Halloween Walgreens windup walkers

Snagged this little guy at Walgreens on the way home from work. They had walking skeletons ans hopping eyeballs. Cute for $1.99

Beware the Cyclops Ball!

 I love this! Halloween trinkets are filtering in and that means monsters, baby!

The "Cyclops Ball"  is like the love child of a Big Daddy Roth flying eyeball and a Madball. I snagged this this morning at breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Looks like there's a horned on and a fish one (maybe a relative of that radioactive fish from the Simpsons...

Check out the eye-popping action!

My toy hunt list, circa 1991

I was looking through my old Tomart's Action Figure price guide and found my toy collector buying lists that I had written in the front and back pages. This would have been 1991-1993 and list some items I wanted to add to my collection and what stores I had seen them. Lots of GI Joes  and Transformers at places like Children's Palace, Pamida, Gibsons and 1/2 Price Store.

Hey Kids! It's "Buggy Truck Dozer" "Diecast Robot Car": Bootleg Gobot Buggyman Love

Picked up this bootleg Gobot / Machine Robo figure recently. I used to be fascinated by the various bootleg robot toys of the 1985-1986 transforming toy boom. I think 9 year old me used to think they were imports (I had bought a couple of Macross imports at the time Robotech was hitting big from a local comic shop and was told they were from Japan). So, basically anything that didn't look like a normal Transformer or Gobot packaged toy was probably an import in my kid-brain. (Also didn't help that some bootlegs still had Japanese text on the instructions or packaging)

Anyway, Buggyman was my first and favorite Gobot figure, so when these started popping up at the local TG&Y and even gas stations and craft stores, I wanted one badly. Why? I guess because it was different than the usual Gobots. But, since I all ready had Buggyman, I was repeatedly told to pick another figure out to buy.

27 years later, I finally got one.

Vintage Toy Ads: Fred Meyer Stores

Fred Meyer stores is a retail chain in the Northeast US and Alaska that is still in business today. I've heard of them; never been to one. They sound a lot like WalMart with the grocery store/discount store, one-stop shopping.

Anyway, I found a few cool, old ads to add to the site:

Here's a trio of Ads from November 27, 1986:

1) Our first ad has some features the Playskool "Alphie II" robot, The "Dreadnok Swampfire" The GI Joe "Recon Sled", Transformers "Sky Lynx", "Omega Supreme" and the GI Joe "Tomahawk" helicopter!

2) We got a nice two-page spread of "Freddy's Toy World". Man, I want those $2.97 "Starriors" and "Marvel's Secret Wars" figures! Other cool stuff: A "Bigfoot" Ride-on Monster truck, "Astronaut Barbie", "Swiftwind" and some figures from She-Ra Princess of Power, Popples, Care Bears, Fluppy Dog, Pound Puppies, Centurions.

The Mind-blower: "Over the Top" action figures and "Over the Top" Arm Wrestling Table!.Now you can "arm wrestle just like the stars of the "Over the Top" movie"!

I'm a big OTT fan (as we call it at the annual TopCon conventions) and get a big smile seeing these actually promoted. Good on you, Fred Meyer stores. I remember these figures languishing forever on the shelves of the local Shopko store. I always wanted them, but never got any when they were originally out. Maybe it was the lack of a Robert Loggia figure...

3) The third ad shows some M.A.S.K. love. Stinger, Hurricane, Outlaw and Boulder Hill (the ad calls it "Bunker Hill") get some play. Also, some Rambo and the Force of Freedom figures. Looks like Troutman, Warhawk and Rambo.

This next ad jumps back a couple of years to Dec 21984. Alvina and the Chipmunk dolls (I had a Simon), Get Along Gang Clubhouse Caboose play set, The GI Joe APC and mini battle-field play sets and a personal favorite the He-Man Battle Set. I loved these as a kid. I remember the He-Man set, but played all the time with the Skeletor set I got in the Christmas of '84. These a disturbing Christmas morning Polaroid of me in my Underoos with yellow skull mask and goat head staff lording over a pile of presents. The reason for the season, I guess

And lastly, some video games also from Dec 2, 1984.Atari 2600 and 5200 aplenty. "Kangaroo", "Jungle Hunt", The Colecovision Conversion Module, "Dig Dug", "Qix", "Mario Brothers", "Centipede", "Galaxian", "Ms. Pac-Man", "Pole Position", "Star Raiders", "Asteroids", the infamous "E.T." game, "Missile Command", and the "Point Master" and "The Boss" Joysticks. Good stuff.

That's it for today. If you've got any vintage Fed Meyer store stuff you'd like to share on the blog, email me at matt@grindhousecomics.net

Or post your memories in the comments section.

Later, kids

-Matt

aka Dr. G

Vintage Toy Ads: The Revenge "Defenders of the Planets" and "Tri-Trons", oh my!

I was going through my collection of old toy ads I had collected from Google's digital news archives and thought I'd start posting some new ones.

I usually save ads based on toy lines I like, stores I shopped at as a kid or in some cases toys I've ever heard of. There's a double whammy in this Revco Drug Store ad from Dec. 15, 1985. I stopped for the Voltron action figures and stayed for the "Defenders of the Planets" and "Tri-Trons" toys, two lines I'd never heard of. Defenders looks to be a Masters of the Universe knock off and Tri-Trons "3 Robots that combine into 1 Super Robot" has got to be a Transformers cash-grab.

Revco Drug Store ad from Dec. 15, 1985

Here's the back of a Defenders of the Planets card, showing the Defenders and the Evildoers...

These seem to be fairly well documented amongst MOTU fans and there are even some on eBay.

As for the Tri-Trons, they seem more obscure. I only found 2 references to them online:

1) this nice, clear pic on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16077641@N07/1811638203/sizes/l/in/photostream/

and 2) These blurry pics from a South American auction site.

They look pretty cool. I like the samurai-thing. If anyone has any info on these guys (manufacturer; clear, packaged examples; and if there were other styles)  drop me an email or send some pics or links. Is this from an existing Japanese series? It's nothing I recognize off the top of my head...

Anyway, just when yo think you've seen it all, new things to learn about.

-Matt aka Dr.G

The Wrath of Con

Yesterday, some friends and I took it on the road to Kansas City (specifically Overland Park) for Planet ComicCon. For us Midwestern Plains-types, this is probably the biggest Con in the area and it's always a good time. We did have one factor against us, a big 'ole snowstorm heading towards KC.


Our wheelman, Robb.


The Gang that Couldn't Sit Straight. Tracie, Monty and Tim.


Mound City for gas, snacks and...


A Major Award. "Robot Converters" from the "Energy Club"...huh? Basically it's a handless Optimus Prime, with Inferno's head. Top it off with some in-pack Laffy Taffy, Sweet Tarts and Smarties and you got a souvenier, baby!


We faced some icy roads on the way in and there were probably a dozen cars off the road on the last 8 miles of the trip in.


And we're here! There was a nice, big crowd, lots of dealers and celebrity guests and some excellent costumes.


Alien posing for photos.



Kick-ass Iron Man Mark I armor! I actually thought thay had a movie prop on display until I walked up to snap a pic and the armor started walking towards me.



Leaving and the snow hits the fan


The roads out of KC were terrifying. Lots of clinching and gallows humor. But once out of KC it cleared off and was smooth sailing the way home.


Got some great deals. Cheap trades...


Tons of 25 cent comics from a place called "Clint's Comics" (If I remember correctly). Tons of new and old stuff, most in excellent condition. I coulda came home with a couple of longboxes easily if common sense hadn't stepped in.


Great toys too. Snagged some reproduction Star Trek Megos, some loose JLU animated villians, a Jack Kirby Orion figure and a couple of DC classics.



Another excellent Con. "WE WILL RETURNNNNNNNN!!!"

PS My travel companions were 75% of the Comicbook Crossfire Podcast and they will have a special ComicCon podcast with some great interviews and footage of the trip coming soon. Be sure to check them out at
Comicbook Crossfire Podcast

Vintage Toys R Us ads: Part 1

Revenge of the Ads PREVIEW

I've worked up the next round of old ads that will be accompanying various posts on some dead retailers like TG&Y, VENTURE and GIBSON'S; vintage toy ads, and other pointless nostalgia.

I've also wrangled up some mid-80s local Oklahoma City TV listings, so expect a follow up to the UHF memories post.

And, now... a sneak peak at some sexy old ads.

Kiddie City, 1972

Star Wars at Target, 1978

TG&Y, Christmas 1981 (I think)

Coleco Vision at Sound Warehouse, late 70s

ECKERD Drugs Christmas ad, mid 80s

Children's Palace Virtual Toy Chest

One of the few Children's Palace artifacts I've run across is the Children's Palace Virtual Toy Chest from 1990 (I think). It's basically 45 min of crappy skits and segways to various toy commercials. Wacky kids run a TV network and endorse all sorts of Mattel, Tiger and Matchbox toys.

The "adult" at the network is the notorious "ROBO-T". Robo-T. That could only be some sort of Mechano-Man or at least a super advance cyborg. So lets pay a visit to FANTASY PARK! and ROBO-T!!!

What in the hell!?! Yep, no mechano-man or super advance cyborg. Robo-T is in fact some "Weird Al-lite" ass-clown with a man-perm.

“Cause she’s got a GREAT ASS!"

He's dope, he's wack. He's a ra-ra-ra-ra-rappin' fool!

Robo-T is goosed by a stray unicorn while in Fantasy Park

Hey kids, it's an Amber Alert!

There's a lot of crappy toys shown and a few cool ones. Some came an went like "Bongo Kongo", "Mall Madness and"Spy Tech". The NES was in full effect at the time, so there's plenty of game commercials too.

"Double Dragon II: Rescue the girl with C3PO's arms"

The ape from Kongo Bongo

I'm dreaming of...horses? "Carousel Horses" by Matchbox (huh?)

Remember Krunchers! ? Well, they eat them in the video for some reason.

Bye-Bye Children's Palace.

---END TRANSMISSION---

DR.G