In honour of the release of Furiosa, Toy-Ventures looks at the most excellent 1980s Post-Apocalyptic Toy Line: Tonka’s Steel Monsters. It was all things “Mad Max” except for the name. How did such a gorgeous toy line fail? What didn’t get made? We get the scoop from the creators. #toyventures #tonka #MadMax Get Issue […]
Imperial Toys was one of America’s premier producers of lower-cost Rack Toys for over 50 years. The company sadly folded a few years ago, but in the 1980s, they were everywhere with their in-house IP and hot licenses. This supplement catalogue from 1986 is a neat little time capsule of hot toy trends. Karate Defenders […]
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 […]
One of my favourite thing about collecting wishbooks are entries like this one from the 1986 Sears Canada Catalog. This is the Tek Force Robo Jumbo, a toy that is meant to be used with other people’s action figures. In this shot we’ve got some random Star Wars figures and some early RAH GI […]
Collegeville was one of the leading Halloween costume manufacturers of the late twentieth century. This extensive 1968 catalog really demonstrates the powerhouse licenses they were rocking in the 60s, including Labyrinth, The Transformers and the Go-Bots, WWF Wrasslers, Wuzzles, Rainbow Bright and the Peanuts, it’s a good group and some solid 1980s nostalgia. 1986 Collegeville […]
AKA the most 1980s thing ever! These are weird and probably wrong but I’m grateful they didn’t release a “Clown” or “Hobo” version. We have a PodCast! It’s fun, please listen. Check out our Instagram for more stuff like this blog. Get the expanded digital edition of Rack Toys here.
It wouldn’t be Halloween without at least one costume catalog on PlaidStallions and I’m thrilled to be showcasing this rarity from 1986. It’s pretty hard to find an 80s property that isn’t represented here, I mean seriously this thing is chock full of cartoon and toy characters. Check out the 1986 Ben Cooper Catalog here! […]
Imperial made the 1980s more fun by laying out some truly inspired Godzilla merchandise from the insane bubble blowing bong to the more logical PVC Godzilla. I still have mine that I purchased 30 (sigh!) years back, it followed through every dorm room/crappy apartment and is still kicking!
My friend Corey sent this picture of his pal Darryl and Hordak at the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre PA circa 1986. He goes on to mention “I can safely say it wasn’t the reason we went to the mall, it was just kinda there. I did take some more shots of Skeletor’s castle which I’ll dig out […]
The Action Heroes by Marchon was a charming line of Superhero Knockoffs that were meant to fit in with popular 80s toy lines such as Super Powers or Secret Wars. While a bit out of my age range, I remember them well and even bought a few to customize into other Super characters. Check out […]
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