Kenner wins packaging award, Bionic Man

This article from 1976 is in celebration of Kenner winning packaging awards from two different associations for the Steve Scout and Six Million Dollar Man toy lines, respectively. With the Bionic Toylines, the colour pink was traditionally considered taboo in boy’s toys (as was black), but in doing this, Kenner stood apart in the action aisle. I associate pink with two toylines,  Kenner Steve Austin and Mego Batman; it’s been 50 years, and I still think that. Well done, Kenner.

Below is a parade of Bionic Man endcaps, enjoy.

Bionic Man End Caps kenner

The Lincoln Monsters are here!

The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures is our magazine; we’re an independent publisher trying to bring back print toy magazines; if you would like to support us, please check out the latest issue: https://plaidstallions.com/reboot/shop

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

Click Here for past installments of 5 Awesome Things on eBay this week

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The Super Collector Newsletter combines all the news from Mego Museum and Plaid Stallions and a lot of other fun stuff across the Interwebs. It’s got customs, new action figures, vintage finds and a lot of pop culture. Sign Up Here!

We co-produced this amazing action figure with White Elephant Toyz; it’s an 8″ Mego Style Officially Licensed Tura Satana figure with a beautiful box by Joeseph Linsner! Get yours while supplies last.

Knock Offs; Totally Unauthorized Action Figures the book

Knock-Offs Totally Unauthorized Action figures is from the demented mind that brought you “Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings” and features hundreds of hilarious, charming, copyright infringing toys. Get a signed copy in our shop! 5 Awesome

Facebook Groups we enjoy

The official FB group for PlaidStallions, come for the conversation, stay for the chill vibe. Remember, you keep the glass

. 
Kenner, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Man, Mego Batman, 70s toy packaging, Steve Scout, Pink packaging, Toy-Ventures, Plaid Stallions, 1976, toy industry news, Kenner news, Ohio

The post Kenner’s “Bionic Pink” wins awards appeared first on PS.

https://youtu.be/xvFUEGig2jk

Toy-Ventures returns to cover our biggest event of the year, Mego Meet, held at Zolo Con in Warminster, PA. This was a true blast of vintage, modern, and Custom Mego action figures. I hope you’ll check out this incredible feast of vintage toys!

Mike Zolotorow, Krista Schmidt and the entire Zolo-Con Family.
Jason Scheiermeyer of White Elephant Toyz
Paul “Dr. Mego” Clarke of Mego Corporation.
Scott Brown -Cool Retro Pop
Kevin Fiore, Scott Fiore and the entire Fiore clan.
Frank Wojo of Absolutely Retro
Todd @Tiny Plastic Men
Paul Wasson Lasermego.com
John Coe Creations
Mark Huckabone from Heroes Online
Brent Sorensen of Brentzdollz
Vin Carnabuci (and family) from Vin’s Universe.
Seth Buckely from Seth Buckley’s Toyland
Mike “MegoZilla” Jimenez
Amber Zombie and Stitch
Steve Stovall from Super Joe Unlimited

And to all of you who attended Mego Meet and contributed to the spirit intended. You put the “Meet” in “Mego Meet,” and it was a true pleasure to get to know you.

Click Here for past installments of 5 Awesome Things on eBay this week

5 Awesome Things on eBay this week

Join our weekly newsletter.

The Super Collector Newsletter combines all the news from Mego Museum and Plaid Stallions and a lot of other fun stuff across the Interwebs. It’s got customs, new action figures, vintage finds and a lot of pop culture. Sign Up Here!

We co-produced this amazing action figure with White Elephant Toyz; it’s an 8″ Mego Style Officially Licensed Tura Satana figure with a beautiful box by Joeseph Linsner! Get yours while supplies last.

Knock Offs; Totally Unauthorized Action Figures the book

Knock-Offs Totally Unauthorized Action figures is from the demented mind that brought you “Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings” and features hundreds of hilarious, charming, copyright infringing toys. Get a signed copy in our shop! 5 Awesome

Facebook Groups we enjoy

The official FB group for PlaidStallions, come for the conversation, stay for the chill vibe. Remember, you keep the glass

.

Mego Knock Off Headquarters is a group created to discuss Bootleg toys and customs. Totally chill vibe for fans of Tomland, Lincoln International, Mego and AHI. It’s a super fun group, join Mego-KO-HQ!

zolocon, micronauts, customego, custom mego, knock offs, lincoln monsters, AHI, Mego Corp, Dr Mego, Absolutely retro, Planet of the Apes, NECA, tiny plastic men, Cipsa, Big Jim, Kid Acero, mego museum, Mego collectors, Zolo con, BASA, foreign mego, Lincoln International, Absolutely Retro, Toy-Ventures, Plaidstallions, Denys Fisher, Noctun, Space:1999, Star Trek, Micronauts, Custom Mego, Custom Action Figures, Membros, Zolo World, He-Man, toy shows, toy collector, Toy Ventures Magazine, Dracula, Horror,

The post Toy-Ventures: Mego Meet @ ZoloCon Recap! appeared first on PS.

Plaid Stallions 18th Birthday

It’s Plaid Stallions’ birthday, and now I can ship it off to college or the army I guess.

Starting this site on a lazy Saturday while my baby daughter napped was more important than I’d ever realized. I had no idea that when I started posting old catalogue photos online. Starting Plaid Stallions would open such an incredible door that would have me make new friends, create podcasts, go back to college, write books and magazines, and even make action figures based on crazy concepts.

None of this would have happened if I had just decided to watch TV, so it ranks as one of the better decisions I’ve ever made.

Initially, I was going to give PS “Five years tops,” but I just kept going thanks to all the positive people I encountered on this journey.

That support and kindness kept me going, and I always found it here during good times and bad; this has been an amazing ride.

So I would love to give out presents on our birthday because I already got mine from you, and so on with the contest!

RUNNER UP PRIZE:

Ten participants will receive an Infl8able Monster in its limited edition packaging.  These are the same figures that come with issue 12 of Toy-Ventures Magazine, but in a special “Rack Toy” package. We’re only making 150 of these with a custom header card by the amazing Peter Carsillo; these will be sold on the site and at shows soon, but you can get one absolutely free.

SECOND PRIZE:

One lucky person will get a complete set of Lincoln Monsters collector pins and an Infl8able Monster.

GRAND PRIZE

HOW TO

Grand Prize is an assortment of cool items from the PlaidStallions Shop with some various “Vintage Toy Surprises” in the mix, Contents include:

• All 12 issues of Toy-Ventures magazine including all “in-stock” premiums
• Limited Edition INFL8ABLE Monster
• A signed copy of Knock Offs: Totally Unauthorized Action Figures
• 3 Toy–Ventures collector pins of the winner’s choosing
• a Set of Plaid Stallions Polyester pals
• An Officially licensed Tura Satana action figure
• Vintage Surprises

HOW TO PLAY:

To enter, comment on this blog post (please add your email address; I won’t contact you if you don’t win)  and answer the following question:

Who was your favourite Love Boat Guest?

My personal favourite is Deacon Dark (played by Sonny Bono) but there really isn’t a wrong answer (unless that person wasn’t on the Love Boat, I guess) 

One entry per person, and please only comment on this post.

I will announce the winners this Saturday. Good luck, and thank you all for your kindness over the years.

Get Issue 12 of Toy-Ventures shipping this week!

Click Here for past installments of 5 Awesome Things on eBay this week

5 Awesome Things on eBay this week

Join our weekly newsletter.

The Super Collector Newsletter combines all the news from Mego Museum and Plaid Stallions and a lot of other fun stuff across the Interwebs. It’s got customs, new action figures, vintage finds and a lot of pop culture. Sign Up Here!

Plaid Stallions 18th Birthday Contest

The post Plaid Stallions 18th Birthday Contest appeared first on PS.

Mr Rock Key Chain from Plaidstallions

Mr. Rock Limited Edition Keychain

Hey folks, I’m happy to announce another addition to our growing range of Toys and Collectibles at the PlaidStallions Store.

This limited edition Mr. Rock key chain is now available. Featuring gorgeous artwork by Chris Franklin (from the Fire and Water Podcast network) showcasing Rock in the classic model kit pose, made famous by another alien.

Mr. Rock is a good luck charm for me; he is featured in both of my books, Rack Toys and Knock Offs and issue 3 of Toy-Ventures magazine. It’s my dream to own a carded one, but that may depend on whether that money tree I planted works out.

I did a video on Mr. Rock that you can watch here:

Mr. Rock also has his own gallery page here on PlaidStallions.

You can get the Mr. Rock keychain here for $4.99 which includes shipping to US and Canada (Europe, UK, Japan, and Aussieland is an extra two bones) Now, fair warning I can’t seem to turn off shipping right now so it will charge you but I’ll refund it after. The perils of being a one-man show is you have to figure stuff out on the fly.

This is just the first of many oddball collectible items we’ll be offering in the PlaidStallions shop this year, can’t wait to talk about February!

Do you miss toy collector magazines?

That’s why we created Toy-Ventures magazine, an old-school print publication dedicated to vintage toys from the 1960s to the 1990s. Each issue is packed with never before seen images and information written by some of the top collectors. We’ve got 8 issues and climbing; please check our page here or visit our store.

The Mego Museum News has rebranded into the Super Collector Newsletter! Encompassing more from sites like PlaidStallions and more. Check it out even if you don’t collect Mego figures.

Our long running Pod Cast, Pod Stallions is now available on Spotify.

The PlaidStallions Polyester Pals have arrived and come in green and orange. Be the first kid in the sandbox with our Podcast mascots!

Our latest book is “Knock-Offs: Totally Unauthorized Action Figures” a love letter to cheeky copyright-infringing toys. You can get this new book via the PlaidStallions Shop, On Amazon (Affiliate Link) or eBay (eBay Link)

FACEBOOK GROUPS FROM PLAIDSTALLIONS

Pod Stallions is based on our podcast and is one of the most fun groups on Facebook. Toys, Comics, Movies, TV, it’s all up for grabs and remember folks, you keep the glass! If you like our show, then you have found your tribe.

Mego Knock Off Headquarters– The leading group discussing 70s Dime store knock-offs and bootleg action figures, we talk vintage toys and not others. We know the difference between Astro Apes and Action Apeman.  It’s a fun group where we talk about Lincoln International, AHI, Mighty Gary, Tomland, Bogi, Demo Man, Mortoys, and other generic greats.

Mr. Rock

#plaidstallions #toyventures #knockoffs

The post Now Available: Mr. Rock Limited Edition Keychain appeared first on PS.

I’m happy to announce that one of our collaborations with White Elephant Toyz , Polyester Pals is in production and will be here soon.

The Polyester Pals and the Graveyard Geekz are a new series of 2″ collectible figures based on the Tomland Mini Monsters from the 1980s.

Polyester Pals includes our mascot characters Satin Monster and Ron: Space Pimp, while the Graveyard Geekz includes The Mummy, The Phantom, The Wolfman and the White Elephant mascot. The figures will be available in two colours gruesome green and Halloween orange. The header card has art created by the excellent Chris Franklin.

 Polyester Pals will be available at the Plaid Stallions shop this November; the Graveyard Geekz will be available at White Elephant Toyz.

Do you miss toy magazines?

That’s why we created Toy-Ventures magazine, an old-school print publication dedicated to vintage toys from the 1960s to the 1990s. Each issue is packed with never before seen images and information written by some of the top collectors. We’ve got seven issues and climbing; please check our page here or visit our store.

Our newest book “Knock-Offs: Totally, Unauthorized Action Figures,” is now available. It’s 130 pages of bootleg goodness.
You can get this new book via the PlaidStallions Shop , On Amazon (Affiliate Link) or on eBay (eBay Link)

Our book Rack Toys, Cheap, Crazed Playthings is now available again! Order through our Affiliate Link

Order Rack Toys 2.0 Here through our Affiliate Link►https://amzn.to/3Bkm9z1

FACEBOOK GROUPS FROM PLAIDSTALLIONS

Pod Stallions is based on our podcast and is one of the most fun groups on Facebook. Toys, Comics, Movies, TV, it’s all up for grabs and remember, you keep the glass! If you like our show, then you have found your tribe.

Mego Knock Off Headquarters– The leading group discussing 70s Dime store knock-offs and bootleg action figures, we talk vintage toys and not others. We know the difference between Astro Apes and Action Apeman.  It’s a fun group where we talk about Lincoln International, AHI, Mighty Gary, Tomland, Bogi, Demo Man, Mortoys, and other generic greats.

The post The Polyester Pals and Graveyard Geeks are in production! appeared first on PS.

Knock-Offs Book

Hey folks, if you didn’t catch my Livestream this Saturday,  I’m doing my follow-up to Rack Toys with a book I’ve titled Knock-Offs: Totally Unauthorized Action Figures.  This is a piece I’ve been working on since 2012 but stuff got in the way and I had to put it on hold. I’m glad I did because it just made the whole thing better. 

Knock-Offs is a celebration of the dimestore bootleg figure, the copyright-infringing silliness  meant to fool our grandpeople. The subjects range from toys of the 1960’s to the 2000s and include every popular genre you can think of.

Knock-Offs Book

Knock-Offs Book- Nightmare Feddy

Chapters will include Superheroes, Science Fiction, Horror, TV/Movies and you’d better believe 80s toys. So many discount Darth Vaders and Skid Row Skeletors…

Knock-Offs Book- Robocops

Knock-Offs will also celebrate the amazing bootleg toy art scene and I have to say, the work these folks create is pretty darn infectious.

Bootleg toy artist Knock-Offs Book

Bootleg toy artist Knock-Offs Book

The book is expected to launch in December, to keep updated, join our mailing list here: http://plaidstallions.com/reboot/subscribe/

Our book Rack Toys, Cheap, Crazed Playthings is now available again! Order through our Affiliate Link

Order Rack Toys 2.0 Here through out Affiliate Link►https://amzn.to/3Bkm9z1

Toy-Ventures Magazine is our newest creation, an old-school print magazine about vintage toys! Professionally laid out and written, each issue is brimming with obscure and rare toys from companies such as Mego, Kenner, Remco, AHI, and much more. Monsters, Superheroes, Adventurers, Knock Offs, Apes, and so much more, it’s in Toy-Ventures.

Toy-Ventures Issue 5 is available now:
Ebay: https://ebay.us/XSS1X7
Plaid Stallions Store: https://plaidstallions.com/reboot/shop/
Amazon Affilitate Link:https://amzn.to/3d9Q0AS

FACEBOOK GROUPS FROM PLAIDSTALLIONS

Pod Stallions is one of the most fun groups on Facebook. Toys, Comics, Movies, TV, it’s all up for grabs and remember, you keep the glass!

Mego Knock Off Headquarters– The leading group discussing 70s Dime store knock-offs of Mego action figures, we talk vintage toys and not others. We know the difference between Astro Apes and Action Apeman! It’s a really fun group where we talk about Lincoln International, AHI, Tomland, Bogi, Demo Man, Mortoy, and other generic greats.

The post New Book! Knock-Offs: Totally Unauthorized Action Figures by PlaidStallions Press appeared first on PS.

PlaidStallions Action Figure Archive

The Croner Buck Rogers action figure line is one of the more curious toy lines as Australia is the only place in the world to have two competing action figure lines for Buck Rogers, Croner and Mego.

Are these made by Mego? It’s not known but they sure look similar, more at the Plaid Stallions Action Figure Archive.

More Updates all this week.

Cheers!
bRaIn

Issue 4 of Toy-Ventures magazine ships this June

FACEBOOK GROUPS FROM PLAIDSTALLIONS

Pod Stallions is one of the most fun groups on Facebook.

Mego Knock Off Headquarters– The leading group discussing 70s dimestore goodness, we talk vintage toys, not others!

The post Croner Buck Rogers- PlaidStallions Action Figure Archive appeared first on PS.

PlaidStallions Action Figure Archive

The Bug Men of Insecta are a wonderfully creepy line of action figures knocking off Masters of the Universe and Sectaurs with a splash of horror. The new gallery has photos, catalog scans and even a video about this weird toy line.

More Updates all this week.

Cheers!
bRaIn

Issue 4 of Toy-Ventures magazine ships this June

FACEBOOK GROUPS FROM PLAIDSTALLIONS

Pod Stallions is one of the most fun groups on Facebook.

Mego Knock Off Headquarters– The leading group discussing 70s dimestore goodness, we talk vintage toys, not others!

The post Bugmen of Insecta- PlaidStallions Action Figure Archive appeared first on PS.

PS Thanks to my good friend Robyn Adams @secretfanbase for this wicked artwork.

GET Issue 3 of Toy-Ventures here!

FACEBOOK GROUPS FROM PLAIDSTALLIONS

Pod Stallions is one of the most fun groups on Facebook.

Mego Knock Off Headquarters– The leading group discussing 70s dimestore goodness, we talk vintage toys, not others!

The post PlaidStallions Turns 15! appeared first on PS.

This newly acquired Toys R Us flyer fromn 1980 is possibly one of the best I’ve ever picked up, it just reminds me of being a ten-year-old kid and it’s loaded with incredible toys, oddly enough not a huge amount of Star Wars content, which is OK by me.

Those fourth prices of DC Comics Treasury editions from the mid 1970s amazes me, I love those books with all my heart.

 Get Toy-Ventures Issue 2 now!

The Little Professor is still in my kitchen junk drawer

Oh ENTEX Space Invaders, how I loved thee.

Alligator was actually based on the movie of the same name, 1980 was a great year for “Games based on Rober Forester movies” 

That Fiddlesticks Superhero set is something that comes up a lot in the PlaidStallions mailbox. Nobody remembers it.

Elastic Mickey Mouse by Mego is now famous thanks to some Meme I think I had a hand in. The Incredible Hulk work bench is “Krusty the Clown” levels of selling out Bruce….

Crazy Foam is so my jam.

Oh Presto Magix! Awesome!

The Cosmic Clipper is a model kit by Airfix, who released a whole range of cool spaceships that looked like they were from Space:1999.

Reggie Jackson’s Bat Away Pitching Machine really got out there.

My dad bought that father and son set, what a treat fighting someone three times your size! Remember when Kramer was in the kid’s karate class, it was like that…

Toys R US Catalog from 1980

Toys R US Catalog from 1980

I love this page to pieces and I do remember some shops over ordering Yoda until it was the only Star Wars figure they had.

Toys R US Catalog from 1980

Toys R US Catalog from 1980

PlaidStallions Toy-Ventures Magazine #2 is now available and it’s been called “not only an entertaining read, but it’s also an impeccable work of reference” by PopCult.

FACEBOOK GROUPS FROM PLAIDSTALLIONS

Pod Stallions is one of the most fun groups on Facebook.

Mego Knock Off Headquarters– The leading group discussing 70s dimestore goodness, we talk vintage toys, not others!

The post 1980 Toys R Us Catalog (with video walkthrough) appeared first on PS.