A world beyond fantasy

Hmmm, seems kind of smack dab in the middle of fantasy if you ask me.

While toys like Manglors, Crystar and The Other World probably likely bring back fond memories for many of you,  for me, they kind of have a bittersweet appeal.

I was teetering on being a teenager at this point in time and when toys did the big "fantasy shift" in the early 80s, I felt kind of ....left behind. It was because I was getting too old for this stuff and I knew it, it's hard to describe the feeling but I think we've all had that moment.

The early 1980s saw a lot of unique and creative toy lines and it must have rocked to be a kid.

Made from the Strangest Stuff on Earth

We're jetting forward to 1984 to take a look at Manglors, a rather unique toy offering from Ideal Toys. Manglors weren't action figures (they had no articulation) but rather a new kind of concept, made of a spongy material that stretched and apparently could be reattached. Every character in the line seemed to be a monster and their playset "Manglor Mountain" appears to be some sort of torture chamber.

I'll admit it, when I saw a Manglord with an open window in Toys R Us back in '85, I reached right in and tore off a limb to see if it worked. Boy, that confession felt good, like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders!

See the 1984 Ideal Manglors Catalog here.