Shark! by Ben Cooper

When Jaws hit pop culture like a runaway train, licensors lined up to cash in. The only problem? Any toy company can make a shark toy and boy howdy did they.

This particular one by Ben Cooper just goes above and beyond by including a victim, a scared victim!

Man, I know that face, I make it at least once a week.  I wish I owned this toy but it was kindly submitted by a collector to include in Rack Toys. 

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Jaws Game!

Currently trying to put one of these together to play this with my kids. I'll say it again, OK game but amazing nemesis for your Mego Superheroes.

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"Jaws" Inflatable Shark

I wonder how many of us actually had official Jaws merchandise and how many just had sharks. I doubt any of us cared.

Game Night

This would be a hard choice for but I'd go with Captain Nemo, submarines and sharks top haunted houses but just barely....

Jaws: The #1 Selling Game of 1976

They mention the TV Spots but I don't think i have seen it in 40 years.

Pod Stallions 39: The 2015 Retro Awards

Happy New Year! It's time for our annual salute to all the things that made us happy in 2015, especially those that harkened back to our childhoods and brother, did we have a lot to smile about.

The 2015 Retro Awards salutes the movies, books, magazines and toys we raved about this year and we also talk about special events and end by mourning some of the folks we lost.

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Show notes:

• Massacre Mafia Style is the indy 70s production by Duke Mitchell that Brian mentioned.
• Jason chose Beatles One as his favourite DVD of the year.
• Both guys understandably  loved the Bif Bang Pow Flash Gordon line.
• Mego Meet is June 17 this year in Skokie Ill.
• Brian is a big fan of Figures Toy Company's Superfriends line.
• Shock Cinema Magazine is Brian's pick for the year.
• Famous Monsters is Jason's personal choice for best magazine.
• Mego 8 Inch Superheroes: World's Greatest Toys has been reprinted and available at Figures Toy Company.

Plenty more content on the PodStallions Facebook page!






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Spotlight: Funko Jaws Reaction Figures

It's been a long time since I did a photo review of a modern toy, this is mainly because I don't buy that many modern toys. 

Funko's Jaws line was a break in that drought. I haven't been much into the ReAction stuff as I thought I would be, mostly because the licenses don't appeal but also the figure aesthetic hasn't always been to my liking.

However, the stars lined up pretty swell for this line, it's the perfect license combined with a nice job. More after the jump:

Space Shark

Man, I loves me some copyright infringing knock offs and Space Shark here is a triple play! The front featuring Mark from "Battle of the Planets" getting an assist by the Argo from "Star Blazers" neither which tie into the shark motif very well but rest assured....

Space Jaws is on the side panel! What these three properties have to do with one another isn't a question I intend to answer in my lifetime.

The gun itself is all kinds of cool featuring a shark face on the end, it kind of sells itself really.

  Our book celebrating Rack Toys is nearly sold out.

Pod Stallions Episode 23: Monster Movies

As we are both lovers of Monster Cinema or some call it "Creature Features" it makes sense for J and B to count down their top ten favourite Monster movies.

By favourite, we do not mean "best" or greatest, just our personal favourites.

Our top tens vary wildly which makes for an interesting discussion, Jason seems to prefer classic film while Brian seems to enjoy mostly junk food. The list wildly ping pongs between the houses of Hammer, Toho, Hemisphere, Independant International and Señor Spielbergo.

 Along the way we discuss Karloff, Chaney, Yaphet Kotto, Stephen King, Doctor Who, Paul Naschy, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and loads more. 

Happy Halloween from Pod Stallions!

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Show Links:

• Assignment Terror can be seen on Youtube
• Dracula VS Frankenstein is available on a beautifully remastered DVD with Sam Sherman commentary.
• Any fan of Paul Naschy shouldn't be without this book.
• The Universal Monsters Blu-Ray set Jason and Brian both adore.
• A teriffic box set of Hammer Horror classics.

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Jaws like

 

The one window of opportunity of a blockbuster like Jaws is you can't copyright a Shark! Every rack toy maker (like Justen here) cranked out a Great White for years and made a ton of legitimate money as a result.

And there wasn't a thing Steven Spielberg could do about it.....

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.

Jaws Game: Start to Finish

I found these images in a shareholders report and it gives a very rare look into the toy manufacturing world in 1977. Above is the Ideal assembly plant in Newark New Jersey, sure the plastic parts were made in Hong Kong but back then everything was assembled states side and the box was also printed locally.

Once completed, the cartons are loaded onto trucks just in time for Ray Liotta and Robert Deniro to hijack them.

Then it’s on to the store shelf (actually several steps including regional distributors is missing but what the heck) where you beg your Mom for one.

These parents are extremely generous but have an “Ideal Toys Only rule” very strange

Other related links

Toy Sharks

My buddy Julian sent this in, total love at first sight for me (the toy, not Julian although I'm sure he's swell too). Jaws was of course, a massive pop culture phenomenon the likes of which we rarely see.

The greatest thing to toy makers is, you can't copyright a shark! So even though there were plenty of officially licensed Jaws toys, there was oodles of fun knock offs, like Big Mouth here.

Pretty sure that's a dime store rendition of Hooper, Brody and Quint on that beach. Love them!

What i wish to be buried in...

I think it's pretty self explanatory....

Also I'm aware that i will have to buried face down for this to be effective, i'm in a good place about that.

1976 Imperial Toys Catalog

Halloween is always the best time to talk about rack toys, specifically ones made by Imperial Toy Corporation, who  had a year round  selection of rubber bats, bugs and skeletons.

1976 also had the distinction of being the year that Imperial wisely got the
"Jaws" license and marketed a series of cool inflatable toys.

Check out the rubbery goodness of the 1976 Imperial Toys Catalog here


 

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Colouring Book Theatre: Jaws 2

Jaws 2" by Treasure Books (1978)

 If there ever was a horror film phenom in the 1970s, it was the original Jaws, a movie that made a generation scared of going out in the water.

I did not see the film when it first came out but reputation alone carried it to the schoolyard. While merchandise for the original Jaws was light when it came to the sequel, there were sharks everywhere, inlcuding trading cards, comic books and this colouring book.

The book itself is thicker than normal and I assumed you would run out of blue crayons very early in the day if you set out on this one.

If you want to experience the terror, check it out after the jump:

1982 Ideal UK Catalog

Even though the company's name is "Ideal" you won't find a great amount of Ideal toys in this catalog, that's this is the UK branch of the company which also distributed toys for US based companies with no UK offices.

That means this catalog is loaded with some of the best toys 1980 has to offer from Mego, Remco, Tomy and of course Ideal. The reason this is being unveiled during the "Month of Halloween" is for two reasons, the first being that Ideal UK carried my beloved Remco Universal Monsters line and secondly, the Jaws Game baby...

Click Here to Visit the 1980 Ideal UK Catalog
Other Remco and Ideal Catalogs