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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Metal Man and UFO Adventure Sets

The Metal Man figures actually predate Star Wars but they couldn't have found a better time to exist. I remember being really fascinated with these characters and even buying the DC "Metal Men" comic as a kid thinking they were somehow related. I was disappointed...

New Six Million Dollar Man Shirt in our Redbubble store!

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The Fire Birds

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE GERRY ANDERSON PROGRAM "THUNDER BIRDS" IN ANY WAY, this is totally different, cause we put "Fire" in there instead of Thunder. Okay? Glad we're clear.

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Dolls: Big Figures from Fantasy!

I recently came across this wonderful article about action figures circa 1977, it mentions Micronauts, Pulsar, Metal Man, Electroman, Stretch Monster, Shogun Warriors and their impact on the toy market place. It features interviews with not only toy buyers but toy makers from Hasbro, Mego, Zee Toys and Mattel.

Seeing as these are things that haunt my dreams 40 years later, I thought it might be of interest to all of you, read on after the jump!

M*A*S*H Field Hospital Set

I love how they included the latrines in this....

Scenes from Toy Fair '78 Part One

It was all about Space and science fiction at Toyfair '78 and Zee Toys was way ahead of the curve with their groovy 3 3/4" Metal Men figures, this display has me absolutely drooling. I have lazily collected Metal Men for over ten years, I think I have four figures...

Tobor is Robot spelled backwards, that blew my seven year old mind...

See Also:

More Metal Men

Just in case you're trying to get me something for Christmas this year, these would do...

The 1979 Metal Men Catalog

The Metal Men by Zee Toys were by far one of the neatest non-TV advertised toy lines around. Made entirely of die cast metal, these sleek futuristic series of robotic action figures left the back story completely to your imagination.

Check out the 1979 Metal Men Catalog

As an added bonus, we have the amazing Metal men collection of Bret showcased as well.

See Also:

Suicide is Painless...

I was surprised when doing my Metal Men feature last week to discover that Zee Toys also made a line of M*A*S*H items. M*A*S*H was one of my favorite shows growing up but I never had much desire to play it, probably because it was much of a drama/comedy than it was really about war. Still, the approach Zee took was a good one, centering around the base itself and not the characters, a neat concept.

It's Tuesday and here's what cool on DVD today:

It's a tad dry on the DVD front this week in terms of films or TV from the 70's, the one bright light I found was the release of Filmation's Lone Ranger and Zorro Volume 2.

I'm pretty much a sucker for anything Filmation (although I need never see "Sport Billy" again thank you) and I still hold out hope for a legitimate Tarzan release someday.

An odd bit of trivia, in this series, the Lone Ranger was voiced by none other than the late William "Cannon" Conrad.

Speaking of military toys: A piece I did for Topless Robot with editor Rob Bricken entitled The 10 lamest additions to G.I. Joe is up for your reading pleasure.

The Metal Men

The Metal Men were a cool series of 3 3/4" diecast action figures with no back story. Heavily influenced by the Japanese, many of the characters had THX 1138 look to them.

I used to get them at the local hobby shop and like Matchbox MAC used to have make up everything as I played with them. I often wondered who they were, turns out they were anything I wanted them to be.

Check out the 1978 Zee Toys Metal Man Catalog.

Metal Men Deal

Wow, six Metal Men figures for $10? Where do I sign up?

For those not in the know, Metal Men were a series of funky Diecast Metal Robot figures that had no back story (you had to use your imagination). They have a bit of a following now and don't come cheap mint on card sadly.

For more on the Metal Men check out this cool site.

Previous Metal Men Posts on PS

The Metal Men Rock