1975 Excel Toys Catalog - Legends of the West- Military Legends

Excel Toys was yet another of those toy companies that mainly existed to serve the dime store and discount chains in the 1970s. Although they also seemed to be catering to the gift shop industry as well.

Their main output tended to be action figures with a quality very similar to what Mego was doing. Though they would release an officially licensed Kojak figure in 1976, the majority of their toy output tended to be public domain names based on US History.

The main theme for 1975 would be characters based on the old west, a theme that still enjoyed popularity in the 1970s.

The Legends of the West line premiered the same year as Mego’s American West toy line and featured five of the same characters in their assortment. It’s really interesting that Excel seems to have struck a nerve with the release of Deadwood Dick which proved to be so popular he got his own assortment. These figures were likely very popular as gift shop items.

Unlike their competition, Excel Toys didn’t forget about the ladies, the Cowgirls line was a pretty innovative idea for the era. Also, you can’t release this many Western figures and not include a horse.

Excel Toys Military Legends was quite an ambitious line based on military leaders from US history, the figures were well detailed and still enjoy a following to this day. You finally have someone to boss your GI Joe figures around.

The sales material that Excel Toys is using almost makes you think these toys are trying to pass as educational. It’s a good angle that likely got the toys into museum gift shops.

Excel Toys was really ahead of the curve here with their line of Little Legends which would later be pick up by Empire Toys and run until the late 1970s. 1975 is the same year that the Fisher-Price Adventure People debuted and most people credit that as the first 3 3/4″ line but these guys were also at the party.

These Excel Toys Playsets for the Little Legends of the West look super fun and I’m not sure I’ve ever run into them before.

I have never heard of two by twos but I adore that early look to Daffy Duck, the crazy version of the character will also be my favourite.

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