For young action figure collectors in the 1980s, the most desired, treasured, magical items were those enigmatic mail-away (or “mail-in”) figures. Unavailable at regular stores, they required a quest in order to get them.

It was a quest that required begging one’s parents for enough action figures to cut out the required number of Proof-of-Purchase cards, then begging them again to write out a check for the $5 or so needed for “shipping and handling.”

And even once that was done, you had to wait six to eight weeks for the figure to arrive–an eternity in childhood.

But one day, your parents would come back from getting the mail and hand you a small, nondescript brown or white box, labeled only with your address and a return address of “Hasbro” or “Kenner.” And inside would be a little clear baggie, and inside that…

At that moment, you knew what it felt like when Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb–or when Indy first laid eyes on the Ark. (more…)