A world beyond fantasy
Hmmm, seems kind of smack dab in the middle of fantasy if you ask me.
While toys like Manglors, Crystar and The Other World probably likely bring back fond memories for many of you, for me, they kind of have a bittersweet appeal.
I was teetering on being a teenager at this point in time and when toys did the big “fantasy shift” in the early 80s, I felt kind of ….left behind. It was because I was getting too old for this stuff and I knew it, it’s hard to describe the feeling but I think we’ve all had that moment.
The early 1980s saw a lot of unique and creative toy lines and it must have rocked to be a kid.
I was a big fan of Manglors at the time. Although to be fair I was about 3 years old.
I haven't seen a Manglor in person in probably well over two decades, but I can still smell those damn things.
I know what you mean. I had just gotten all the TMNT Figures and was just getting into "Master of Puppets" by Metallica around '87. I looked at the figures one night and said to myself "what are you doing?" And that's when I knew the toy age was over. It's a poignant feeling that is a bit disappointing, but you realize you can't stop it.
I remember the last toy I bought to "play with." It was the GI Joe Serpentor figure with his air chariot. I think it was '85 or '86, and I was 13 or 14, and I felt a little bit odd buying it at the time, but it wasn't until I got home and my dad shook his head and said; "Don't you think you're getting a little old for that stuff now?" That really cinched it for me. That was the last toy I bought until I started collecting back in '93, and I bought a Mego Spidey at a mall show.
My Mom has been really great about saving toys she knew I loved. A while back she gave me another box she found in storage that had both the red guy & the four armed green guy from this set. Now seeing the whole thing for the first time since childhood I really wish she found all of it. So cool.
I was around 6 when the fantasy toys started rolling out. I had quite a few AD&D action figures and a few generic fantasy play sets. I loved the hell out of those things.