July | 2015 | 2 Warps to Neptune

Archive for July, 2015

Mego’s Planet of the Apes Toys at Lionel Play World, 1974

A “living replica” is just a guy in an ape suit, right?

From The Palm Beach Post, October 16, 1974.

1981 Article on Milton Bradley’s Dark Tower

Published July 22, 2015 Board Games/Tabletop Games , Dark Tower 1 Comment

The money quote, from George Ditomassi, Milton Bradley’s Senior VP for Sales:

We wanted a game that would cater to a market that already existed—Dungeons and Dragons… Dark Tower will not attract the Dungeons and Dragons aficionado. But that’s a small, intense market. We wanted the next level down—people who had heard about D&D but who didn’t want to be Dungeons and Dragons freaks. [Italics mine]

The article is from September 27, 1981. More Dark Tower here.

Atari Gauntlet Commercial, 1985

Published July 22, 2015 Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Atari , Commercials , Video Games 3 Comments

First time I’ve seen this, and I don’t know if it ever aired. According to the source, it’s from a VHS tape belonging to Alan Murphy, a graphics programmer at Atari (1980-1987) who worked on coin-op and console games, including Gauntlet and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The animation is excellent!

Remco’s Universal Mini Monster Action Figures (1980)

Published July 21, 2015 Remco Toys , Universal Monsters 5 Comments

I’m not sure what convinced Remco that Universal Monsters were going to compete in 1980, when a little movie called The Empire Strikes Back came out and the horror genre was dominated by ultraviolent slashers and demons from hell, but I’m glad they did: regardless of how much money was lost, the Mini Monsters are some of the coolest action figures ever made. The cards are beautiful too. I love the glow in the dark graphic surrounding Frank and the Phantom on the versions seen here. The figures were first released in non-glow versions (the Creature was dark green).

Azrak-Hamway International (AHI), which acquired Remco in 1974, produced 8-inch Universal Monster figures from 1974-1976. The later Remco line (1980-1981) also included a series of 9-inch figures (hence the “mini monster” designation for the 3 3/4-inch figures), a nifty vinyl Play Case, the awesome Monsterizer, and hand puppets, as well as ancillary items like makeup kits. As always, I’m including some prices below.

Mattel’s Clash of the Titans Action Figures (1981)

Published July 20, 2015 Clash of the Titans , Mattel Toys 4 Comments

Mattel was the “primary target” for MGM’s massive, and very successful, marketing campaign for Clash of the Titans. The film was panned by critics, but ended up the 11th highest grossing feature of 1981. Here’s a snippet from the Schenectady Gazette (August 30, 1980) describing the merchandising, apparently the “most extensive… ever accorded an MGM motion picture.” (There’s also an interesting December 1982 article here about the dangerous business of toy licensing: Mattel’s Clash line is noted as one of the “bargain-basement items.”)

Mattel’s effort on the toys was less than impressive. A second wave may have been planned, but too many major characters were left out initially, and only two creatures were produced (Pegasus and the Kraken—neither was convincing) for what was essentially a creature feature. How did we not get Medusa, who represents the climactic moment of the movie and is arguably Harryhausen‘s magnum opus?

Having said that, whoever designed the packaging belongs in the toy hall of fame. I can still remember those cards hanging on the hooks in toy stores. The unforgettable look did not go unnoticed by Hasbro, whose G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero packages would fashion the bold mix of deep red, orange, and yellow into an explosion surrounding each figure and vehicle.

I’m adding some price tags below, from highest found to lowest found. 25¢ apiece on clearance! The rest of the Clash toys are here.

7 Up `United We Stand’ Commemorative Cans, 1976

Published July 4, 2015 '70s Decor/Design/Fashion , Food/Drink Leave a Comment

A can for each state. Stack up all the cans in a pyramid and you get a picture of Uncle Sam. See a cool six-part series on the set at BevReview, where I got the photos.