80s toys Archives - PS

License the Ice Pirates!

Mantooth — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 16:05:15 +0000

License the Ice Pirates!

Ice Pirates Licensing ad from a 1983 toy publication

This ad in a toy industry publication from June 1983 attempts to find licensees for the upcoming film “The Ice Pirates.”

Nobody bit, and thus, the world failed its only chance of having a “Bruce Vilanch” action figure. While I mock, it’s important to note I would have KILLED for a toy of the recycled car from the “Logan’s Run” TV series.

#icepirates #MGM #80stoys #toyventures #plaidstallions

Issue #13 of Toy-Ventures Magazine will feature the never-before-seen plans for the 1983 World’s Greatest Superheroes toy line and a cover featuring artwork specially commissioned for Mego’s catalogue, gloriously coloured by Robyn Adams, founder of the Mego Museum.

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

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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!

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Ice Pirates

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LJN Has high hopes for Dune- Toyfair 1984

Mantooth — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 16:20:13 +0000

LJN Toyfair 1984 Dune Showroom

The caption reads “LJN is aiming for success in the forthcoming movie “Dune” as this reproduction of a scene from the film in the toy company’s Toy Fair showroom proved.”

The article goes on to mention “LJN will also be involved in producing
a line of products for “Dune,” a Universal Pictures release. The
movie is based on a best selling science fiction novel which already has
several sequels in print. It seems quite probable that Dune will be a long-term line for LJN.”

Narrator “It wasn’t.”

We have the 1984 Dune Catalog from LJN toys here

Click Here to see the 1984 Dune Toy Catalog

#Dune #80stoys #toyventures #plaidstallions #LJN

The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

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Knock Offs; Totally Unauthorized Action Figures the book

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1983 Consumers Distributing Toy Catalogue- MOTU- GI Joe- Star Wars

Mantooth — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 02:12:03 +0000

1983 Consumers Distributing Toy Catalogue

As shown in our recent Toy-Ventures Video, the 1983 Consumer’s Distributing Toy Catalog is from an era where the Canadian retailer was truly one of the biggest retailers of toys in the country, not only through their stores but by creating “Toy City” which were superstores in major Canadian cities.

The following pages are a total time capsule to a wonderful era of toys, enjoy.

Consumers Distributing 1983 Toy Flyer

Cabbage Patch Kids were the hot toy of 1983, oh the carnage….

GI Joe’s second year was particularly awesome and sort of my swan song of toys at the time.

I personally love the Arco Other World toys. Sure, it’s a MOTU KO, but it’s so different and weird. The Machine Man racers would eventually become Go-Bots…

Return of the Jedi was the big hit of the summer but Consumers was having trouble selling Kenner’s Micro Playsets from the years earlier. Such an underrated toy line. I love it. The Mego Dukes of Hazzard were still available despite Mego going bankrupt, that’s because Canada’s Grand Toys made a special trip to Hong Kong to restart Lion Rock because of this Consumers listing and other purchase orders.

I had completely forgotten that Team America was sold in Canada, I did read (and enjoy at the time) the Marvel Comic book, which hasn’t aged super good.

My friends sister at the time was Strawberry Shortcake obsessed, I know everyone’s names to this day.

I really dig Grover swiping his pose from Burt Reynolds like that.

The Fisher Price circus train sure had some long legs.

I laid this very site out on a Texas Instruments computer.

I remember wanting those Coleco mini arcade games but dang, they were pricey!

There is a Mattel Wayne Gretsky doll at EVERY antique mall in Canada, they’re right next to the Bob and Doug McKenzie record and the “Blue Jays World Series” newspapers. It’s Canadian law put into place by Stephen Harper.

My 7th grade teacher made us play IQ 2000 like almost every day. She was a terrible teacher.

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The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

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Knock Offs; Totally Unauthorized Action Figures the book

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Toy-Ventures: 1983 Consumer’s Distributing Toy Catalog!

Mantooth — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 00:53:29 +0000

Toy-Ventures takes a look at this blast from the past, the 1983 Consumer’s Distributing Toy Catalogue.This iconic Canadian retailer had a most impressive selection of the hottest toys like GI Joe, Strawbery Shortcake and Star Wars.

Check out ‪@Retrontario‬ for more on Consumer’s Distributing.

#80stoys #toyventures #gijoe

The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

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Knock Offs; Totally Unauthorized Action Figures the book

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Mattel MegaForce Toy Catalog from 1982

Mantooth — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 20:36:16 +0000

Mattel Mega Force Catalog

MegaForce was poised to be the action blockbuster of 1982. The 20 million dollar Chinese/American co-production had an impressive marketing budget which wisely targeted kids with it’s sci-fi military stunt show of a movie.

It also easily found licensors; on paper, this looked like a slam dunk.

The only problem was that people eventually saw “MegaForce” and found its campiness, lacklustre effects and weird thumb-kissing scenes very much bad.

There are rumours that Mattel had MegaForce action figures in the works, but for Toyfair in 1982, they wisely regulated the offering to Hot Wheels items. This way, they highlighted the film’s true stars, the vehicles. No offense to Michael Beck (Warriors rules!)

Mattel MegaForce Catalog

The Megaforce Desert Strike Stunt Set is a modified Hot Wheels set.

Mattel MegaForce Catalog

The Verti-Bird is another item that Mattel has repurposed for several licenses including Space:1999 and Battlestar Galactica.

Mattel MegaForce Catalog

The biggest investment Mattel seems to have put into Mega Force is tooling 3 new vehicles from the film and repurposing some stock cars into the line.

Deeds, Not Words Party People.

#megaforce #mattel #hotwheels

The Lincoln Monsters are here!

The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

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Megaforce, Mega Force, Mattel, 1982, Mattel Catalog, Hot Wheels, Hal Needham, Golden Harvest, toy catalog, Barry Bostwick, toy prototypes, movie toys, 80s toys,

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V Visitor Pistol by Coibel Spain

Mantooth — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 18:16:55 +0000

V Visitor Pistol by Coibel Spain

V Visitor Pistol

I am a passionate fan of the NBC mini-series and resulting television series “V.” While my wife and I rewatch it often, we don’t have a large collection of V items; I have just a tiny handful of toys, mostly bootlegs, a couple of comics, novels, and a UK annual.

V VIsitor Television series pistol

However, when I saw this SpanishVistior Pistol Justin AKA @robeastscorpius had for sale, I jumped on it without thinking. I just had to have it.

It’s an officially licensed item, a modified police cap gun with the distinctive Vistor look. Marc Singer is not only on the card but it also comes with a cool patch of Mike Donavan. Diana’s appearance would be the only thing that would make this better, but we can’t have everything.

V VIsitor Pistol

The Lincoln Monsters are here!

The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

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#V #Vminiseries #thevisitors #marcsinger #coibel #toyventures #plaidstallionsV, Visitors, V mini series, V television series, Marc Singer, Mike Donavon, Coibel, Spain, Cap guns, 80s toys, plaidstallions, toyventures

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Toy-Ventures: Childhood White Whales (with Special Guest Stars!)

Mantooth — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 00:47:22 +0000

Toy-Ventures: Childhood White Whales (with Special Guest Stars!)

It’s the Toy-Ventures holiday special! This year’s subject is the “White Whale” when you were a kid. You saw the action figure on the back of the card but never on the front. Join me and my guests as we share childhood tales of woe!

#toyventures #plaidstallions #mego

Special Thanks to my guest stars:
Tony Roberts: Analog Toys Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@AnalogToys
Amy Vampi &Andy Halloween: Dark Ride Dracula Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@AnalogToys
Rich Hurley: Doctor Durant’s Sanctum
https://www.youtube.com/@doctordurantssanctum1977
Raymond Castile: Basement of Horror
https://www.youtube.com/@RaymondCastile
Bruno Billion: Blast Process
https://www.youtube.com/user/BlastProcess
Rob McCallum-Director “Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make Believe”
https://www.youtube.com/@RobMcCallum99
Mysterian & Lab Monkey- Toy Surprise
https://www.youtube.com/@ToySurprisevintage
David Weiner- Director “In Search of Darkness”
Itcamefromblog.com

#mego #toyventures #plaidstallions

The Lincoln Monsters are here!

The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

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Knock Offs; Totally Unauthorized Action Figures the book

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Kenner Street Hawk Ad from 1984!

Mantooth — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 17:03:35 +0000

From a 1984 Toy Industry publication, we have this excellent ad for Street Hawk, which ABC was banking on being the next Knight Rider (narrator: “It wasn’t.”) However, I tuned in every week, and so did a lot of kids, so we mourned some of the cool toys they had in the pipeline. Below is a link to the Kenner toy line prototypes and what we missed out on.

Kenner Knight Rider and Street Hawk in 1985 Palitoy Catalog-

The Lincoln Monsters are here!

The Blood-A-Rama Shock Festival Pack

Toy-Ventures Issue 12- Stretch Monster

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Street Hawk, Kenner, 1985, Rex Smith, Knight Rider, 80s toys, PlaidStallions, 80s toys, vintage toy ads,

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5 Awesome Things on eBay this week

Mantooth — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 13:13:24 +0000

Happy Friday fellow window shoppers!

5 Awesome Things on eBay this week- Borgnine Stamps, Giant Scorpions, Wonder Woman, The Hulk, Archie and LOOK INTO MY EYES BROTHER MAN!

(this post contains sponsored links, it pays a lot less than stripping. Even for me.)

Wonder Woman Mitts (affiliate link) —

Wonder Woman merchandise will always remind me of the “only towel left in stock” in Florida when i was a kid. I also find it weird that 70s merchandise still used 40s art. Perhaps it was an aesthetic choice.

Gigantics Giant Scorpion Model Kit (affiliate Link) —

God I love these amazing mid-70s kits which came out at a time when we got giant bug movies again (although not super great ones.) I’ve bought these over the years but I’m never going actually to put one together. They do rock, though.

Mattel Archies Huggables (affiliate link) —

Huggables was one of two attempts to make Archie toys in the 1970s, the first one was by Marx. Marx also made the carry case in this lot. I’ve never understand why Archie didn’t translate to toy sales, he’s so well known. There were periods of my childhood where I would have killed for toys from Riverdale but not the CW Riverdale, those would have to be done by McFarlane.

Corgi Incredible Hulk Tricycle (Affiliate Link) —

Finally, a believable Hulk vehicle! I chose this for the striking card art; I don’t know why, but a lot of UK companies chose Orange for the Hulk packaging, and they were so right! He pops right out of there, doesn’t he?

Airwolf Stamp Set (affiliate link) —

Ask yourself, how have you lived with an Ernest Borgnine Rubber stamp? I want to put him on everything…

BONUS ITEM

Black Velvet Hulk Hogan (affiliate link)—

My friend Courtney sent me this, and I struggled with posting it. I am no fan of Wrestling, and my opinion of the “Hulkster” isn’t super good, but I don’t want to poop on anybody’s childhood here.

However, this work of art haunts me; the expression, those eyes and the little details, like his famous “Plus sign” necklace, make me want this on my mantle. I’d have to get a mantle, but I’m considering it.

The painting also controls me now, I need a jet ski…and a time share condo in Tampa..yes… master/brother man….I obey….

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Ernest Borgnine, Airwolf, Marx, Archie, Mattel, Jughead, Rack Toys, Ja-Ru, 80s toys, Corgi, Incredible Hulk, wonder woman, mittens, golden age, Fundimensions, GIant Monsters, Model Kits, Gigantics model range, Black Velvet, Wrestling, Hulk Hogan, 5 awesome ebay, 5 awesome things on ebay this week, five awesome ebay,

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5 Awesome Things on eBay this week

Mantooth — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 14:34:39 +0000

5 Awesome Things on eBay this week, Frightenstein, Charlie’s Angels, Filmation Superboy, GI Joe’s greatest foe and Fred Dryer is HUNTER!

(These links are sponsored and I get a small bag of coins thrown at me by a sneering nobleman on horseback.)

Custom Igor from Hilarious House of Frightenstein (affiliate Link)

I had to put this on because I made it….with the help of some talented friends. It was an exclusive we did for a con we called “Mego North” which was the digest Canadian equivalent of a Mego Meet. It was something I’m really happy I did. I’m not sure if the asking price is the “going rate” for what is a custom, but I’m just surprised one popped up.

Vintage kid’s Charlies Angels Shirt (affiliate Link)

I never really got into this show as a kid, but my wife eventually pointed out some of its more camp elements, so I appreciate it more now.

Hunter Rack Toy Set by Largo (affiliate Link)
I used to really dig Hunter as a cynical teen, mainly because the show wanted to be a Dirty Harry. But it’s TV, so it couldn’t really be as gritty when people are saying, “You better pay me my STINKING money, Maaaaannn!” The episode where Hunter goes undercover as a punk is not at “Quincy” levels, but it’s still fun. Also, Fred Dryer was likable and sold the concept.

The only difference between this set and 70s versions of the theme is that the gun could no longer be black.

Palitoy Action Man The Intruder (affiliate Link)

As a kid, this was the only member of the GI Joe Super Adventure Team that I did not have and also, did not request. I mean if one fell in my lap as a kid, OK but I wasn’t all that sold on the concept. Had I seen the Palitoy UK box for this character, I may have changed my mind, they really nailed this kind of thing.

Here’s a video on the subject I did.

Filmation Superboy Animation Cel (Affiliate Link) –

If there is any testament to the power of Filmation, it’s that I could hear the music when I saw this. I grew up on the Filmation Superhero cartoons and it was time well spent.

#mego #knockoff
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filmation, Superboy, Charlies Angels, the Intruder, GI Joe, Hasbro, 5 Awesome Things on eBay, 5 Awesome eBay, Plaidstallions, Hunter, Rack Toys, Largo, 80s toys, Frightenstein, Igor, Mego, Custom Mego, Hilarious House of Frightenstein,

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