Six Flags Over Mid-America is now Six Flags St. Louis.
(Images via Design by Decade/eBay)
Archive for May, 2014
Six Flags Over Mid-America Employment Brochure (1979)
Published May 20, 2014 Amusement Parks/Theme Parks Leave a Comment
The gravitational singularity’s so bright, I gotta wear shades…
The Black Hole Los Angeles Premiere Party (1979)
Published May 19, 2014 Black Hole, The , Cosplay , Disney , Disney Movies 1 Comment
More good stuff from byyourcommand.net: Disney employees dressed up in The Black Hole sentry and humanoid costumes for the premiere gala at the Century Plaza Hotel, now the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, in Los Angeles. See more photos at the link.
Special thanks to Stingray for the heads up.
The Empire Strikes Back Action Figure ‘Six Pack’ (Kenner, 1981)
Published May 16, 2014 Kenner Toys , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 4 Comments
There were two Six Packs. The second set had a red background and included Rebel Soldier, Stormtrooper (Hoth Battle Gear), Han Solo (Hoth Battle Gear), Darth Vader, C-3PO, and R2-D2.
Note the markdown in the first photo from $13.97 to $5.00. The last photo shows a different set with a markdown from $17.95 to $14.96 ($2.50/figure, about the average when sold separately). The copyright date on the box is 1981, and the ESB figures first appeared in 1980, so the only thing I can think of to justify the $5.00 price is that everyone already had the individual figures by 1981.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Modelling Clay: ‘Wizards and Fighters’ (DAS, 1982)
Published May 15, 2014 Arts and Crafts , D&D , D&D Non-Gaming Merchandise 6 Comments
DAS, still around today, had many licenses at the time, including the Smurfs. The D&D licensing boom of ’82-’83 was aimed at the younger kids who didn’t really understand role-playing yet, but who knew the brand from the older kids, from placement, and, in 1983, from the cartoon and action figures.
The clay figures here were not meant as a game supplement, in other words, like the hundreds of metal miniatures found in every hobby shop. The back of the box makes it very clear: “These kits depicting Advanced Dungeons & Dragons characters are a fun, colorful way to visualize the popular role-playing games’ [sic] adventures.”
And again: “The timeless adventures of powerful wizards, firebreathing dragons and fairy princesses are recreated in these clay modelling kits…”
Not a supplement, but a replacement.
DAS put out at least one more AD&D modelling clay kit, with a pink box, featuring “Goblins and Dragons.”
(Images via Vintage Odds N Ends/eBay)
‘Olympians’ Bodybuilding Supplements Ad Featuring Conan, 1982
Published May 14, 2014 '80s Movies/TV , Ads , Conan the Barbarian , Fantasy Movies/TV 1 Comment
Conan especially likes his protein powder when it’s chocolate-flavored and served in fancy crystal—with a strawberry on the rim.
(Image via Catch the Sparrow/Flickr)
Fruit of the Loom ‘Funpals’ Ad, 1984
Published May 14, 2014 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Ads 4 Comments
“Your son can have a lot more fun when you put his pals behind him”? Are you serious, Fruit of the Loom?
Movie Theater Marquees: Alien (1979)
Published May 13, 2014 '70s Movies/TV , Alien Trilogy , Movie Theaters/Marquees , Sci-Fi Production Design 3 Comments
The first photo shows the Alien premiere at the Criterion Theater, New York, 1979. The second two are of the premiere at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
The showing at the Egyptian was special. Many of the props, models, and even parts of the set were on display. After you stood in line for an hour or two, you got to walk through a corridor of the Nostromo to get into the lobby, and in the courtyard sat Giger’s massive “Space Jockey.” The masterpiece was promptly vandalized and had to be removed (note the hand touching it in the photo).
All of the pics below are from Lisa Morgan, who unearthed them a few years ago.
(Images via Bow Tie Partners, Aliens and Predators Tumblr, fancollectorgeek.com, and cinriter/Lisa Morgan)
Kid Posing with Conan, Circa 1985
Published May 13, 2014 Amusement Parks/Theme Parks , Conan the Barbarian 6 Comments
Says Deborah on Bookbox (the Scholastic Reading Club blog):
My mom made me pose with the guy who played Conan the Barbarian on our trip to Universal Studios back when I was nine; she said my friends would be “jealous” that I got to be in a picture with such a “hunky monkey.” But all I could think about was how I wish he was wearing a longer loincloth.
Also check out an entry from our hero’s (I’m talking about the girl, not Conan) 7th grade diary:
Dear Diary,
Things I want to do when I’m in high school:
- Have a boy pick me up from school one day, in a car.
- Have a boy drive me around in his car.
- Go to an all-boys school during the middle of the day.
- Meet a boy for lunch.
- Go out on a school night.
Yours,
Deborah
Doesn’t Conan bear a pretty good resemblance to Arnold?
The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular (1983 – 1994)
Published May 12, 2014 Amusement Parks/Theme Parks , Conan the Barbarian 1 Comment
The Universal Studios attraction was a “$3.75 million production featuring state-of-the-art, never-before-seen laser and pyrotechnic special effects, combined with the skills of actors, magical illusions and computer-coordinated animated characters.” I never got to see it, sadly. I went to Universal Studios once or twice, before 1983, and remember only the Jaws and Battlestar Galactica rides.
The fire-breathing dragon sequence in the Conan Spectacular was inspired by the climactic scene in Sleeping Beauty (1959). I’d forgotten how scary the original Disney classics could be. Not only is the battle convincing and way ahead of its time conceptually, it’s one of the earliest screen examples of the sword and sorcery trope.
TV promo is below. Check out a short documentary (1988) and the full show (circa 1990) at thestudiotour.com.
(Images via skyscrapercity.com and thestudiotour.com)
2 Warps to Neptune 