Mattel’s Heroes in Action series was set of small scale figures produced in 1975. It’s interesting to see all-out military figures from this time, considering that Hasbro’s GI Joe had been transitioned over to an adventure theme. Maybe Mattel were banking on the longevity of a war comic like Sgt. Rock to sell these to kids. I’ve seen this ad
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My name is Rob, and I am a HISS IV owner. I can’t quite say how I came to that point in my collecting journey, but being a completist between the years of 2002 to 2006 may have something to do with it. That’s right, I was snapping up every new figure pack and vehicle at the time. If I
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I’m a sucker for role-play items,and this is one that I’ve been jonesing for for a long time. I’m also a huge fan of the 1991 Snake Eyes figure, so this set hits all the right spots for me. Since I don’t have the actual item, I can’t speak to the quality of it as a toy, but the package
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The Real American Hero series had the distinction of being the first comic book advertised on television. It was also Hasbro’s creative way of marketing its relaunched toyline without having to stick to the regulations of the day regarding animation and toys. Have we mentioned here how effective the 80s Joe marketing was? Why else would we still be talking
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By KansasBrawler Kids can be funny sometimes. I don’t mean in the lame Kids Say the Darndest Things way, but it’s interesting to watch how your opinion of a toy changes after seeing a kid’s eyes light up while they’re playing with it. I was talking with a couple of Hasbro design team folks near the “free play” area they’d
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Meet the new Joes! Back when I was a teenage Marvel Zombie, I actually bought Marvel Age, the all-house-ad comic, every month. Somehow I missed this issue, and I’m bummed that I did, since I also missed the oddly colored (and named) new Joes inside. Hot Spot?
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Wow, that’s a mouthful of a post title. It’s fitting, considering that the Talking Battle Commanders spoke quite a bit, at least for the time. Hey, three lines of scratchy sampled audio was pretty amazing back then. The early 90s saw an explosion of this sort of feature, with many action figure lines sporting oversized talking backpacks. The Joes were
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Well folks, we may never see the likes of this again. GI Joe party supplies. I suppose there’s always the possibility of a future movie tie-in, but I don’t think I’ll walk into Party City in the foreseeable future and spot actual Joe toys depicted on a cheap plastic table cover. Excuse me, I’m getting a little emotional–sniff (blows nose).
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In 1973, while the GI Joe line was well into its Adventure Team period, competitor Mattel introduced Big Jim, a less militaristic adventure and sports based 10 inch figure, as an alternative. Unlike Joe, Big Jim from its beginnings incorporated action features into the figures. The toys’ biceps bulged when arms bent at the elbows. In 1975, Big Jim’s image
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For some collectors (and especially customizers) of small scale GI Joes, Lanard’s Wow Action Girls! series is highly sought after. The line was a godsend for those looking for figures, accessories and vehicles that just hadn’t been replicated by Hasbro. Stylistically similar to the o-ring figures of the 80s and 90s, the toys were produced with an array of accouterments
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