This Week In Your Plastic Crack, Action Figures and Toy Collection 26 26

[BAT MAN]

6 hours ago, NamesJay said:

More accurate would be if you can find completed auctions with those type differences. These are just seller prices that might not ever be met.

On the Q Meg definitely high yes. The MISB red label though, that price is pretty legit. ratchet had an 85 but with box sub 85 that fetched around $17Kish. The spread between the two is definitely $10K or more. But to your point, yes a "sold" example would be ideal. Now eBay is making that very challenging, that is to go back and do advanced searches for sold items. You have to really capture them in real time. I am doing screen shots or tracking bids on items of my own personal interest. 

[Buzzetta]

On 6/19/2018 at 3:12 PM, F For Fake said:

This may be true when it comes to collectors, but if we're talking about KIDS and KIDS TOYS, how do they stack up? Do kids still even play with action figures? 

I think the 80's was the ultimate confluence of licenses and cultural saturation. And while some toy lines today boast features like extra articulation (Marvel Legends, for instance) with many lines, the quality isn't as good now as it was then, when it comes to materials. For instance, the die-cast metal of the early Transformers, the harder plastic used in the small Joes, etc. (I'd also take the rubber o-rings of the past, fragile though they may have been, over the articulation of Joes over the last 10 years or so.)  And in some instances, advancements were made, only to be followed by regression (thinking here of the mass market Star Wars and superhero figures which boasted the articulation of Marvel Legends style figures for a time, but which have now mostly regressed to the original 5 points of articulation of their ancient forbears.)

Transformers, GI Joe and He-Man WERE toy culture at that time. Nowadays I'd suspect video games and interactive toys are much more popular than their action figure cousins, though I'm too lazy to look up actual sales numbers. 

Also, there's the matter of price. Joes were about $3 when I was a kid. Nowadays, a 3.75 figure is $10-$15. Marvel Legends are $20. I'll let the resident poindexters work out the inflation, but I still think that we had it much better back then, value wise.

Of course, as you point out, nostalgia is a huge part of it as well. But when I look at the toy aisles these days, I am not overly impressed. Sure, there are some amazing toy makers our there for the collectors market, but when talking about what is available at the local Target or Walmart, I'll still take what I had as a kid.

Also I'm grumpy and old.

 

I would have to disagree with this.  Every now and then I receive an email in my PM box here asking me about a toy purchase for a child.  When it comes to buying a Transformers toy from the 80's versus one now I would argue that the current incarnation is more durable.  Transformers from the 80's were very unforgiving if not transformed correctly. Arms would break off or other pieces if not properly transformed.  While it is true that a core area was die cast the rest of the toy was constructed out a more brittle plastic.  Today's transformers have a "give" to them.  Sure one could say that the plastic is malleable allowing for bent feet syndrome.  (Modern day Joe collectors know what I am talking about but we will get to that next.)  However, if you have not properly aligned the transformer arms to tuck under the engine block in the transformation process, the arm will pop off at the ball and socket joint rather than break.  Three decades ago, this was not the case, and your Sideswipe arm would have just broken at the shoulder.  If you drop a vintage transformer back in the day, the thing just cracked and broke.  Today's can take a hit and still keep truckin.  I was comparing Vintage Dinobot Snarl to Modern Power of the Primes Snarl.  Modern version beats the vintage six ways til' Sunday.  Modern day transformers were really designed with the kids in mind.  The Masterpiece line is made with modern concepts but vintage type materials and are geared toward more adult collectors.  Careful though as they do not have the durability that the regular line has. 

Now when it comes to GI Joe?  Today's modern joes have softer plastic but the trade off is no broken crotches, no broken thumbs and no snapped rubber bands.   Sure you can make a claim that the forearms on some of the first mold incarnations of modern day characters such as Duke. Mailaway Doc and others suffered stress cracks but they abandoned that molded part in later years.   Again, I would take a modern day Joe over the vintage if I were giving it to a kid.  There is less chance of it breaking. The modern versions can take a hit. 

[GeneticNinja]

On 6/26/2018 at 7:06 AM, tv horror said:

A train that drives people up the wall...That's usually a job for relatives!  I never heard of that train can you remember what it was called?

 

It wasn't the train, I was referencing the slot racer sets. I found it. I need to look into the other versions. These were popular back then.

 

16 hours ago, F For Fake said:

Yes, that is exactly the layout I recall. Into the store past the party supplies and junk toys like rubber snakes and such, around the corner and then the first "main" aisle was floor to ceiling board games, the consoles in the cases on the right (I remember staring at Nintendo's Robby the Robot every time I went in!) then the next aisle over was the game slips, and I think the next aisle past that was bikes? 

 

For me I think the bikes were near the middle of the store. If not an aisle or two away from the G.I. Joe and Transformers toys. A big open area with bikes on the floor and I think hanging from racks. I think the stores I went to had three rows of aisles. The video game aisle was in the second row. The G.I. Joe and Transformers on the third row. Bikes on the second row. That junk toy area wasn't really a row compared to the larger ones.

 

[F For Fake]

12 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

I would have to disagree with this.  Every now and then I receive an email in my PM box here asking me about a toy purchase for a child.  When it comes to buying a Transformers toy from the 80's versus one now I would argue that the current incarnation is more durable.  Transformers from the 80's were very unforgiving if not transformed correctly. Arms would break off or other pieces if not properly transformed.  While it is true that a core area was die cast the rest of the toy was constructed out a more brittle plastic.  Today's transformers have a "give" to them.  Sure one could say that the plastic is malleable allowing for bent feet syndrome.  (Modern day Joe collectors know what I am talking about but we will get to that next.)  However, if you have not properly aligned the transformer arms to tuck under the engine block in the transformation process, the arm will pop off at the ball and socket joint rather than break.  Three decades ago, this was not the case, and your Sideswipe arm would have just broken at the shoulder.  If you drop a vintage transformer back in the day, the thing just cracked and broke.  Today's can take a hit and still keep truckin.  I was comparing Vintage Dinobot Snarl to Modern Power of the Primes Snarl.  Modern version beats the vintage six ways til' Sunday.  Modern day transformers were really designed with the kids in mind.  The Masterpiece line is made with modern concepts but vintage type materials and are geared toward more adult collectors.  Careful though as they do not have the durability that the regular line has. 

Now when it comes to GI Joe?  Today's modern joes have softer plastic but the trade off is no broken crotches, no broken thumbs and no snapped rubber bands.   Sure you can make a claim that the forearms on some of the first mold incarnations of modern day characters such as Duke. Mailaway Doc and others suffered stress cracks but they abandoned that molded part in later years.   Again, I would take a modern day Joe over the vintage if I were giving it to a kid.  There is less chance of it breaking. The modern versions can take a hit. 

My problem with contemporary Transformers is that I'm apparently simply too dumb to figure out how to transform them. The few that I've picked up seemed much more complex than what I grew up with. Maybe kids today are smarter and can figure them out, but they're a mystery to me. I also have no connection to the property these days, absolutely hate the movies, so I haven't kept up with them to know much about them.

Also, though I definitely believe you, I never had an issue with my Transformers or Joes breaking when I was a kid. Maybe I was more delicate with my stuff than most kids, but I never had any of those problems. Never broke a single piece or had any damage whatsoever to any of my Transformers. I had one Joe with a broken crotch, maybe once or twice snapped an O-ring (and I mean literally once or twice) and I never had any broken thumbs or cracked arms. I know now as an adult that these were apparently common issues for a lot of folks, but I never saw them. (Side bar: what the hell were you people DOING with these things? Throwing them off of tall buildings?) At any rate, I love the articulation and hard plastic of the vintage Joes. The modern Joes feel rubbery to me, and the articulation is gross and difficult to work with. Just a personal preference. The Joes have neat accessories an cool sculpts, but they don't "feel" right to me, so I don't buy them.  I don't have kids so the durability of the modern figures isn't an issue or concern for me either.

Tl;dr: vintage toys are better because I like them better. I'm a simple caveman. Your modern world frightens and confuses me.

[Buzzetta]

38 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

My problem with contemporary Transformers is that I'm apparently simply too dumb to figure out how to transform them. The few that I've picked up seemed much more complex than what I grew up with. Maybe kids today are smarter and can figure them out, but they're a mystery to me. I also have no connection to the property these days, absolutely hate the movies, so I haven't kept up with them to know much about them.

Also, though I definitely believe you, I never had an issue with my Transformers or Joes breaking when I was a kid. Maybe I was more delicate with my stuff than most kids, but I never had any of those problems. Never broke a single piece or had any damage whatsoever to any of my Transformers. I had one Joe with a broken crotch, maybe once or twice snapped an O-ring (and I mean literally once or twice) and I never had any broken thumbs or cracked arms. I know now as an adult that these were apparently common issues for a lot of folks, but I never saw them. (Side bar: what the hell were you people DOING with these things? Throwing them off of tall buildings?) At any rate, I love the articulation and hard plastic of the vintage Joes. The modern Joes feel rubbery to me, and the articulation is gross and difficult to work with. Just a personal preference. The Joes have neat accessories an cool sculpts, but they don't "feel" right to me, so I don't buy them.  I don't have kids so the durability of the modern figures isn't an issue or concern for me either.

Tl;dr: vintage toys are better because I like them better. I'm a simple caveman. Your modern world frightens and confuses me.

Some of them were just poorly designed.  We were very careful with our toys as we didn't get replacements if anything was broken.  In fact we were seen as careless.   One figure that immediately comes to mind is Recondo.   Although I remember Clutch as my first Joe, that was a Christmas gift from my cousin.  Recondo was the first Joe I ever picked out at the store.  (RIP TRU).   If you take a close look at Recondo picture in the catalog he holds his gun with the stock on the outside of his forearm.  I did not realize this as a kid.  The second you try to make him hold the weapon with the stock on the inside of the forearm, the thumb breaks.  My original Recondo was glued.  I picked up a couple of others and saw that they had the same issue. 

When it came to Joes also keep in mind that the rivets that hold the shoulders together at the joints caused stress fractures in the plastic.  Those toys were really built to last...   

Pick up a modern Snake Eyes though... V.54 or V67... They are like mini sideshow figures. 

 

(I will pull you into the rabbit hole... you will see.)

[F For Fake]

5 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

Some of them were just poorly designed.  We were very careful with our toys as we didn't get replacements if anything was broken.  In fact we were seen as careless.   One figure that immediately comes to mind is Recondo.   Although I remember Clutch as my first Joe, that was a Christmas gift from my cousin.  Recondo was the first Joe I ever picked out at the store.  (RIP TRU).   If you take a close look at Recondo picture in the catalog he holds his gun with the stock on the outside of his forearm.  I did not realize this as a kid.  The second you try to make him hold the weapon with the stock on the inside of the forearm, the thumb breaks.  My original Recondo was glued.  I picked up a couple of others and saw that they had the same issue. 

When it came to Joes also keep in mind that the rivets that hold the shoulders together at the joints caused stress fractures in the plastic.  Those toys were really built to last...   

Pick up a modern Snake Eyes though... V.54 or V67... They are like mini sideshow figures. 

 

(I will pull you into the rabbit hole... you will see.)

 We shall see! I'm going to a local Joe show next month and have some stuff on my want list. I picked up the 25th anniversary figures for a while but while they looked cool on card, I was super turned off by the feel of the figures themselves. I had a couple of Pursuit of Cobra figures that I thought were pretty cool. Look, I could be talked into this. Don't talk me into this. My wife won't forgive you.

[STORMSHADOW_80]

Modern Joes are kind of the best of both worlds. Plus they come with stands.

I wonder which stores will carry the new Joe line and when that will be? It's strange now being over a year without Joes on the shelves. Come on Snake Eyes movie

[GeneticNinja]

I don't think I broke many of my vintage toys. Perhaps I didn't play with them that rough. If I did break something it was the odd small piece. Something like the G.I. Joe foot peg breaking because I didn't pull the figure straight up or it got bumped. I recall a few small plastic tabs like that breaking. I had the Captain Power base and some of those yellow rails broke like that. But it was mostly stuff like that which I think bases were prone to since they had a lot of attachment pieces and tabs. I found many of my old Transformers and they were fine even though they were tossed in garbage bags. Only the ones with delicate thin parts had the tips chipped or broken.

[Yorick]

Finally obtained an Estrela Wonder Woman (center).  Still trying for a Gulliver...

[followtheleader]

2 hours ago, GeneticNinja said:

I don't think I broke many of my vintage toys. Perhaps I didn't play with them that rough. If I did break something it was the odd small piece. Something like the G.I. Joe foot peg breaking because I didn't pull the figure straight up or it got bumped. I recall a few small plastic tabs like that breaking. I had the Captain Power base and some of those yellow rails broke like that. But it was mostly stuff like that which I think bases were prone to since they had a lot of attachment pieces and tabs. I found many of my old Transformers and they were fine even though they were tossed in garbage bags. Only the ones with delicate thin parts had the tips chipped or broken.

Broken crotches are semi-common.  This was likely rough play, pulling in and out of vehicles, etc. 

Thumbs/fingers are less common than often quoted.  If we're talking 1982 figures, then they are obviously higher.  Hence the whole re-design in 1983. 

Split elbows are typically later figures (like 87 and on).  A lot of the earlier versions are usually in nice shape. I recall reading that the plastic was changed later on.  Again, it's not a surprise that the 1982 versions have bad elbows, but that's entirely different than the "split elbow" issue.  

A lot of damage I see is super poor storage (vehicles on top of each other and figures).  And frankly some of this was intentional damage as we grew up.  Can't tell you how many times I remember kids sending them up with bottle rockets. 

Patrick

[NoMan]

9 hours ago, followtheleader said:

 Can't tell you how many times I remember kids sending them up with bottle rockets. 

 

It was always a phase for me. I was into toys, than fire, than B.B. guns. 

I have no action figures from my youth as I played with them. Got bored. Set them on fire and shot them with an air rifle. 

I guess I blew slot of them up with m80s too

Edited June 29, 2018 by NoMan

[Buzzetta]

5 hours ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

Modern Joes are kind of the best of both worlds. Plus they come with stands.

I wonder which stores will carry the new Joe line and when that will be? It's strange now being over a year without Joes on the shelves. Come on Snake Eyes movie

Ready for this?  According to youjoe.com the last incarnation of Snake Eyes was released in 2014. 

[STORMSHADOW_80]

3 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Ready for this?  According to youjoe.com the last incarnation of Snake Eyes was released in 2014. 

There's this one that came out last year. It's pretty badass with the alternate head. Unfortunately I never got a chance to grab one from the pegs

Snake Eyes & Storn Shadow 2 Pack 50th

[Buzzetta]

10 minutes ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

There's this one that came out last year. It's pretty badass with the alternate head. Unfortunately I never got a chance to grab one from the pegs

Snake Eyes & Storn Shadow 2 Pack 50th

That's right ! I forgot about that.  It is a rerelease from the original carded versions.

That is a good price for that btw... I just sold my extra two pack of that for $45.99 to an overseas buyer.  Keep in mind that I use the GSP too.  It's a solid set and worth the $35. 

[STORMSHADOW_80]

1 hour ago, Buzzetta said:

That's right ! I forgot about that.  It is a rerelease from the original carded versions.

That is a good price for that btw... I just sold my extra two pack of that for $45.99 to an overseas buyer.  Keep in mind that I use the GSP too.  It's a solid set and worth the $35. 

Nice! It's a very cool 2 pack I want to get eventually. I just got a local opprotunity on a Flagg that is mostly complete and has the larger hull conversion done 

I'm going to check it out next week

Edited June 29, 2018 by STORMSHADOW_80

[Parabellum]

Commando Diamond Toys action.  I pick up carded 3 3/4 whenever I see them.  One of my favorite movies as a kid.

[MGsimba77]

2 hours ago, Parabellum said:

Commando Diamond Toys action.  I pick up carded 3 3/4 whenever I see them.  One of my favorite movies as a kid.

Sweet looking figures! I got a couple of vintage carded wolverines coming up in similar sizes. 

[MGsimba77]

[tv horror]

On 6/29/2018 at 12:51 AM, Yorick said:

Finally obtained an Estrela Wonder Woman (center).  Still trying for a Gulliver...

I was expecting this as I saw this photo.

 

[Yorick]

4 hours ago, tv horror said:

I was expecting this as I saw this photo.

 

  Yea.  I like my plastic ladies!