Rambo (Coleco)

Rambo
Coleco
1987

You may have noticed that we've already surpassed our originally announced end date for new recurring posts here at The Toy Box. Please don't take this as a sign that we're staying with it. Rather, we are just working frantically to complete several posts that have long since been in the works in an effort to have personal finality (so to speak) with the site.

Rambo is one of those such posts. We've been working on it for at least two years, and while it's not necessarily to the point we want it to be, it at least covers the US releases.

Series two of the figures are incredibly difficult to come by. You can find them sporadically lose, but mint in the package ones are next to impossible to get your hands on.

Josca, Coleco's division in several foreign countries, released a handful of items which were initially planned for the second series of toys. These included the highly sought after X-Ray figure, and two vehicles Swampdog and Savage Stormbomber. Sadly, these items were never officially released in the USA. We wish we had photos of these items, but they're so incredibly hard to find. Your chances of finding an X-Ray figure are slim to none. If you do find one, be ready to drop some serious cash on it.

Fun fact - The T.D. Jackson figure was reused by Josca and re-packaged as a Macguyver figure. It's even more so rarer than the actual T.D. figure, and can sell for as much as $700.00 in the package.

***UPDATE***

A special thanks goes to reader Anderson Ernesto for sending us a photo of X-Ray.

X-Ray

An all new sub-series of figures were also planned for a foreign release, and focused on a desert premise. Though some figures are known to exist, it is unknown as to how these figures came to be in the hands of collectors. I.E. prototypes, or a small retail release that made its way to store shelves before being pulled.

The final remaining cancelled item was the figure Muscle-Power Rambo, which was initially planned to be released in series two.

Only one version of this figure has been confirmed to be in existence, and that was in the hands of a former Coleco intern who worked on the line. When last we checked (which was in 2012), said person was attempting to sell the piece. We are unsure if they ever did or not.

Needless-to-say, whoever is the proud owner of this piece has the absolute most rarest item known to exist in the entire series. Many a fan would love the opportunity to own it, but sadly only one can.

The Rambo line was rounded off perfectly with a massive amount of accessories, playsets and vehicles - Some of which are harder to come by than others. We'll leave this post off here, so please enjoy the remaining photos in this series.

Join us next time when we take a look at Jaws!

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Rocky (Phoenix Toys)

Rocky
Phoenix Toys
1983

We touched a whole lot on the Rocky films in our post on the Jakks Pacific series "HERE". As such, we're not going to go very far into depth on the actual films themselves.

These particular Rocky figures were produced and released by a company known as Phoenix Toys in 1983. Unfortunately it was also the only line of toys they produced, and they have not been seen or heard from since.

The figures themselves are actually pretty awesome. They're designed in the style of the highly popular wrestling figures of the era, and incorporate rather nicely into such a collection. They're also right in line with the size and design of lines such as Masters of the Universe and The Lost World of the Warlord (post coming soon).

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky

Only four figures were ever released, though some action figure collector's like to suggest that a fifth, Ivan Drago also made its way to shelves. This is doubtful as the figures were released in 1983, and Ivan Drago was not introduced as a character in the films until the 1985 Rocky IV film. We would love to be proven wrong, but the suggestion that a figure would be produced and released two years after the fact for a series and company that were long gone by this point is highly unlikely.

 Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed

For those unfamiliar with the actual Rocky films, most of these particular characters are all designed to coincide with their look in the third Rocky film which was released in 1982. We love how each figure showcases the actors name, and states that they're depicted as, and then lists the character's name. That's rather unique, and adds a little fun to the card.

 Mr. T as Clubber Lang

Both Mr. T and Hulk Hogan were up and coming stars of this era, and as such were popular among not only Rocky fans, but fans of WWF and the A-Team.

Hulk Hogan as Thunderlips

The cardback for the series lists several other Rocky related items to collect including a Rocky Sock'Em set. The concept was simply a re-make of Mattel's Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots. We tried desperately to track one down, but found no remnants of one anywhere. We honestly wonder if this item was ever produced. It's possible that when Mattel caught wind of the product being produced that they shut it down. They may have even been the demise of Phoenix Toys in general. All of this is speculation of course.

The figures aren't necessarily difficult to find. However, they are difficult to find at a reasonable price. Carded figures sell between $60.00 and $150.00 (each) with Apollo and Thunderlips being the most difficult (but not impossible) to track down.

Loose figures are far more common, and you can typically nab a full set for around $40.00. The downside to this is that they typically don't have any of their accessories.

All and all, this is really an awesome series of figures, and one we highly recommend to collectors of Rocky, Mr. T and Hulk Hogan toys and memorabilia.

Join us next time when we take a look at G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra!

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Hardened (N2 Toys)

Hardened
N2 Toys
2001

Remember when toy fans were all upset because nobody would give them a Steven Seagal action figure and doll? Exactly.

So it was really odd that N2 Toys would produce the very short lived Hardened line with none other than Seagal as one of the two front running characters. Though the series was entitled Hardened, you won't find this anywhere on the front of the packaging. Instead, you'll find this at the top of the flip side of each piece.

In all honestly, the sculpt was pretty spot on for the actor, and had some fun accessories packed in with the twelve inch doll. Sadly the figure (below) was nothing more than molded plastic with no joints or articulation, leaving even less to be desired in this fairly undesirable series.



Though more popular, the Rambo doll and figure didn't exactly sell in droves either. Mainly because when it came down to it very few people knew the series even existed.



Much like the Seagal figure, there's no articulation to be found in the Rambo figure (below).

What can we say? Not every toy line can be a winner. As such, the line came and went quickly, and was never followed up on with any other characters.

However, if you're a Steven Seagal or Sylvester Stallone fan, these items may be right up your alley. Though not many of them sell on secondary markets, the smaller figures garner between $15.00 and $40.00, while the dolls range between $40.00 and $60.00. Believe it or not, the Steven Seagal figure is often  times more expensive than the Rambo one.

Join us next time when we take a look at S.L.U.G. Zombies!

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Over The Top (LewCo)

Over The Top
LewCo
1986

Question: What do you do when you have a movie about arm wrestling staring one of the hottest action stars of the 80's?

Answer: Make action figures designed to arm wrestle based on said action star of the 80's!

Cannon films gets a bum wrap in the movie industry. They're "credited" with making some of the most overpriced, under delivering films in the industry, as well as causing the boom which would be celebrity paychecks. In the documentary, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (which we highly recommend movie fans watch - On Netflix now), Robert Foster tells an excellent story of how he told the head of Cannon films his client would not work for him for ten million dollars. To which the response he got was, "How about twelve?" This was during a time when at a most Stallone had probably only been paid four or five million for his roles. When other actors started hearing about this, they too started asking for the large payouts to perform in movies.

If that weren't bad enough for the group, Cannon was also the group behind Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and though we love it, and are in the minority, Masters of the Universe. They were also the driving force behind the numerous Chuck Norris and Jean Caude Van Damme films which were churned out in droves during this era.

We digress though (but seriously, check out the documentary).

Over the Top wasn't deemed to be a "bad" film, it just got a wrap of being another routine movie in the world of film making. It's also been stated as nothing more than a feature film product placement ad, and a 90 minute rock video due to all the hard rock songs showcased throughout it.

LewCo stepped in to produce action figures of the film, and sadly never did anything beyond this. The company folded almost immediately under the lackluster reception of the film which equated to poor sales of toys.

The irony of this is that carded figures will set you back over a hundred dollars a piece these days, with loose ones setting you back anywhere from $20.00 to $60.00 a piece. Where was this kind of demand when the toys were being shuffled off to clearance bins?

FIGURES

Bob "Bull" Hurley*Cleve "Armbender" Dean*John "Golden Boy" Brzenk

John "The Bear" Grizzly*Johnny "Ice Man" Walker*Lincoln Hawks

ACCESSORIES

Arm Wrestling Table (For Figures)

DOLLS

Lincoln Hawk

INTERACTIVE PLAY

Arm Wrestling Table (For Kids)

Join us next time when we take a look at Video Game Super Stars - Mario Kart 64!

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Demolition Man (Mattel)

Demolition Man
Mattel
1993

Both Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes were big names in the early 1990's, so it made perfect sense to "team them up" for the film Demolition Man. The premise of the film revolves around Stallone (the cop) chasing down Snipes (the criminal) in the present time. When things go wrong (we'll say that as to not ruin the plot for anyone), both men are convicted and sentenced to a prison of being cryogenically frozen.

Fast forward to the future where Snipes manages to escape, and Stallone is brought out of his status to go after him. Sprinkle in Denis Leary and a fairly unknown Sandra Bullock, a joke about seashells, explosions, violence and bunch of typical action film one liners, and you get the gist of what Demolition Man has to offer.

Mattel produced a line of toys to coincide with the film which found little success in toy isles. The majority of the toys comprised of versions of Phoenix and Spartan, and a couple vehicles. Coupled with the film really not being geared towards children, and the over saturation of the two characters could have been the driving force of toy line suffering as it did. The end result was the majority of items being shifted to clearance bins rather quickly.

 BASIC FIGURES

Battle Baton Spartan*Battle Hook Friendly*Bazooka Attack Spartan*Blast Attack Phoenix

 BASIC FIGURES

Combat Cannon Spartan*Cryo-Claw Tech*Flame Throwing Phoenix*Kick_Fighting Spartan

VEHICLES

Bolajet*Fast Blast 442

Join us next time when we take a look at Indiana Jones!

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Rocky (Jakks Pacific)

"Apollo Creed meets 'The Italian Stallion." - Apollo Creed (Rocky 1976)

When Sylvester Stallone first approached United Artists with the original script for Rocky, they were quick to see the potential in it, and began naming well established actors for the lead role. Stallone appealed to the producers, mainly through the means of a lower budget for the film, to hire him instead. Much like Rocky, Stallone was given his one shot at the big time, and much like the character, it paid off big time for him. Though with Stallone in place, executives grew fearful that with no big names to headline, the film would attract little attention. This lead to further casting issues as other actors were not eager to join the cast of a film being led by an unknown name. Fortunately everything came together in the end, and with the additional cast of Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burt Young and Burgess Meredith the main cast was all in line.

Stallone's inspiration for the film came from Rocky Marciano and the famous fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio on March 24, 1975. Wepner had been TKO'd in the 15th round by Ali, but nobody ever expected him to last as long as he did.

Rocky became a sleeper hit in 1976 bringing in over $225 million in box office sales. Not bad for a film that was made for under $1 million. In the process, it spawned five equally suceesfull films, and as a series has grossed over $1 billion worldwide in ticket sales.

Since 1981 there have been several toy line tie-ins to the film franchise - Six to be exact. However, out of all the various companies that have tried their hand at a Rocky line, Jakks Pacific (JP) takes the prize for "Best" as far as we are concerned. Between 2006 to 2008 JP showed the world how it was done when it came to producing a thorough toy line in a limited amount of time.

Main characters, secondary characters, and even supporting characters such as the referees and announcers were produced for the line. It was an amazing series to say the least. Think about it, what other toy line can you buy that you'll get "The Meat" on card? That's right, JP even included the slab of meat that Rocky beat up on in the movie while training, and not only that, but as its own individually carded item. That's thorough!

Add on top of that unique packaging for each Rocky film, and fantastic detail in sculpting, and you've got a set destined to become a fan favorite.

While we would normally bundle our photos together based on a series by series basis, we've done something a little different with the Rocky line, and instead separated them (for the most part) by film. The reason for this is that a couple of the series featured characters from various films, and we wanted to ensure that these were all categorized together for easy reference. The exception to this is the "Best of" sub series which we compiled together by series (1 and 2), as well as the exclusives and collector sets.

We've also incorporated a small photo of the figures opened next to the mint on package ones. These figures represent those that were released in a case for a particular series.

ROCKY

The first series of Rocky figures comprised of only figures from the first film. However, Joe Frazier, who made a cameo appearance in the film, was released in the third series of figures along with the majority of the Rocky III based figures. Since he was released on the original "Rocky" card back to coincide with the film, we've incorporated him into this section of photos.

Though none of the figures have a "sub name" to the cards themselves, fans have given the various versions of a single figure nicknames that have stuck within the realm of collectors. For example one version of a Rocky Balboa figure could be called Rocky Balboa (First Fight), while another is called Rocky Balboa (Battle Damaged). You won't see the words "First Fight" or "Battle Damaged" on the card, but this is what collector's have come accustomed to calling them amongst each other.

Rocky was the ultimate underdog story. One guy out of millions finally gets his shot at proving himself - Not because he wanted to be number one, but rather because he wanted to show the world that he could go the distance.


Rocky Balboa (Battle Damaged)*Rocky Balboa (First Fight)*Rocky Balboa (Training Gear)*Rocky Balboa (Working Clothes)*Adrian*Mick*Paulie


Apollo Creed (Battle Damaged)*Apollo Creed (First Fight)*The Meat*Spider Rico*Joe Fraizer

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for series one. All carded figures shown with the exception of Joe Frazier were released in series one. Frazier was released in series three.

ROCKY II

The second series of figures from JP comprised of mostly those from the film Rocky II. One figure was produced under the banner Rocky Balboa (AKA Rocky VI) The cards were changed to black from the initial red with yellow outlining for the letters, and background photos. What is worth noting is that with each set of figures produced, the card backs were changed to depict scenes from the film the characters were representing.

Rocky II continued directly after where the first one left off. Rather than be a slugfest sequel full of nothing more than a rematch, Stallone took the opportunity to expand on the characters, making them more relatable and likeable to the audience. Of course in the end the story leads up to that rematch where Rocky finally wins the title.


Rocky Balboa (Fight Gear)*Rocky Balboa (Battle Damaged)*Rocky Balboa (Training Gear)*Mick*Duke*Apollo Creed (Fight Gear)


Brent Musberger*Tony Gazzo*Lou Fillipo*Roberto Duran

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for series two. The second figure from the right on the bottom row is the Rocky Balboa figure from the Rocky Balboa film (AKA Rocky VI). This figure can be found on card in that section below.

ROCKY III

Out of the nine figures produced for series three, one was based on the film Rocky (Joe Fraizer as noted above). The rest were based on the film Rocky III. The card now sported a black and blue look to it, and once again the images in the background were updated to now represent characters and scenes from the third film.

The Rocky film franchise was already a major success in Hollywood, but with the third installment came the inclusion of actor Mr. T and wrestler Hulk Hogan as characters Clubber Lang and Thunderlips. This not only enticed and introduced new (younger) fans, but sent the franchise into orbit. The story centers around Rocky's ego becoming larger than his abilities, which leads to the loss of his title. Under the guidance of Apollo, Rocky is able to get "The Eye of the Tiger" back, and win back his title in the end.


Rocky Balboa (Apollo Creed Trunks)*Rocky Balboa (Battle Damaged)*Rocky Balboa (Training Gear)*Paulie


Clubber Lang (Fight Gear)*Clubber Lang (Street Gear)*Jimmy Lennon*Thunderlips

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for series three. Joe Frazier was released in this particular series, but came on a series one Rocky card back and is included above in that section.

ROCKY IV

Series four was the smallest set produced for the line, and contained mostly figures from the fourth film, Rocky IV. Rather than pack the case with additional new figures, Jakks Pacific instead opted to pack in the Rocky III character Thunderlips - due to the high popularity of the figure not only among Rocky fans, but wrestling fans. The figure was packaged exactly the same as the original carded version (on a Rocky III card).

The packaging now incorporated a bright red logo, and scenes from the fourth film in the background.

It was an interesting decision on Stallone's part to incorporate a USA versus Russia theme into the film, especially considering the strained relations between the two Countries at the time. Of course the film brings a message of equality among people along with it in the end.


Rocky Balboa (Fight Gear)*Rocky Balboa (Training Gear)*Ivan Drago (Fight Gear)*Ivan Drago (Training Gear)*Ludmilla Drago

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for series four. Thunderlips was also re-released in this series due to the figure's popularity. The figure was packaged in the same Rocky III packaging that it was originally released in, and can be seen in that section above.

ROCKY V

The fifth series of Rocky figures actually incorporated both Rocky V and Rocky Balboa (AKA Rocky VI) figures into one set. Disappointing to most fans was how few figures based on the fifth film were released. This however would be somewhat made up for in the "Best Of" series (as seen below) when the film was revisited for a couple more new figures.

Rocky V was deemed the worst Rocky film in the franchise (until the sixth installment came out several years later). It shows a now poor Rocky returning to the slums of Philadelphia due to poor financial management from his accountant of his hard earned money. Rocky now takes the role of manager/trainer as he attempts to lead his protégé, young Tommy Gunn down the path to victory he himself once travelled. Tommy is quickly filled with corruption, greed, and arrogance, by a new manager, and Rocky is forced to show the young fighter that experience in the ring is what wins fights in an incredible street fight, with no ref, and no ring.

The packaging for the fifth series toys, or rather the fifth film, are some of the most colorful and eye catching since the first. Doing away with the black background, the packaging now sports a nice shade of blue, with white lettering, and blue colored background images from the film.


Rocky Balboa*Tommy Gunn

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for series five. This includes the figures from the Rocky Balboa (AKA Rocky VI) film as shown below.

ROCKY BALBOA (AKA ROCKY VI)

Concluding the remaining portion of series five figures, which would also be the final line of basic figures for the series were those based on the film Rocky Balboa (AKA Rocky VI).

Sixteen years after Rocky V was released, Stallone returned to pen the sixth film, Rocky Balboa. While it was financially successful, critically it was a flop receiving mediocre (at best) reviews from professionals and fans alike. It seemed the world was done with the Rocky franchise, to and include Stallone who came off as old and tired in the film. However, when the majority of a cast won't return for a film franchise that has already run its course, this should be your first sign that the film isn't all that necessary.

The figures returned to the black background look, and incorporated a yellow logo for the top. The background was changed for a final time to depict characters and scenes from the last film.


Rocky Balboa (Series Two Version)*Rocky Balboa (Yellow Towel Variant - Series Five Version)*Mason Dixon*Michael Buffer*Mike Tyson

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for series five. This includes the figures from the Rocky V film as shown above. The Rocky Balboa figure without the yellow towel on the Rocky Balboa card was actually realeased in series two as noted above.

BEST OF SERIES 1

With the majority of the figures released, Jakks Pacific chose to incorporate a new sub line into the series rather than continue on with the basic line. This allowed them to stray farther from individual movies for each series (again, for the most part), and instead gave them the opportunity to incorporate several figures from the various movies into one series.

To help distinguish the figures for each film, JP continued carding the characters on the card back respective to the film they were from. They also distinguished the "Best of" line from the basic line by adding a tagline at the top left of the card which read, "Best of Series 1" (or 2 depending on the series you were looking at).

Even better was that the series while entitled "Best of" didn't incorporate repacked figures as one would be lead to believe with such a title. Instead, all the figures were new to an extent as some were obviously repaints of older figures.


Rocky Balboa (Post Apollo Creed Fight)*Rocky Balboa (After Apollo Creed Fight)*Rocky Balboa (Spider Rico Fight)*Frank Stallone


Adrian*Adrian (Chase Figure Variant)*Apollo Creed (Ivan Drago Fight)*Ivan Drago (Apollo Creed Fight)

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for "Best of" series one. This series includes figures from the first and fourth films.

BEST OF SERIES 2

The final official series of figures released were the "Best of" series two figures. This line spread out the most between films, giving the series one last "hoorah". Each figure was once again carded on their respective film card.


Rocky Balboa (Street Gear)*Rocky Balboa (Training Gear)*Apollo Creed (Training Gear)*Rocky Balboa (American Flag Trunks)


Tommy Gunn (Street Gear)*George Washington Duke*Larry Merchant*Jim Lampley

The opened group of figures represent those as released in a case for "Best of" series two. This series includes figures from every Rocky film except the first one.

COLLECTOR SETS

Jakks Pacific produced several "collector sets" for the line, most of which included multi packs of figures, and boxing rings. Several cosplay items were produced (such as gloves and title belts), but only the exclusive UK released title belt included figures with it.


Championiship Belt with Clubber Lang and Rocky Balboa Figures (UK Exclusive)*Collecting 30 Years of Rocky Balboa (Six Pack Figure Set)

While there were three ring playsets released, two of them are the same with the exception of the packaging. The first was released with the first series of figures based on the first film, and the second was released with the third series of figures based (for the most part) on the third film.

The most sought after ring is the third and final ring, the Collector Ring. What makes this particular ring special is that it is built to scale for incorporating the figures with it.


The Fight Ring (Rocky)*The Fight Ring (Rocky III)*Collector Ring

EXCLUSIVE AND LIMITED EDITION FIGURES

The limited edition figures from the series are incredibly difficult to come by, and certainly won't come cheap. Each figure sells for several hundreds of dollars, and in the case of the Apollo Creed figure can sell for as much as $600.00. This is mainly due to the incredibly low number of figures produced - But, then again, they wouldn't be limited editions if there were thousands of pieces available.


Apollo Creed (Rocky) (Limited to 100)*Rocky Balboa: The Philly Legend Bronze Statue Edition (Rocky) (Limited to 1000)*Rocky Balboa as Caveman (Rocky II) (Limited to 800)*Rocky Balboa in Wheelchair (Rocky II)(Limited to 800)*Paulie as Santa Claus (Rocky V) (Limited to 500)

The Rocky III - Three Pack was available only at Rockyfigures.com. These days you won't find too many (if any at all) Rocky figures on the site as they mostly specialize in wrestling figures now, and have changed the name to Ringside Collectibles.


Rocky III - Three Pack with Paulie, Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa

A set of two packs were also produced and released through the now defunct Rockyfigures.com. The Ivan Drago figure from the Rocky IV set is considered one of the worst figures in the line due to its clearly oversized clothing meant to fit over a poorly repacked figure.


Rocky Balboa Vs. Thunderlips*Ivan Drago Vs. Apollo Creed

As we said at the very beginning of this post, Jakks Pacific did an incredible job on this series, and deserves the respect for making one of the (if not the) most thorough Rocky toy line to date.

If you'll forgive us, we'd also like to say that cataloging this particular toy line was no easy task. We had to compile several lists, hunt down numerous figures, and cross reference between a lot of sources to compile what you see here. In all our searches, we have found no list as thorough as ours on this particular toy line, and to our knowledge, it is 100% complete.

With that, we say goodbye to the year 2012, and will see all of you again on January 3, 2013 where we'll start the year with an exciting look at another great toy line of yesterday. Happy holidays to all of you who celebrate this time of year, and to all the rest, Happy Monday!

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