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....

A look inside the operation

I recently got interviewed about my catalog collection, I never considered myself an Ephemera enthusiast but I pretty much am. I decided to lay out as many catalogs as I can on my dining room table for the photo part of it.

This is about half of it, the trouble with it is, it happened so gradually that I didn't even see it coming. What did I do after I took these pictures and came to the realisation I have too many catalogs? I bought a new catalog of course......

Our Ways Studios Catalog

While not an instantly recognizable name, Ourways Studios produced some of the wildest superhero merch in the 70's, heavily advertised in the comics themselves. Best known for their awesome stickers and decals their product features art by some of the true greats like Neal Adams and John Romita. The catalog not only features their product but examples of their rocking store display systems as well.

Ok, I find the term "Super Dumps" really funny, sometimes I'm six years old.....

So Much Wrong

So the official Playboy sleep wear is a dress a like man dress? Didn't Hef live in pajamas?

Also, what's with Fran Tarkenton's expression in this picture? Lastly, why do they never have merchandise like this for Juggs?

The Empire hadn't yet struck back

1979 made for some pretty wild Star Wars toys with the sequel still months away, Kenner started deviating from the first film. I must have been getting into The Black Hole at the time because I missed out on toys like the Imperial Troop Transport. The Remote Controlled Sand Crawler was the feature attraction at a birthday party I got invited to that year, every other guest gave the kid a jawa.

Thrown in at the bottom of this page was mystery man Boba Fett, I got this doll for Christmas that year despite not knowing who he really was.

1978 is the year of the Home Computer!

Yeah, like this'll catch on......

I'm pretty sure this is the computer my girlfriend in college had in her dorm room.

Sleep Tight Tony Manero Jr.....

Saturday Night Fever didn't garner a ton of merchandise save for the soundtrack, some gumcards (which I will admit I bought) and this bedding set. I realize the power of Travolta but this movie with it's adult themes and language seems like a strange kid's bed set.

Space:1976 The Future Was Fantastic!

One of the reasons I began collecting toys was my love for Space:1999 merchandise, so these Mattel Space:1999 toy offerings from 1976 are something I'm really hyped about bringing to the site.

Now, Fight Like Apes!

Apes + Army Men = Bliss

I'd have played with this for an entire summer as a kid.

Staged Catalog Fun

Stuff like this always makes me laugh, like a photographer said "OK guys, frolic and act silly" because you know, all men do this......

"Hey what's your number?" Brick is wearing the "Smoothy Belt" in this piece.

Style Sensations

More Put Togethers pain, the pants, jacket and shirt of this ensemble seem to be fighting.

Vintage Toys I saw at Wizard World

I should almost call this post "stuff that tempted me" as I posted at the Megomuseum Blog, I attended Wizard World this weekend in Chicago and was blown away by the amount of vintage toys available. I'm tired, so let's just go through my photo's and I'll get back to catalogs tomorrow, I promise. Above is a boxed Remco Climbing Spider-Man, a shorter version of Energized Spider-man, it was sooooo minty. (pic courtesy of Heroes)

A full set of 12 backs in very nice condition, I don't know how I'll ever swing it but one day these will be mine.

Actually, I was surprised by the amount of decent "entry level" (meaning cheap) vintage Star Wars pieces available at this show. I'm officially on the wagon when it comes to Lucas, so it was bothersome.

The Monsterizer just plain bothered me, I collect Remco Mini Monsters and this is just like, the neatest toy ever. I don't know why but I held out and bought a carded Mego Planet of the Ape instead, he's a very pretty ape though......

I can't believe I forgot to show this pic of SuperPowers toys, such a beautiful, classic line and really hard not to stare at.

FIsher Price Toy Love

It's not often I give myself flashbacks but that's what happened with this 1977 Fisher Price Toy Catalog., Starting with crib toys and moving to the point where you traded in your little people for adventure people, you might find something you had on every page.

Viewmaster Gift Sets

My dad used to sell Viewmasters, so I've always kind of dug them. My kids can watch anything they want whenever they want, so I guess viewmasters won't be the big deal they were for me. If you look at some of them today, the amount of care that went into them is pretty noticeable.

These gift sets were something I always wanted to have, I've never seen the "Science Fiction" pack before, anybody have it? What reels came with it.

Christmas is a Disco Shirt

I was unaware of this custom but according to this catalog, it's some sort of tradition. I love anything Disco in catalogs, they always have somebody looking goofy, like the gentleman at the bottom right...

Space Warriors

I love knockoffs, these "Alien Warriors" and "Fighters from Afar" from Tomland (which was part of Marx) went by a lot of names. "Star Raiders", "Creatures from Other Worlds", "Famous Monsters of Legend", the Wards catalog gave them the "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" name of "Kantina Kooks"!

Note how much "Flash" (bottom middle) resembles a certain wookie.....

Galactic Slumber Wear

I'm not sure what weight lifting has to do with Star Wars Pajamas but somebody at Aldens thought they mixed. What's more intriguing is the set of Micronauts PJs pictured at the bottom, I wonder if any of those survived?

70's Superhero Mall Appearances

Thanks to the generous donation of our blog readers I have some fantastic new images of 70's mall appearances by Superheroes, Jawas, Micronauts, Apes and even Lee Majors! This is a subject I will admit to being obsessed with so if you have photos like these and want to share please drop us a line, I'll send you a prize pack for your troubles!

Put Togethers Claim Another Victim

Not only are "Put Togethers" the goofiest clothing line since "Man Mates" but they've incorporated Plaidstallions mascot Brick Mantooth into the mix. Nooooooooooo!

Actually, this is the kind of stuff my Uncle Bob wears to family gatherings, the fashion train stopped for him.

Why I love Catalogs

For me, my enjoyment of catalogs boils down to images such as this G.I. Joe page and a single moment in time. When I was two years of age, I caught croup something bad and had to be left in the hospital. I was panicked and inconsolable, my mother remembered having an Eaton's catalog on her and gave it to me, I went silent. Apparently I didn't even say goodbye, something I'm still reminded of to this day.

Thanks to everyone for making July the best month plaidstallions has ever had, we've been growing steadily for the last eight months but July was over the top. I'm glad I'm not alone in my love of this material.