Great show, terrible toys

[T-rex Galvatron]

Dose anybody have an opinion on lousy action figures based on a TV show that you thought was good?

 

 

 

Mine: James Bond Jr.

[Wheeljack35]

Gargoyles

 

Looking back those figures weren't that great compared to what they could of been

[Devilbat]

Yes...I used to love the Bionic Six show and rarely saw it, but the toys were pretty awful from what I remember. The action figures' key selling point was having die-cast body parts.

 

Another one was Silverhawks. I absolutely loved the premise of that show, but the toys didn't really reflect the coolness of some of the characters. Some of the figures were actually okay, like Bluegrass and Steelwill. But others, like namely the main character Quicksilver and Copper Kid, were awful. (Did I get those names right?) (lol)

 

I'd like to see Mattel get the Silverhawks license. I think the DC Classics-style sculpting would suit the Silverhawks perfectly.

[shokker]

Yes...I used to love the Bionic Six show and rarely saw it, but the toys were pretty awful from what I remember. The action figures' key selling point was having die-cast body parts.

 

Another one was Silverhawks. I absolutely loved the premise of that show, but the toys didn't really reflect the coolness of some of the characters. Some of the figures were actually okay, like Bluegrass and Steelwill. But others, like namely the main character Quicksilver and Copper Kid, were awful. (Did I get those names right?) (lol)

 

I'd like to see Mattel get the Silverhawks license. I think the DC Classics-style sculpting would suit the Silverhawks perfectly.

 

 

 

i loved the bionic 6. i would even rebuy them if they would bring them out again. now the one figure i would buy is captain planet. a superhero who is created by the elements was interesting for me. i even loved the show. as a kid i loved it.

[ARROW]

Okay, great shows, but lousy toys.....

 

Mummies Alive

Biker Mice from Mars

Hook

Dick Tracy--movie was marginally better than the toys, but that is not saying much

Mutant League-same as above

Peter Pan and the Pirates

Gargoyles

Double Dragon

Gargoyles

Swat Kats

Conan the Adventurer

Mighty Max

Cowboys of Moo Mesa

The Shadow

The Phantom

Stargate

Street Sharks

Terminator 2

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

Adventures in Odyssey

Little Dracula

Ren & Stimpy

Darkwing Duck

Tailspin

Monster Force

 

Some of the shows are so-so, some are downright excellent........but all those toys stank.

[shokker]

Okay, great shows, but lousy toys.....

 

Mummies Alive

Biker Mice from Mars

Hook

Dick Tracy--movie was marginally better than the toys, but that is not saying much

Mutant League-same as above

Peter Pan and the Pirates

Gargoyles

Double Dragon

Gargoyles

Swat Kats

Conan the Adventurer

Mighty Max

Cowboys of Moo Mesa

The Shadow

The Phantom

Stargate

Street Sharks

Terminator 2

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

Adventures in Odyssey

Little Dracula

Ren & Stimpy

Darkwing Duck

Tailspin

Monster Force

 

Some of the shows are so-so, some are downright excellent........but all those toys stank.

 

 

wow now thats a list. lol. well terminator 2 got it good now with neca and hot toys. i was ok with mighty max. i loved these little playsets.

[ARROW]

The original T2 toyline was from Kenner, and..................well..................chunky blowy. The more recent lines, like MacFarlane or NECA are leagues better.

 

Oh, and add the first Toybiz Batman movie figures to that list. Hideous stuff, but a really interesting comparison to the last stuff Toybiz made.

 

And if I may say so--more than a few of these shows were just good enough that if the toys hadn't been cheapened out on, then both would have headed for the stratosphere.

The main problem is that there was no faith that the toys would sell enough, so costs were cut and the toys made cheaply, or with gimmicks that really did nothing for them.

I've long thought that adding in just a few more points of articulation to some of these toys would have made them engaging enough to override the blandness of some of their sculpts, or the timidity of some of their gimmicks. 5 POAs doesn't make for a very imaginative action figure, and yet most of the above have just that--and with more POAs you'd get more ability to emulate what the characters do on the show. That, I think, is something that drives the play pattern and THAT is what boosts interest in both the toys and the show.

[shokker]

The original T2 toyline was from Kenner, and..................well..................chunky blowy. The more recent lines, like MacFarlane NECA, Neca are leagues better.

 

Oh, and add the first Toybiz Batman movie figures to that list. Hideous stuff, but a really interesting comparison to the last stuff Toybiz made.

 

And if I may say so--more than a few of these shows were just good enough that if the toys hadn't been cheapened out on, then both would have headed for the stratosphere.

The main problem is that there was no faith that the toys would sell enough, so costs were cut and the toys made cheaply, or with gimmicks that really did nothing for them.

I've long thought that adding in just a few more points of articulation to some of these toys would have made them engaging enough to override the blandness of some of their sculpts, or the timidity of some of their gimmicks. 5 POAs doesn't make for a very imaginative action figure, and yet most of the above have just that--and with more POAs you'd get more ability to emulate what the characters do on the show. That, I think, is something that drives the play pattern and THAT is what boosts interest in both the toys and the show.

 

 

what toybiz did some batman figs? i cant even remember this.

[Leviathan]

Ok a lot of people are going to disagree with me on this but here goes. ThunderCats = great show but the toys weren't all that great. Aside from the light up eyes and action arms they really didn't do much else. In the cartoon the characters were acrobatic and agile, you certainly couldn't reflect any of that in the toys. If they had simply added joint in the arms and legs the toys would have been great.

[shokker]

oh oh i just remember that i loved bravestarr as a kid. the figs were ok if i remember but they were just so huge when i was a kid. i would buy them again if they would remake them in a 6insh standard version. tex hex and the gang ha ha, for crying out loud.

[ARROW]

what toybiz did some batman figs? i cant even remember this.

Yep, from the Burton Batman movie:

http://www.toplessrobot.com/batman%20toybiz.jpg

 

Google <Images> ToyBiz Batman or Toybiz DC Superheroes to see what they did--they are pretty bad.

[EldestSon]

guys, he said "great" shows.

[shokker]

what toybiz did some batman figs? i cant even remember this.

Yep, from the Burton Batman movie:

http://www.toplessro...an%20toybiz.jpg

 

Google <Images> ToyBiz Batman or Toybiz DC Superheroes to see what they did--they are pretty bad.

 

 

ohh yeah they never crossed the border, so i never saw them. we got a lot from the second movie returns. i think they are the same sculpt. i know that i must have the goon somewhere in my basement. as a kid i was all crazy about the returns figures but looking at them now, they do look weird. lol lol. they were the first batman toys we ever got, no wonder that i liked them. well all in all there are worlds between a kid and a grown up.

[Card]

Robotech, talk about lost potential. The figures were all over the place and the vehicles were cheap, even the official veritech didnt transform, very sad. I owned a few as a kid and they were just bad. The really sad part was the best veritech to come out was the transformer Jetfire, that’s right an entirely different toyline had the best mech. I played a lot with good ol' Jetfire, still have a warm spot in my heart for that transformer.

 

A runner up for me would be Tron. Okay I know its a movie and not a show but hot damn did I want toys from that as a kid. Instead I got a crummy light cycle that was awkward at best and a barely articulated statue that wasnt even the same color as the character in the movie, and whos disk I lost on the way home. I believe this was the first disappointment I had with a toy as a child. The good news is I still have that Tron, and he’s as minty as the day I bought him(minus his disk, I swear that its still in the parking lot of the old Lionel’s) due to him being put in a drawer and forgotten for years.

 

 

[spidersam]

Robotech, talk about lost potential. The figures were all over the place and the vehicles were cheap, even the official veritech didnt transform, very sad. I owned a few as a kid and they were just bad. The really sad part was the best veritech to come out was the transformer Jetfire, that’s right an entirely different toyline had the best mech. I played a lot with good ol' Jetfire, still have a warm spot in my heart for that transformer.

 

A runner up for me would be Tron. Okay I know its a movie and not a show but hot damn did I want toys from that as a kid. Instead I got a crummy light cycle that was awkward at best and a barely articulated statue that wasnt even the same color as the character in the movie, and whos disk I lost on the way home. I believe this was the first disappointment I had with a toy as a child. The good news is I still have that Tron, and he’s as minty as the day I bought him(minus his disk, I swear that its still in the parking lot of the old Lionel’s) due to him being put in a drawer and forgotten for years.

 

I don´t remeber the robotech line veritech, but I owned a die cast valkyrie fighter (sans one arm, my grandma bought it for me at a swap meet)that did transform (it must have been a macross figure) and it was great fun, plus a friend had the actual skull leader figure on which the transformers jetfire was based, meaning they were available at the same time, so I would not put robotech/macross on the list.

[spidersam]

Ok a lot of people are going to disagree with me on this but here goes. ThunderCats = great show but the toys weren't all that great. Aside from the light up eyes and action arms they really didn't do much else. In the cartoon the characters were acrobatic and agile, you certainly couldn't reflect any of that in the toys. If they had simply added joint in the arms and legs the toys would have been great.

 

Totally agree with you, I only had panthro as a kid (got it as a gift)cause I was way more into MOTU figures (I know they were not that articulated either, but their general body pose was better than the stiff stance most t-cats had)

[Dragonrider1227]

Astro Boy in 2004 had a pretty lame American toy line. The only figure I liked was Atlas.

And I agree on the Thundercats toys. I don't think they were absolutely horrible, but they could've been way better.

[hamsterboy]

Okay, great shows, but lousy toys.....

 

Mummies Alive

Biker Mice from Mars

Hook

Dick Tracy--movie was marginally better than the toys, but that is not saying much

Mutant League-same as above

Peter Pan and the Pirates

Gargoyles

Double Dragon

Gargoyles

Swat Kats

Conan the Adventurer

Mighty Max

Cowboys of Moo Mesa

The Shadow

The Phantom

Stargate

Street Sharks

Terminator 2

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

Adventures in Odyssey

Little Dracula

Ren & Stimpy

Darkwing Duck

Tailspin

Monster Force

 

Some of the shows are so-so, some are downright excellent........but all those toys stank.

 

Agreed 100% with Darkwing Duck. Out of all of those bad guys he had they did what,two of them? How hard would it have been to take a regualr Darkwing figure,paint it yellow and red,to make a NegaDuck figure?

[Rollo Tomassi]

I think I have that very first Toybiz Batman figure. With a retractable rope belt in his waist! Ha! If I'm not mistaken, those first Batman figures were produced from leftover SuperPowers molds weren't they?

[Leviathan]

I think I have that very first Toybiz Batman figure. With a retractable rope belt in his waist! Ha! If I'm not mistaken, those first Batman figures were produced from leftover SuperPowers molds weren't they?

 

Yeah Toybiz bought the molds from Kenner I think.

[Devilbat]

Ok a lot of people are going to disagree with me on this but here goes. ThunderCats = great show but the toys weren't all that great. Aside from the light up eyes and action arms they really didn't do much else. In the cartoon the characters were acrobatic and agile, you certainly couldn't reflect any of that in the toys. If they had simply added joint in the arms and legs the toys would have been great.

 

Totally agree with you, I only had panthro as a kid (got it as a gift)cause I was way more into MOTU figures (I know they were not that articulated either, but their general body pose was better than the stiff stance most t-cats had)

 

I absolutely loved the show. The toys? Not so much. My brother had a couple of them. The sad part is it seems that some of the villains had some great sculpts, from what I can remember. But like Leviathan said, the articulation didn't match the dynamic animation of the characters in the show very well at all. That hokey hacking action Lion-O had got tired after about five minutes. Panthro's infant-like thrashing action with his nun-chucks however was much more entertaining for me. (lol)

[kerowack]

Agree on Thundercats too. AWESOME character designs, but clunky figures.

 

Arrow: Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves was a cool little line. Vehicles, soft goods on the figures, playsets....I own most of it and they are cool!

[Wheeljack35]

Agree on Thundercats too. AWESOME character designs, but clunky figures.

 

 

Looking back in hindsight we can say that now but back then we loved them

 

Same thing with MOTU They look crappy now but back then we loved them

[MBGAMEFAN02]

Definitely Thundercats

[Guest]

Spectacular Spider-Man? I heard from people that the show was decent. I've never seen it myself, but I do know that the toys were garbage.