The Top Ten cancelled toys of the 70s/80s

As much as I enjoyed my childhood, it sometimes pains me to think of the stuff we didn't get, for whatever boring grown up decision. Sure, some of these licensed wouldn't have sold and could have forced the companies into risky financial positions but baby Brian wants his toys dammit!
Here are the top ten cancelled toy lines that I personally weep for at every occasion:
Disclaimer: There may be some figure lines not included, this probably intentional as like all of my lists, it's a little biased. I try to be fair.,

10: V LJN planned to make action figures based on the television series V but somehow it stalled and never totally happened.

Why it Hurts It may just be my teenage crush on Jane Badler and her red spandex talking but "V" is just so seriously under-serviced in merchandise, especially when you consider the impact it had.

9) Galoob The Last Starfighter line In the race to find the next Star Wars Starfighter was probably the closest to the concept (well at least when you look at stuff like Krull or Dune), the movie did good but not great at the box office (which is still a mystery to me) so Galoob chose not to go forward with these beautiful items.


Why it Hurts Not only are the figures nice but Galoob wasn't stingy with the character selection, this movie deserved these toys.


Read the whole list here The Top Ten cancelled toys of the 70s/80s

The 2011 Plaidstallions Retro Awards

It's time once again for my fake awards show dedicated to what I feel is retro goodness of the past year. All in all, 2011 was a tremendous year for this kind of commerce, so there was lots to choose from.


I've also got some news on the book projects and changes to the site for 2012.


More After Jump

TV Comix: Man From Atlantis

As I try to scramble to get more colouring books to review, I thought I'd go through the various comic books I have based on TV shows from the seventies. It's a little side obsession of mine that I didn't even realize that I had.

I've decided to open with one of the shorter lived but memorable series from that era, the Man from Atlantis. Not the US Marvel version of the comic (although I will get to that later) but the comics done in the UK under the "Look In" banner.

For those not in the know, "Look In" was a weekly british comic that featured two page strips of popular TV shows and celebrities. During it's run it would explore homegrown series such as "Benny Hill", "The Tomorrow People" and "Space:1999". US properties would include "Logan's Run", "Battlestar Galactica" and "Buck Rogers"

One thing I love about the UK is that even though the series would die in the US, the UK audiences seemed to embrace it more. This wonderfully drawn strip features the Victor Buono lead villian Mr. Schubert which seemed to the Lex Luthor to Mark Harris.

Look In had a talented stable of artists and this Man from Atlantis strip looks superior to the Marvel book produced at the same time. I've got a lot more to share from this book.

For more on Man From Atlantis check out the
Toy gallery on the main site.

For more on Look In, check out these two fantastic and exhaustive sites The Look In Picture Strip Archive and John's Look Out both give you a glimpse of some very cool British 70's pop culture.

Man From Atlantis : The Lost Toys

An amazing update to the Kenner Man from Atlantis Page thanks to some steller contributions by Chris Georgoulias including prototype actions figures, test shots and internal paperwork from Kenner.

MFA was as close as we were going to get to a live action Aquaman series as kids and this is an insiders look at the cool toys we missed out on.

Kenner 1978 Spring Catalog

Spring Supplement Catalogs usually include things that didn't make it into the February Toyfair in a bid to make it out in time for the Christmas season. The 1978 Kenner Catalog is a prime example featuring some classic goodies and a few that just didn't make it under anybody's tree that year.

Bionic Woman, Play Doh, Star Wars, Finger Pops and much more.

What Ever Happened to the Man From Atlantis Toys?

It's not often I get to play toy detective (which is a shame because I have the hat and everything) so it was gratifying to make this discovery this week. Ever since I posted the Kenner Toy Proposals for the Man From Atlantis Line, I've wondered what the line would have actually looked like. Then I found a curious couple of pages in the far back of the 1978 Kenner Catalog that answered my question.

I am pleased to present Scuba Squad , Kenner's attempt to rebrand the toys they were making from the then cancelled series, which gives a glimpse of what might have been. Click the link to see the evidence yourself.