Croner Buck Rogers

Courtesy of my friend Will AKA The Toltoys Kid on Instagram, I present what I believe to be one of the rarest 70s toy lines ever. The Croner Buck Rogers action figure series.

 It's so rare that I don't even know how many characters were made but I have seen a Tiger Man and this Buck, so at least two. Twiki is a safe bet too.

And while it's natural to assume this is repackaged Mego figure, it isn't. It's nearly 5.5" tall and only uses the same card art as Mego. Now, Will's site has evidence that the Mego line did make it to Australia as well but it's not know if Croner did that as well.

It's very curious that Australia would have toys so similar (even if this figure appears to have limited to no articulation) but it also happened in the United Kingdom.

I'm thrilled to finally see something that I've been curious about for so long, that's what makes toy collecting so interesting.

Thanks again to Toltoys Kid on Instagram for sharing. 

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So what happened to those Last Starfighter Prototypes anyway?

You may recall that we had featured the amazing, never produced figures from Galoob's proposed Last Starfighter toy line a while back on this blog. 

Well, they've been sold but the good thing is, you can visit them anytime you like.

I was contacted by Mike, the owner of Batcave Comics and Toys in Santa Rosa California. The last starfighter figures are now on permanent display all together at his shop for everyone to enjoy. He bought them from the original owner who was just about to separate them.

So, if you're in the area, I highly advise you to visit Batcave comics and toys and visit a little bit of toy history.

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Toy-Ventures: Tarzan or Big Jim?

Time for another Toy-Venture, this week we talk about the very underrated line of Tarzan toys produced by Mattel in 1978, actually we talk about the whole series of action figures produced that year using European Big Jim tooling. Grab a vine and join me, won't you? www.plaidstallions.com Facebook Group: Pod Stallions Instagram: Plaidstallions Twitter: @plaidstallions

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Toy-Ventures: Kamen Rider Mystery Figure

Bit of a departure this week as I'm talking about a figure I literally don't know anything about. This mysterious figure is from Portugal, appears to have been made in the late 1970s and is clearly based on the Kamen Rider tv series from Japan.

The big question is why? Why make a very nice unlicensed action figure of a character nobody in Europe has seen? Who released this? I really don't know if we'll ever find out.

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Toy-Ventures 16: Metal Man by Zee Toys

The subject of this weeks Toy-Ventures is one of the coolest and most underrated action figure lines of the 1970s, the "Metal Man" series by Zee Toys (AKA Zylmex). 

The Metal Man line had no TV advertising, no print campaign but thanks to its excellent design and timing (arriving at the same time as the Micronauts and Star Wars) it ran well into the 1980s and never added a single figure. We discuss the line's charms and it's ongoing popularity with collectors and look at my meager collection. 

If you're so inclined, we've included an eBay link so you can window shop: https://tinyurl.com/y6b8wc2a 

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Toy-Ventures 10: Slade Super Agent from Shindana Toys

This week's installment of Toy Ventures is all about one of the coolest action figures of the 1970s, Slade: Super Agent by Shindana. 

We talk about Slade but also a little bit about the company that was Shindana toys and how they changed the landscape for the better. 

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Toy-Ventures 8: The Martian Chronicles

This week's installment of Toy-Ventures is all about the action figures produced by Larami for the 1980 TV mini-series "The Martian Chronicles", just how does a mini-series get an action figure line the first place? We'll try to explain. 

You can check out our gallery of Martian Chronicles Toys Here. 

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Toy-Ventures 6: Star Blazers toys by Nomura

This week's installment of Toy-Ventures is all about the amazing action figure line based on the Television series we knew as "Star Blazers". 

I get into my personal love of this series and why this is the toyline I wish I could have had as a kid. 

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Toy-Ventures 3- The Sonic Man and Sonic Woman by Tomland

 This week's episode examines the Tomland toys Sonic Man and Sonic, who look suspiciously like a certain Bionic Couple we all know and love. We also delve into Tomland's history of ripping off some of the 1970s most popular tv and movie properties. 

 You can see more Tomland toy merchandise at this site: www.tomlandmonsters.com

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It's Charlie's Angels!

Only in the 1970s were "crimefighting" and "Skateboarding" put together logically.

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Sweathogs Classroom

I wish more records were included with playsets, I think it adds a neat quality. 

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ERTL Star Trek 3 Klingon Prototype Found!

I've talked about the ERTL Star Trek 3 figures before and I especially love this press photo of the handmade mockups. While the Kirk, Spock and Scottie are obviously repainted Mego The Motion Picture figures, I always wondered what the Klingon figure was. 

Well, today I got that answer, more after the jump:

Exciting Toys from the Star Wars Series

This nice ad from Zayres (wish i had the whole flyer) is from Christmas 1983 and I'm guessing by that point, I had jumped off the wonderful train that was Star Wars. 

I still read the Marvel comic mind you but I honestly don't recognize or remember that mini-rig or the plush Ewoks at all. I hope it brings joy to those that do. 

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Mr. Action

I had so many Mr. Action outfits for my GI Joes and I had no idea. I  assume that I got most of those sets before I could read.

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The Last Star Fighter Prototypes Found

This past week I got one of those emails that I just absolutely live for and that is from the owner of the hand painted set of prototype figures for the Last Star Fighter. Pictured about is the original catalog page we showed here. 

Originally proposed by Galoob, these figures never saw light of day, probably due to the film's lackluster box office (it's a good movie too, I saw it opening weekend). It haunts collectors such as myself a little and that's why this image and the following story made me smile.

More after the Hyper Jump!

I Love Action Figures in Karate Outfits

(Many thanks to my friend Eddie for this awesome image above) 

The Martial Arts explosion of the early 1970s was not lost on action figures, growing up in this time, it gave me a lifelong obsession with the culture.

 It also turned out to be a real positive influence in my life, so I've decided to start collecting all the various 70s action figures I can find in Karate Gis and compiled a list of ones that i have and would like to have after the jump:

Rebel Command Center

Two thoughts: One, Darth Vader and the Bounty Hunters look like they're going "Hooray!" which is probably what they did at the end of "Empire".

 Two, the Rebel Command center looks like minutes of play.

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If the mission is dangerous...GI Joe is on the way

Happy GI Joe Friday, this spread is from Christmas 1973. Probably the year I got my first Joe, I was never the same....

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Electra Wow!

I'm still in recovery mode from Mego Meet but wanted to share this story of my first experience walking on the show floor. My friend Scott takes me aside and hands me this, a custom Dyna Girl. 

Last year Scott had done a limited amount of Electra Woman but only one Dyna Girl. He said he knew I was bummed I missed her, so he made me one.

More than the toy itself (which is amazing) I was touched by the kindness shown, the thoughtfulness. Toys are just stuff but I think in the end,  it is friends I ended up collecting, I love that.

It was a good omen to a very positive weekend but more on that later.

Here is the action figure set, I really would have wanted as a kid (but probably have been top chicken to buy), wish fulfilled, thank you, Scott.

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