The Missus and me wandered round a modern toy shop looking for Star Wars figures last week.
There weren't any but there were lots of Kong and Godzilla toys. I was surprised there were so many. Its a relatively old film now isn't it, Kong V. Godzilla?
There were also modern carded Masters of the Universe figures, reduced in price, together with fancier exclusive boxed Masters toys too.
I can imagine these MOTU toys are hard to shift now. Is there anything on the TV to back them up in the UK? A cartoon?
Just last Wednesday I was looking at a huge collection of original MOTU figures at a car boot sale and even handled a few. As my daughter is an Eighties child I am simply drawn to Eighties toys.
Here's my own original loose figure collection I sold in 2009.
We ended up buying a Thor headed Pez in the toy shop for Junior's birthday bundle.
Hitting the charity shops I saw this big tank.
First impression from a distance I had thought it was a Palitoy Sherman for my beloved Action Man and my heart rate rose. It wasn't. The modern solid plastic soldier figure put me off looking properly, although an Action Man might well fit in the hatches.
New stuff leaves me genrally cold. If its not oldish - up to about 1990 - I tend to walk past. Are you like that? is it an age thing?
Here's a Palitoy Sherman recently on Ebay for comparison.
In an antiques emporium I saw this Space 2501 Meccano boxed set, which I thought looked good. Meccano isn't my thing but I know some readers liked and like it. Is is a set you had?
That is not a WW2 US Sherman Tank, it is a post-war British Scorpion light tank. Officially called the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Vehicle (Tracked). I recall seeing these in the shops, There was also a Spartan Armoured Personnel Carrier, which used the same chassis.
ReplyDeleteAs to toys, it depends on the item. It is really hard to see something from 1990 as 'vintage', but I suppose it is, as the term really means from a given year, rather than old. Something made last week would be 2022 vintage.
Scorpion! Of course Paul! Thanks for the correction!
DeleteHate Meccano and the space stuff is even more limp as it just has bolt on plastic accessories like nose cones, canopies and engines to make something like a flying junkyard. Kong V Godzilla is way old stock, as the film didnt exactly set theatres alight, theyre probably stuck with it. Theres a modern MOTU series on Netflix somewhere, but its just as naff as before.
ReplyDeleteSo you don't like Meccano or MOTU then?
DeleteI think the Scorpion in the pic belongs to a range called HM Armed Forces which hit the shelves in 2011. They're smaller than Action Man, with a focus purely on what was at the time, modern British military. They just don't appeal to me either. I'm mostly entrenched with the toys that I, or my kids, grew up with, Woodsy :)
ReplyDeleteWe are kindreds Tone!
DeleteKing Kong Vs Godzilla limped into the cinemas in 2021 after Covid-related delays, I think it pretty much died a death, which is why the shops are full of unsold toys! Masters of the Universe is having a huge franchise reboot, again I think there have been Covid delays, but expect all sorts of movies and tie-ins soon.
ReplyDeleteI saw Godzilla V Kong Kittenpurse and really enjoyed it, although I never like to see either of them get hurt! Not sure how children would view it. I will deffo watch it again when I can though. As for MOTU, I love the old cartoon and the toys. Icons of the Eighties. There's a brilliant The Toys That Made Us episode about them, which my daughter showed me last year I think. Superb. The toys' box art was just fabulous. Reminded me of Frank Frazetta's glory days in the Sixties. Can't recall who the artist was now. I look forward to the new MOTU but will always love the old one.
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