This commercial is predictably from the DVD I made last month and is possibly one of my favourites. I don't remember Stretch X Ray as a kid but as an adult collector, I must have had five of these. I couldn't pass him up! Stretch Monster on the other hand, is the one that always got away.....
One more day until the World's Greatest Mego Convention.
You have to find something positive about dressing up like a K-Mart Cafeteria worker....
These bring me back, I can remember watching "Charlie Chan and the Chan Clan" on my neighbour's wall back in 1977. They had played with it so much that all three siblings were saying the dialogue in unison, kind of strange.
Two thoughts entered my mind, one was "Who is Charlie Chan?" and the other was "Wouldn't it be neat to be able to play cartoons any time you wanted?". On a recent car trip, my son got to watch the entire run of "Jason of Star Command", he doesn't know how good he has it.....
While I never had this great set, I ogled it dozens of times in the amazing GI Joe Adventure Team Viewmaster set. So much to love in this thing; ropes, rifles and reptiles!
That title sounds like the coolest cartoon we never got but it's just the contents of the 1979 Mattel catalog, this time focusing on all the cool Shogun Warriors and Godzilla merchandise at the time. Launching fists, pre transformable mecha and Godzilla gets himself a gang.
I just heard the sad news that Bobby Ash aka Uncle Bobby passed away on May 20th. For nearly twenty years he was the host of the "Uncle Bobby Show" (later renamed Kids Corner) on CTV.
The above autographed picture is from my collection, I met Bobby at a mall in '74, probably my first celebrity encounter. Apparently the show didn't pay well and Bobby was also a school bus driver and did children's parties to make ends meet.
It was your typical kids variety show with magicians, hippies with guitars, a singing policeman (whose son I befriended in high school), puppets, a lady who played with clay and Bimbo the Birthday the Clown, a wooden clown who had a slight creep factor. You'll be missed Bobby!
I'm a little young to have experienced the Partridge Family when they originally aired but they ruled Channel 29 with their many reruns and cartoon spinoffs. So I kind of think this merch from 1973 is neat, although I am upset about the absence of anything relating to Reuben Kincaide.
Believe it or not the head on this Susan Dey doll is to scale....
There will be more sequels in this series than Planet of the Apes
Another one from my new DVD this time it's the awesome Six Million Dollar Man's boss, Oscar Goldman with his fancy sportcoat and exploding briefcase. I spent hours with that thing!
Here we have a small snippet of my childhood, if asked which bedspread I wanted there is no doubt in my mind that the six year old me would have chosen Star Trek. I was forced to watch it every Saturday morning when my sister had a fleeting crush on William Shatner (she now shivers when you mention that) and I became hooked for life.
My mother would have bought the Sesame Street set, maybe due to her hatred of Science Fiction or maybe just to keep me a kid a little while longer. Either way, I have no umbrage about this but in a small way by denying the trek, you fostered my geek drive mom......
Here's the perfect solution if your teenage daughter starts dressing alike with her boyfriend too soon, simply use a Robert Reed style chaperone to keep an eye on their hi-jinx.
I got sent a link to this amazing piece by Dusty Abell last night and just had to showcase it today. This is pretty much how things looked in my six year old mind, I'm truly floored and need to get a copy of this somehow for my toyroom.
I had no idea Mattel was so watch friendly, not only can you get Big Jim, Barbie and Hot Wheels watches as well. The Big Jim He-Man watch is probably my favourite though, I wonder if Mattel licensed a He Man watch ten years later?
From 70's toy explosion, is that Dick Cavett narrating? More commercials on the way....
It's hard to believe that Star Wars is now thirty years ago, thanks to polyester pal the Intergalactic Pimp, we have cool scans of those Kenner Star Wars product catalogs that used to be inserted in the Playsets, so many happy memories, I used to carry one of these with me everywhere.
Sorry I screwed up the link this morning, it's working now.
Thanks to the recent upgrade at the Megomuseum, Plaidstallions now has a toy forum, come check it out.
Try waking up to these! Actually the woman on the right looks pretty good even today, the one on the left looks like my aunt after a clown threw up on her.
In toy related news, I've made a DVD of the 16mm commercials in my collection and to cover the costs I am selling extras for a brief time. It features Stretch Monster, Six Million Dollar Man, Mego Superheroes, Star Trek and a lot more, Check it out here.
I don't collect it now but man the Big Jim Camper pictured on this page just rocked my world back in '74. I remember drooling over that boat and buggy set. Early Big Jim is just so representative of the early 70s, you can't get more peaceful than a guy who goes fishing. I still have my talking Big Jim backpack and it works, I should try and put some files of it up here.
Oddly enough, I saw a boxed Camper at an antique mall on the weekend, my four year old practically begged me for it. Big Jim has still got it I guess.
It's amazing how our perceptions of computers have changed in one generation, although this is still what I think of when I hear the word "computer" my kids would likely think it's a dishwasher. Another toy to add to my ever growing wantlist.
That is the greatest catalogue copy ever, let your light shine? Having worn a jumpsuit once (It was Halloween) I think a better tagline would be "Proudly display your genitals in a binding jumpsuit" but that's probably why I don't write catalogue copy for a living.
Oh Shit, I do.....
Although Battlestar Galactica is a hit show nowadays, the series that had the better toys was the original. So take a journey back to when Cylons were men in suits, and Starbuk was a dude to the cool toys that got made and the cooler ones that didn't.
They're back, louder than before and out for blood!
For those not in the know, the Man-Mates brand is the single greatest clothing line ever.
That Big Bird coat could have been used as the killer in a middle seventies slasher film, it's that unnerving
However, I won't hear a bad word about these cookie monster mitts, thems is cute!
