My VINTAGE Action Figure Collection: JRNY to K-Mart Plaza!!!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Good PB. Yeah, a lot of the time,packing can be a good reminder. Thanks PB, I am grateful what I have

[BrandonDaCollector]

Alrighty then, now I'm getting back on track. This is going to be a good one. It is the War Heroes from the World War II/WWII series by MEGO! These are actually the only figures I have by them as they were fading out from the plebeians and stores when I was "really getting into" things. My Grandma got Me a lot of them at Walgreens on Hampton (I loved that one) in around 1986 or 1987. Unfortunately I didn't take care of them as I broke and misplaced most of them I however found a bag with some intact around the Summer of last year in storage and I was kinda surprised that I had found them. They really weren't what I was looking for at the time but hey, I'll take just about anything from yesteryear that I find and I ain't puttin' it aside like prior foolish times

So the series is quite rare and rather obscure nowadays sadly, arguably even more then some others that I have presented here within the topic. MEGO in many ways revolutionized action figures to what we now know to become the standard today and mostly only vintage-ites like Myself only mention them which is a shame. Sometimes this WWII series goes by the alternate alias of Lion/Johnny Action/Johnny Rock by a distribution company called Shillman. A lot of these can be found at the bay loose or even MIP but expect to pay around $60 or more as I speak. To be honest, something like this with a lot of history is worth that than something that price of this pathetic day and age because that has little meaning compared to them and that goes for just about anything that is vintage especially if you've always loved it and/or wanted it IMO.

I was into G.I. already so I knew about war, heroes by watching movies & TV and the like and and being aware of that however, seeing these figures on the pegs were a new wrinkle to Me because they were larger than Joes and they had real clothing (I might make a brief post about My 1/6 origins, long story short, I once had a pretty Barbie in denim that I sadly misplaced, she was My origin to liking & appreciating 1/6 female figures...these guys may have been My origin to large male figures with clothing even though these guys are only in 7" - 8" scale!) and I digged it. I was kinda used to some figures previously with clothing because My go to figure Prince Adam among others already had'em. The look of the characters were based on actual WWII appearances by many of the world's military and such. However, some drawbacks occurred with them to Me as many of the head sculpts looked similar if not the same. Their POA were different than Joes as they had no bicep cuts and ball-jointed necks for example and their weapons were always a pain to place in their hands as they fell out easily or they wouldn't fit thus breaking them and I hated that I don't have to have a ton of POA but when your used to Joes and you want an alternate collection of army figures, you want them to be like them (REMCO I believe had the right idea - see My showcase of their great Defenders earlier on)! I had My frustrations long ago with these guys yes but really I loved them and despite that and misplacing most, their still as fun today as they were yesterday!

So here is the British Paratrooper. Since I had My incidents long ago, I had to reconnoiter My situation thus making him actually the only one that is acceptable for major display. I made him have many of the other figures' weapons (I love the sword & sheath with him) and made him a weapons master of sorts, an Ultimate Soldier if you will. He was basically My first kitbash figure ever His head sculpt is decent and he seriously reminds of Me of a splice between Gregory Peck & Harrison Ford.



The weapons and accessorizes are sculpted nicely and look convincingly real enough.




Now here is only two others that I could find with him, they are badly wounded, the U.S. Fighter Pilot and the Russian Officer. Here is My Ultimate Soldier with them in a brief encounter.



Here is some additional weapons and accessories. Note the Asian hats, I did have the Japanese Officer and the Chinese Guerrilla Fighter at some point too In fact they were the ones that caught My attention at Walgreens when I first saw this great line, it's so poignant that I cannot find them now



Now here is a very sweet find. In the days of Autumn in 2021, I serendipitously found one of the Blister Cards in the garage of all places What an amazing rediscovery this was



Here is a look at most the characters within the series. Note the lovely price sticker on it. It is clearly Walgreens and these figures were only a $1.99 Ah when the days when things were great and quite affordable, gosh I miss'em



Here is a size/scale comparison of My Ultimate Soldier compared to the previously seen Joe Sgt. Slaughter and Rambo's Sergeant Havoc!



Well, that's it for now. I hope you liked this one Next up will be a great start of 80s nostalgia goodness with many that was part of some iconic and some very underrated yet possibly rare cartoons. Until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

Geez, Walgreens hasn't changed their logo in ages. I never got into MEGOs. I have the vaguest of recollections of getting a couple Marvel ones when I was really young from Child World, but they weren't anything I gravitated toward. Didn't even know they made figures outside of TV and superheroes.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Hah, how about that. Yep, Walgreen s didn't Indeed, these guys are really obscure. Thanks PB

[BrandonDaCollector]

Ah, here is My next showcase...finally...The InHumanoids 8) I've been wanting to present them for a long a while as there is so much for Me to get to of all kinds of genres and items in My topics! So The InHumanoids figures were based off of a short lived animated Movie/Series in 1986 of the same title and like many action figures series', they coincided with each other like many others did before, during and after. They were made by Hasbro and while I was huge on them for a lengthy period of time when I was younger, when they bought-out (took over) Tonka & Kenner in 1991 I slowly lost My respect and excitement for them over the decades especially just recently when they fake woke There will be a special comparison at the end of this showcase of one of the things that has really irked Me over time about them

The franchise was never My favorite when I was a kid and in fact I paid very little attention to them but I loved the action figures. Long after that I found them really cool. With that being said, I found some figures of them last year in the Spring of 2020 in storage and then took pics but in a very, very long lineup of things to showcase, other findings plus chores and everything thing else in between, it takes a while for things to go as I planned them before.

HERE IS THE WIKIPEDIA Page for ALL the info of the InHumanoids!

One thing that is quite weird about this series is that title of the series is actually the names the monsters/villains/antagonists and the good guys/protagonists look very malevolent...just weirdly radical

I only remembered getting two figures from My Grandma. We were at My favorite Woolworths store which was the second location during that time. They had so much toy greatness downstairs (one day I'll get to a showcase of them) and they were on the bottom shelf with likes of other great 80s toys like MOTU and more My figures are still in superb condition and they still work wonderfully as they did back in the day so I'll give Myself big kudos for that They have limited articulation. Here they are in all their gory

Magnokor: I love that his a rockoid. In the series he is known as a Granite Mutore Duo of the subterranean Granite City. His design is really cool and resembles what a rock monster would look like in the 80s as that decade was full of'em in many cartoons and stuff!



Now one of the features of this series and cartoon was that since many of the characters are elementals which they are friendly and are called Mutores. They have powers and such. You can take his outer-shell off mimicking his great looking lava inner exoskelton showing off that he is volcanic! I've always loved this feature




Redlen: He is the leader of the Redwood Mutores, an ancient race of sentient of tree. He is far from being anything like an Ent. His design is neat and scary, I love how his face looks so classical spooky from decades of before his figure was even released!



Since he is basically a walking tree trunk, you can extend his body and make him much taller thus he becomes more intimidating



SPECIAL FEATURE!!!!!!!

Now the biggest feature of these figures is they have translucent eyes and they glow! It still works excellently as I had recalled from years prior How this achievement is accomplished is rather simple. They have a glass element that's located on the back and top of their craniums. You can hold them up to a light or stick a flashlight close to'em and bingo...their eyes are magically lit and it's a dandy sight to behold in the dark and as a matter of a fact, it's beautifully frightening





Here is Magnokor& Redlen together!




The Copyright: I loved dem Copyrights



SIZE COMPARISON: Now here is a VERY big issue with Me and over the years I haven't seen many people complain or even notice the ways of Hasbro. Here is My InHumanoids in not only sized compared but also DESIGN COMPARED as well with My SOMA Halloween Monsters I know these figures were quite obscure when I showcased them greatly near the beginning of My topic and they are becoming even more rare as I speak, however, during this time when they were available at the same great & fun Woolworths I got My InHumanoids but they were they were available before them! Here is a comparison of Tree-Man and Rock-Man compared to Redlen & Magnokor together! It is truly uncanny how much they resemble each other...even in the same poses The point of the matter is...I have said this time and time again...Hasbro has took the concepts, ideas and even designs from other companies, even a small independent company like SOMA and then it becomes more popular with them simply because their Hasbro! They are like corporate locusts moving on and takeover company by company as I have expressed My disgust many, many times of the demise of great companies like Tonka & Kenner, Larami, Galoob & OSTM, WowWee and many others. There is so much more than that it's ridicules Some of the showcases I have ahead will deal with this major frustration of Mine Again, take a gander at the pic I have provided the comparison of



Videos

Here is the action figure commercials and these guys were awesome



Here is the cool series intro



That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this showcase of My InHumanoids Next up will be another yet obscure vintage conferral that will delve into the Hasbro regime even further but it is turned around however Until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

I covered a lot about the Inhumanoids over in the cartoon thread. I never owned any of the toys as far as I can remember. I wasn't really big on monsters as a kid so much as superheroes and sci-fi stuff. I do remember the cartoon, though.

[AcidDragon]

Wow! You've got Inhumanoids? I saw a look back on them a little ways ago and they looked really fun! The cartoon looked downright crazy.

[BrandonDaCollector]

I know you did PB and you did good, I remember when I was saying to you that I had some a while back I'll be posting them in time.

Acid, I'm glad you were actually surprised. I know it's only 2 of them but I still got'em and yes the show was very weird and crazy

[BrandonDaCollector]

So here are we are with My next showcase and it is so long awaited cause I took pics of these guys long ago probably nearly a year or so and never did anything of it till now I found them sometime ago in storage and they were in places I wasn't expecting, amazing how that happens These guys are the Battle Brawlers by Kenner! My Grandma got Me them at Venture I believe but possibly Woolworths and they were possibly Christmas or Birthday presents to Me in 1986/1987

Their very brief history goes like this. Kenner released them in 1986. It was apparently going to be a major series but ultimately was cut short due to financial debacles via the layman's choices of interest. I must say the line had major potential of being massive and tremendous, shame it didn't get that far They are prehistoric beasts from the age reptiles and are giants similar stature of classical titans. There was only 2 figures in the series...YES...ONLY TWO...that's how "distant" this series got and yes I'm being sarcastic there The couple of monsters were Hammertail and the other was Crackarm! They had some very different names but it was very suitable for their gimmicks and action features. Their sculpting was quite good and even by today's standards they still stand out in a nice display making the novice ask "Whoa, how are those guys"! They display so well with other great figures from that time period such as MOTU & InHumanoids and really figures from the 90s and even the 2000s, I mean IMO they are very versatile and surprisingly acceptable in just about any monster, superhero etc. setting! Unfortunately they never had a cartoon or anything like that so by time they were off of the shelves at the stores they were slowly becoming more and more obscure and by time the late 90s came when the web was getting into full force they became a holy grail type of set because the majority of the public didn't know much about them as they would pop up here and there with very little information known about them. Even today at this very moment that I write this they are extremely scarce and even though there is more known and seen as of recent times, there still very little known about them as a whole compared to others and to be honest, IMO they are "still" indeed a sort of holy grail type of series, even arguably more than My previously seen REMCO Skullman! Once in a while they pop up at the bay and as I speak Hammertail is available at somewhat good prices loose and I saw one that was NIP! However, Crackarm has been the hardest to find and I've never seen him for sale on the bay. At one point Hammertail was going in the hundreds mark but now he is only around $50 or so. IMO that's isn't bad but I'm sure that won't last long when somebody comes along that "really" wants him will snag him as quick as they can! Oh and don't think Hasbro is getting off the hook in this one either cause there's yet another controversy here

So without further ado here is My showcase of Kenner's Battle Brawlers!

Hammertail: I have always loved his look. He looks like a minotaur or something outta MOTU! Notice his gears and wires on his body. Since there wasn't any detailed back-story of this series which this would most likely make one wonder "what is really going on here ". Obviously he has tech or was engineered/manipulated by an extraterrestrial civilization way back during the Mesozoic! He moves via cut joints at the shoulders & wrists plus his horns are articulated as well as you can move them up and down, a very clever and nice touch on Kenner's part I do say so Myself His action feature is you insert his tale in the back of his head hence his name and press the button on his belly and he head-butts thus whipping his articulated tail forward. He still works wonderfully an still hits hard. His "head-tail" is removable and he stands about 9" to 10" tall!




Crackarm: Now he is My fave of the two, I love his skin-tone. Notice he possibly has the same origins as his foe Hammertail however, I think it is possible he maybe a interdimensional monster with serious biology experimentation issues hence his bones of his frame and the rest of his demonic physique! He has wrist cuts for articulation. Now his action feature is different. He has removable arms and you stretch them out and press the buttons on either of his side and walla, he punches, headlocks and bear-hugs his opponents with his articulated limbs and thank goodness his still works nice! He is slight taller than Hammertail!





Together: Ah, finally here they are simultaneously! I have battled these guys many times back in the day with each other plus other figures, they are very fun!







SPECIAL GALLERY!

Copyright: Yep, love'em! This time no Kenner one though



Last Remaining Pics: Now these are some of the very few pics that I saw online of the artwork. I got'em and edited them together!



Battle Brawlers compared with Mattel's MOTU Prince Adam: Oh boy, they are so fun with MOTU! See how they are size-wise compared to My go-to guy



Battle Brawlers compared with Imperial's Godzilla 1985: They also fit in great within kaiju displays. The awesome Godzilla 1985 that My Grandpa got Me while he was on a big trip in Kansas City, MO (I showcased him long ago and told the whole story & more back then) is a bit out of scale but with exceptions it looks good plus there is other kaiju figures from that era and later that is similar in scale that they can be in!



Battle Brawlers with KENNER'S Alien & Predator: Now, this is a very different one and probably not many people if any at all has done this but I have put together some fan fiction of Mine thus making the Battle Brawlers in the same universe as Alien & Predator! Since these guys seem more "alien" and "cybernetic" than an earth-born species to Me, I thought that it was very apropos to put them with My huge Kenner Alien & Predator display, one day when I get to the 90s, I will showcase them heavily but in the meanwhile here is just an example of them together in their new found friends in this very unbelievable canon of Mine



SUPER SPECIAL Hasbro Disputation:

Battle Brawlers & InHumanoids: We're here again Here they are compared with Hasbro's InHumanoids that I just showcased the other day They look great compared with them and fan fiction they could make a rather weird, fun and exciting crossover



Battle Brawlers & Battle Beasts: Now here is when the fun is halted. I you have been reading and following what I have been saying over the course of a year and especially recently then you know what this concerns. Here is yet another example of what I have been talking about for so long now. Battle Brawlers came out in 1986...just only a few short weeks ago I had a very unique showcase which was a very emotional one of Hasbro's Battle Beasts that came out IN 1987! While they actually have a back-story and such, their appearances are quite similar but they are tiny in scale compared to them. Now sometime ago and just mere months ago, I read some comments of some people whom surprisingly actually saw and knew these great lines and saw the same similarities that I did and I was like, I'm glad I'm not alone here! Well, there is more of this Hasbro situation and the ultimate one is yet to come



SPECIAL VIDEOS!

So here is a couple videos and I was actually surprised there was any around but I was able to find was two of them.

The toy commercial, at least they had one and it was cool too



Here is a young man talking about the series and specifically about Hammertail. Its rather short at about only 4 minutes but it's good. He actually says some of the stuff that I did too!



That's it for now, I actually can't believe I showcased My Battle Brawlers already Oh we shall see what's next, until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

Hmmm, weird, I have no recollection of these and 1986 would've been right in my toy wheelhouse. I must say, Crackarm may've had different undertones in the city I grew up in, lol.



They are cool looking character designs. A shame they didn't go farther. Could've been a neat American kaiju line.