Super Stars
Ertl
1981 - 1982
Remember that time Ertl tried to get into the action figure game with their Super Stars line? You know the one that featured three random actors and two NASCAR drivers?
Well, it wouldn't be surprising if many of you didn't actually know. Ertl's attempt at die-cast metal figures fell rather flat when introduced in 1981. The line pretty much tanked the moment it hit toy isle shelves, and was quickly bustled to clearance bins in the middle of the store.
Bandit*Colt*Rocky
Darrell Waltrip*Richard Petty
Though it's always great to produce an action figure carrying case when you have a massive toy line to accompany it, it's never really good marketing to do so right out of the starting gate. It's even worse when said case holds twenty-four figures, and your line only lasted for five.
This is clearly a case (no pun intended) of Ertl marketing and development saying, "Let's just produce something fast and cheap because we can". The case is literally nothing more than the same die cast car case from Ertl's Dukes of Hazzard line with a new sticker slapped on the front.
Super Stars Carrying Case
Mind you, we're by no means saying the Super Stars line was a bad one. These are great figures, and if you're looking for these particular characters / people, this is definitely your venue for that. For die cast metal, the sculpts aren't bad at all, and the paint jobs are fairly solid. Granted, they are prone to flaking / chipping if handled too much - Much like any die cast car. Again though, these aren't terrible.
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Wow! I want that Rocky figure! Die cast metal? I bet these things weigh a ton. Why die cast, I wonder... anyway the case looks lame. Another of the I never knew they existed toy lines.
ReplyDeleteThey're actually pretty light because they're not solid metal. Think of them like cap guns. Solid exterior, yet hollow insides.
DeleteAs for why die cast metal? Probably because that was a material ERTL specialized in and had readily available during this particular era as that was what the majority of their trucks were made of.
Agreed - Carry case looks (and is) lame.
Great article! I've been doing research on The Fall Guy for Crossover Wiki, so it's interesting to know that this line kinda-sorta crossed The Fall Guy over with Smokey and the Bandit and Rocky... although that's Sylvester Stallone's signature so I guess that only counts as the actor in his outfit from the movie rather than the fictional character...
ReplyDeleteThere's one weird thing I noticed though: the serial number on the figures' packaging goes from 236 to 241, skipping 238. Could there be one missing? Or maybe Ertl released one figure in a different line in-between or something?
It certainly wouldn't be uncommon for a line to change between production and delivery. So in that aspect, there could very well have been a sixth figure planned that got cancelled for various reasons - Such as the actor / athlete didn't sign off on the final proof, or the deal fell through. It could have also just been a matter where the figure was approved late, and would have been included as a second wave upon the line's success.
DeleteI've never looked, but it would be interesting to thumb through the 1981 Ertl marketing catalog to see if these figures are in it. This could solve the mystery of a potential sixth figure, but again, I'm not sure.
***UPDATE*** I found a seller who had this catalog, and they looked for me. The figures are not in it.
DeleteWow thank you very much for checking!
DeleteI continued the research and I'm convinced there indeed is a scrapped figure: I found photos of the back of each figure, and they're all numbered from 1 to 6 in the same order, skipping 3!
Another interesting thing is that according to the copyright notice on the back of the cardboard, the Colt and Bandit figures were released in 1982... So is it possible that they actually showed up in the 1982 catalog?
I'm seeing evidence that this line did indeed go into 1982, and with that said, my speculative mind is wandering. Ertl made a very small batch of vehicles based on Blade Runner, which was released this year. I wonder if the cancelled figure was based on Harrison Ford due to licensing issues from Kenner.
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