The most infamous, notorious, and maybe most beloved of toymakers, Marty Abrams returned to the toy biz in 2018 (after a stint in prison for fraud and the bankruptcy of his famous toy company–get the whole story on Netflix’sThe Toys That Made Us). The company he made famous–MEGO–gave kids a memorable 1970s line of licensed 8-inch (1:9 scale) action figures, and it has been adding more figures–often in limited supplies–the past few years. Abrams has pulled in a diverse cross-section of licensed properties to get his foot back in the door with kids and collectors. Look around at Wal-Mart and Target and you’ll find an eclectic mix of pop culture nostalgia, some figures resembling sculpts and costumes from the original MEGO figures, others representing characters that may leave you scratching your head, wondering who has been eagerly waiting to see this show in an action figure line. Finally it seems MEGO may be giving its licensors the look they deserve design-wise, as you’ll find with the Young Frankenstein and Universal Monsters line. Check out some of the new and recent figures available below.
This week saw the passing of Robert Fletcher at age 98. If you don’t know the name, you definitely know his work. Nobody creating the 20th century’s view of futurism through clothing was more influential than Fletcher, who created more Star Trek costumes than any other designer, including William Ware Theiss before him and Robert Blackman after him. The maroon costumes worn by bridge officers in the first seven Star Trek movies were designed by Fletcher, and are likely the most beloved of all Star Trek costumes by fans excepting possibly the original series bright Starfleet tunics. Scotty’s radiological suit is also a classic, along with the Klingon uniforms, which were probably the most enduring, used with little modification from Star Trek: The Motion Picture throughout the entire runs of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. The open-chested costume of Ricardo Montalban’s Khan? Also Fletcher. The widest reach outside genre fans that Star Trek ever achieved was Star Trek IV, and even those who don’t care about science fiction recall the robe worn by Leonard Nimoy’s Spock and the pink shell outfit worn by William Shatner as Kirk when they returned to walk the streets of San Francisco, managing to save a pair of humpback whales on the journey. Again, costumes designed by Robert Fletcher. He also created costumes for another sci-fi classic: The Last Starfighter.
Star Trek and its stories continue on.
By way of new stuff, in the “old is new again” context this week online megastore Entertainment Earth began taking pre-orders for a new retro series not from the movies featuring the original Enterprise crew, but from Star Trek: The Next Generation (which, if you’re paying attention, featured costumes primarily by Robert Blackman). We’ve talked at length over the past decade about Super7’s line (formerly sold by Funko) of ReAction Kenner-style retro action figures. Those familiar with Star Trek action figures will find the new line closer to that of the early, rarer Galoob line than the Playmates larger figures that dominated the market for years (and can now be found in vintage toy stores everywhere, generally for about $2). Check out all the new designs, and the new cardbacks, and pre-order them at the below links.
With a new Ghostbusterssequel coming to theaters this summer, expect the original Ghostbusters characters to get the spotlight from several different toy lines. Plus, following up on individual figures released last year, Playmobil is finally rolling out the DeLorean time machine (including Marty, Doc, and Einstein the dog) from Back to the Future, coming this spring (pictured above). Online toy store Entertainment Earth is the first out of the gates taking pre-orders for the time machine (check it out here), and it is also offering a special 1955 edition of the figures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown (check ’em out here). As New York Toy Fair 2020 draws closer, expect to start hearing more about new releases from these two 1980s sci-fi properties.
Ghostbustershas already licensed several products to major toy brands, featuring their Ecto-1 Ectomobile, and characters Venkman, Spengler, Stantz, and Zeddemore, all expected to pop up in Ghostbusters: Afterlife in theaters in July. We found several sets available on Amazon to get kids (young and old) psyched up to revisit these characters, like the Playmobil Ectomobile, including Janine and Zeddemore (here), a set of all four Playmobil Ghostbusters (here), the Gargoyle Dogs with Venkman and Dana (here), and the Stay Puft marshmallow man with Stantz (here). The best has also been released before but is coming back next month: the big Ghostbusters NYC Firehouse, which has lots of detail, includes five figures, the firepole, the ghost depository, and it has a garage for the Ectomobile (check it out here).
You may have gulped it down in one sitting or maybe you think it’s so good you’re (like us) enjoying this new series slowly, but there’s no doubt Netflix′s original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will be a contender for the best series of the year in any category. Lisa Henson and The Jim Henson Company have created something special here, and we’re now seeing some of the first tie-ins from this reboot of The Dark Crystal franchise, which began only two years ago with Caseen Gaines’ authoritative look at Henson, his inspiration, and his original Thra creations in The Dark Crystal: The Ultimate Visual History (reviewed here at borg). If you’re enjoying the new series, you’ll want to dive in to learn about the Hensons and how they created the world of Thra from the very beginning.
Funko has six 3 3/4-inch action figures to add to its earlier The Dark Crystal collection (first discussed here in 2016, these figures sell for top dollar on the aftermarket, with a few still on Amazon like Jen, Kira & Fizzgig, Chamberlain, Aughra, Landstrider, Garthim, and UrSol). For the new TV series Funko’s first wave of figures have better sculpts and paint work than the prior series. They feature gelflings Deet and Rian, Hup the podling, Aughra the Oracle, theHunter Skeksis, and a Silk Spitter(see larger images below, and click on the names to learn more and order these at Amazon, currently about $10 each).
The most infamous, notorious, and maybe even most beloved of toymakers, Marty Abrams is back in the toy biz years after a stint in prison for fraud and the bankruptcy of his famous toy company (get the whole story on Netflix’sThe Toys That Made Us). The company he made famous–MEGO–gave kids the ultimate 1970s line of licensed 8-inch (1:9 scale) action figures, and it returned to stores with a vengeance this year. Not to toy stores–since they seem to be a thing of the past after the bankruptcy of Toys R Us this year–but to the end cap at your neighborhood Target store. Replaced in recent years by the 3 3/4-inch line of licensed small-scale action figured from Super 7, Funko, and Biff! Bam! Pow!, the classic MEGO figures are making a comeback. Abrams has pulled in a bizarre cross-section of licensed properties to get his foot back in the door with kids, collectors, and anyone able to be sidetracked on their way to pick up school supplies and shampoo. Abrams was a groundbreaking importer, manufacturer, marketing maven, inventor, and brand developer who founded MEGO Corporation, the first company to license action figures based on TV shows and comic book superheroes, and the first to sell dolls in clear bubbles on cards that hung on pegs instead of in boxes stacked on store shelves. If you were a kid in the 1970s, you probably had at least one of his figures (I’m pretty sure we still called them dolls back then). My three-year-old self was not excluded:
The first wave of figures are already on the discount shelves at Target. Look around and you’ll find an eclectic mix of pop culture nostalgia, some figures resembling sculpts and costumes from the original MEGO figures, others representing characters that may leave you scratching your head, wondering who has been eagerly waiting to see this show in an action figure line. So Wave One includes Sulu and Chekov from the originalStar Trek series, Charlie’s Angels’ Kelly Garrett (complete with ’70s hairdo), Peg Bundy from Married with Children, Action Jackson (not the movie version) sporting a jumpsuit, NORM! Peterson from Cheers, Piper Halliwell from the original TV series Charmed,Dracula (sculpted after Bela Lugosi’s version), Alice the housekeeper and center square from The Brady Bunch, Tootie the youngest girl from Facts of Life, Jimi Hendrix in his Woodstock outfit, and probably the best of all (OK, besides Jim Hendrix): Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli (aka Fonzie) looking like the original Mego figure from Happy Days. Two dual figure sets feature Jeannie and Tony fromI Dream of Jeannieand a Mirror Universe figure set of Kirk and Spock from Star Trek. Mego also has a 14-inch (1:5 scale) DC Comics line, including Wonder Woman from the TV series, General Zod from the two original Superman movies, a classic style Harley Quinn, and a Golden Age Batman.
Wave Two, arriving this month at Target stores nationwide, includes Frankenstein, Greg from The Brady Bunch, John Ratzenberger’s Cliff Clavin from Cheers, Starchild from the band KISS, Alyssa Milano’s Phoebe from Charmed, Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham from Happy Days, Cheryl Ladd’s Kris Munroe from Charlie’s Angels, Spock and the Gorn from Star Trek, Samantha from Bewitched, Kelly Bundy from Married with Children, Jo from Facts of Life, and dual sets featuring Dorothy, Toto, and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, DJ and Stephanie Tanner from Full House. In the 14-inch DC Comics line look for Superman, Batgirl, Green Lantern, and Poison Ivy.
For decades kids of all ages have awakened to their favorite colorful breakfast cereal. The best of these not only taste good but they feature some appropriately entertaining mascot, and the very best of these have some kind of prize in the package. Most of these are forgettable, but there’s a market of collectors who buy and sell these prizes on eBay every day. Toy company Funko is taking a new approach to the prize-in-the-box cereal with its next product, Funko’s own multigrain cereals, called Funko’s.
These cereals are all about the prize, packing each box with a premium collectible Funko figure. First to market for Funko’s new superhero cereals are two box options: one featuring the Funko Batman and the other the Funko Batgirl. And yes, each box features its own prize, the corresponding Pocket Pop! of Batman or Batgirl.
You can pre-order both now from Entertainment Earth (click on each box above for more details and to order). Each sells for $9.99, a bit much for cereal, but you’re really not buying it for the cereal, right? Funko tried some other releases of non-superhero brands that already are selling from secondary market sellers at Amazon for more than $30, like Jason Voorhees Funko’s cereal, Freddy Krueger Funko’s, and Cuphead and Mugman Funko’s cereal (all an appropriately blood-red colored cereal), so you may want to get these new Bat-cereals before they are gone.
In advance of next week’s San Diego Comic-Con, Netflix released a slick new poster for Season 2 of Stranger Things, and more tie-in products are now in the works. We have a look at the second wave of the Funko Pop! figures for the series, expanding into the older teens and adult characters. Plus McFarlane Toys is now a licensee, meaning fans can expect some highly detailed figures in addition to the retro, Kenner-style Funko ReAction action figures (previewed earlier here at borg.com). That’s good for fans, giving them a choice for their Stranger Things fix.
Stranger Things Season 2 premieres on Netflix, Friday, October 27, 2017. So expect many to be locked away binge-watching the new season that weekend. In advance of that, take a look at these mock-ups from McFarlane Toys showing the general look the company will be aiming for with its toy line:
The McFarlane Toys figures have not yet been finalized and are not yet available for pre-order.
Check out the new Funko Pop! figures after the break, with many available now (many with steep discounts) and others available for pre-order.
Stranger Things took the world by storm last year, bringing its mix of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and nostalgia to the small screen. Stranger Things is not only Netflix’s best show, its second season is the most eagerly awaited series this year. Now a household name, star Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) signed on for the second season along with Winona Ryder, and fan favorite Sean Astin will star as a new character aptly named Bob Newby. The other kid stars are back: Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), sporting Ghostbusters outfits at their grade school on Halloween Day 1984–a great choice for the season opener since we’ll be watching the episode premiere on Halloween day.
And like the many throwback movies the series pulls from, Stranger Things is getting its own line of action figures. Funko has produced the first line of figures rapidly considering so many shows don’t get tie-in toys at all. Six figures have been finalized for the first wave from the series. Fan demand for everyone’s favorite ill-fated friend Barb will no doubt necessitate at least a second wave.
Best of all, there’s something doubly nostalgic about these figures. They are from Funko’s ReAction line, which itself bridges the classic 1970s and 1980s Kenner style action figures with modern TV series and movies. It’s easy to imagine the kids in the world of Stranger Things would appreciate seeing themselves as action figures that look like their own Star Wars figures.
It’s the latest sensation. This generation’s Beanie Babies. Like last year’s Pokémon Go, collectors just “gotta catch ’em all.” And Funko, the toy company that makes them exclusively, has licensed seemingly any and every property on Earth for their POP! line of bobblehead dolls. Almost. Funko is always reaching for the next great franchise, the next cool character, the next thing for fanboys and fangirls to go nuts for.
Really. They’ve secured the licenses for nearly everything. Challenge us on that? How about Tupac Shakur? They made him into a vinyl POP! figure. Michael Jackson? Yep, in multiple outfits. Invisible Bilbo Baggins. The creature from Sharknado. Duck Dynasty? They made ’em. How about 1970s Elvis? Yep. Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, The Muppets, and Game of Thrones? Of course. The Golden Girls? Nah…. yep! They made those, too. Piglet from Winnie the Pooh and Butters from South Park. The Elf on the Shelf? The cast of Friends? They’re just toying with us now.
But it doesn’t stop there. There’s Bob’s Big Boy and Bob’s Burgers.Parks and Recreation. BBC’s Sherlock. The cast from Lost. Universal Monsters. My Little Pony. NFL football. The Gilmore Girls. The A-Team. Pewdiepie from YouTube??? Gremlins. The Walking Dead. Power Rangers. The Exorcist. It goes on and on…
Is there no end to the properties that the Funko toy company will rematerialize into bobbleheads? They’ve got Santa Claus, Homer Simpson, David Bowie in Labyrinth, Breaking Bad, and the kids from Twilight. And the band members from Metallica. Thankfully they don’t yet have The Twilight Zone or we’d have to witness a frightening POP! of Billy Mumy’s victim Dan as the jack-in-the-box from “It’s a Good Life.” [[shudder]]
But this week’s release tops them all. Truly there is now one Funko POP! to rule them all. The real Top POP! But who could it be? Who is the big surprise? Drumroll, please…. The One POP! to Rule Them All is…
Next to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, there is probably no other actor in the action genre who has had more action figures with his likeness. Snake Plissken himself, Kurt Russell. Once upon a time movies like Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China came and went with no toys or collectibles, mainly thanks to a clash between R ratings and the unwillingness of toy companies to release toys for such films. But even those classics now provide fans of Kurt Russell with a desktop warrior of many of his films to guide their day. Today we’re running down a brief history of Kurt Russell in action figures and collectible toys.
The first image we had of Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, were images of collectible figures for his character Ego. You can get his Marvel Legends version of the figure here:
If Dorbz are your thing you can also find him in that format here, and as a Funko Pop! figure here. There is also a MiniMates version, but no Hot Toys or Sideshow versions of Ego available–yet.
Although we’ve found no Bone Tomahawk or Tombstone figures for Russell, his Western The Hateful Eight resulted in a 1:6 scale figure of Russell’s John Ruth, available here, an eight-inch version here, and a Funko Pop! here.
But how about the Kurt Russell classic characters?
