Space-Age Spaceware

I'm loving this article from a 1979 issue of Starlog highlighting some of the cooler space age toys coming out that year. The only bummer to this is that two foot Galactica never made it to market but seriously should have....

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ROM joins Action Man

A year after Parker Brothers launched ROM in the US, Palitoy their UK distributor, inserted him into their Action Man Space Rangers line which is, a really good idea.

I have to assume one of the challenges of selling ROM was that he was a pricey stand alone action figure made by a company that primarily sold board games. I'm sure Palitoy got him on more store shelves by making him part of the team.

More Rom

1979 Parker Brothers ROM Press Kit

Presenting RON: Spacepimp

Presenting the latest (and long overdue) release by Odeon Toys, RON:Spacepimp one of our mascots, RON  is a limited edition 8 inch action figure in the 70s Mego style. He comes complete with genuine vintage threads (real thrift store clothing was murdered to create each figure) and bustling with Kirby dots! 



Every one of the twelve action figures comes on this clamshell card, so he can be displayed MOC or..




being smooth. Warning, we are not responsible for action figure impregnation, we're also not sure if that's a thing.

Special thanks to Steve M for the fabric, Chad Gordy for the head work and the amazing Theressa for the sew magic!

Limited to twelve units, RON:Spacepimp will be available at the Mego Museum mall. Once they're gone, they're gone!

Coming in October:

1979 Parker Brothers ROM: SpaceKnight Press Kit

One of the biggest splashes in the toy industry is when game (and nerf) giant Parker Brothers decided to make an action figure.

Not just any action figure but an electronic space hero with bells and

whistles not seen before. Rom was truly a toy ahead of his time and while he didn't prove to be the smash that Parker Brothers hoped, thanks to a relationship with Marvel comics, he became a much beloved comic book character.

Click Here to read all of the 1979 ROM Press Kit

More ROM stuff:

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Rom: Spaceknight gets some love

Lynch sent me this fantastic image of Rom, it's the same one used for the "Marvel: Live and In Person" flier but it's a better version of it, showing the whole outfit, which I have to say looks really good. Lynch was lucky enough to see Rom twice and makes mention of his voice :

"At first, ROM’s voice sounded too much like Darth Vader so they had to tweek it. It sounded like a Cylon Centaurion here. I saw ROM at a San Diego Comicon in 1981 and his voice was normal, so maybe Marvel thought they would get sued from George Lucas or Glen A. Larson (Battlestar Galactica) so they did away with it."

Cool info and photo, thanks Lynch!

Send me your mall appearance photos!

Rom Com

I find it really funny that ROM's tie in comic book would prove to be the more popular item and actually the thing folks remember more than the toy line. I doubt either gentlemen at this meeting thought that would be the case at the time.

 

For more ROM visit the 1979 Parker Brothers Electronics Catalog

1978 Parker Brothers Electronics Catalog

Parker Brothers was already a household name for board games and in the 1970s, like a lot of other toy manufactureres, they were attempting to the name in the growing electronic game market.

Competition was fierce but Parker in 1979 had some memorable concepts like Merlin and Wild fire Pinball. While ROM: Spaceknight was a cool concept (and an even better comic book) it didn't get the sales it probably deserved. Click on the pages for a better view of the 1979 Parker Brothers Electronics Catalog.

Other Fun Links:

Rom Space Knight Trading Card

The Age of Rom has come!

Card #23 is Rom: Space Knight by Parker Brothers

Rom is such an iconic piece of 70s lore and I find it funny how many people tell me they never knew he was a toy! That's because while Parker Brothers did an admirable job of marketing the toy, Marvel did an even better job with Rom as a comic. That book lasted until I was in high school!

I was one of those kids who never saw ROM in toy stores, as this card shows, he was pretty pricey for 1979, that may have been why.

In the UK, they made ROM part of the action man line, which made a lot of sense.

Rom deserves a comeback, come on Hasbro and Marvel, get it together!

More Retro Superhero Appearance

T.J. sent in this terrific shot of Spider-Man at the Canadian National Exposition (We call it the CNE) in 1979, I love Spider-Man's medallion!. What's cool about this is T.J. and I were friends in high school, check out his great blog here.

Chris Franklin sent in this awesome flyer for a couple of appearances at Hills stores, Captain America and Rom: Space Knight at one and Spider-Man Goblin at the other. Chris saw the Spider-Man Goblin fight, good choice.

Here is a great memento, Spider-Man's autograph, Chris tells me that you should not hand Spider-Man a Batman pen to sign with, sound advice.

Got a Superhero appearance picture? Drop a Line, I'd love to feature it.

World's Coolest Cage Match

Alien VS ROM: Spaceknight

That would have made Steve Austin VS Bigfoot look like a tickle fight, I somehow feel cheated I never got to play this as a kid....

Spiderman and His Amazing Friends

Fun addition to the site today, it's a Marvel comics brochure from 1982 that details their service of providing Superheroes to your next event. Want Spider-man, Destro and ROM: Space Knight to visit your mall? This is the sales kit you'd recieve and it's pages of fun shots of actors dressed as Marvel Superheroes and some iconic toy characters from the past.

If anyone has childhood pics of a mall visit such as this, I want them! Send them to me and I'll send you a prize pack.

I wanted to play Destro but I'm too smooth chested....

This may be a Mall costume but I like it better than the recent movie doom.

Seeking Dire Wraiths

I think Rom might be the only action figure created by Parker Brothers (depends on what you think Nerf Man is). Released before it was legal for toys to have animated series, Rom had his own Marvel comic and what a comic! Much like the Mego Micronauts, the Marvel team would produce a book that would far outlast the toy itself.

I remember getting that first issue and being PUMPED to buy the ROM doll, of course, I never saw it at retail. Rom's creator has a website that gives some back story into the toy's creation, check it out here.