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!

Kenner Megabug Gladiators- Scorpion

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.

Kenner Megabug Gladiators

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. 

Kenner Megabug Gladiators

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

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Lili Ledy was a Mexico-based toy maker with a 30-year run until its closure in 1985.

Due to trade restrictions, the company would manufacture it’s toys on Mexican soil. Even popular Hong Kong-made American toys like GI Joe, Star Wars and Mego Superheroes had to have their Mexican-made equivalent.

This restriction resulted in some fantastic and imaginative-looking variations on what we’re familiar with.

1975 was an excellent year for Lili Ledy with several hot toys and licenses:

Lili Ledy Mego Superheroes

The cover for this catalogue featured the newly acquired Mego Superheroes. I can’t tell you how much collecting Mexican Mego figures meant to me in the late 90s. It was like discovering them all over again. Then like a lot of things, it got kind of competitive and I moved on to other things.

Here are three great sites for Lili Ledy Mego figures:

foreignmego.com : I created this site in 1999 (yikes) because I had a serious passion for these guys.

MegoMuseum.com– I tried to add as much Ledy as I can to the galleries.

Themegoguy.com- Dude’s got an amazing collection and he can take a great picture.

Is that Herby the Love Bug?

I’m pretty sure Bob and Joy were not based on American toys but an original creation of Ledy.

Don Cuco is the much less creepy version of Tommy Talker.

I love that they dressed a kid up like Pebbles Flinstone. 

We’re making collectible pins featuring many of the toys we celebrate and characters from this site.

Kenner’s Turbo Tower of Power and SSP sets were very popular.

Love the boxing game, I had the Kar-r-r-rate Men instead.

Lili Ledy Gi Joe Accion Adventurers

Mexico’s take on GI Joe, “Adventuro Accion” was a pure joy with plenty of additions, variations and exclusives. Oh, how I love these so.

Our magazine Toy-Ventures is now on it’s 9th issue. If you like this site and vintage toys, please check it out.

Lili Ledy Sesame Street figures

I am in awe of Mexican Sesame Street toys, especially the regional characters we didn’t get here.

Do I need to explain who Barbara is mimicking? I didn’t think so. Barbie was sold by rival Mexican toymaker Cipsa during this period.

I’ve also made a few other collectible pins based on knockoffs and characters from this website. Look for a few more designs coming very soon.

Toy-Ventures Collectible Pins including the Lincoln Monsters

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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 Monsters, AHI, Mighty Gary, Tomland, Bogi, Demo Man, Mortoys, and other generic greats.

Lili Ledy

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Described by Kenner in 1979 as “Combat vehicles of the future….half insect, half-machine” Megabug Gladiators were perhaps just too ahead of their time.

That’s pretty much the only reason I can think of to justify why this cool toy line of insect tanks wasn’t a hit with kids. Had it been spawned in the 1980s, Megabugs would have likely gotten an animated series to support the concept and would have been a bigger hit.

As it stands, it’s one of those toylines that deserves more fanfare, for being one of the most creative concepts of the decade.

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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.

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