hmm.
     
  5. od0_ital

    od0_ital Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2001
    Location:
    Nacogdoches, Texas
    ^

    My local Wal Marts (three of 'em within 20-ish miles) all have Godzilla stuff stocked.
     
  6. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Georgia, USA
    Went back to Wal*Mart to get some additional sundries and had another look. Yeah, there was Godzilla stuff on some pegs, but they were all Showa era Bandai figurines, nothing tying into the new movie. They had Godzilla '54, a 70s Godzilla, likely from one or the other Mecha Godzilla movies because that figure was also on a peg. Last, there was a King Ghidorah and a Mothra. They kinda' missed an opportunity by not having Rodan for sale as that would have covered the "big quartet" of next month's film release.

    I didn't purchase any of those as I was most interested in the 2019 Godzilla and it was not there yet.
     
  7. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2006
    Location:
    Flying Spaghetti Western
    I always wanted a G1 Arcee Transformer based on her tv show/ animated movie appearance..any idea whitch KO is best ?
     
  8. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 22, 2010
    Location:
    publiusr
    I like this King ALIEN
    http://www.toyark.com/neca-kenner-style-king-alien-figure-174329/
    https://thefigureinquestion.com/2014/10/24/0368-corporal-hicks-king-alien/

    Here is one
    https://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/04/i...ith-this-hand-made-star-trek-transformer-toy/

    There were some knock-offs of D-7s and a Reliant--but I can't find the website.
     
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  9. Astra

    Astra Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2015
    Location:
    Dresden, Germany
    Tonight airs the last episode of "Gotham" and I want to thank everyone for 5 wonderful years.
    This is the picture of the last day of filming back in December.

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    And the original!

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  10. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2006
    Location:
    Georgia, USA
    With several toys experiencing "revivals", you know what I'd love for Mattel (or another company) to bring back?

    Major Matt Mason!

    For anyone possibly too young to know, well, this Wiki article can explain better than I.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Matt_Mason

    Here's a personal site that describes the individual toys in more detail.

    http://www.wildtoys.com/MMMPage/index.asp

    But given those pictures are a bit small by today's web browsing standards, here are the results of a general Google search.

    https://www.google.com/search?sa=N&...WMa1AKHQ4RCiY4ChCwBHoECAcQAQ&biw=1322&bih=874

    Other than my Remco brand "Lost in Space" Robot, Major Matt Mason was my favorite toy of the latter 1960s! I was mesmerized by the "Space Race, my imagination fueled by each new launch, culminating by our landing humans upon the Moon. What better toy to offer a child fascinated with this bold, new frontier?

    Now, I realize it would be impractical, and would almost certainly lose money to try bringing back the entire line, but surely Mattel (or whomever would turn at least a modest profit if they re-issued the core figures of Mason, Storm, Davis and Long with a few of their less extravagant accessories like the "space sled" and the endearingly clunky "moon suit"? Yes, I'm aware it would probably not appeal to the usual kids' market. No, instead promote the "nostalgia factor" and present them as collectibles to those who were children during that pivotal era of space technology. Yeah, they would cost more that way, but certainly less than the "asking prices" of originals on eBay. Plus, as adults, odds are those collectors would better understand the fragility of the wire core "skeleton" that allows for their posing.

    Several years ago, actor Tom Hanks was intrigued with the notion of making a "Major Matt Mason" movie. Had it come to fruition, I bet the toy line, or at least selected figures and gadgets from it would have returned to shelves.

    I propose this only because we have seen several vintage toys revised (in limited numbers, anyway), like various action figures from the Mego line. I would like to believe the same could be done for good ol' Mason. Or maybe it's my nostalgic cravings that are deluding me.
     
  11. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    Yesterday marked 20 years since Episode I Midnight Madness and the official launch of toys from TPM. I had to go out shopping so I decided to make a nostalgic voyage past the stores I visited on May 3, 1999 to buy my first Episode I figures. The Toys 'R' Us is now an Ollie's Discount Outlet, the Kay-Bee Toys closed down years ago and all the Kmarts in my area are now out of business if not bulldozed and replaced with new stores, but I got to see some of the same locations and reminisce.

    Twenty years. It doesn't seem like it's been that long until I think about it.
     
  12. Astra

    Astra Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2015
    Location:
    Dresden, Germany
    Introduction: Don Carter, played by William Shatner, in the famous Twilight Zone episode "Nick of Time"
    I think this is a convention exclusive as usually these figures are just black and white but I wanted the devil in red.
    He is so tiny though, I had hoped he could meet his other self as Captain Kirk.

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  13. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2001
    Location:
    Earth
    I like the figure looks like Shatner in The Devil's Rain.
     
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  14. Unicron

    Unicron Boss Monster Mod Moderator

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  15. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    I finally picked up the 6-inch Black Series Mace Windu, General Grievous and Dryden Vos over the past ten days give or take. All three are pretty cool or downright stupendous figures with impressive sculpts and engineering.
     
  16. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    publiusr
  17. Astra

    Astra Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2015
    Location:
    Dresden, Germany
    "Put it there, put it there!"
    Poor Scotty, against Kirk and Spock combined he has no chance!

    I won 1st place in the Sixth Scale Universe April competition "Fun & Games"!

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2006
    Location:
    Flying Spaghetti Western
    today's target pickup! [​IMG]
     
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  19. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
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    Wait. Photobucket images are working again?

    Nice!
     
  20. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    I just kept deleting the tag until all I was left with was [​IMG]
     
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