Meet the Astro Apes

Now that I've introduced you to AHI's Action Apeman line, it seems only fitting to  get you acquainted with Warrior, Artemus, Myra and Dr Zorma, otherwise known as the Astro Apes. If the Action Apemen were blatant ripoffs (and they were) then the Astro Apes would need to go down as the "Most Blantantest Rippyoffiest Ever". More after the jump.

Jigglers of the Apes

Mixing my fondness for Jigglers with my Ape Mania is a dangerous cocktail. These Jigglers made by Ben Cooper (surprisingly not AHI) are a happy childhood memory for me and I was excited when my pal Mike J sent me a shot of one in a baggie, something I had not seen before. More on these cool l'il guys after the jump.

Planet of the Incredibly Silly Merchandise

This wonderful piece made by Larami is a prime example of licensing run amuck, other than the clever title it has no connection whatsoever to the Planet of the Apes franchise. In fact, once you take it out of the box, it's just two flimsy boomarangs.

And then there's this, the pellet shooting walkie talkie, another item that doesn't make a lick of sense but I do praise it for it's gorgeous card art depicting Brent and Nova. "Beneath" scared the holy hell out of me as a child and now I'm obsessed with it.


Why the hell do I want these SO badly then?

Many thanks to Mike J for the share.

Apes Week: Action Apemen

What better way to kick off Apes week than talking about one of the more interesting toy legal battles of 1974? The AHI Action Apemen (that's the trading card I made for them above) are interesting tale of a knock off that went too far. More after the jump:

I declare this Apes Week

With the upcoming release of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" , I making all my posts for the next week both here and at the Mego Museum to be completely ape centric. There is nothing more 70s to me than an Ape marathon, so stay tuned for some of the weirdest POTA merchandise this side of the forbidden zone...

Unleashing the Mantooth

It is with great pride that I open up the ordering for the Brick Mantooth doll.

Some important information:

•  This is just for Brick, it does not include the Mego Museum Supercollector outfit, those will be back in stock in mid August at the same URL. (The mini museums are a pain to make)
• This is the first batch, if I sell out, it does not mean I am out of the figure, just out of assembled sets. Every one will get one, the boxes in my garage assure you.
• These are coming from Canada and take anywhere from 5 to 10 business days, Canada Post doesn't work weekends either.
• The doll comes as shown, you may or may not have to dress him yourself. This Depends on whether your set was assembled by Gallant (my friend, who lovingly dressed each one) or Goofus (obviously me, who was getting tired and hungry by this point).

It doesn't have to end there....

Once you get the doll, it doesn't have to end with you placing it on your desk. You've just opened up a world of opportunity in the world of Mego customizing. There are literally thousands of ways you can now personalize Brick. Here are a few online retailers that sell clothing and other bibs and bobs to make Mantooth completely yours:

Dr.Mego.com- We wouldn't have this figure without Dr Mego and he makes a lot of cool stuff.

Castaway toys- Boots, belts, jumpsuits, even vintage Action Jackson sets that will fit Brick.

Classic Tv Toys- Lots of custom fodder including Brady bunch clothes

If you still can't quite find that special outfit, check out the Megomuseum forums as there are several Mego scale tailors for hire.

More Mantooth Coming Soon:

As with any toy line, there will be lots of fun extras coming down the pike

My friend Scott at Dida displays has a Brick Mantooth Bachelour pad set coming out.
Also, my pal Steve is hard at work with several 70s fashions for Brick that are just wonderful and fun. Look for my own weird limited edition Brick figures to arrive in September when I unveil "Project Mantooth".
Show us you Brick!

I want this to be interactive, so if you buy a Brick and alter it in any way (like Brick 5 here) please send me some shots. Take him on a trip? I wanna see! Did you puppy eat him? Send it down (but you're a very bad boy...oh I can't stay mad at you...)

Lastly, Thanks to:

I know I'm rambling but thanks and props have to go to the people who made this happen:

Scott Sansom (Sculptor), Scott Adams (Art and Design), Steve Stolk (Printing), Paul "Dr Mego" Clarke (our man in China), Steve Moore (Outfit prototyping), Ed Leung (doll dresserer), my wonderful wife and children who seem to ignore that their father is insane.

And many thanks to you, the reader, for supporting or at least enjoying this mad idea that clearly has gone too far.

Click here to get a little Mantooth in your life.

1977 Marx Ready Gang Catalog

In 1977, Marx Toys launched the Ready Gang a beautiful line of 9" action figures from the old west with little to no back story (seriously are these guys outlaws for good guys?) and it quietly flopped in the market place.

It's a shame as the figures are not only attractive but well made, nowadays I get an email every once in a while from people convinced they've found a rare Lone Ranger action figure and it's always a figure from this well made but largely unknown series.

 

Click Here to Ride with the Ready Gang

More Western Figures

Drape Illusion

The comfort of Fiberglas drapes, at least you'll be warm.

Vintage Player

And this, is the man who your mom "got with" before meeting your father and settling down. Pleasant dreams...

Mickey Mouse Light Up Drawing Desk

I still totally have my Mickey Mouse light up drawing desk and you can still see where I drew on the actual surface in pen (I was never classified as "gifted" as a child). Despite losing the majority of the sheets (I may still have the Robin Hood ones) this set was of great value to me right up until adult hood when I dreamed of becoming the next Jack Kirby.

Fortunately, the world was spared my amazing superhero adventures in an untimely coffee accident, it was for the better. I get the douche chills when I read those pages now.

Knit Pimp

Meet Wool Jimmy, baddest mack daddy in Iowa.

70s Captain America Merchandise Tribute Gallery

Growing up, one of my favourite Superheroes of all time was Marvel Comic's Sentinel of Lberty, Captain America! Which is totally weird because I'm Canadian, but I digress. As a child, the good Captain adorned a ton of merchandise that I do not own. Fortunately, I know one of Cap's biggest fans Tim A (Marvelmania on the Megomuseum forum) who was gracious enough to share the gems of his staggering collection with us.

From the wonderful...

...to the downright strange, we've got a smattering of Cap goodies that will have you slinging your shield at Ebay before you know it.

Visit the Plaidstallions Captain America Merchandise Gallery for More

 

Other Cap Related Linkage

Nightmare Decor

One look at this thing brought back about a 1,000 different nightmares of being alone in a relatives dark basement and discovering one of these on the wall. Seriously, why were these made?

Car Soup

Not only an ugly shirt, it's an appetite suppressant.

Also available in "Moldy oranges found in your fridge that cause you to dry heave" green.

Plush Obscurity

OK Benji I've heard of but I'm surprised to see merchandising for Joe Camp's other funny animal film "Hawmps!" which I've never seen but probably should since it contains both Denver Pyle and Slim Pickens. That's an powerhouse combination of Southern Stereotypes for one movie.

Dr Denim and Mr Check

A now take on an old classic playing this week at the Marx, Hyland, Odeon, The Brock  and Cinema Six.

1978 Mattel Tarzan and Friends Catalog

Big Jim may have been long gone but his body got a lot work in 1978 when Mattel launched a series of action figures based on TV properties like Tarzan, How the West was Won and Grizzly Adams. Many of these items were made utilitzing items from the European Big Jim offerings at the time which unless you were from Italy, would be blissfully unaware of.

Click Here to visit all the manliness of the Mattel 1978 Tarzan Catalog

Other Mattel Related Links

Mr Spock is concerned about your social life

I love this ad for the "Star Trek metal detection probe" or as I call it the "Social Life Eradicator" has a slightly worried looking Mr Spock overseeing this action. He's not liking this one bit.

Tyler Durden 1973

If Fightclub were a seventies movie.

Gypsies, Tramps and Mego

You know here and in my other life at the MegoMuseum, I've often ignored the Cher toy line which is odd because a) She was huge in the 1970s and b)Cher was a huge freaking deal for Mego. It's a glaring oversight seeing as I've never known a world without Cher and I promise to give her (and girl's toys in general) a little more exposure in the future.