 |
| Micronauts Antron |
Action figures are big business these days, but back in the 1980's, good figures were hard to find. The Mego Micronauts range arrived out of nowhere in the UK, with fabulous 3" figures in transparent plastic with articulation and poseability that left the then popular Kenner Star Wars figures standing - literally.
 |
| Antron, Repto and Membros |
Adapted from the japanese company Takara's mega successful Microman range, the Micronauts were soon joined by the baddies - aliens and robots that were even cooler than the standard Time Traveller figures.
 |
| Time Travellers |
As Airfix had won the option to repackage and distribute Micronauts in the UK, the range was severely limited and the extended figure range never reached our shores. However, the secondary market via ebay and collectors marts is still bringing up mint examples of these wonderful figures today, making it fairly easy to find them.
 |
| Palisades and Mego Centaurus |
An abortive plan by an american company Palisades briefly re-issued several of the figures in the early noughties, but third party manufacturers in China cut corners with the production of the earlier releases, meaning the initial release was well below par, suffering breakages in the package and rapid deterioration of internal rubber parts.
 |
| Orange Mego Galactic Defender battles his Palisades cousins |
Luckily, some of the defects can be overcome and the popularity of the line means there are plans afoot to resurrect it once more, albeit in a newly redesigned form.
The Takara Microman line on which the Micronauts were based released some amazingly imaginative figures until about 10 years ago, including versions of Superman, Batman and Predator franchises.
 |
| Cyborg Superman tangles with AcroBiom |
 |
| Aliens Battle Royale |
The poseability of the later Microman figures and the wealth of accessories which come with every figure make them ideal subjects for display and photography.
 |
| Micronauts Acroyear |
Great review, Bill. It's a toy range I somehow missed out on. I see what you mean about the superior articulation and inventive sense of imagination which went in to these little creations! Factors which shine through in your superb pics. I'm sure I've seen a Godzilla figure in this line?
ReplyDeleteYes Tony - Takara certainly have a wry sense of humour and know what the japanese fanbase likes. They produced a series in 2004 with a Microman figure inside a rubber Gojira suit! Also available were a number of other famous film stars such as Ultraman and his peers. Fantastic detail too:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.microforever.com/2004KM-02.htm
Thanks for the link, Bill. I suspect the idea of Microman/Godilla suit was a nod to their early eighties 1/6 Combat Joe action figure. A large boxed set sold with a rubber Godzilla suit... just like the actor in the monster suit, in the early movies :)
ReplyDeleteTranslucent plastic is what drew me to these toys,Bill.In these toys I saw a future that I definitely wanted to be a part of!
ReplyDelete