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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2018 23:09:21 GMT -5
Stopped by the Target in Twin Falls when I made a Costco run. I picked up the Dracula and the Sulu figures. They had Chekov, Action Jackson and the Kirk/Spock set, but I couldn't justify the expense for all of them. I'll run back up there in a couple weeks and see if they have anything left, but they had a pretty good cross-section of the figures so far. I ordered the rest of the Trek stuff I didn't have from Target.com today, i.e. Chekov and the Mirror Mirror Set. I am toying with a custom idea*, so I ordered a Piper and Kelly Garrett as fodder for those customs too. I have always wanted toys/action figures of the Heroes of the Lance from Dragonlance, but after the dismal failure of the animated movie a decade ago I doubt I will ever see anything official, so I may try to see what I can do with making some of them. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2018 22:52:48 GMT -5
First look at a figure from the second wave of Megos due out later this year...  write up of the preview hereLooks like a Love Gun line up of Kiss is in the offing in the 8 inch scale. I think @bert is a big Kiss fan iirc, so he would knew better than I. FTC is doing a 12 inch "Mego-style" version of Kiss sometime later this year or early next year too. Interesting that Mego is marketing the character names and not the actual musician names. From what I understand Kiss (i.e. Gene and co.) own the rights to the make up and character ids and don't have to pay former members of the band any royalties to use them. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2018 23:56:45 GMT -5
^^ very interesting! official KISS merchandise has been selling Mego-type dolls for several years, and there are multiple waves available. 
here's the link to the waves from all the album eras, if you'r curious:
figurestoycompany.com/kissactionfigures-2.aspxbut very interesting that MEGO is doing some official things. (and yeah, you are absolutely correct in why they refer to them as the character name rather than the band member name) |
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Post by rom on Aug 26, 2018 11:41:34 GMT -5
I was born in the early '70's, so do remember having some Mego Star Trek & Superhero figures back in the late '70's, notably Klingon, Uhura, Spider-man, Incredible Hulk, and Superman. Have no idea where they are now.
IIRC, Mego toys started fading out of popularity in the early '80's - probably because Star Wars, G.I. Joe: ARAH, and other similar toys (in a much smaller 3.75" scale) started getting much more prevalent. Plus, there weren't a lot of vehicles/playsets to go along with these larger Mego figures, so the play value was limited.
However, these have made a come-back since the 200X's. I regret not getting some of the Classic Trek figures when they were out with the retro packaging (that looked very similar to the original packaging from the 1970's).
That being said, for some reason I wasn't too interested in these latest offerings @ Target - not a big fan of most of the TV show figures.
Though - the new retro?! Mego Classic Trek figures were not bad - especially the Mirror, Mirror two-pack. However, I just can't get interested enough to buy these. If there were more aliens in the line, I would definitely get a Romulan, Gorn, Salt-Vampire, etc. - however, I would be surprised if the line lasted that long. We'll see.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2018 1:33:35 GMT -5
There's two more waves of Mego coming before Christmas. I've heard rumors of what is coming out (only the Kiss figure above and a 14 inch Green Lantern have been confirmed), bit for Trek, a Romulan Commander, a Gorn, and more Mirror, Mirror figures (Uhura and one other) are rumored as part of these two waves.
The deal with Target is exclusive through 2018, and id guaranteed to get endcaps through this year with new releases every 45 days while it is exclusive, so the first three waves are guaranteed to be released (essentially Target has already bought these three waves). After that, we'll see, but I think we will see at least a few more waves in 2019 as other retailers start to carry these.
-M
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Post by rom on Aug 27, 2018 15:34:26 GMT -5
Good to know. Now that it sounds that the Mego ST line may continue, I may actually be interested in getting some of the current ST offerings. What I find interesting here is that in this current wave, they've released: Chekov, Sulu, and the Mirror/Mirror Spock/Kirk two-pack. And, none of these characters were ever released in the original 1970's line-up of Mego Trek figures (well, Kirk & Spock were - but not in these outfits). Very cool that they're going back & "filling in the holes" re: these figures. The idea that a Gorn & Romulan may be in a forthcoming wave is great to hear - If they are released, I will definitely get those. These did apparently come out in the original 1970's line-up, but I think they were probably tough to track down (typically the aliens in the various ST action figure lines were the hardest to find). If they ever re-make the "Mugato" monster (that did also come out in the original line-up), I hope they make it with the white fur over the entire figure, instead of a stupid cloth outfit - it never looked that way in the original episode. Here's some more info. on the original '70's ST toys: www.megomuseum.com/startrek/ |
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Post by rom on Aug 31, 2018 19:41:08 GMT -5
To add to my last posts re: the new Mego retro ST action figures, I would also like to see Mego re-issue some of the DC & Marvel Super-hero figures in the 8" scale - both those that came out in the '70's, and some of the newer "Retro" figures, that came out back in the 200X's & the earlier part of this decade. I never got any of the newer retro figures, and my original Mego Super-hero figures are long gone.
Like the newer ST Mego figures, what was interesting about the Super-hero "Retro" line was that they made numerous figures that had never made in the original line back in the '70's - i.e. Green Lantern, Black Manta, Soloman Grundy, etc. These retro figures were tough to find, though I remember seeing a handful of them in Toys R' Us (now gone out of business) in past years.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2018 0:23:18 GMT -5
To add to my last posts re: the new Mego retro ST action figures, I would also like to see Mego re-issue some of the DC & Marvel Super-hero figures in the 8" scale - both those that came out in the '70's, and some of the newer "Retro" figures, that came out back in the 200X's & the earlier part of this decade. I never got any of the newer retro figures, and my original Mego Super-hero figures are long gone. Like the newer ST Mego figures, what was interesting about the Super-hero "Retro" line was that they made numerous figures that had never made in the original line back in the '70's - i.e. Green Lantern, Black Manta, Soloman Grundy, etc. These retro figures were tough to find, though I remember seeing a handful of them in Toys R' Us (now gone out of business) in past years. FTC has the 8 inch DC license (and 12 inch licenses) and won't let it go. Hasbro has the Marvel master license (and seems to be in a symbiotic relationship with Disney for all their major properties and the primary makers of Disney based toys), and has only allow 8 inch cloth figures at a price point of $80 a figure or higher (hence the Emcee/Diamond releases of 1 figure but 3 interchangeable outfits to try to make it worth the price point. So the chances of 8 inch Marvel or DC figures by Mego at this point is slim to none. Down the line, who knows, but it won't be part of the initial offerings from Mego for 2018 and probably not 2019 either. They are doing DC in the 14 inch scale because it was the only way to circumvent FTC's stranglehold on DC figures* because it's the only way for them to do anything of the properties they had for the WGSH lines. -M *There may be an out, the FTC license is for boutique/gift shop distribution on KISS, so Mego was able to get KISS for mass market release, so if such a loophole exists with the DC license, you might see something in 8 or 12 inch scale, but Marvel is not likely unless Hasbro releses the $80 minimum price tg clause in any secondary license). |
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Post by rom on Sept 1, 2018 7:10:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the clarification. Makes sense, but it's too bad. I know there were DC & Marvel Mego "retro" figures in the 200X's (while other Marvel & DC figures were out by other companies), so I guess at that time the "powers that be" came to some kind of agreement with Mego to make the figures.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2018 10:39:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the clarification. Makes sense, but it's too bad. I know there were DC & Marvel Mego "retro" figures in the 200X's (while other Marvel & DC figures were out by other companies), so I guess at that time the "powers that be" came to some kind of agreement with Mego to make the figures. FTC (Figures Toy Company) did those retro DC figures, after Mattel had a go. Mattel still has the master DC license for DC, but let the 8 inch cloth retro license go as it did not do well for them. The only Marvel retro-Mego (or re-Mego in the parlance) figures were the ones done by Emcee and distributed through Diamond. Emcee also did the reMego Trek figures a while back too. This was the Mattel DC packaging...  but the figures were poorly made, wobbled loosely and didn't stand well. Here's FTC's site: Figures Toy CompanyThey have a wide line of DC, KISS, Hanna Barbera, etc. figures and packaging varies; here's their Teen Titans line...  they are pricey ($30 a figure compared to Mego's $14.99) and there are some quality control issues (in particular head size), but they go deep in the the DC catalog. They also repeat figures with slight variations to offer them in different sets and packaging. This is what Emcee did with Marvel...  one body, three outfits, $80. There were also only limited characters offered (Spidey, Cap, Daredevil, Wolverine and Deadpool I think, maybe one or two others I am forgetting). There were no other reMego Marvel figures. The closest was when Toy Biz did the Famous Covers line in the 90s...   but these were in the 10 inch scale, not 8 and had a very different body type than Mego did. Then there is the 1/6 scale stuff like Hot Toys and Mezco, but that is a different animal than what Mego did. -M |
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Post by rom on Sept 1, 2018 14:35:10 GMT -5
OK, good to know. This info. & links/pics. are much appreciated. I remember seeing those Mego-like retro figures in places like TRU & comic stores in the 200X's, and didn't know that Mego didn't do them since the packaging was so similar the '70's figures. Now that I know the quality wasn't always that great, I'm glad I never got any. However, I did buy some of the Toy Biz "Famous Covers" figures back in the late '90's. Some of those actually looked decent. I'd have to go dig them out, but IIRC I do have Spider-man & Thor. That being said, the designs/sculpts weren't as iconic as the Mego '70's versions. In related news, I finally picked up the Mego Classic Trek Chekov & "Mirror Mirror" Kirk/Spock two-pack. Great toys! As I mentioned earlier, these were never done in the original '70's line - but the packaging & look of the figures are similar to what they would have looked like if they came out back in the day. I can't find Sulu, but it may be sold out @ my particular Target. Though, I can always get it online. Re: these new Mego ST figures, it's worth noting that in addition to the possibly forthcoming Gorn & Romulan Commander (as teased on the Sulu card front), on the Chekov card front a Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock are teased - in their regular outfits from the show. So, hopefully we'll be getting at least these 4 new ST Classic figures down the road. It's also worth noting that from 1997-2011, there was a action-figure related magazine called "Toyfare" which had a regular "column" called "Twisted Mego Theatre" - this took Mego figures and put them in hilarious skits/situations. They used figures from the regular Mego line (Super-heroes, Star Trek Classic, etc.) as well as customs. Here's an article with some examples - LOL: megocentral.com/category/twisted-mego-theater/Toyfare went under in 2011, probably because a lot of the info. you could find on there was all online. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2018 0:01:25 GMT -5
OK, good to know. This info. & links/pics. are much appreciated. I remember seeing those Mego-like retro figures in places like TRU & comic stores in the 200X's, and didn't know that Mego didn't do them since the packaging was so similar the '70's figures. Now that I know the quality wasn't always that great, I'm glad I never got any. However, I did buy some of the Toy Biz "Famous Covers" figures back in the late '90's. Some of those actually looked decent. I'd have to go dig them out, but IIRC I do have Spider-man & Thor. That being said, the designs/sculpts weren't as iconic as the Mego '70's versions. In related news, I finally picked up the Mego Classic Trek Chekov & "Mirror Mirror" Kirk/Spock two-pack. Great toys! As I mentioned earlier, these were never done in the original '70's line - but the packaging & look of the figures are similar to what they would have looked like if they came out back in the day. I can't find Sulu, but it may be sold out @ my particular Target. Though, I can always get it online. Re: these new Mego ST figures, it's worth noting that in addition to the possibly forthcoming Gorn & Romulan Commander (as teased on the Sulu card front), on the Chekov card front a Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock are teased - in their regular outfits from the show. So, hopefully we'll be getting at least these 4 new ST Classic figures down the road. It's also worth noting that from 1997-2011, there was a action-figure related magazine called "Toyfare" which had a regular "column" called "Twisted Mego Theatre" - this took Mego figures and put them in hilarious skits/situations. They used figures from the regular Mego line (Super-heroes, Star Trek Classic, etc.) as well as customs. Here's an article with some examples - LOL: megocentral.com/category/twisted-mego-theater/Toyfare went under in 2011, probably because a lot of the info. you could find on there was all online. If you are familiar with Brickseek, you can Frankenstein what Mego has lined up for release in wave 2 and 3 by digging through the Target releases. As far as Trek, it looks like wave 2 and 3 will include those you mentioned (Kirk-in the green jersey not the gold with the Trek insignia at he waist is the rumor, Spock, Gorn, Romulan Commander) and another Mirror, Mirror 2-pack included Uhura and Scotty. Brickseek is usually pretty reliable, but it's not 100% guranteed until Mego officially announces the releases. The only thing they have announced for wave 2 so far is the Kiss, figure, a 14 inch Green Lantern (likely Hal Jordan but no pic has shown the face yet so it could be John Stewart in classic costume), and a hint of a Frankenstein (according to Brikseek it is the Lon Chaney Jr version form Ghost of Frankenstein not the Karloff version). -M |
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 7, 2018 17:14:07 GMT -5
FTC (Figures Toy Company) did those retro DC figures, after Mattel had a go. Mattel still has the master DC license for DC, but let the 8 inch cloth retro license go as it did not do well for them. The only Marvel retro-Mego (or re-Mego in the parlance) figures were the ones done by Emcee and distributed through Diamond. Emcee also did the reMego Trek figures a while back too. There were no other reMego Marvel figures. The closest was when Toy Biz did the Famous Covers line in the 90s... but these were in the 10 inch scale, not 8 and had a very different body type than Mego did. Don't' forget Hasbro's Marvel Signature Series from 2006(?), which were similar in scale and costuming to Famous Covers (only they dropped the horrible, 1990s "eXtreme" facial expressions), and Hasbro's own 10 inch DC Silver Age figures from the late 1990s/early 2000s. This line had Spider-Man, Green Goblin (looks more like a slight variation on the Toy Biz version), 1st appearance Punisher, Cyclops, Mr. Fantastic (with stretched arms), Johnny Storm with flame accents, Daredevil and others. Unfortunately, by this time, the novelty of Mego-esque tribute figures had worn off and the line died a quick death. I think collectors either wanted real Megos, or lines like Emcee/reMego/Diamond (e.g the reissues of Star Trek and Planet of the Apes figures). |
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Post by rom on Sept 7, 2018 21:25:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the reminder of the Marvel signature series from the latter part of the 200X's. I do remember getting the Daredevil from this line, and it's one of my favorite toys. I completely agree these were superior to the "Famous Covers" line, since none of them had the stupid angry/yelling expression. In fact, I found these superior to the original Mego figures as well.
The problem with this line was that I couldn't find most of the figures. I regret not getting more of these, but to be honest many of them were so hard to find that I just wasn't interested in collecting the line to any great extent. I remember seeing DD, Spider-man (original red & blue costume) and maybe a handful of others, and that was it. I never saw Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Octopus, The Punisher, Silver Age Cyclops, etc. I don't know if the line just had poor distribution, and/or that I just wasn't looking hard enough.
I also remember getting at least one of the late '90's DC Silver Age figures as well. I remember seeing Superman, Aquaman, & Batman (with removable mask, showing Bruce Wayne's face). These were nice figures as well.
In any case, I would definitely be interested in some new Marvel & DC Mego-like figures, even if Mego doesn't put them out. Something similar to Marvel's Signature Series figures from the 200X's & DC's Silver Age line from the late '90's would be much appreciated - but, who knows if anything like this will ever be released.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2018 23:11:48 GMT -5
14 Inch Poison Ivy has been confirmed as part of Wave 2. So we know 2 of the 4 new 14 inch DC from the wave figures-Green Lantern and Ivy.
As for 8 inch, so far confirmed are Paul Stanley, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Frankenstein, though there are reports some Targets have mistakenly put out some of the wave 2 figures early (it's supposed to be an October release) and there are pics of Frankenstein and the Gorn from Star Trek on an endcap display.
-M
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