Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Chew the Fat: Figures; Action and Otherwise...



Redartz:  Most of us have shelves full of books, comics, cd's, lp's, or any of a wide range of other objects of interest. And some of us also have, upon those shelves, figures representing those other interests.  "action figures", Theses figures may be 'action figures', such as Mego or GI Joe, or simply stationary statuettes designed to be 'just looked at'. And obviously those distinctions are rather arbitrary- you can 'just look at' your Mego figures, or you can create adventures with your pricey limited edition statues (very careful adventures). 

 


Personally, I never had any of those beloved Mego figures. Nor do I have any of the currently popular "Legends" figures, or any other superhero representations. Actually, the only one I do have is the 1974 Aurora Spider-Man model kit...





 



Now as for other types of figures, I do have several. One favorite is this small Robot B9 from "Lost in Space". He even speaks ( "Danger, Will Robinson").

















 And then there's this set of Simpsons figures; America's favorite family (?) A bit of fluff from the 90's : 




 Finally, perhaps my most treasured figures are these incredible dinosaur figures from Schleich. Incredibly detailed, great poses, and strikingly colorful (and yes, I know a Plesiosaur isn't technically a dinosaur). Several times a year a local box store puts these on clearance, and I indulge in the addition of a couple more creatures to my prehistoric parade...







So that is a look at some of the  'friends' collecting dust around my house. What sort of beings and creatures occupy places of honor at your house?


11 comments:

Humanbelly said...

Wow-- LOVING those prehistoric reptile figures!! (THAT'S how you include, like, Plesiosaurs, assorted aquatic reptiles, Pterosaurs, and some of those other commonly-loved fellas who, I guess, technically aren't actually "dinosaurs". Call 'em all "Prehistoric Reptiles"-- ha!)
The quadruped, there, is a Brachiosaurus, yes? (My childhood favorite----).

Ohhhhh Blogger, Blogger, Blogger-- how happy it would be, were you to give us a mechanism for posting images in our responses!

'Cause yep, my old, old 10" original-style GI Joes (battered, beaten, all with little-kid created superhero capes!) are gathered on a high shelf in the ol' comic book room. And in counterpoint, there is a flippin' HORDE of the ToyBiz 10" figures from the early aughts that were a years-long DELIGHT for young HBSon-- also beaten, battered, and even a bit broken here and there--). That group fills a deep shelf, with several sitting along the front edge-- resembling, if anything, a CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS cover (it just occurred to me--)

HB

Anonymous said...

The only action figures I had were Planet Of The Apes and Star Trek but they are all long gone.

Red, as HB says those dinosaur figures are terrific. Just last night I was listening to a documentary on the radio about the "Bone Wars" of 19th Century America between two eminent fossil hunters. It was an interesting documentary but I'd never heard of the Bone Wars before, had you?

Edo Bosnar said...

Yeah, I love the prehistoric animal figures/toys that they've been making since, well, around the time the first Jurassic Park movie was released in the early 1990s. Don't have any of them, though - I just like looking at them when I see them in stores. They are, however, something I would have killed to have when I was a little kid and a really into all things prehistoric. I'm sure we all recall how lame the various dinosaur toys and whatnot were back then in the 1970s.
Speaking of when I was a kid, I had a few of the Megos (I called them dolls, not action figures): Spider-man, the Thing, Batman and Robin. I also, a little later, had a few Star Wars figures and a few Micronauts. Since they were about the same size, there was a lot of crossover action going there. Of course, I played with all of them extensively, so even if I still had them, so they were in pretty bad shape by the time I was done with them. The ones that weren't broken to pieces were, I think, donated to the local church for a charity flea market just before I hit my teens.

Now I honestly have no interest in actually having any of these figures. The closest things is any type of owl figurine or toy that my partner and I occasionally pick up, because she really likes owls. Currently, though, they're all packed in a box, because keep meaning to get some kind of little display case for them but just can't seem to get around to it.

Rick Dunn said...

Since my dad died on Oct. 2, 2019, I've been on an unexpected buying spree, recapturing items I had as a child, including a Six Million Dollar Man doll and repair station at Raynham Flea Market in Mass. From ebay, I've purchased Ben Cooper costumes from Planet of the Apes, a Bionic Woman beach towel, one Mego and a few comic books.

Mike Wilson said...

Wow, those make my dinosaurs look like crap :) I had a few Mego dolls as a kid, but the only one I have left is Robin; his costume disappeared a long time ago so I have to put him in either Batman or Superman's outfit. I had a Spider-Mobile too ... man, I miss that.

I do still have some Star Wars and G.I. Joe figures (the smaller Joes from the 80s, not the big ones from the 60s). You've got me thinking now, so maybe I'll take a few photos myself and post them on my blog.

Redartz said...

HB- very good, it is indeed a Brachiosaurus! Fittingly, that model is about twice the length of any of the others. And it truly would be cool if there was a means to post images along with comments. Perhaps if we could do that here it would put Facebook out of business. Bet your shelf looks incredible...

Colin J- that sounds like an interesting documentary; I'll have to look for it. As for the 'bone wars', I'd read about them a bit within numerous books on dinosaur palentology. Cope and Marsh, each trying to outdo the other for his respective museum. Would actually make a pretty good movie.

Edo- 'crossovers' were a blast when assembling those youthful toys and figures. Much like your Megos and Micros, my old Marx dinosaurs often faced off against unusual foes (particularly the green army men).

Rick- condolences on the passing of your father. Very sorry to hear that. But hope you enjoy your 'buying spree'. Love those flea markets!

Mike W- they had a Spider-mobile? Wow, that must have been incredible (oops, make that amazing). Will watch for some photos on your blog; always great to see another's treasures!

Anonymous said...
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Mike Wilson said...

Red, I took a few photos of some of my own "action figures"; let me know what you think.

Redartz said...

Mike W- thanks for putting up the link! You have some unusual items there, very cool indeed. And the vintage photo is terrific; it's nice to have photographic reinforcement to enhance our memories.

Anyone interested- by all means click on Mike's link and check out his post. And while you're at it, check out his other posts and reviews at The Erudite Gorilla...

Mike W. said...

Thanks, Red. Sorry about the double post, but I didn't realize I'd posted as Anonymous until it was too late. You can delete that one if you want :)

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Wonderful question Red. Lord knows I have so many items on display throughout the house.

Perhaps the one item not mentioned are my Speed Racer and Racer X cars! Go Speed Racer GOOOOO!!!

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