Store Catalogs

1982 GI Joe Playset from the JC Penney Catalog

  One of my favourite things about Department store wishbooks is when they snuck in an exclusive item. Sometimes this was whole figures like the Mego Secret Identity figures; other times, carry cases or even playsets meant to be used with the toys unofficially. That’s the case with the Mobile Command HQ playset from the […]

1978 toy catalog with oddball action figure assortment

This past week I picked up a wishbook from a regional chain of stores called “Monroe,” mainly because of its cover and the most 1970s people ever (see below).   I mean, the only thing missing from this is macrame and a fresh pot of Chicory brewing. However, the more curious thing is the selection […]

Dragon Force by Lanard

  Another fun discovery in the ’86 Sears Canada catalogue is a page dedicated to Dragon Force. A generic line of Martial Arts heroes by Lanard Toys. Despite my lifelong obsession with Martial Arts, I have no memory of this line. Probably because at the time, I was trying to buy actual ninja weapons (I […]

1981 Toys R Us catalog – Mego- Remco-

1981 Toys R Us catalog Toys R Us is not what it used to be. This flyer from December 1981 is a time capsule of the chain in its heyday. It is also a great look at what we could have expected under the tree, Barbies, Glamour gals, Atari games, Remco Monsters and Mego Superheroes. […]

Fisher-Price and Lego- 1980 Consumer’s Distributing Catalog

Fisher-Price and Lego- 1980 Consumer’s Distributing Catalog   If there is any testament to the power of Fisher-Price toys, it’s the fact that many of the items featured here had serious longevity. I had the three bottom items from the Fisher-Price play family series, namely the Farm, the parking garage and the ferry boat before […]

Mego Superheroes- 1980 Consumer’s Distributing Catalog

  Consumer’s Distributing Week continues with a look at one of the pages that would be my first destination upon getting a new catalog, the Mego Superheroes. This, however, was not the best year for the brand. The eight-inch World’s Greatest Superheroes are nowhere to be found, replaced by the Pocket Superheroes. More interestingly is […]

Kenner Empire Strikes Back – 1980 Consumer’s Distributing Catalog

Hello and welcome to Consumer’s Distributing week on PlaidStallions. I recently picked up a grail catalogue in the form of the 1980/81 Consumer’s Distributing catalogue. For those not in the know, Consumer’s was a popular Canadian chain of catalogue showroom shops that ran from the 1950s until about 1995. At their peak, they had over […]