Thanks to the amazing AcroRay (link to his channel below) we have this wonderful supercut of marketing from Toy Fair 1984. PAC toys attempted to create the Lords of Light toy line from Mego Micronauts Molds and glow sticks, an ambitious and fun toy concept that sadly didn't make it to market. This rare piece shows two surviving tv spots and offers rare glimpses of the toy line that cut short too quickly. Be sure to subscribe to AcroRay's channel on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AcroRay
Christmas 1977 is such a unique period of time, every kid in the country had space toy fever thanks to a certain movie. However, no physical toys existed (the cardboard promissory note was clever but come on) meaning it was a golden age for the Ideal Star Team (hastily slapped together to captilize on the movement) and pre-existing space toys like Mego's Micronauts, Mattel's Shogun Warriors and Zee Toy's Metal Man.
This week's installment of Toy-Ventures is all about the story PAC toys and their sadly too short toyline called the Lords of Light. I get into my relationship with their creator and what might have been with this 80s toy line that ended all too quickly. Visit us online at www.plaidstallions.com Twitter: @plaidstallions
It's sadly looking like the end for Toys R Us in the United States, so let's go and focus on when it was a growing company that made for an amazing experience. This Flyer from 1980 is so jam-packed with late 1970s pop culture that every page seems to have some Incredible Hulk or Wonder Woman merchandise tucked in there somewhere, it's a real trip!
I debated whether to put this here or on the Mego Museum but considering it's a vintage photo of a toy store in Hong Kong (and let's face it, this site has an obsession with such things). This display of Mego Superhero items and Micronauts is my happy place, I drove my mother crazy looking for the 9.5" Robin on the far left. It looked just like Dick Grayson in the comics, it had to be mine. Speaking of Mego, the annual convention known as Mego Meet is this June 16-17 in Skokie, Illinois. It's our last year in the Chicago area before we move to a new state, so last call mid west! Strong chance the guy at the front desk will be me, don't let that deter you.
I recently came across this wonderful article about action figures circa 1977, it mentions Micronauts, Pulsar, Metal Man, Electroman, Stretch Monster, Shogun Warriors and their impact on the toy market place. It features interviews with not only toy buyers but toy makers from Hasbro, Mego, Zee Toys and Mattel. Seeing as these are things that haunt my dreams 40 years later, I thought it might be of interest to all of you, read on after the jump!
For our 40th episode we are joined by actor/comedian Chris Tallman (@MrChristallman on twitter) for a celebration of the Interchangeable World of the Micronauts, the classic toy line from Mego that is about to get a major motion picture and new comic book series this year. The discussion begins with the toy line's Japanese origins, it's halcyon Mego days, the influential Marvel comic book, our childhood impressions, later incarnations and then we pick out favourite toys from the line.
Today's update is a fun look at the amazing displays my pal Ray "Acroray" Miller put up at the Kruger Street Toy Museum a few years back.
I was lucky enough to see it first hand (luckily we also held Mego Meet there at the time) but for those of you who didn't, this is an incredible experience to see Ray's amazing, comprehensive collection.
Ray's display comprises of vintage toys, concept art, catalogs, Japanese Microman items, prototypes, related merchandise and the many post Mego iterations of the toys and characters. Check it out after the jump.
Warning: This could have you searching Ebay. Just sayin'
This ad is from France where then distributor "Pin Pin Toys" had good fortune with the Micronauts line, it truly was an international affair with the line enjoying good sales in Canada, the UK, German, Greece and especially Italy. This Friday our new podcast is all about the Interchangeable world of the Micronauts.
Today we feature the original toy trade catalog given to buyers when Mego launched the Micronauts in February of 1977. It's a wonderful and rarely seen piece, more after the jump.
In honour of this Friday's new podcast episode (which is about Micronauts in case you were wondering) I plan to theme this week around Mego's memorable toy line.
Above is a Christmas catalog spread from 1979, it's one of 3 pages that year. '79 was truly my big year with the line and one where all three of those glow in the dark aliens were under the tree and accidentally they taught me the truth behind Santa Claus. I'll save that story for the show.
I'm really happy to showcase this neat discovery of this lost Lords of Light toy. I've been smitten with these figures since the mid 1990s when I first found out this hidden treasure. A bit of a background on Lords of Light: After Mego Toys folded, a company known as PAC packaging (who light assembled many of your childhood favourites) got into the manufacturing game and produced several Toy lines in the early 1980s.
Lords of Light were produced using retooled Micronauts molds, with the added gimmick of having a glow stick in their chest cavity. It was all the brain child of PAC toys founder Joe Ruzzi (you can read my interview with him here)
The line had all the trappings, a comic book insert telling the story of the brave Izzurians (get it) fighting the dark evilites. There was even a big budget TV spot set to air, which thanks to my pal AcroRay I have a beautiful print of to show you below:
Unfortunately, the Lords of Light were cut short in mid launch due to company legal issues, so only the four villain figures ever saw (limited) release into the market and without the TV promotion, they simply faded away.....
The series of good guys, vehicles and even ride on vehicles just never happened and were thought lost to time, that is until Joe Ruzzi himself recently found this figure in a box:
This is Leborio and he's described as the Izzurian battle computer, he is designed to walk and according to Ruzzi, he was meant to have a slight limp.
Leborio has a removable head in order to place a glow stick in his chest cavity. I am tempted to pop one in.
The most notable element that is from the Micronauts is his head, which comes from one of my favourite characters ever produced in the line:
REPTO! I'm sure you can see the family resemblance. Hopefully more Lords of Light will finally surface!
Mego was mainly known for licensing other peoples properties but Micronauts was one of those brands they would license to other toy companies and without argument, their most successful "house brand". It even spun off cool Rack Toys like this Micro Lazer.
Our November podcast has Jason and Brian waxing nostalgic (which technically is our job) about the glory days of Starlog magazine.
Starlog magazine was how both of us first cut our nerdy teeth, a wonderful window into the world of SF and fantasy that gave us that connection. It's safe to say, this podcast owes a lot to this publication. Even if we often times asked for a brown paper bag so as to not get beat up on the way home. We review landmark issues and of course, talk about the wonderful ads that appeared over the decades. Along the way we discuss SF of the 70s and 80s, Mego toys, Blade Runner, model kits, Flash Gordon, Shatner, Jim Sterenko and most importantly Harlan Ellison's hat.
I can't believe summer's over! Being a September baby I kind of enjoyed the whole back to school season as a kid, here is me doing my best to blend into the walls of my grade school. My mother took this same picture without fail until I asked her to stop, this morning my son asked if I could not walk him to class, which i capitulated, albeit begrudgingly. So what better time to look back at the bright side of vintage back to school, lots of eye candy after the jump!
Finding weird bits of Micronauts merchandise in a catalog is to me, like finding buried treasure. Also note Pajamas featuring some guy called "The Hulk".
Mego's Micronauts is one of my favourite 70s toylines and it was so popular that it got licensed to other toy manufacturers for things like Halloween costumes, bedding and even rack toys. I've never owned a Microlazer but I wouldn't kick it out of my collection for eating crackers, just sayin'......
