B,J and the Bear model by AMT

I really want to give AMT mad props for including the show's true star in the cabin. I also like to pretend that "BJ and the Bear" took place in the "Planet of the Apes" universe and Bear would eventually rise up over his oppressor.

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Get the expanded digital edition of Rack Toys here.

Collegeville's TV assortment

I love this assortment from 1969, the majority of these characters would end up on costumes for decades. Promotion for these was done on TV spots but not in the usual manner but through participation with the myriad of local kid's shows that peppered the landscape at the time. 

Here are a couple of photos:

We need to bring back cartoon show hosts...

Space:1999 Eagle on sale here

This is a promotional poster Fundimensions released for the Space:1999 Eagle, I honestly have been smitten with this vehicle since i was five. Some guys love cars, I want an Eagle....  

Pod Stallions 41 : Robots!

For our 41st episode (and 3rd of 2016 if you're keeping count) we're joined by Famous Monsters of Filmland Editor David Weiner (@tikiambassador) for a discussion of all things robotic.

We each pick and discuss our personal three favourite and least favourite mechanical men from film and television over the decades and discuss why. Along the way, we talk about toys, comics and even radio drama.

We open the show with some words about the influence David Bowie and the crummy news that January delivered.

Topics Discussed: Black Hole, Doctor Who, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Phantom Creeps, Millennium, Lost in Space, Buck Rogers, Logan's Run, Filmation, Space Academy.


Hit us up on our facebook page with your top three best and worst!

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Show notes:

• David's Famous Monster's Pod Cast can be found here.

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CHiPs Diecast vehicles

As Rack Toys go, these are a pretty solid concept.

Pod Stallions Episode 35: Kolchak the Night Stalker

It's October and that means you get two podcasts, both devoted to scary subjects.

Episode 35 is dedicated to that TV sensation of the 1970s, the amazing phenom that was Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Jason and Brian discuss the TV Movies, the subsequent series and all the amazing influence this show had. We also debate who would make a great Kolchak now.

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Starsky and Hutch Crime Fighting Set

My pal Adam from Retrodimestore, sent this in, I think it's kind of a tease to include the keys to the Torino.

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Pod Stallions Episode 28: Trek Kids 2

With last month's passing of Leonard Nimoy, we decided to pick up where we left off when last discussing Star Trek.

This episode touches upon the highs and lows of the Star Trek movie franchise, ending at part 6. We also discuss the (minimalist) 80s merchandise, conventions, films the cast did and don't hate us but neither of us are big TNG fans.


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Fun Links:

• Those Weird Galoob Star Trek V figures nobody asked for.
• The movie Jason mentioned "Pray for the Wildcats" featuring a very creepy Andy Griffith..
• The Leonard Nimoy TV Movie "Baffled"

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Dukes Mania

Dukes of Hazzard was the first time as a kid where there was a show that I watched and enjoyed but when that avalanche of merchandise arrived, I had no desire to own any of it.

Boy though in 1981, if you could think of it, you could buy it with the General Lee on it...

Charlie's Angels Beauty Set

There is nothing like the concerned face of Farrah Fawcett Majors to help you with your morning beauty routine.

I want to add that when working on the book, I couldn't find one of these flipping things, now I'm tripping over them....

Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings is a limited edition 144 page book from the creator of Plaid Stallions. Order from us and get three free promotional post cards.

More Sky Diving Parachutists

 

Ever since I mocked up a set of parachuting AHI Super Monsters last year, I've been kind of smitten and inspired to make more. I had a major spurt of creativity this summer and here is the result.

Above is a Brick Mantooth Parachutist, this was inevitable and I'll likely do a bunch of different variations for him. I wish they made plaid spray paint.

 

We got AHI Parachutist figures for Space:1999, so why not Gerry Anderson's other 70s opus, UFO? I've got Ed Straker half done right now.

 

Finally I made this for my pal and podcast partner Jason Lenzi for his birthday (delivering a full two months late) it's the first of many TV detectives I plan to make. Seriously, I'm going to make a Quincy.

More soon!

Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings is a limited edition 144 page book from the creator of Plaid Stallions. Order from us and get three free promotional post cards.

I Dream of Jeannie

I think the most interesting thing about Remco's I Dream of Jeannie line isn't that it was probably a good idea, it was that it was released years after both the original and animated series were long gone from the air waves.

Jeannie's sales were largely due to the power of syndication just like Mego Star Trek and Our Gang, the real merchandising blitz happened after the show was off the air waves. 


More Remco Joy:

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Buy, Sell or look for vintage Remco Toys at our trading post

Gamblin' with Vega$

Fleetwood marketed toys based on Vega$ which I always viewed as a "late night grown up program" as a kid. I'm especially amused at the tiny roulette table.

It kind of bugs me that Fleetwood thought Vega$ was rack toy gold but Quincy got no love...

Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings is a limited edition 144 page book from the creator of Plaid Stallions. Order from us and get three free promotional post cards.

Simon? This is Simon....over...

Oh yeah, who didn't want to be Rick and AJ? I think one of these clipped to my belt could improve my coolness factor to this day.

Although I do admit, so would an onion, a rock or one of those pine trees they sell at the gas station.

Wonder Women

How ABC didn't see how a Dolly Parton/Wonder Woman team up wasn't ratings gold I'll never know.

The 1984 Fleetwood Toy Catalog

Fleetwood Toys was a Rack Toy manufacturer famous for nabbing the hottest licenses from TV and pop culture.

For their 1984 catalog, there were a lot of new faces replacing previous characters "CHiPs" was now replaced with "TJ Hooker", instead of "The Fall Guy" we've got the antics of the "A Team", the Marvel Comics Superheroes are still there but now under the "Secret Wars" banner.

Then there are the surprises, "The Sword and the Sorcerer" was an R rated film but Fleetwood liked the brand so much they offered two pages of toys as well as "Manimal". Sure the critics destroyed it but to Fleetwood, it was worth the gamble that kids would like it.

Click on the images below to see larger pages with descriptions:

The A Team was obviously a license to print money.

One assumes the popularity of He-Man combined with childrens' ability to see R Rated movies on cable/home video influenced the decision to make toys based on "The Sword and the Sorcerer".

Fleetwood 1984 Catalog

And just a reminder, deadline for entry in our Rack Toy contest is tonight at 11pm EST. I've gotten some great ones thus far and now I'm addicted so please join in.

Fleetwood factors heavily in our new book Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings.
More Fun from Fleewood

The Visitors are our friends...

It's kind of a bummer how little merchandise the "V" television and mini series got, LJN promised some killer action figures but wound up only releasing a 12" figure.


The majority of V merchandise seems to be Rack Toys mostly made in South America (watch out for fakes) which are unrelated spaceships, pistols and these little PVC figures of the characters. Yes, this crude little guy is the closest thing the world will ever see to Marc Singer/Mike Donavan action figure.

We deserve more..
 

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More Laverne and Shirley

Another winner from Harmony, a company that is rapidly becoming my favourite Rack Toy manufacturer of all time.

This little bit of Laverne and Shirley merchandise is actually not that bad, certainly not as mind boggling as the last item we showcased from Harmony.

This one is merely some lazy repackaging of "Pearl" (in case you thought that $0.79 got you real ones) rings that likely sold moderately well, seeing as the show was huge.

We've got wounded!

Eventhough it's pictured in the 1977 AHI Catalog, I somewhat doubted this M*A*S*H emergency helicopter got made. Not because it isn't totally logical (makes a HELL of a lot more sense than this) but because toys based on M*A*S*H never seem to be all that in demand.

So, I nearly did a spit take when these came on Ebay and I acted like it was better than a MIB Venus Space Probe. Fortunately for me, I got this for a completely reasonable price. This kind of discovery gives me hope that more oddball rack toys made it out the door that I don't know about.

Charlie's Angels Catalog

Some girls toys for a change today, the 1978 Hasbro Charlies Angels catalog featuring the girls, their fashions and of course, you remember the treehouse they lived in right?