Manglors (Ideal)

Manglors
1984 - 1985
Ideal

Manglors are not a very commonly known toy from the 80's, but for those that had them they are fondly remembered. The line was produced by Ideal, and featured characters made from a material known as Sobothane - a synthetic polymer. The figures contained no joints, and were boasted as being able to be cut apart so that you could mix and match the pieces of the various figures to make your own creations.

Toys that could be cut apart and adhered to others in the line? It was a brilliant marketing scheme that would later be put to the test by Consumer Unions own Penny Power. Long story short, the tests failed, and the product was determined to be sold under false advertising as while the pieces could be cut apart, they didn't adhere to each other as advertised. The end result was a series that lasted only two years.

When the series began, three individual figures were made available as well as one playset. The figures came packed inside cardboard peg boxes that held the figures inside of plastic to ensure their sticky limbs didn't dry out.

Manglodactyle*Manglord*Manlosaurus

The highlight of the series (in general) is Manglor Mountain - The one and only playset produced during its run. It came packed with not only the volcano playset base, but also a Manglord figure, a cage to encase the figure in, and the biggest selling point for its era - Slime!

The playset worked by pouring the slime into the top of the volcano, and then placing your Manglord figure inside of the cage. Drop the cage into the volcano, and then pump it back up to the top by pressing the red button located in the mouth of the volcano - Literally. The end result was a figure that would rise out of the top of the playset covered in gooey slime. Awesome!

Manglor Mountain

A second series was released which featured the three original released ones as well as three new ones. Each figure came packed in its own window box, and encased inside of an egg. The figures were made from the same Sobothane material, and still boasted that they could be cut apart, and adhered to each other.

Manglolizard*Maglodactyle*Mangloedemon

Manglodragon*Manlord*Manglosaurus

Because many people don't know about the series, selling points are all over the map. The playset, which is the most commonly found item in the series, can sell for as little as $2.00 (loose with all components), and $100.00 (mint in the box) with price points all over the place in between for loose and sealed.

The individual figures are far more scarce, and priced so high that most people don't buy them. Sellers ask as much as $150.00 to $170.00 for each of them. With that said, Manglodragon and Manglolizard are the only ones we've seen cropping up as of late.

Because of the nature of these figures, it's not easy to find them in a condition that is desirable. Due to the material they are made from, they are prone to drying out. This could contribute to why so many sellers are asking such a high price - There honestly may not be all that many of them out there that are in good condition, or salvageable in general.

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