Toys, toys and more toys. A trio of brothers decided to get together and table about old toy lines from the 70s-90s, also refered to as 'their childhoods'.
When JAKKS Pacific showed up on the scene in 1995, they targeted wrestling figures from the beginning. Taking over from LJN in 1996, they just ran with it and gave the world some of the best wrestling figures till 2010.
In the late 80's Scratch-n-sniff and Strawberry Shortcake was all the rage, so why wouldn't Mattel jump on that train with their own Cherry Merry Muffin doll line. These dolls are adorable fantasy food characters with yummy scents and transformable accessories.
From the DC Universe and Kenner Toys, in the 90's we got Swamp Thing. A cartoon and a small toy line, that kinda just sank into the bog. We talk all about the line this week and discover once interesting line.
Produced by Mattel to go along side the cartoon, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future toy line might have been before its time. This week we talk all about one of the best gimmicks of the 80's.
The Mighty Ducks movie changed the NHL, but in 1996 when Mattel released the toy line for the Mighty Ducks cartoon, less changed then you would think. Did you have any of these duck figures that were right on the heals of the TMNT Playmates line?
With the success of Barbie, Mattel brings the boys of the 70's a line of figures that have action written all over them. Enter BigJim and all his buddies. From camping, hiking, olympics competition and even some secret agent (004) work, Big Jim does it all.
In the early 80's, electronics were all the rage. Enter Coleco and the ColecoVision system. Working with Nintendo, their dream was to bring a home computer, and not just a video game system, to all the homes of America.
The world is threatened by the evil Skull Squadron, but never fear, the Ring Raiders are here to save the day. We discuss this Matchbox line from the 80's and even talk a bit about our jewelry preferences.
In the late 80's Sungold brought us two lines of toys that go with the Halloween spooky season better than any others. Monster and Spook Chasers were perfect for cheep toys to play monster mash with.
Mid 1980's and Jim Henson is the largest names in puppets, so why not team up with him to create a monster hand puppet. Between Henson and Clarke, they create the Boglins and released them through Mattel. Did you have any of these?
Remember Mad Max and the Thunderdome? Well in the mid 80's everybody wanted part of that style, and Tonka did just that. Releasing the Steel Monsters, these awesome toy trucks took everything we loved from Tonka and made it gnarly!
This toy line by Tiger Toys with gadgets more than gimmicks, but these were all kept under a hat. The Inspector Gadget line was sure to knock the socks off the kids when released back in the mid 90's.
We jump back just a few years to talk about the DC Primal Age line that was released by Funko. We also have a special guest this week, toy designer Reis O'Brien, who designed all of these figures and gives us the behind the scenes of designing and producing this line.
Remember those amazing Street Sharks, and then the Extreme Dinosaurs, we these aren't those, but they were supposed to be a cross-compatible line from Street Wise Designs and Street Players. A small but mighty line that peaks our interests.
What do you get when you mix a DAM Troll and the TMNT Playmates line? Good thing Ace Novelty was there to let us all know. Listen as we talk about these Stone Protectors from the early 90's and let the craziness over take you.
Starting with comics, and moving into toys, McFarlane has done quite a bit, but this week we concentrate on the McFarlane Toys Movie Maniacs. Listen as we get a bit gory and talk about the horror line with special guest Aaron from Front Row Negative.
Produced by Hasbro in 1986, the Moondreamers were very short lived. Listen as we dream our way through this episode all about the dolls that were all outfitted in a celestial theme, including a not so evil looking witch.
Get ready for a blast from the past with MEGO's World's Greatest Superheroes! These 8-inch action figures from the 70's and 80's were the ultimate tribute to the timeless world of comic book legends love today!
Evil creatures from the tail of Halley's Comet? That's exactly what Matchbox developed in the mid 80's to jump on the rare occurrence and created a small line of cars/parasite mix of toy that seem kinda creepy.
Produced by Tonka from 1985 to 1992, these adorable animal-shaped figures had lockable compartments on their backs to keep tiny treasures safe. Tonka Keypers provided imaginative play and a sense of personal ownership for children.
Mattel took us from Street Sharks to Extreme Dinosaurs, and what could be cooler than a T-Rex to play with? A metal T-Rex that can ride on a motorcycle. Weren't the 90's great! Listen up as we talk all about the Extreme Dinos.
Another line from the minds of Remco, we have the Pirates of the Galaxseas. A small line that was meant for playing with the Lost World of the Warlord or Warrior Beasts lines. An interesting line that had a specific look of skeletons.
From the minds that brought us Micro Machines, we got a baby doll line in the early 90's. Influenced by Kewpies and Betty Boop, these dolls are more for adults than kids, but who knew that in the 90's?
This week we look back at what is a beloved piece of gaming history. We talk the history of the Nintendo GameBoy released in 1989 and how is continues to be one of the most iconic and innovative video game consoles of all time.
This week we talked about another line that just happened to be one of the largest fads of the 90's, with an intersting back story coming all the way from the 1700s. Listen up as we talk about the school ban, artwork and the short life of POGS.
What happens when you mix action figures, bugs, and hand puppets? You get the mid 80's release of Sectaurs. In the short time that Coleco released toys, we got a few small lines, but Sectaurs might have been the most unique gimmick they tried.
This week, we gather all the strength we can muster from the powers of air and head to Airlandia as we discuss the Air Raiders. Released by Hasbro in the 1980's, this line was a classic good vs evils, but it was all about the vehicles.
In 1985, Mattel did it again with a fun toy line that involves space vehicles and generic drivers/minds. Join us as we talk about how this line went from awesome to having a very weird cartoon with tons of plot holes.
With the Playmates TMNT line going strong, Mattel needed something to take a bite out of the competition. Enter Street Sharks. This amazing line would be the closest to bringing down the TMNT juggernaut, but would eventually sink.
In the late 80's, toy companies really enjoyed making anything that wasn't alive come to life. Mattel was on a roll when they created the Food Fighters in 1988. Join us as we talk about the small line this week.
Back when the world was a different place and playing video games typically happened at your local arcade, Atari Inc decided to change things up. Releasing the Atari Video Computer System was only the start of what is now 100 billion dollar industry.
From the creators of the Micro-Machine, we get a taste of what some actions figures might have been, if they spent a little more time on the concept. The Infaceables, released in 1984 by Galoob just didn't make it past the first year.
With the Transformers and GoBots dominating the robot toy market, many people forgot about Zybots. Released by Remco, the transformed from vehicles to simple robots. Join us as we dive into the many variations of this line from just a couple of years.
Did you say you want more stuffed monkies? Good call, this week we rewind back to 1974 to talk about Monchhichi, a line of Japanese stuffed monkey toys from the Sekiguchi Corporation and licensed by Mattel for US sales.
Released by Mattel in 1986, GUTS! was a series of PVC military figure line that was aimed directly at the hearts of kids! With six series of figures kids could play all day an never have the same outcome.
From Kenner we get Mummies Alive! A line that was accompanied with a cartoon to help with the story line, but this one would barley last 2 releases. The molds on this line would be the mummies saving grace.
Spooky season and so you know we will talk all about some monsters. This year we look back at AHI's World Famous Super Monsters. This line might looks just like the REMCO and Lincoln lines, but this one is better!
Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! This week we look back at the toy line that was sparked by the 1988 movie of the same name released by Kenner Toys. Listen up and keep an eye out for the beloved Freelance Bio-Exorcist!
In 1984, the IDEAL Toy Company wanted to let the kids get new action figures and then tear them apart. The idea they would be able to put them back together was the plan, but did that work, or would it fail?
Straight from the early 70's we get MEGOs first run of action figures, Action Jackson. At 8-inches these figures were just smaller than the first GI Joes, but was never able to stand-up to them in sales or accessory count.
Season 2 come to an end with a retrospective of all the toy lines that we have talked about over the last 2 years. Give you thoughts that we have not shared before and talked about the future of the podcast.
The brothers go over the last 100 years of toys and talk about how we have come from just wooden blocks to some amazing toys including dolls, action figure, video games and building blocks that snap together.
In 1986 when Coleco wanted to take kids imaginations to space, they did just that with the StarCom: The U.S. Space Force. These smaller figures were over-shadowed by the amazing vehicles and playsets.
More digital pets, but this time from Tiger Electronics. We talk about how Tiger Electronics not only challenged Tamagotchi, but also expanded the digital pet to many other brands like Jurassic Park and Mortal Kombat. Was Giga Pet better than Tomagotchi?
The digital era was upon us, and Bandai wanted to be apart of that. Enter the 90's version of the Pet Rock, but this time you could actually make it do things. Tamagotchi was the start, but not the end of the digital pets.
Structural Steel building sets from the early 20th century were an amazing toy set for kids to play with and to grow their imaginations. With one Erector set you could build anything your mind could think ok. What would you build?
It was 1970, and Barbie has been dominating the markets, but she was going through a mid-life crisis. Enter the Dawn doll line by Deluxe Reading. These 6-inch figures would only last 3 years, but gave Barbie a run for her Dream Home.
This week we talk about the 90s phenomena Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! A quick history of the toys and the show that inspired the figures. And what is with the weird shaped boxes of these figures. We take a look at them all, even if Michael and John were bored most of the time.
A story line created by Marvel, but produced by REMCO, this small line was ahead of the comic book and never made it past 1 series. Do you remember Crystar? Without a cartoon there just wasn't much this line could do in the early 80's.
While Playmates was riding high on the TMNT line, Hasbro made a quick trip into the anthropomorphism world and brought us Bucky O'Hare. This short lived line was amazing, and the potential was high, but it never made it out of the early 90's.
Remember all those Happy Meal Toys you got when you were a kid, but have no idea where they are now? Yep, we talked more about some of the best Happy Meal Toys from the golden age of Happy Meal Toys. Those 1990-94. More about Disney and other movie collections.
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