General Toy Nostalgia

[AceofKnaves]

MONSTER FORCE!!!!

 

[Damien]

Remember Body Wars? This line was wild.
Also, more proof that I had a real thing for micro-figures and little playset toys.

 

[Ru1977]

AIR RAIDERS

One of my best friends in 5th grade had these. I would go to his house to play Air Raiders, and sometimes he'd come over to mine to play Sky Commanders.

 

[Damien]

and sometimes he'd come over to mine to play Sky Commanders.

Presumably only the days your dad was wearing pants.

 

[Ru1977]

That was never a guarantee.

 

[JakeEkiss]

How about fuckin' ARMY GEAR. I had a brief but passionate love affair with this line. I was, for a good chunk of my youth, kind of obsessed with army men and vehicles AND opening playset shit. This was all the way up my alley with no lube at all.

I saw these but never had any. Such a neat idea though.

I give you.. lol... ATOMIC RANGER WARRIORS!

This one actually sent me on an Ebay search because I really loved the couple of these I had.

 

[TheGillMan]

Six Million Dollar Man had some great stuff in the 1970's.

My favorite was this - part rocket, part surgical module - the various tubes had connectors that could go all over the place and connected to the "bionic" parts on Steve. Or you could put Masketron in there for interrogation.

I really wanted the critical assignment legs and arms - I had the arms, but never the legs. I mean, who wouldn't want an exploding leg?

The cool thing, until it would inevitably break, was the rubber skin you could roll down the arms to cover the bionic parts on the arms. You really needed the repair station to swap out Steve's arms and legs.

And don't get started on a bionic, alien Bigfoot that was 14" tall...

I really should find the arms and legs at this point...

Man, did I love this show, and the toys, when I was a kid. I remember having Steve Austin and Masketron, but that was about it. I DID get Bigfoot for Christmas one year, but the o-ring that facilitated his action feature broke a few days after I got him. I was extremely sad I only got to have epic fights with him and Steve for a couple of days.

 

[RicksNerdLife]

Man, you could get me talking for hours about this. Nostalgia is what drives me.

While born in '82, I really am more of a 90s nostalgic. I do have nostalgia for lots of 80s action figures, like the Teddy Ruxpin, Flintstones Kids, Ghostbusters, etc...

The 90s hold my heart, and really, while I loved the mainstream stuff, I always gravitate more to the off the beaten path toylines. And while I would have assumed things like Bucky O'Hare and Toxic Crusaders fall under that category, recent trends have shown me otherwise. However, I feel like a lot of people forget about these:

Capitol Critters, based off of a short lived prime time TV cartoon show. About rats and cockroaches that live in the White House.

https://imgur.com/a/xfqej5b

Trashbag Bunch. Dissolving trash bags that when put in water expose these little figures.

https://imgur.com/a/i01f5bN

Mutant League, I believe based on a video game? Definitely had a cartoon.

https://imgur.com/a/LJQywj6

I have ALWAYS been a massive Halloween kid, and this short lived cartoon and book series had a toyline that I still want to pick up. Little Dracula was recorded on VHS and an annual Halloween watch here. One of these days I will get these.

https://imgur.com/a/urPrEy6

Legend of Sharkman, these weird Hawaiian based figures were the highlight of Toy Fair 1996,1997 to me. I remember seeing these in Tomart's.

https://imgur.com/a/H9HOtgj

Creepy Crawlers, based on the classic little jelly making machines from your childhood, had a cartoon and subsequent action figure line.

https://imgur.com/a/5XWLpHT

Zen the Intergalactic Ninja. Man. MAN, I loved Zen back in the day. First an independent comic book, then Archie series. There were plans for a cartoon, movie, there was an NES video game. It tried to follow the Toxic Crusaders and Captain Planet "Save the Earth from Pollution" path.

https://imgur.com/a/kd9b1xU

 

[JakeEkiss]

Ok I got one for y'all:

 

[RicksNerdLife]

Ok I got one for y'all:

CONNECTORS...

Wow. Man, I don't think people really appreciate what toy stores in the 80s and 90s were like.

There was a place in my city called Children's Palace. That place had literally 6 long, LONG aisles of JUST action figures.

 

[JakeEkiss]

Wow. Man, I don't think people really appreciate what toy stores in the 80s and 90s were like.

And it was just wall-to-wall out there ideas. Just incredibly imaginative stuff.

 

[Ru1977]

Ah man, my mom worked at a Children's Palace in 1987 or so. I remember her excitedly showing me notes she'd made of all the new stuff about to stock that I'd be into. "There's several Transformers with removable heads that turn into their drivers!"