June 2009 Recap
Below is a recap of all the post we've covered in June 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 1986
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The First Two Years
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 1988 and 1989 (Playmates Toys)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Playmates Toys
1988 - 1989
If ever there was a cartoon (key word cartoon) that inspired and shaped me through my youth it was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As a child, I always knew that I wanted to be a comic book artist when I grew up. The TMNT show (and eventually the comic) became such an inspiration to me art wise that as the years went by, my goal was to eventually send a portfolio to Mirage Comics (the company where the series was created) and hope like hell that mine out of the hundreds of other portfolios they saw in a day would be stand out. Sadly, this dream got derailed when a couple years after I graduated high school the company went bankrupt and closed down.
But, enough about dreams lost. We're going to take a look at the first two series of action figures in the TMNT world. We're only doing the first two series for a couple reasons. First, they're the only two from the eighties, and second, they're the only two that are actually decent.
While it was already a comic book by the time the cartoons began airing, it wasn't well known for its time, and only had a small following. While you would think that having a highly successful animated show that aired daily would change this, it didn't. This was most likely due to the major differences between the two.
In the show, the four turtles led quirky lives full of (at the time) hip phrases as they battled crazy looking characters from Dimension X. On the other hand, while the comic book had a few of these characters, they were not represented in the same way. The comic had way more edge to it and featured a lot of violence for its time.
In 1988 Playmates was awarded the ability to produce a line of action figures to the highly popular TV series. The set included ten action figures that were accompanied with six vehicles. One being the highly sought after Technodrome.
The series included the following figures; Donatello, Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, Shredder, Foot Soldier, Rocksteady and Beebop.
***UPDATE***
Reader Matt K. asks an excellent question pertaining to the series. He asks, "What's the deal with the soft heads vs. hard heads?"
To answer, the soft heads (or squishy heads) are from the very first production run of the series, and were only used for eight of the figures - The Four Turtles, Splinter, Shredder, Beebop and Rocksteady. This was done by Playmates Toys as a cost cutting measure. While Playmates was eager to produce a line based on the series, they weren't yet convinced that it would be successful.
When the line found immediate success in toy isles, Playmates stepped up the production value by making the hard plastic heads.
The soft heads are incredibly rare, especially carded, and thus come at a higher asking price.
The vehicles and playsets were; Technodrome, Foot Knucklehead, Turtle Party Wagon, Turtle Blimp, Turtle Trooper, Party Wagon and Cheapskate.
The biggest complaint from kids was the awful decision on Playmates part to package the weapons in the same fashion that they came off the assembly line. Meaning, they were all attached in a rectangular plastic mold (like model pieces), and were difficult to get apart without breaking. Not only were the weapons very fragile, but if one was lucky enough to separate them without any damage, there was still the problem of pointy and/or sharp edges due to remaining plastic bits. Sadly this manufacturing decision didn't change for a while in the series.
By series two in 1989, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a household name. Halloween saw several young turtles going from house to house as costumes became available, as well as a new comic series which was produced by Archie comics and geared more to resemble the show.
The second series of figures included mainly second stream characters, but still managed to kick out a few villainous main characters.
Series two included the following ten action figures; Casey Jones, Usagi Yojimbo, Ace Duck, Genghis Frog, Krang, Baxter Stockman, General Tragg, Metalhead, Leatherhead, and Rat King.
They were released simultaneously with the following seven vehicles and playsets; Turtlecycle, Retrocatapult, Flushomatic with (sold seperately) Retromuagen Ooze, Double Barreled Plunger Gun, Turtle Pizza Thrower, Footcruiser, and Sewer Playset.
TMNT went off the air long before the actual toy line ended in 1997. The ongoing popularity of the toy line was due in part by the three movies that hit theaters throughout the 90's as well as a brief stint at Pizza Hut (Coming Out Of Their Shells), syndication of the original series, and eventually a new series where a female turtle was added to the group as a new lead character.
However, this doesn't mean that they toys being produced were actually any good. Each series that followed the last seemed to be an excuse to make multiple versions of the turtles with different themes to them. Whether it was sports players, dinosaurs, transforming or other various carnations, the creativeness of the series was certainly gone.
Like so many toy lines before it, Playmates attempted a revival of the series by re-releasing the original first series again in stores with the same packaging back in the early new millennium. This in turn helped spawn interest in the series again, which led to the eventual new movie released in 2007 as well as several more toys that continue to be released today. The TMNT franchise also got another boost when Image Comics purchased the rights to the series and began producing a new (horrible) comic book series.
Playmates may have lost sight a long time ago of what made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the still going pop culture that it is, but despite this, the series created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Larid over twenty years ago continues to etch its name in stone making it a series that has spread across two generations of fans - a feat not easily achieved.
Check back next time when we take a look at a series that was a hell of a lot larger than I thought possible. Considered the "Poor Man's Transformers", they somehow managed to not only be of better quality, but also be available at a much cheaper price. I'm talking about GoBots of course. See you then!
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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 1986 (Hasbro)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Hasbro
1986
While it wasn't known at the time, 1986 was the beginning of the end of G.I. Joe - Even though the series continued on for another decade. In this year, Hasbro began what would become a staple in the line. They began repainting figures and re-releasing them in mass abundance, and in various separate subsets. This concept would continue on until the series finally ended. This concept also wouldn't be limited to the figures themselves, and eventually the vehicles got the same treatment.
The seventeen grunts included; B.A.T., Beachhead, Dial-Tone, Dr. Mindbender, General Hawk, Iceberg, Leatherneck, Lifeline, Low-Light, Mainframe, Monkeywrench, Roadblock, Sci-Fi, Viper, Wet Suit, Zandar, and Zarana.
The five Special Missions: Brazil figures - Which were simply repainted figures which had previously been released were; Claymore, Dial-Tone, Leatherneck, Mainframe, and Wet Suit.
Accessory Pack #4, also known as Cobra Battle Gear was released with this series.
Speaking of mail-away figures. The mail-away figure this year was The Fridge - An actual football star of the 80's.
The 1986 series saw a handful of pretty cool vehicles (for their time). The vehicles included; Air Chariot, Conquest X-30, Devilfish, H.A.V.O.C., Hydro Sled, L.C.V. Recon Sled, Night Raven, STUN, Terror Drome with Firebat, Tomahawk, Triple T, Accessory Pack #4, Dreadnok Air Assault (Sears Exclusive), Dreadnok Ground Assault (Sears Exclusive), Swampfire, Thunder Machine, L.A.W., Outpost Defender, and Surveillance Port.The Night Raven and Terror Drome would be the most sought after in this set, and today still fetch a pretty penny from collector's looking to complete their sets.
So, where are we at here? Let's see, we're in the 1986 series, and still the Joes outnumber the Cobra's with 65 versus 36. Boy it's a good thing that Cobra had an unlimited amount of soldiers versus lead characters or they'd have been screwed worse than they already were. As far as fire power, the Joes have a whopping 52 as compared to the Cobra's 31. Well, at least the Cobra's got the base again.
But, that about does it for the 1986 year. G.I. Joe dominated the market for many more years to come. I plan on taking you through 1989, but after that our journey through Joe Land will come to an end.
However, before we get there, join me next time when we take a look at another dominating toy line of the 80's which like G.I. Joe is still running strong today. I'm talking about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They're the heroes in a half shell. TURTLE POWER!
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May 2009 Recap
Below is a recap of all the post we've covered in May 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.
Silverhawks
Bravestarr
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Bravestarr (Mattel)
BraveStarr
Matttel
1986
BraveStarr was a space Western animated television series that was created by Donald Kushner and Peter Locke. The original episodes aired from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication.
However, in 1986, a year before the TV series premiered, Mattel released an action figure line based on the Filmation cartoon series. These figures were large for the time at nearly 8 inches tall and came in a windowed box with artwork at the top. Each figure had a unique action feature and was packaged with several accessories, as well as one or more Kerium nuggets.
The only eight figures produced in the series were; Col. Borobot, Deputy Fuzz, Handle Bar, Marshall Bravestarr, Outlaw Skuzz, Sand Storm, Tex Hex, and Thunder Stick. A second series was slated for release, but was cancelled shortly after the animated series was taken off the air from lack of public interest.
A few vehicles and playsets made their way to store shelves with the first and only series of figures. They included; Skull Walker, Thirty Thirty (who was technically a character), Stratacoach and Fort Kerium.
The Heroic Laser Fire Backpack and Evil Laser Fire Backpack which were released with the Marshall Bravestarr and Tex Hex figures were also packaged individually and sold as accessories. A two pack of the two figures was also released.
Sadly, not too many people remember the show itself, but truth be told, it wasn't all that bad. It just couldn't compete with the stronger cartoons that were running such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man, ThunderC.A.T.S., G.I. Joe, and Transformers. Still for those who enjoy it, it is a true treasure of their childhood memories.
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Silverhawks (Kenner)
Silverhawks
Kenner
1987
Silverhawks was an animated television series which began in the fall of 1986. In the story, the 26th century galaxy of Limbo is under attack by MonStar, free after 100 years of imprisonment. Five volunteers from earth undergo a transformation to become part metal, part human and travel to the Limbo galaxy to battle MonStar and his allies.
To coincide with the series, Kenner produced numerous toys. The figures themselves all had an action feature, with the heroes having a wing "snapping" action when you pressed the legs together. The figures were made of plastic chrome which was very susceptible to wear. Each figure came packaged with a companion bird.
The first series of toys hit shelves in 1987 with the following figures; Copper Kid with May Day, Quicksilver with Tally-Hawk, Steelwill with Stronghold, Steelheart with Rayzor, Bluegrass with Sideman, Hotwing with Gyro, Stargazer with Sly-Bird, Flashback with Backlash, MonStar with Sky-Shadow, Mo-Lec-U-Lar with Volt-Ure, Mumbo-Jumbo with Airshock, and Buzz-Saw with Shredator.
In 1988 a second series was released which included; Condor with Jet Stream, Windhammer with Tuning Fork, Moon Stryker with Tail-Spin, Hardware with Prowler, Steelwill Ultrasonic Suit, Bluegrass Ultrasonic Suit, and Quicksilver Ultrasonic Suit.
The second series of figures are generally harder to find than the first, with Ultrasonic Quicksilver being the most difficult to locate.
Unfortunately the majority of figures being sold on secondary markets are opened, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find mint on card ones. Because of this, one carded figure can fetch several hundreds of dollars.
Throughout the series, six vehicles were produced. They were; Tally-Hawk, Stronghold, Sky-Shadow, Maraj, Sprint Hawk, and Sky-Runner.
From the first series of Silverhawks vehicles, the Maraj can be tough to come across unbroken and complete with its missiles. The second series vehicles, Sprint Hawk and Sky-Runner are also tough to come across, especially complete with their missiles.
The toy line of Silverhawks is considered as short lived as the cartoon series was(which never really took off in the U.S.). While there are legions of dedicated fans whom stand behind both of them, it unfortunately wasn't enough during the 80's to keep the series alive. Fortunately for those fans they will always have their cherished memories and collections to remind them, and after all, whether a series is popular or tanks, all we really have in the end are our memories, and that, for the most part, is all we really need to be happy.
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April 2009 Recap
Below is a recap of all the post we've covered in April 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.
Transformers 1984
Strawberry Shortcake
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Strawberry Shortcake (Kenner)
Strawberry Shortcake
Kenner
1979 - 1985
It's very hard to make an "action figure" line marketed towards girls - The reason being that most girls don't play with them. They're more into dolls and accessorizing, and things of that nature. Despite the odds, Kenner made repeated attempts at these types of toys geared towards young girls. For the most part they were successful, but usually only for short periods of times.
Like My Little Pony, the Strawberry Shortcake series had a small start in 1979, but didn’t take off until the early first half of the year 1980. Back then, the series didn't really have all that much going for it. There was no cartoon series based on it, and therefore kids didn't know what the concept of this new toy line was. In fact, the character was first utilized for greeting cards. Pretty much the only thing the series had going for it was its food related character names that managed to give off a scent that was supposed to resemble the food entitled in the characters name. However, this usually wasn't the case.
The initial series was rather small, including only five figures and no accessories. The characters released were; Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Muffin, Apple Dumpling, Huckleberry Pie, and the villain of the series; The Purple Pie Man.
Between 1980 and 1985, Strawberry Shortcake ran six cartoon specials, respectively;
Strawberry Shortcake never had a regular Saturday morning cartoon series. What she had were six cartoon specials, from 1980 to 1985:
"The World of Strawberry Shortcake" (1980)
"Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City" (1981)
"Strawberry Shortcake Pets on Parade" (1982)
"Strawberry Shortcake's Housewarming Surprise" (1983)
"Strawberry Shortcake and the Baby Without a Name" (1984)
"Strawberry Shortcake Meets the Berrykins" (1985)
(thank you to our unknown commenter for this information)
Young girls across the U.S. tuned in to see what the deal was with this scented toy line. Fortunately for Kenner, the series found a following and was able to take off.
The second series of toys produced spanned from 1980 (prior to the show's release) - 1983 with a release of over 20 characters. This series would also be the beginning for several playsets and accessories that would be released throughout the entire series.
The second series saw a re-release of all the original figures on top of several new ones (including the small sub-set - International Friends), but this time they included soft plastic pets which were packaged in with each carded character. The second series included; Strawberry Shortcake with Custard Cat, Blueberry Muffin with Cheesecake Mouse, Angle Cake with Soufflé Skunk, Raspberry Tart with Rhubarb Monkey, Orange Blossom with Marmalade Butterfly, Lemon Meringue with Frappe Frog, Lime Chiffon with Parfait Parrot, Huckleberry Pie with Pupcake Dog, Apple Dumplin with Tea Time Turtle, Apricot and Hopsalot, Butter Cookie and Jelly Bear, Cherry Cuddler with Gooseberry Goose, Almond Tea with Marza Panda, Crepe Suzette with Éclair Poodle, Mint Tulip with Marshland Mallard, Café Ole with Burrito Donkey, (the twins) Lem N Ada with Sugar Woofer, Purple Pie Man with Cackle, and Sour Grapes with Dreg Snake.
Not officially part of the second series, but still released in this same time frame were the creature/pet, Fig Boot and a Dancing Strawberry Shortcake.
FigBoot was a dinosaur that was Baby Needs A Name pet. He was produced in 1984 and is VERY hard to find.
Dancing Strawberry was produce in 1983 and had a lot of accessories that came with her! A mirror with bar, tiara, stand, and dancing cloths. Her body was jointed and she could be moved in many different positions!
In 1984 Kenner started making the ten Party Pleaser dolls. These dolls were dressed in party outfits and their pets had party hats and carried presents. Two new dolls were also issued in this line of dolls. These dolls were Peach Blush from Georgia and Plum Puddin (Who at one time was a boy!!) These two dolls in particular are very sought after by serious collectors. Plum Puddin is considered to be more valuable.
The Party Pleasers line included; Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Blossom, Apple Dumpin, Cherry Cuddler, Angel Cake, Almond Tea, Mint Tulip, and Café Ole.
A separate line of dolls were issued in 1984. Known as the Sweet Sleepers, these dolls were dressed in sleepwear and came with a sleeping bag and a sleepy pet. There were five of these dolls in total. Unlike any other dolls in the Strawberry Shortcake line, there boxes could also converted into play bedroom sets.
The characters in the Sweet Sleeper line were; Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Blossom, Blueberry Muffin, Lemon Meringue, and Raspberry Tart.
Technically the last series of the "action figure" style characters, in 1985 Kenner made the seven Berrykin dolls. These dolls were dressed in fancy party outfits and they had no pets this time, instead they had a little critter called a Berrykin. The Berrykins carried perfume pouches. A new doll was also issued in this line of dolls. This doll was Banana Twirl. All of these dolls are very sought after by serious collectors, especially Banana Twirl who is considered to be the rarest Strawberry Shortcake doll of them all.
Included in this line were; Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Blossom, Mint Tulip, Banana Twirl, Peach Blush, Plum Pudding and the 12 inch Berry Princess.
***Collector Question***
One of our readers wrote in looking for help in identifying the doll in the photo below.
This doll appears to be a vintage Strawberry Shortcake doll, and is marked "American Greeting Corp. 1979" on the back of her neck. In addition, she is also stamped, "Made in Hong Kong" on her upper back. A notable feature is her flat hands.
If you know what this doll is, please post a comment with any information you can share.
Shortly after the Berrykin doll line was released, Kenner stopped production of the "action figure" line and turned more towards producing doll style characters from the series and a new line of miniatures.
But what does one do with all the above Strawberry Shortcake figures that they have? Well, play with them in their playsets of course.
Throughout the entire series, Kenner released about a dozen separate playsets as well as a carrying case. However, in order to put all your figures in said carrying cases, you'd need to purchase quiet a few of them, as each case only held four figures and one pet.
The playsets and accessories released for Strawberry Shortcake were; Berry Happy Home, Garden House, Berry Bake Shop, Carry Case, Snail Cart, Big Berry Trolley, Maple Stirrup, Berry Worm, Flitterbit, Carousel, Berry-Cycle Tricycle, Berry baby Bassinette, and Berry Baby Buggy.
While this was the entire line of the "action figure" style characters, Strawberry Shortcake pushed on through the 80's until the series finally disappeared into the nostalgic hole that these types of things fall in. In the late 1990's, an attempt was made to breath new life into the series, but failed miserably. The remnants of that failed attempt were quickly swept under the rug in a plethora of bargain bins, and reduced for quick sale items.
Kenner made a very sly move when it came to the Berry Happy Home playset. The sold it just as a shell. All the furniture inside was sold separately, room by room. To make it even more annoying, they released three sets of each room. A deluxe, a basic, and an add on.
The deluxe set included every piece for the room, while the basic set included "the essentials", and the add on included the bare minimum (or, the rest of what was not included in the basic set). Obviously if you could get it, the deluxe was the smart way to go.
Now collector's of Strawberry Shortcake will tell you that the Berry Fancy Fun Room and Berry Bubbly Bath are the hardest sets to come by. We're going to set the record straight once and for all. THEY'RE ALL HARD TO COME BY! Just for archiving purposes, we were pulling our hair out trying to locate all these pieces.
We couldn't find a basic and add on set for the Fancy Fun Room, nor could we find a deluxe or basic set for the Berry Bubbly Bath and Berry Merry Attic. At this point with how much we've combed the Earth looking for them, we can't honestly say that they even exist. There is no reference to them on any other website, and no packaged versions to be found anywhere. If you have information or photos pertaining to these particular items, please contact us at thetoybox1138@gmail.com.
Finally, the last pieces released for the Strawberry Shortcake series were double pack clothing sets. Each set was themed differently, and allowed you to get varying outfits for your dolls. There were two different sizes, and depending on the set, you would either get clothing for the five inch dolls, or the four inch dolls.
While collectors have come to reference each outfit by name, there doesn't appear to be any official verbiage on the packages which corresponds with them.
Strawberry Shortcake fought an uphill battle from day one when Kenner decided to produce essentially an action figure line for girls. But, despite this fight, the toys have become an iconic memory to little girls all grown up now, and the series thrives on the secondary market.
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