March 2009 Recap

Below is a recap of all the post we've covered in March 2009. If you missed any, or simply want to see them again, click on each "title" to be taken directly to that post. As always, thanks for reading.

G.I. Joe 1984
G.I. Joe 1985
M.A.S.K.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page.

M.A.S.K. (Kenner)

M.A.S.K.
Kenner
1985 - 1986

M.A.S.K. - Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. The life of M.A.S.K. started out as a seventy-five episode syndicated television series which ran from 1985 to 1986. It featured a special task force featuring an array of characters, led by Matt Trakker, with transforming vehicles engaged in an ongoing battle against the criminal organization V.E.N.O.M. (an acronym for the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem), with an emphasis on super-powered masks worn by the characters on the show.

Kenner produced a series of toys which ran twice as long as the actual television show (1985-1988). The series focused mainly on the vehicles, but still managed to produce several figures which were packed in with each vehicle and playset as well as on bubble cards of their own.

The two packs of figures only contained the figures and their masks.

Advenure packs were single pack figures that included an assortment of accessories.
Mystery Adventure Packs were the final release of stand alone figures.

The "meat" of the series definitely lied in the vehicles. Kenner appeared to put the majority of their efforts and production value into the four waves.




The final wave of vehicles produced were under the sub series "Split Seconds". These were based off of the final ten episodes of the show (season 2), where the series focused more on a racing premise as opposed to M.A.S.K. vs. V.E.N.O.M.

***UPDATE***

An anonymous reader commented to let us know that the above is not actually entirely correct. As the reader clarified for us, none of the Split Seconds vehicles appeared in the show at all. The wave prior to it which contained Wildcat, Bulldog, etc. appeared in the racing episodes.

Thanks, anonymous!


The only playet produced for the line was Boulder Hill. In terms of playsets, it didn't offer much interactive play, but was still a great addition to the line.

M.A.S.K. is a hit or miss show with the majority of people who watched it. They either loved it, or hated it. For those select fans who loved it, the toys are a great addition to their collections, and a fond memory of a cherished childhood.

For those fans, please enjoy the opening theme from M.A.S.K.



Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 1985 (Hasbro)

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Hasbro
1985


1985...The year of the Joes! The 1985 series is considered to be the best set released in the entire G.I. Joe line. This would also be the largest set released since the series began, but would not be the largest released to date. Believe it or not, with each passing year, sets kept getting larger, and larger all the way up to 1994.

The 1985 series didn't hold back. Releasing even more of the most popular figures, the series included twenty grunts, six vehicles drivers, one Listen N Fun figure and a new mail away offer.



The grunts included in the series were; Airtight, Alpine, Barbecue, Bazooka, Buzzer, Crimson Guard (not to be mistaken for the Crimson Twins - which were also in this series), Dusty, Eels, Flint, Footloose, Lady Jaye, Quick Kick, Ripper, Shipwreck, Snake Eyes, Snow Serpent, Tele-Vipers, Tomax, Torch, and Xamot.


A new concept to be introduced to the G.I. Joe line was the figure/cassette combo which included the figure Tripwire (dubbed Tripwire Version 2). Listen n Fun Tripwire did not come with a traditional filecard. However, there was a small yellow filecard-like description on the front of the card. The tape itself included a narrated story entitled, "The Cobra's Revenge," not to be mistaken with the animated mini series, "The Revenge of Cobra," which aired on TV.

Much like the prior series, the vehicle drivers came with their respective vehicles from the show and included; Crankcase, Frostbite, Heavy Metal, Keel-Haul, Lamprey, and Tollbooth.

Sgt. Slaughter was available via mail order from Hasbro Direct in late 1985. He was also available on and off from 1986 through 1989. Several versions of the Sarge would be released over the remaining years of G.I. Joe's existence, but this version was only available via mail order.

Battle Gear Accessory #3 was also released during the 1985 period as was the mail away parachute.




Vehicles came in all shapes and sizes, and varied in price range as a result. What's interesting to note about the vehicles (and playsets) from 1985 is that several were made available via mail order, and varied slightly in color between the retail version.







Back in 1985 there were two kinds of kids - Those who had the coveted USS Flagg, and the rest of us. The rest of us were the majority by the way. Yes, you who had this gigantic toy were the kid that everyone wanted to play with, yet at the same time everyone hated. It was the mother of all playsets, and one that has yet to be topped even today in shear size and fun. Where else could you find a playset large enough to hold other vehicles on top of it?

The rest of us had to be content with the much smaller Tactical Battle Platform or the variety of even small peg boxed playsets.





That about does it for G.I. Joe up to 1985.

Tell me, does the name Matt Tracker mean anything to you? If so, then you were probably a fan of the short lived M.A.S.K. series. Stay tuned for part 7 when we take a look at the complete M.A.S.K. series!

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 1984 (Hasbro)

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Hasbro
1984



By 1984 G.I. Joe had become a household name among kids. The action figure wars were on between several popular kids shows, but to date, G.I. Joe would outlast all of them in terms of merchandising and marketing.

There were a total of 20 new figures for 1984 (11 grunts, 8 vehicle drivers, and one mail-away) which included some of the most popular characters from the cartoon series. Among the grunts were; The Baroness, Blowtorch, the recently only available mail-away Duke, Firefly, Mutt and Junkyard, Recondo, Rip Cord, Roadblock, Scrap Iron, Spirit, and the ever popular Storm Shadow.


One of the greatest figures from the series was available this year as a mail away, and sadly never made its way to a card. The Hooded Cobra Commander figure was available by mail from 1984 all the way up to 1990. As an added bonus, he was available one last time as the "Secret Bonus" figure in the 1992 and 1993 collector kits.


The eight vehicle drivers which hit shelves this year were; Clutch (now sporting a tan uniform), Copperhead, Cutter, Deep Six, Stinger Driver, Thunder, and Zartan. Each figure came packaged with its respective vehicle from the show. The most popular one seemed to be Zartan who came with a sheet of heat sensitive stickers which were placed on the chest piece and each thigh pad and a disguise.




More vehicles and accessories than you could shake a stick at hit the shelves in 1984. That was one thing G.I. Joe had going for it. Not only were there plenty of action figures to choose from, but all the rich kids could also get all the vehicles they could dream of to go along with them. The vehicles and accessories this year included; A.S.P., Chameleon Swamp Skier, C.L.A.W., Killer W.H.A.L.E., Rattler, S.H.A.R.C., Skyhawk, Slugger, Stinger Night Attack Jeep, V.A.M.P. Mk II, Water Moccasin, Accessory Pack 2, Bivouac, Machine Gun Defense Unit, Missile Defense Unit, Mortar Defense Unit, Mountain Howitzer and Watch Tower. There was also a mail away M.A.N.T.A., and a Sear's exclusive V.A.M.P. and H.A.L.



G.I. Joe was definitly here to stay. With each year that passed, kids got more and more ravenous for the series. But no mater how excited kids were in 1984, it was just the begining. 1985 would mark the biggest year in G.I. Joe history.

Stay tuned for next time when we take a look at just that; Part 6, G.I. Joe 1985.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

February 2009 Recap

Below is a recap of all the post we've covered in February 2009. If you missed any, or simply want to see them again, click on each "title" to be taken directly to that post. As always, thanks for reading.

Masters of the Universe

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page.

Masters Of The Universe (Mattel)

Masters of the Universe
Mattel
1981 - 1986

In 1981, Masters of the Universe, also referred to as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, or abbreviated as MotU took the world by storm when it was first introduced as an animated show. The series was followed in 1982 by what would soon become one of the best action figure line of all time.

Rather than go with the 3 3/4 inch figure style that lines such as Star Wars and G.I. Joe had found huge success with, the MotU figures were a larger, five to six inch line. This in turn meant that vehicles and accessories would also be larger than your common toy line was producing.

The figures are the bread and butter of the line. Mint on card figures go for astounding amounts on the secondary market, especially the ones which were only made available in Italy, which can go for several thousands of dollars each.



With each year that passed, Mattel seemed to only raise the bar higher and higher. While several variants of He-Man and Skeletor were made available, each one always remained unique from the last. Unlike most lines that relied on simple repaints, the MotU line added new armor, weapons, and features.

For example, He-Man was made available in his original version, but later a Battle Armor He-Man included an armor set that would transform to show three versions of damage. Then there was Thunder Punch He-Man which utilized caps. This creativeness continued on throughout the line.


To accommodate the accessories for the Thunder Punch He-Man and Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Mattel produced oversize blister packs. This style of cards would continue throughout the series for the "special" figures released.


1985 also saw the release of a new sub series of figures called "The Evil Horde." The Horde figures were based off of the characters as seen in the new Filmation cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power, and while they didn't make often appearances in Masters of the Universe, they were still widely accepted by fans of the cartoons.

Modulok was a unique figure. Rather than come in a blister pack, the figure came boxed in a small rectangular box. Even more unique was that the figure came in pieces, which allowed for kids to create various versions of the character. The box art itself showed the various versions of the figure.

1986 saw even more expansions to the series. A subset of Comet Warriors were produced, along with the Snake Men, and more additions to the Evil Horde.



1987 was the last year of the vintage series of Masters of the Universe figures. With it came two final sub series, Cybernetic Warriors and figures from the live action film.



Creatures were a big part of the line. Several of the toys were also common characters seen in the show such as Cringer, Panthor, and Zoar.





Meteorbs were introudced in the final year of He-Man.


Greyskull was a line that Mattel launched in a final attempt to keep the series alive. It sadly wasn't enough to keep kids intersted, and the sereis was officially cancelled shortly after their release.

The majority of the vehicles were featured predominantly in the carton, and thus were identifiable to kids. This helped to ensure that merchandise would move off of store shelves at a pretty good rate.





The accessories for the line were typically Mattel's own creations, and were not seen in the show. However, they were priced affordably, and had a lot of playability to them for kids. Thus, they still sold well.

The only purpose the package of caps served was to replenish the used ones for Thunder Punch He-Man. While these He-Man brand caps were priced reasonable, there were other brands, all compatible with the figure, which were cheaper.

Like most toy lines of the 80's, MotU incorporated "slime" to incorporate into play with the Slime Pit playset.


The playsets, like most playests in the 80's, were a major treat for children. They were typically expensive, and thus, a real gem in anyone's collection of toys.

These days, they're even more sought after by collectors. Finding a complete, mint in box playset is an expensive endevor.





In an effort to sell more toys, Mattel produced several gift packs. They comprised of toys that had already been produced already, so while it was a convenient way to get multiple figures, there were no exclusives that required you to buy them.









Since the original 1982 to 1986 line of toys, He-Man has seen six lines of action figures, and four different TV incarnations. The future of He-Man looks as bright as ever these days. With new figures being produced on a regular basis, and older figures continuing to be chased down on secondary markets, He-Man has withstood the test of time, and etched its way into the history of great toys.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.