We’ve been raving about the three and three-quarters inch scale Kenner-style action figures from Funko’s ReAction line here at borg.com for a few years now. If style and nostalgia are your jam but not necessarily screen-accurate sculpts, it’s hard to beat the myriad of licenses that Funko has secured. What you may not have seen is that Figures Toy Company has been producing a similar series of figures reflecting the larger, eight-inch Mego action figure line also popular in the 1970s.
Like Funko, Figures Toy Company has secured licenses of brands, movies and TV shows you’d never think would surface again, like Evel Knievel, Dukes of Hazzard, DC Comics, KISS, Shazam, Batman TV series heroes and villains, Super Friends, Scooby Doo, Tarzan, Dallas, The Monkees, The Three Stooges, Gilligan’s Island, and most recently Jonny Quest. Also like Funko, don’t expect Sideshow Toys’ level of detail. The appeal of these lines is pure nostalgia, and packaging is half of the value. The company also didn’t forget accessories and playsets, like a great set of Batman weapons, the Batbus and Batlab, classic style carrying cases, Gotham GCPD bus, professional wrestling accessories, the Teen Titans bus, and the classic Batcave.
Your editor with the original Mego Robin figure, and at right the new Figures Toy Company version.
The toy company has also stepped ahead into more recent licenses, creating a line of Mego-style Harry Potter action figures. Some of Figures Toy Company’s action figure lines are also offered in a 12-inch and 18-inch version. Many lines were released in limited editions and exclusives, and some can only be found on Amazon and eBay, and many are still available with new figures released frequently. Not only do many have the Mego-style retro packaging, others have the Kresge Stores-style packages your parents could pick up in the 1970s as point-of-sale purchases at checkout in local dime stores across the country.
