My Vintage Wrestling Collection: NO HOLDS BARRED!!!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Galoob & OSFTM Comparison: Yep, this is a taste of things to come, next I will show My Original San Francisco Toy Makers WCW Figures! They are My favorite wrestling figures of all. I hope you have enjoyed this huge Galoob WCW showcase.



Until next time, I'll see you around

[AcidDragon]

Nice! That's awesome you actually have the ring! I still have a few of these. I have Sting, Flair, Lex as you have there and I think Rick and Scott Steiner, Barry Windham, Sid and Arn Anderson.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Nice! That's awesome you actually have the ring! I still have a few of these. I have Sting, Flair, Lex as you have there and I think Rick and Scott Steiner, Barry Windham, Sid and Arn Anderson.

Thanks dude Yes, thank goodness I still do Cool that you got the same guys as well Stay tuned for tons more

[BrandonDaCollector]

NOTE; Make sure you see My small preview of OSTM in My previous post

Oh boy here we go, finally I am going to showcase the WCW figures made by The Original San Francisco Toymakers (OSTM) starting in 1994! These are My favorite wrestling figures of all in My collection. I know they really get a bad rap for whatever reason in recent years but when I got them things were very different in a much simpler (and better) era in 1995 - 1997. Now, WCW was really coming to be the number one wrestling federation thanks to "Billionaire Ted" Turner and Eric Bischoff overpowering the WWF (today's WWE) with star power, special attractions and the like that made WCW become the most infamous wrestling company ever seen. Despite already being an established organization many years prior with all kinds of media such as video games & comics and even really decent action figures in 1990 (as see previously within My great collection) WCW was still upcoming as a whole. With that being said, when WCW got the brass ring and ran with it, they sort-of rebooted their-selves in several ways and one of the those directions was with their merchandise including action figures and with history repeating itself (like it always does in wrestling) they got a company that would make awesome LJN-like action figures around the same time period only about a decade or so later. As you know, I am very disappointed and heavily regret about My LJN debacle but collecting these guys to Me was like a second chance and it even had a few of the same wrestlers to boot! The fact of the matter is, I don't understand why anybody would complain about these figures that loved LJN because they were like them and kinda like a continuation of that type of style. This company also made them similar like the ones like Galoob did and as they were non-poseable yet very realistic (I think but don't quote Me on it but I believe the OSTM was part of Galoob thus now being owned by Hasbro when they bought them in 1998?). Keep in mind that Hasbro's WWF figures licence had run out about the time when these figures were being released so the WWF didn't have competition till 96 when they got Jakks Pacific to make new figures.

My Grandma & My Mom got Me these guys when I was young. The figures are like a soft to hard rubber and are in 7" scale but range from different heights as that are real scale towards each other ranging from 5" to 8". They are all very detailed and painted good. I am always kicking My self for not taking care of My LJNs but I did wrestle these OSTM a bit but I patched them up and IMO they still look good. So as usual you will see paint marks & scruffs and worn areas. I am not presenting them in series order but will have the variants with the variants and so on and with brief commentary as well. OK, without further ado, here they are in lots of pics!

NOTE: I have the ring but I have misplaced the cage. It was very similar like the Galoob set.

CLASSIC WCW

Hulk Hogan V1: This is great depiction of The Hulkster in his now more slender physique. He came with a WCW Championship belt that is removable. It really was inspired by the previous WCW title and would be corrected with the Monday Nitro series (I will showcase them in Part 2!) He is one of the tallest of all of the figures.



Hulk Hogan V2: This I believe was the first ever Hogan figure with his pants/street clothes on. This was made in a much harder material as opposed to the really rubbery previous Hogan. Still a great likeness however.



"Macho Man" Randy Savage: This is such a great figure of him arguably the finest ever. The pose is dynamic and the sculpting is tremendous! He is of a hard very rubber



"The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart: This figure has a real special place in My HART because I was in the hospital (long story, don't want to get into it) and I was talking on the phone with My Grandma and she surprised Me when she got there that she got Me Jimmy Hart (along with others, more on that soon) and she explained to Me that he was extremely hard to get. She had the guy working at Target get a case of the WCW figures out from the stock room and had him open up several boxes of them and there WAS ONLY 1 JIMMY HART! He is one of My prized & cherished figures that I have in any of My collections. His sculpting is superior and is really accurate in scale & appearance and is made very rubbery!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Sting V1: He is really a good version and I love his face. Reminecent of the Galoob version and is really soft.



Sting V2: Now, this version with the jacket is nearly identical to the second version by Galoob (that I never could obtain) and I find it rather odd that OTSM chose to make this depiction as well. Like Hogan, he is of a hard rubber.



Ric Flair V1, 2 & 3: These are really nice versions of "The Nature Boy" and really show the progression of his age since his Galoob figure. All figures are made different as the first one is very soft compared to the other two however the second version is My favorite version of the three.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Big Van Vader: This is really a good version of Vader and size depiction is great as well as Jakks & Mattel would have problems with his size years later. Not to long after his figure was made, he was gone from the company and on his way to the WWF!



Johnny B. Badd: This is a good figure and IMO still rivals Jakks later version of him as "Wild Man" Marc Mero. He looks great and is of a decent stature and of a soft rubber. Like Vader, not long after his figure was made, he was gone from the company and on his way to the WWF!



"The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan: Along with first editions of Hogan, Sting, Flair, Vader and Johnny B. Badd, Sullivan was one of My first WCW figures that My Grandma got Me at Target. His size is really good and the expression, sculpting & likeness is great. I am always a bit disappointed however because this figure was made during his time with the Three Faces of Fear and NOT the Dungeon of Doom (DoD was My fave wrestling stable of all-time) but its of a rather classic look for him none the less.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray: Ah, here is another cherished one that My Grandma got Me when I was in the hospital. These guys came together in a 2-pack as a tag team and were almost as rare as Jimmy Hart. The size between the two real life brothers is very good and their overall appearance is rather decent.



The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags & Brian Knobs) V1: The other tag team that was in series 1 and that My Grandma got Me while I was in the hospital. I was so happy that day when she got Jimmy Hart, Harlem Heat and the Nasty Boys! The size & sculpting is great and the paint is superb and they even have their tattoos!



The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags & Brain Knobs) V2 & V3: My Mom got Me these along with the the two versions of Flair, Macho Man and some others at K-B which I just loved that store. These guys look the same basically just with just different colored attires which are really dandy.

[BrandonDaCollector]

"The Total Package" Lex Luger: Like his counterparts Ric Flair & Sting, you can see see the progression of changes & similarities of the years that have gone by by Galoob & and in real life. This version of Luger is basically, like his real life self at the time is a generic identity of his former "Real American" persona seen in the WWF from 93 - 95. His physique his tremendous and the sculpting is really good and the paint is also. He is of a soft rubber.



The Giant: Yes, this was the first figure ever of the Giant/The Big Show/Paul Wight! I always found it  rather odd that he never had a beard on his figure. I absolutely loved the size of him as he is the tallest & largest of all of the figures within the entire series! He has a great expression and is clearly THE GIANT!



Big Bubba Rodgers: A great likeness indeed. His size is actually pretty good as is his height as he is almost as tall as Hogan. His hat is not removable and he is a really hard rubber.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Sgt. Craig "Pittbull" Pittman: An different entry in the series when there were other choices I'm sure to be available in the set. A possibly unfamiliar wrestler (even at the time in of the heyday of this series) who has since long been retired. Pittman had a promising career in WCW but really didn't go anywhere. The stance, sculpting & likeness is really good and he is of hard plastic.



"Das Wunderkind" Alex Wright: Another unusual choice for the series then again he was getting lots of attention for a long while being undefeated and beat top names. This figure is really good with a cool sculpted jacket. The sculpting of his overall likeness is top notch and is in a similar pose & feel like Pittman.  



The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal & Earl Robert Eaton): This was a surprise tag team for Me as I really didn't expect them to be an entry in the line at all. This was actually and unfortunately the last new & original team OSTM would make for the series. The size between the two is good and really sculpted wonderfully. The likenesses are good and both are made of a hard rubber.

[BrandonDaCollector]

NWO!

"Hollywood" Hulk Hogan & "Macho Man" Randy Savage: This was one of the last figure variants & teams that they made before moving on to their experimental ideas (more on that in part 2!) for future lines. They are basically the same figures as previously seen but just with premature/early NWO colors and still appearing as babyfaces rather than the actual top heels that they are.  



NOTE: Unfortunately I never got the two pack of Black & White "Crow" Sting and the Red & Black "Crow-Wolf Pack" Sting to go with the NwO Hogan & Macho.