Beautiful. A classic giant monster toy—much more impressive design-wise than Mattel’s Kraken, in my opinion.
See some amazing German ROTJ toy ads here.
Archive for the 'Kenner Toys' Category
Kenner’s Return of the Jedi Toys: Rancor Monster Figure (1983)
Published November 7, 2014 Kenner Toys , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 3 CommentsKenner’s 18″ Alien Action Figure (1979)
Published October 2, 2014 Alien Trilogy , Kenner Toys 9 Comments
Definitely the greatest action figure ever made, and possibly the greatest toy ever made, despite its notorious fragility. I talk about toys based on R rated features of the ’70s and early ’80s here, where I first mentioned Kenner’s magnum opus. The figure didn’t sell well due to price point and parental puzzlement, but everyone I knew wanted one. (The toy reportedly lost Kenner “more than $1 million and was produced for only one year.”)
All it took to draw the kids in was a good trailer (Alien had one of the best), solid lead up press in the genre magazines (Starlog, etc.), and eye-catching merchandise. (If you don’t already have it, go get a copy of Alien: The Illustrated Story, the 1979 graphic novel by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson originally published by Heavy Metal magazine).
All of the photos are from eBay (item sold for $521.77), with the exception of the instruction sheet (itself a masterpiece), which I found at Gregg Koenig’s Flickr.
Star Wars Kenner Pinback Button (1977/1978)
Published September 12, 2014 '70s Decor/Design/Fashion , Kenner Toys , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 1 Comment
The Six Million Dollar Man Catalog Insert (Kenner, 1977)
Published September 3, 2014 Catalogs , Kenner Toys , Six Million Dollar Man, The 2 Comments
Real life superhero Mikey Walters strikes again (he uploads faster than a speeding bullet!). Check out his Six Million Dollar Man Flickr Album to see the rest of the catalog, along with original boxes and instructions for the Critical Assignment Arms and Legs, “one of Steve Austin’s last resort measures in critical bionic situations.”
Child World Newspaper Insert (1978): Shogun Warriors, Star Wars, and More
Published July 18, 2014 Ads , Kenner Toys , Shogun Warriors , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) , Toy Stores/Toy Aisles/Toy Departments Leave a Comment
We didn’t have Child World in Southern California, but my mother did put lots of stuff on layaway. Try to explain that concept to Gen Y.
The Flying Finnegan game on the second page looks pretty sweet—for about five minutes.
Here’s a great view of the Cheerios box appearing in the ad, courtesy of Gregg Koenig.
Star Wars Inflatable Light Saber (Kenner, 1977)
Published June 19, 2014 Kenner Toys , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) Leave a Comment
It looks so sad when it’s deflated.
Was there really a “Remote Ball” (bottom left panel in the second photo)? Is that what’s in the commercial below, or are those just balloons?
1978 Spiegel Catalog: Star Wars, Shogun Warriors, Star Bird, and More
Published June 11, 2014 Catalogs , G.I. Joe , Kenner Toys , Micronauts , Shogun Warriors , Space Toys/Playsets , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 10 Comments
Catalog diving never gets old. We were conditioned at an early age, and the sight and smell of these filmy, glossy pages is like the ringing of Pavlov’s buzzer.
I was surprised to see that the Micronauts Battle Cruiser ($19.95) was more expensive than the Death Star ($17.95). Mego just couldn’t recover after rejecting the Star Wars license, although I think the Micronauts line, even in its last throes, is more creative.
I love the Super Joe toys, including Terron, shown at the bottom of the second page. You can see commercials here and here.
The “Sonic Ear” is new to me. It amplifies sound, which is pretty lame, but what a great looking gun to take into a space battle.
Don’t miss the Fonz watch—the strap is denim-colored, naturally—on the last page.
(Images via Yesterday’s Ads/eBay)
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.
2 Warps to Neptune 