Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
“Lose your earthly identity and become a Micronaut!” One of the more beautiful game boards out there, from the illustrations to the design and decor. Who knew fuschia could look so good? We’d call the ensemble retro-futuristic today. Plus, the damn thing can double as a playset.
Read more about how to play the game—basic kid stuff—at Innerspace Online.
(Images via eBay and Board Game Geek)
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)
Three puzzles were released. That’s three too many. Hire an artist, cheapskates! The blur effect isn’t fooling anyone. Someone took a picture of some action figures and slapped it on a box.
American Publishing Corp. published a ton of puzzles well into the ’80s, including a series of D&D puzzles starting in 1983.
(Images via eBay)
Vroom. I see Baron Karza, Force Commander, Acroyear (sort of), and Biotron. Who’s the yellow guy?
If you’re a fantasy art aficionado and have $350,000 burning a hole in your pocket, head on over to eBay seller Mister Sluggworths and buy up these original Ken Kelly oils. They were commissioned by Mego in 1979 and used as card and box art for the Micronauts series 4 and 5 (1979 – 1980) alien figures and vehicles.
Above you see, from top to bottom, Repto, Membros, the Hornetroid, and the Terraphant. Also for sale are Centaurus, Kronos, and Lobros. That’s 7 out of 8 of the original commissions being sold as a lot. Antron is the only one missing.
(Images via Mister Sluggworths/eBay)
I’ve never seen “The Terrifying Mammoth from the Remote World of Visceros” before. It rules, obviously. The alien script is a brilliant touch. I’m not sure the “hydrocannon” is all that terrifying, but you never know, maybe water is deadly to Viscerians (Viscerosians?).
The box art is by Ken Kelly. Check out his Micronauts gallery at Innerspace Online.
I love the smell of a newly assembled Battle Cruiser on Christmas morning. Is that a jug of moonshine by the TV stand?
(Via veronicamoonlit/Flickr)
December 23, 1979. (Steve Barnett/The Seattle Times)
The Micronauts stuff is on the left. Start on the bottom shelf. See the Rocket Tubes?
Go up one and you’ll see a much smaller box. That’s the Warp Racer.
Go up one more and you’ll see part of the Battle Cruiser box. Right next to that is the Star Searcher.
(First image source: Seattle Washington Archive)
2 Warps to Neptune 