Kenner MegaBug Gladiators Scorpion

Kenner MegaBug Gladiators Scorpion

My friend Scott from the MegoMuseum forums gifted me this toy recently; it’s his original one from childhood. It’s the Scorpion from the Kenner MegaBug Gladiators toy line, which we both share a love for.

Kenner introduced the MegaBug Gladiators in 1979, and while they are well-designed toys, it seems they didn’t market them in any meaningful way, and they just withered on the vine.

That’s a shame because the line was absolutely ahead of its time.  A series of futuristic war machines with an insect theme, the name “Gladiators” suggests a world where this sort of combat is sport. Oh man, I think we just wrote a Full Moon movie!

 

Three vehicles were in the range: Scorpion, MegaSpider and Dragon Fly. There is no world-building included anywhere. Kenner expected kids to build their own backstory, which, combined with little to no marketing, probably hurt this line.

Scorpion has some neat features: his claws are spring-loaded and can hold army men, his tail is posable for different attacks, and his legs crawl if you push it forward.

 

 

I’ve spoken to several former Kenner people over the years at Toy-Ventures, but none have much insight into this line, let alone remember it. That’s a nut I hope to crack in the coming months as I find this toy line an excellent companion piece to Micronauts and Shogun Warriors. 

 

Also, these things are really photogenic, I will be revisiting this topic this year.

#kenner #plaidstallions #megabuggladiators 

 

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Kenner, MegaBug Gladiators, Micronauts, Shogun Warriors, 1979, DragonFly, Mega Spider, Scorpion