Milton Bradley Board Games Of The 80's

Chances are, if it was a successful franchise, companies like Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers capitalized on it by flooding the market with board games based on said hits. What kid wouldn't want a board game based on G.I. Joe or The Smurfs?

The games themselves didn't even need to be good. Most kids wanted them just because of the pictures on the box covers. In fact, most of the games played exactly the same as the next - I.E. place a player token at the start section of the board, role the dice, pick up cards when prompted, be the first to reach the end. It was brilliant marketing.

Though there were hundreds of games released in the 80's, below is a collection of some of our personal favorites. Please join us for a little trip down memory lane into the world of classic board games from Milton Bradley.

Those are some of our favorites, but what about you? Use the comment section to tell us about some of your favorite franchised games of the 80's from Milton Bradley.



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The Walking Dead Series 3 - 5 (Television Series) (McFarlane Toys)

The Walking Dead (AKA The Walking Dead Television Series) 3 - 5
McFarlane Toys
2013 - 2014

You can't swing a stick these days without hitting something The Walking Dead related. McFarlane Toys his struck gold with the release of these figures, and we'd wager that the success of the line is probably something the company hasn't seen since the first few series of original Spawn toys. If you don't nab them up when they're first released, chances are you just aren't going to find these on store shelves anywhere - At least not the main characters anyway.

Since our last post on series one and two, the line has grown considerably. Five series in total have been released with series six well into production, and most likely a series seven not far behind it.

SERIES 3

Michonne*Merle Dixon

SERIES 3

Autopsy Zombie*Michonne's Pet 1*Michonne's Pet 2

One of the things we've never personally been thrilled about with McFarlane Toys is its desire to produce variant figures. Much like the first waves of toys, the black and white trend continues in this all new three pack.

SERIES 3

Bloody 3 Pack Michonne with Zombie Pets

SERIES 4

Andrea*The Governor*Carl Grimes

SERIES 4

Riot Gear Zombie*Gas Mask Riot Gear Zombie

Walgreens of all people got into the act of exclusive figures with their own Rick Grimes figure.

SERIES 4

WALGREENS EXCLUSIVE

Rick Grimes

We're not fans of repacks, but we commend McFarlane Toys for realizing the supply vs. demand issue and re-releasing the original Daryl Dixon figure from series one, and more importantly, not altering its general appearance. Fans of the first series had tremendous issues tracking down this one particular figure. Meanwhile, secondary markets were cashing in at over a hundred bucks for it.

SERIES 4

Daryl and Merle Dixon

SERIES 5

Charred Zombie*Glenn Rhee*Maggie Greene

SERIES 5

Tyreese*Merle Zombie

SERIES 5

Daryl with Chopper (Motorcycle)

***Update***

Just when you think series five is done and over with, McFarlane Toys tosses out one more - Shane with his not so insane look.

SERIES 5

Shane Walsh

The Walking Dead went from that small unheard of comic to the most watched television drama in history. Though we've personally fizzled out on it, it appears that it's going to be around for a long time to come, and with that, we're sure that McFarlane Toys will continue to capitalize on its success as long as possible.

Join us next time when we take a look at another McFarlane Toys The Walking Dead Series!

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Hellboy (AKA Hellboy Comic Book Figures) (Mezco)

Hellboy (AKA Hellboy Comic Book Figures)
Mezco
2005

With the mild success of the 2004 Hellboy (movie) figures, Mezco fired up 2005 with an all new series based on the comic book renditions of the characters. Much like the prior series, this particular line was big on variants that for the most part were subtle differences to Hellboy's face. However, this time there weren't as many.

SERIES 1

Hellboy*Hellboy (Gritted Teeth)*Hellboy (Open Mouth)

SERIES 1

Kriegaffe Number 10*Liz Sherman*Lobster Johnson

SERIES 2

Alien*Hellboy with Rocket Pack

Johann*Roger

One of the more coveted figures from the series is the 2005 San Diego Comic Con exclusive Lobster Johnson. While the overall figure is nothing more than a clear blue plastic, the packaging, which was a really nice two piece box, really helped to sell this thing.

EXCLUSIVE FIGURES

Lobster Johnson (Clear) - 2005 San Diego Comic Con

Exclusive figures were a big part of the series, but were mostly limited to SDCC.

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON EXCLUSIVES

Hellboy with Heads*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat)*Abe Sapien 

FIGURES.COM EXCLUSIVES

Hellboy (Battle Damaged - Open Mouth)*Hellboy (Battle Damaged - Clenched Teeth)

Join us next time when we take a look at The Walking Dead Television Series 3 and 4!

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February 2014 Recap

Below is a recap of all the post we've covered in February 2014. 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.

Family Guy Crazy Interactive World
The Crocodile Hunter
The X-Files
Identity Crisis
Magic The Gathering - Alpha
New Gods
Star Trek
Hellboy (AKA Hellboy Movie Figures)

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Hellboy (AKA Hellboy Movie Figures) (Mezco)

Hellboy
Mezco
2004

Hellboy is a highly underrated comic book movie if you ask us. Because the character isn't necessarily mainstream, or at least wasn't prior to the movie, many people passed on it, and those said people missed out. Ron Perlman captures the look of Hellboy perfectly, and as an actor comes through as someone who is actually enjoying playing the part on screen.

The film is based off of the character's first mini series, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction from Mike Mignola and John Byrne, published by Dark Horse Comics. Since its original inception, Hellboy has expanded to numerous other story arcs in comic, television and movie form.

To coincide with the movie's release, Mezco produced a small line of action figures. Variants were the name of the game, most of which contrived of various incarnations of Hellboy with simple changes to his mouth position or various clothing.

SERIES 1

Abe Sapien*Hellboy (with Big Gun)*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat)

SERIES 1

Hellboy (with Trenchcoat) Variant Chase with Teeth Showing*Kroenen

Rasputin with Hellbaby*Sammael

SERIES 1.5

Anung Un Rama*Abe Sapien (Battle Damaged)*Hellboy (with Stockade)

SERIES 1.5

Hellboy (with Trenchcoat - Open Hand)*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat - Closed Hand)

Officer Kroenen*Hellboy (Shirtless with Dumbbell)

In addition to the regular waves of figures, Previews released their own package variations. These were denoted with small stickers which labeled them as being from Previews. The figures were no different from those released in the regular line.

PREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE

Abe Sapien (Black Suit)*Hellboy (Battle Damaged)

Hellboy*Hellboy (with Trenchcoat)

PREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE

Kroenen*Rasputin (with Hellbaby)*Sammael

The last two pieces produced were San Diego Comic Con exclusives. Much like the other variants in the series, the only difference between the two are the mouth positions.

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON EXCLUSIVES

Hellboy (Open Mouth)*Hellboy (Closed Mouth)

Join us next time when we take a look at yet another Mezco Hellboy series based on the comic book series!

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Star Trek (Playmates Toys)

Star Trek
Playmates Toys
1995 - 1998

When we think of Star Trek, we think of that scene from Winnie the Pooh where Tigger is in his house and something to the tune of "honey" is said, and Tigger says, "Honey?  That's what Tiggers like best!"  He then digs in, smacking his lips and making sounds of enjoyment only to cringe and say, "Yuck!  Tiggers don't like honey!"...And that's what Star Trek is to us.

Though we're not fans of Star Trek in general, we can still appreciate a good toy line based on the series.  Between 1995 - 1998, Playmates Toys did the ultimate nod to everything Star Trek by creating a line encompassing several of the various shows, from the original to the most current.  Throughout its three year run, over forty figures hit store shelves, making it one of the largest Star Trek line of toys to date.

Wave 1

Dr. Katherine Pulaski*Picard as Galen*Geordi LaForge*Sheriff Worf in Western Attire

Dr. Beverly Crusher in 1940's Attire*The Hunter of Tosk

Wave 2

Vash*The Traveler*Conselor Tori as Durango in Western Attire*Lieutenant Jadzia Dax in Ritual Klingon Attire

Borg with Firing Cybernetic Arm*Lieutenant J.G. Geordi LaForge with FIring Phaser Rifle

For some unknown reason, Playmates Toys felt it would be a great idea to produce an incredibly limited run of Captain Jean Luc Picard figures during their third wave.  The figure was limited to just 1,701 (you Star Trek fans get what that means).  During the prime of the series, fans were paying several hundreds of dollars for the figure on secondary markets.  These days while may people attempt to sell it for upwards of $500.00, it typically sells for between $50.00 and $100.00.

Wave 3

Worf Governor of H'Atoria*Captain Jean Luc Picard from "Tapestry" (Limited to 1,701)*Grand Nagus Zek*Commander Benjamin Sisko from "Crossover"

Christin Chapel*Janice Rand

Wave 4

Security Chief Odo from "Necessary Evil"*Captain James T. Kirk*Jem Hadar*Lieutenant Commander Worf

Admiral Riker from "All Good Things"*Lt. Natasha Yar from "Yesterday's Enterprise"

Wave 5

Captain Christopher Pike*Elim Garak*Mister Spock*The Talosian Keeper

Vina as Orion Animal Woman*Lietuenant J.G. Reginald Barclay (Limited to 3,000)

Wave 6

Captain Kurn*Captain Benjamin Sisko*Seska as a Cardassian*Tom Paris Mutated

Gorn Captain*Dr. Beverly Crusher (Limited to 10,000)

Wave 7

The Mugatu*Captain Kirk in Environmental Suit*Professor Data*Harry Mudd

Dr. McCoy in Dress Uniform (Limited to 10,000)

Probably the two most commonly missed figures in the series are the Spencer's exclusive Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott and Lt. Hikaru Sulu.  Spencer's has never been known as a store that advertises, and as a result many collector's didn't know that the two figures were even available.  Not only that, but you just didn't tend to find Star Trek fans shopping at Spencer's.

Spencer's Exculsive

Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott (Limited to 10,000)*Lt. Hikaru Sulu (Limited to 10,000)

Toyfare Exclusive

Lt. Tasha Yar*Mr. Spock

Box Sets

Star Fleet Officer's Collector's Set

Toys R' Us Exclusive

Probably contributing to the sudden deflation of the secondary market prices of the limited edition Picard figure was the release of the three pack below which not only included that particular figure, but also two other limited figures in the series.  Unlike the individually carded figures which were limited to 1,701 - 3,000 pieces, this box set had 20,000 pieces available ensuring that pretty much every collector who wanted one got one.



Box Sets

1701 Star Trek 3-Pack with Picard, Yar and Barclay (Limited to 20,000)

Captain James Kirk with Balok and Balok's Puppet

Captain Jean-Luc Picard as "Dixon Hill" and Ginan as "Gloria"

Ensign Harry Kim and Species 8472

Lt. Commander Data with Lt. Worf and Alexander Rozhenko

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

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New Gods (DC Direct)

New Gods
DC Direct
2008

New Gods is by far a new concept for DC Comics.  The characters, or rather, the concept of the original characters first appeared in Jack Kirby's New Gods number one back in February of 1971.  Since then they have seen many iterations and story lines which have come and gone as mini series over the past decades.

DC Direct's figures are based on the Countdown to Final Crisis story arc from 2007 (to 2008).  The story evolves around the mysterious deaths  of the New Gods across the universe, and is actually meant to set up the highly acclaimed Final Crisis story arc by Grant Morrison.

It's true that your mildly interested comic book fan probably hasn't heard about the majority of the characters in this particular series of toys, but for New Gods fans, this was a dream come true.  These characters stem from the classic era of comic books, and it's very apparent in their nostalgic looks with the bright greens, oranges and yellows worked into their costumes.  You just don't see characters this "bright" these days.

Darkseid*Lightray*Mr. Miracle*Orion

 

Big Barda*Kalibak*Metron*Superman

DC Direct has been doing an amazing job releasing figures in their various series that otherwise just wouldn't see the light of day.  It's commendable that they're not concerned with releasing a series that would otherwise only have a handful of figures.  They know what fans want, and they seem happy to oblige.

Join us next time when we take a look at Star Trek!

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