To kids growing up in the Boston area in the 1970s and 1980s, one of the most magical places on Earth could be found at 399 Moody Street in Waltham, MA. That was the home of Mr. Big Toyland, the world’s greatest toy store. This wasn’t your usual toy store; you didn’t just go to Mr. Big for the latest He-Man or G.I. Joe figures (although you could–they had those too). You went to him for Godzilla, for Gaiking, for all those imported Japanese toys you didn’t even know existed until they showed up in his ads. (more…)
Pic of the Day
Pic of the Day
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Vintage Month > Poe’s Five Favorite Classic He-Man Vehicles
With the exception of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe and Star Wars, vehicles have become a thing of the past for most action figure lines. That’s especially true for any figure line larger than a 3 ¾” scale. But back in the golden age of action figures, even the lowliest toy line had at least a couple vehicles, be they saddled beasts or gigantic rolling bases (looking back, I’m amazed I had the Technodrome. Thanks Mom and Dad!)
Of the many things it did right, some of the best things about Masters of the Universe were the vehicles. Like the toys, many of them had all sorts of action features and interesting designs. Here’s a list of my five favorite classic MOTU vehicles. (more…)
Vintage Month > That’s Just Prime (by PrftktTear)
Throughout its history, Transformers has had many incarnations, but one character is always prominent in them all: Optimus Prime. From the first time we heard him say “Transform and ROLL OUT!”, generations of kids have been inspired by the Big Bot.
Over the years Optimus has taken many forms, from his familiar trailer truck, a fire truck, or a pick-up truck, to some bizarre forms like Nike sneakers and out-of-this-world Cybertronian based vehicles. Regardless of his alternate mode, he always seems to have the same general look, and is arguably the most instantly recognizable Transformer of all. (more…)
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Poe’s note: Every time I go looking for photos of vintage toys on Flickr, there’s an 80% chance that TCM Hitchhiker took them.
Vintage Month > The Pegasus Incident
I’ve often praised my parents for the excellent job they did raising me, and for the lengths to which they were willing to go to humor my geeky interests. My father, for instance, would take rated-R movies like Predator and Aliens and, using two VCRs, make me PG-rated versions of the movies by cutting the really violent scenes.
However, every parent makes the occasional mistake. Fortunately, I could be bought. (more…)
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Manglors Manglord Action Figure Toy by Neato Coolville
Poe’s note: Man, I loved these toys as a kid. Well, toy, I should say, since I never had any of them except for the Manglord here. As you can see, they had some great, creepy box art, too.
There was a certain tragic aspect to these toys. The gimmick was that you could pull off their arms or legs and then, because the figure was so sticky, you could stick the limbs right back on. But as you might expect, the limbs never really gripped as tightly as they did before you ripped them off, and so once you’d torn off Manglord’s head, arms, and legs, you soon lost interest and the figure ended up in the trash.
Still, it was a neat gimmick, and made for a memorable, if unsuccessful, toy line. If you’re interested in learning more about Manglors, this seems to be the definitive site, although this guy also spends more text on Manglors that I would have thought possible.
