Colouring Book Theatre: Flash Gordon

Colouring Book Theatre is back and I'm happy to announce that for the next two segments we have a guest reviewer (which means I'm still snug in my Sunday morning bed) , here to take us to the world of Mongo is a man who knows the terrain, Jason Lenzi from Bif Bang Pow! will show us the highlights from this classic colouring book:

‘ADVENTURES OF FLASH GORDON’ Coloring and Activity Book, by Rand McNally, 1979.

Filmation’s ‘Flash Gordon’ animated series from 1979 has a special place in my heart. It was a Saturday morning addiction, and as a kid I collected all the action figures and ships that Mattel put out, and anything else I could get my hands on. When the live action movie came out in 1980 I nearly burst with excitement, only to be profoundly disappointed there were no toys released from it. (It took over 25 years, but I’m proud to say I finally got my ‘Flash Gordon’ movie toys).

I remember walking to the drug store up the street from where I lived, thumbing through this coloring book for about 3 weeks, until I finally got the 60 cents needed to buy the thing. I treasured it, and colored every page and did every activity. Many years later I found a mint version of the book and grabbed it, along with two others I never knew existed. All the artwork is based on the Filmation series, and the ‘activities’ are super cool. Check it out:

Wow! What a Page One shot of Zarkov’s ship, right from the show opening, blasting right out of the book.

Yes, they ARE good friends. Which is why Flash and Dale can share clothes whenever they want.

A Metal Man! How cool is THIS design? I loved these guys, and was always mad they never made them as action figures. Can someone out there please make me a custom?

Look, we all know one of our formative crushes as kids was Ornella Muti as Princess Aura from the FG film. But for my money, THIS is the version of her that got my 9 year old loins burning with desire. And to be frank, isn’t that the most risque’ outfit to make it into the world of children’s animation? (Editor's Note: Just wanted to butt in and totally agree with Jason RE: Cartoon Aura, virtual high five)

Look, when you’re trapped on a strange planet being hunted by an evil despot, you want to make friends and alliances as quickly as possible. Please don’t judge, we have no idea what led up to this scene

Ok, here’s where the activities begin. A game! I mean, no one actually ever released a game for the series, so this had to do. Ok, it’s not exactly RISK, but for a nine year old, it was more challenging than Mahjong.

Ok, come on, now how wicked is this? The other side of this page had four more panels, and when put together, presto! Your very own Big Little book. (Well, with a little help from mom. I couldn’t sew as a kid, could YOU?) I must have had the collecting bug even at nine, because I remember holding off on cutting this out and making it for the longest time, thinking I should buy a SECOND coloring book to keep safe! Ha!

The Big Finish: The Make a Scene-A-Rama. Man, this was the most awesome thing ever. Again, I took my time, but dammit I made this and displayed it for ages. The background also doubled for use with the Mattel figures. This book only confirmed for me that ‘Flash Gordon’ was the greatest show on television, bar none.

I always liked the books that gave you more for your money. Punch Out and Make It books, activity books, Cut Out and Make It’s , etc…, and the ‘Adventures of FG’ didn’t disappoint. The others in the series are more standard coloring books, but this baby is the Holy Grail. And it’s as fresh to me today as it was all those years ago sitting on the rack at Payne Ivy Drug Store.

Thanks Jason for the epic review, check back next week when Jason is going to take a look at the Raiders of the Lost Ark Colouring Book!

Previously reviewed Colouring Books

If you have a colouring book you'd like to guest review, I'd like to hear from you!

The Last Star Fighter Action Figure Line

Seeing as the film was released on Blue Ray and DVD this week, I thought it would be fun/sad to take a look at the action figures we got screwed out of when the film was in theatres.

As the Star Wars franchise started to slow down with the finality of "Return of the Jedi", Hollywood scrambled for another big Science Fiction franchise and "The Last Starfighter" looked like it was the one. The movie tied in America's love of video games with an honest to goodness space adventure, it was also the first movie to use CGI effects. Licensors lined up, Atari had video games ready, Marvel did a tie in comic and Galoob was ready to unleash a line of action figures. Sadly the film was a disappointment and the line never saw release, here is what we missed out on.

Click Here to Visit the PlaidStallions Last Starfighter Gallery

More Space Action Figures:

Breaking: BiffBangPow! to Release Venture Brothers Toys

It's an epic day in toyland, while it's not neccesarily a retro property, Venture Brothers sure as heck feels like one and in addition, I consider it to be one of the best shows on TV currently:

Manufacturer and Cartoon Network Enterprises Announce a New Line of Action Figures, Bobble Heads, and Vehicles Based on the Adult Swim Series, The Venture Bros.LOS ANGELES, CA (January 7, 2010) – Bif Bang Pow! and Cartoon Network Enterprises, the licensing and merchandising arm of Adult Swim, blast off for action with today’s partnership announcement that will bring to market a brand-new line of toys based on the popular animated series The Venture Bros. One of the most highly sought after product lines from Adult Swim’s library, The Venture Bros. collection from Big Bang Pow! will feature an array of articulated action figures, bobble heads, and vehicles, each embodying that distinctive action-comedy mix that has become synonymous with the series.First to be released from the line is a series of 7-inch scale resin bobble heads targeted for spring 2010. Action figures are scheduled to hit the market in the summer of 2010. These fully-articulated figures will include the series most popular and recognizable characters including Dr. Venture, The Monarch, Brock Samson, Hank & Dean Venture and more. Several exclusives are also in the works.

More detailed information about the products will be made available in the coming weeks."We've been courting The Venture Brothers for quite some time now, and we're beyond excited to finally bring fans what they want: a range of fully articulated action figures and bobble heads," said Jason Lenzi, CEO of Bif Bang Pow! "With the ever-expanding cast of characters in the Venture universe, the possibilities are endless. And, as always with Bif Bang Pow!, expect the unexpected!"“A toy line based on The Venture Bros. has been a long time coming but we now have the ideal partner on board to bring these characters to life," said Christina Miller, senior vice president, CNE. "With their distinct style and love for the series, the team at Bif Bang Pow! has created an impressive line that will excite our fans and meet their discerning tastes."The Venture Bros. creator Jackson Publick, who has been working closely with Bif Bang Pow! on the planning and creation of the toy line, adds, "Finally. It's about time someone made some action figures based on the show. This is going to be great!"

About Bif Bang Pow!Bif Bang Pow! (bifbangpow.com) produces first-rate collectibles for such popular properties as Dexter, Lost, Californication, The Venture Bros., The Twilight Zone, The Big Lebowski, and Flash Gordon. Founder Jason Lenzi is a seasoned television producer and the ultimate fan of cultish pop culture. So when he created his company in 2005, he took the fan's perspective. His idea was to bring items to the marketplace that he himself would want to own. Cultivated from TV, movies, books, comics, music, and more, Bif Bang Pow!’s mission is to provide high-quality action figures, toys, and collectibles to the massive cult audience (and kids of all ages) that wishes these toys were already in their collection. Bif Bang Pow! is a unit of JLA Direct, LLC.

About Cartoon Network EnterprisesCartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) is responsible for building consumer products and merchandising programs for a wide range of brands by securing and supporting long-term licensing partnerships across all categories. As the global branding and merchandising arm of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, the division manages the consumer product programs for the networks’ award-winning original programming, brands and characters including Ben 10, The Secret Saturdays, Chowder, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Adult Swim and more. CNE also serves as a third party licensing agent through strategic partnerships with Nelvana Enterprises and Spin Master for the award-winning Bakugan brand, CAKE Entertainment and Fresh TV for the hit Total Drama franchise and the PGA of America for the youth marketplace.Adult Swim (AdultSwim.com), launched in 2001, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s network offering original and acquired animated and live action series for young adults. Airing nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (ET, PT), Adult Swim shares channel space with Cartoon Network, home to the best in original, classic and acquired programming for children and families, and is seen in 97 million U.S. homes.Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Here's hoping that they get Dr. Orpheus to do the prototypes, he gets it. (see clip)

Beyond Tomorrow, Beyond Recycled

I love stuff like this, in the mid seventies Sears marketed this "Beyond Tomorrow Lunar Space Station" play set with three handpainted "alien" figures that were clearly supposed to be Kirk, Spock and Uhura. What's more weird is this seems to be originally an MPC playset based on the Gerry Anderson Puppet series "Fireball XL5" and the listing even goes as far as to call it an XL5. Crazy stuff like this is what makes toy collecting fun.

When Dandies Come A-Courting

To win the hand of the lovely Irene, these gentlmen will need to settle their differences with Backgammon!

Heroes of the American Revolution

I could be wrong as I'm Canadian but I'm not sure any kid ever thought "I wish I had a John Paul Jones doll", this seems like bicentennial overload. If you had these as a kid and thought up exciting adventures for Ben Franklin like "The secret of the Bi-Focal Wearing Mummy's Tomb", please correct me in the comments section.

As an adult collector of Mego however, I kind of think these guys are kind of neat in a fun "Dimestore" kind of way.

You Call the Shot

And while you are doing that your friend is totally checking out your hinder and from the look of things, he's impressed.

More Fisher Price Store Displays

Brian from Ant-Toys strikes again!,we last heard from him when he sahred his amazing find of 1970s Fisher Price Adventure People Store Displays and now he's back to share some toy history, this time it's about other FP lines like Muppets and Little People:

I still have a few of these Little People vehicles kicking around, this display is more awesome because it's filled.

And of course, FP was all about the Muppet Show for a good long while, I do remember this header card from department stores back in the day.

FP's Muppet show action figures are just killer, I had the Gonzo but I honestly never used the little puppet stick it came with.

I vaguely remember these, not something I was into mind you.

Brian has a lot more store displays up for grabs today including later Little People and Disney's Gummi Bears line. So check out his Ebay Store sometime today for all of the listings.

The Classic Star Trek Toy Gallery

While most children of the '70s recall the Star Trek merchandise explosion of the 1970s led by the Mego Corporation it's surprising just how much merchandise the show generated when it actually was on the air. Much of these products are so rare that they almost seemed shrouded in mystery or misinformation,

That's why we're lucky to know Trek collector extraorindaire Bruce Z. who has an a treasure trove of amazing Star Trek Merchandise and was kind enough to share it with the world. Click on the sample images below to see larger pages with descriptions:

Other Star Trek Toy Links

The 2009 PlaidStallions Retro Awards

Yep, I'm doing an awards show, except without the musical numbers (this is a good thing if you've met me), stilted humour and most of all, Billy Crystal. Just thought that instead of talking vintage, I'd point out my favourite nerdy retro treats of the last year.

Movies

Star Trek: Oh hot damn did I love this movie, which says a lot because I normally loathe origin stories and the furnace that powers my love for all things Star Trek ran out of coal in the early 1990s.

I don't agree with everything this movie did but it brought back elements of the classic series that I felt were missing in all of the spin offs. The scene of Spock transporting to Vulcan's surface gave me chills, it was Star Trek again.

I'm not sure if this is my favourite Star Trek movie but it's my favourite geeky movie of the year. The other runner up would be Watchmen but I think I'll watch Star Trek more.

Books

Despite what my wife says, I do in fact, read things longer than a diner menu. While the majority of what i read is esoteric, here are two modern books I found captivating.

First is Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory. A beautiful coffee table book tribute to one of my favourite subjects, the Universal Monsters.

Lots of wonderful photographs and insight here, I was unable to put it down. If you're a casual fan you're learn a lot, even hardcore fans will enjoy the books crisp layout, strong writing and excellent imagery.

My second favourite book of the year was published in late 2008 but I didn't discover it until 2009, so I say it counts. Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory is a fun and colourful look into a toy company that I hadn't really given a lot of thought to before.

The effect Wham-o had on our popular culture is truly amazing, these were the people brought the Hula Hoop to America, not to mention super balls, the frisbee, slip n slide and the Super Elastic Plastic bubble. Whether you're a boomer or Gen X this book will bring up happy memories.

Toys

I make it a point to not buy many new toys, concentrating on the vintage but this year was hard and it looks like 2010 will be even harder to keep that mantra. The biggest thing this year for me was the Mattel Retro Action line announcement. Which has been very carefully guided by Paul "Dr. Mego" Clarke of EMCE Toys.

They may not be exact Mego replicas but I'm getting eight inch action figures of Hall of freaking Doom members, that excites me so much I'd like to call my seven year old self and tell him the good news. I'm itching for a Plastic Man something fierce.

Arg! Character options just keeps beating me over the head with stuff that my "inner whovian" needs to own. This Cyberman wave pictured here was one of those things.

As a kid I dreamt of a Doctor Who toy line that would encompass all these strange and wonderful characters, so seeing these things makes it impossible to resist.

Next year will see more Doctors (including Sylvester McCoy!), an Ice Warrior, the Master and some other assorted baddies that will be expensive for me.

Finally, the action figure I never thought I'd see also came out in 2009. I was excited and elated that BiffBangPow! chose to do action figures from the Flash Gordon movie in the first place, even happier when they chose to do characters such as Prince Barin and Dale but when they made a death scene variant Klytus, I knew these guys were hardcore.

I was nine when I saw Flash Gordon, it overwhelmed me with it's colour and score, I was instantly in love. One of the most memorable scenes in the film was Klytus's gory death scene, I'm probably a little too happy to have this.

DVDs

I bought a few DVDs this year but three really stand out for me, the first being Mystery Science Theater 3000: XVI which not only features a little Tom Servo figurine (yay!) but a great selection of movies with honest to goodness extras.

The movie selection is great, the Italian Mad Max inspired "Warrior of the Lost World", the Mexican holiday classic "Santa Claus" (I've been torturing the kids with that one every December), a Bela Lugosi cheapie called "The Corpse Vanishes" and a selection from my favourite season "Night of the Blood Beast" with two versions.

I also have nothing but kind words for the former MST 3K crew's latest DVD "Cinematic Titanic Live: East meets Watts" which is a terrible 70s Kung Fu/Blacksplotation remake of the Defiant ones being riffed on by the masters.

I'll probably never get to see CT live unless they get to Canada (HA!) but I couldn't get over how fun this DVD is, IMO it's their best yet. Digital downloads are only $10 and it keeps them in business.

As I've mentioned earlier on the blog, the fun mid seventies Saturday morning series "The Monster Squad" got released on DVD this year as well.

It's a pretty bare bones edition with nothing by the way of extras. It wouldn't have been that hard to track down some of the cast for interviews but I'm not complaining, it's a dream come true just to have this.

Now if I could only get the Six Million Dollar Man, Man From Atlantis and the Logan's Run TV series on DVD....

Model Kits

While I have to admit to being excited over the Aurora Monster reissues this summer and fall, the big get for me this year was AMT's reissuing of their classic "Mr Spock" model kit from the late 1960s.

I have wanted to put one of these together since I was five and it was a joy to find this just in time to put it under the tree for my son, who prefers Jedi to Vulcans but loves putting kits together with the old man.

And that's it, I hoped you've enjoyed the first annual retro awards, hopefully 2010 will bring new things to talk about. I'll be doing some tastings for Liquor Pig this evening, so tomorrow's Friday Feature may be late and grumpy...

Happy New Year!

Mantooth by Baron

Well, I'm back on the wagon and I thought I'd open by sharing something that arrived just in time for Christmas, a portrait of PS spokesmodel Brick Mantooth by artist Tim Baron. I was a fan of Tim's previously for his portraits of Mego figures but I'm a sucker for Mantooth art.

One of these days I need a Black velvet Brick for my mantle and I need a mantle.

Tim also gave me a copy of his cool artbook "The Great and Terrible Dream" which I really enjoyed. The subject matter ranges from gothic horror to historical figures to Ben Cooper Halloween costumes, it's no surprise that I'd like it. It's a bargain at $7 and you can order copies at his store.

A Very Special Message From Brick Mantooth

Thanks to everybody for a great year, 2009 wasn't my greatest personally but the one thing I could look forward to were the great folks who chime in here, make me laugh, send me stuff for the site and most of all, feel the love. The experience doing this site and blog has been wonderful and rewarding. Thanks to all of you for that, may you all get Stretch Monsters and Barbie Campers under your tree this year.

Having said that, PlaidStallions will be going under it's usual Christmas drinking binge Hiatus this year, look for me to sober up some time before the new year. 2010 is already looking fun, I've got powerful things in store.

For now, I wish you all the Mantoothiest of Holidays.

-Brian

Keep watching all day for entries at the "Christmas in the 1970s" blog, people sent in some awesome shots and stories from back in the day, you can read it here.!

It's not too late to Send us your vintage Christmas pics! You could win a prize or be involved in our upcoming book "Christmas in the 1970s"!

Trouble in Paradise

Tom's thoughtlessness in choosing a hat created a rift between him and Irene, who chose to spend the rest of the day sulking in the woods and contemplating the future of their relationship.

Stunt Doll

Gabriel Toys broke the "fourth wall" of TV and movies with the Hal Needham stunt set. This fabulous toy allowed you to reenact the filming of a Saloon fight complete with break away chairs, windows and of course, a set of stairs to send our hero down. This may be one of the few incidents where the toymaker wanted you to beat up your toys ( Manglors is another)

Interestingly enough, while Needham was a veteran stuntman with a tremendous amount of screen credits he was getting more known at the time for writing screenplays for movies like "Smokey and the Bandit" and "MegaForce".

I kind of liken this toy to Ideal's JJ Armes, in that both these men were famous but not exactly household names with children resulting in only modest sales. From all accounts of people who have emailed me over the years, this toy was completely full of win.

We have another entry "Christmas in the 1970s" contest although this guy can't win the prize cause it's Me! Here is a little image and tale I call "Waiting is the Hardest Part" you can read it here.!

Send us your vintage Christmas pics! You could win a prize or be involved in our upcoming book "Christmas in the 1970s"!

Captain Fancy Pants and his Electric Merry Men

"There's trouble at the macrame store! Boys I can't promise we'll all come out of this one alive!"

We have another reader submission to the "Christmas in the 1970s" contest we're running all December. John has sent in tale of both joy and woe from 1977 revolving around a certain Mr. Armstrong, I call it "For Love of Corn Syrup", streeeetch over to the blog here!!

Send us your vintage Christmas pics! You could win a prize or be involved in our upcoming book "Christmas in the 1970s"!

Cool Thing: Popy Spider-Man

I'm currently out of colouring books to review (although expect some great stuff in January) so I thought it was high time to take a look at some of the more interesting toys to cross my path.

Our initial entry comes from Japan, land of wonderful playthings and pornography that gives me nightmares.

This doll is not based on the comic book Spider-Man, no sir, it's based on a goofily brilliant live action TV series that ran in Japan in the late seventies. The costume is the same but that's not Peter Parker under there. If you haven't already be sure to watch episodes at the Marvel comics site it saves me explaining it.

While a lot of people might use "Mego-Like" to describe this guy, he is about a head taller than the average Mego Superhero and his build is bulky like Big Jim but the body style is unique to Popy. His right arm is straight and features a winch, you pull out that webline and hook and he'll climb just like a Remco Spider-Man. His left arm is for firing things, the Japanese love this feature and I love them for it.

And look what you can shoot out of Spidey's left arm, missiles (of course), a net and rubber Spiders that fit on top of the missiles. They thought of everything! Spidey also comes with working suction cups to simulate wall crawling, this is a serious toy.

The back of the packaging is no slouch either, the one nice thing about this piece is it seems relatively obtainable. It popped up regularly and doesn't destroy your wallet when it does.

Thanks for reading my "Cool Thing" Spotlight, I'll hopefully do more in the future when and if I get something interesting to talk about.

Got a Cool Thing? Wanna do a Guest Review? Drop a Line