Damn Microbots, YOU KILLED MEGO

[doctor09210]

I looked this up and found out that mego declined Star Wars so they could take the opportunity to sell the brand spanking new Microbots but eventually Kennars Star Wars line out-sold megos by far and mego had to file bankruptcy.
:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

Good Job Kennar
:smiley1:

[LordMudd]

I have never heard of Microbots. I have heard of Micronauts.

CCC.

[doctor09210]

micronaunts, bots,tots
same thing

[palitoy]

That's not true at all, it's a sloppy rumour that won't go away. Micronauts made the company millions and the lack of the Star Wars license did not fell the company.

[MicromanZone]

I looked this up and found out that mego declined Star Wars so they could take the opportunity to sell the brand spanking new Microbots but eventually Kennars Star Wars line out-sold megos by far and mego had to file bankruptcy.
:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
micronaunts, bots,tots
same thingI like the way every clown who “laments” the Mego/Star Wars stuff always mentions the Micronauts but can never even spell the name right: Micronaughts, Microbots, Micronaunts… And the best part? The second after the name is corrected, the response is “Whatever, you know what I mean…” ALWAYS!!!

Also the reason the Star Wars license was declined is explained on this site over here (http://www.megomuseum.com/catalog/1978/index.shtml). Ever hear of it? It’s called THE MEGO MUSEUM (http://www.megomuseum.com/):

“Mego is famous for having turned down the Star Wars liscense. They were offered the line first, as they had a long and profitable relationship with 20th Century Fox going back to Planet of the Apes and were the kings of the TV and Movie toy property. Declining Star Wars was more or less a communications error, with the pitch never reaching the senior management at Mego. Had Abrams or Kublan been consulted, Mego would have likely bought the rights to Star Wars in order to PROTECT the Micronauts' share of the market.”

Oh, and one more thing…

Good Job Kennar :smiley1:
You mean, Kenner? Right? Seriously, this stuff always amazes me. Less than 5 second Google search can get the names right but that never happens.

[saucerful]

I always thought that tater tots killed MEGO.
They all choked and died at an employee dinner banquet, based on what I've read in various receptacles.

[samurainoir]

Not dissimilar to The Terminator, Microbots were sent BACK IN TIME to kill Mego.
http://www.thewoodengnomestore.co.uk/ekmps/shops/wooden/images/tomy-knex-micro-bots-speedy-2365-p.png

Had they not, Mego's little LCD games would have evolved into Skynet. Or the Nintendo 3DS. The end result is the same.
http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mego/Mego-FiremanFireman.jpg

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I thought you meant these:

Mile High Comics - MICROBOTS (GOLD KEY) #1 - Full Size Image (http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=53481407460%201)

It'd be a bit early though; since the comic came out in '71. Funny thing; there WERE Microbot toys. Scott Shaw! posted pics of a few on his website a while back.

Don C.

[palitoy]

It'd be a bit early though; since the comic came out in '71. Funny thing; there WERE Microbot toys. Scott Shaw! posted pics of a few on his website a while back.

Don C.

Ironically, they were made by Kenner.

[ctc]

>they were made by Kenner.

Really?!?! Why had I not heard of these things! Shaw! had pics of two or three of them, sitting on a shelf. I had no clue there were toys.... although lookinhg at the designs they were INCREDIBLY toyetic. (I was planning to make 8" Mego scaled ones....)

Don C.

[doctor09210]

after the pics i looked up
i think that would be cool

[The Super Collector]

http://blogs.nbcuni.com/petsideblog/4-29%20obese%20cat.jpg

[doctor09210]

WHAT THE HECK
Thats Just Scary

[PNGwynne]

That's not true at all, it's a sloppy rumour that won't go away. Micronauts made the company millions and the lack of the Star Wars license did not fell the company.

But what did--was it just the waning interest in superhero toys at the time? Or a deeper, pervasive mismanagement that Mego fans don't acknowledge? Or was Mego just overextended, despite successful Micronauts sales?

[MicromanZone]

But what did--was it just the waning interest in superhero toys at the time? Or a deeper, pervasive mismanagement that Mego fans don't acknowledge? Or was Mego just overextended, despite successful Micronauts sales?Again, this great website that few know of called “The Mego Museum” has the info right here (http://www.megomuseum.com/catalog/1982/index.shtml):

To understand exactly what had happened one would have to look first into the financials, Mego was borrowing money at alarmingly high interest rates, their sales for the year previous were the lowest in nearly 5 years.

In a 1981 letter to shareholders Martin Abrams explains why "An overproliferation of electronic merchandise by the entire industry, and a slowdown in consumer demand caused retailers enter this year with excessive inventories" he adds "As a result, the retailers sharply curtailed their purchases during the year, which resulted in our ability to reach, what we considered to be, a very conservative forecast."

Mego made a great deal of staff changes, they closed their Bohemia, NY assembly facility and downsized their staff. The year previous Mego borrowed $52.5 Million from the General Electric Credit Company

Of course, none of this would matter after Martin Abrams and two other executives were indicted for defrauding the shareholders of $100,000 over ten years. Many believe this was an attack at union corruption and not at Mego but it was the final straw for the world's greatest toy company.

By the Summer of 1982, it was over, the Senior VP of Finance Laurence Usdin told the New York Times that despite sales of 73.7 million, the company was over 50 million in debt.

Undaunted, Martin Abrams would attempt to ressurrect Mego in 1983 but for now, gaze into the final catalog that was still full of promise and elicited these words from its President "The Company's inventory has been reduced and the product line is now comprised of a higher proportion of less expensive and more stable items, which the Company believes is being well received."

[palitoy]

But what did--was it just the waning interest in superhero toys at the time? Or a deeper, pervasive mismanagement that Mego fans don't acknowledge? Or was Mego just overextended, despite successful Micronauts sales?

Yeah it was a combination of high interest loans, sinking a lot of R&D money money into things like electronic games and the legal problems that did the company in.

When Marty Abrams ran into trouble, the creative people flew out the door and buyer confidence also disintegrated. The new president was more of a bean counter according to former employees, the company began to wither.

The other problem is, Mego had no real brand assets, they were primarily licenses, Abrams was obviously aware of this as he had tried to buy Tonka in 1980. So nobody came to swoop Mego up when they fell into trouble.

BTW Micronauts were dead by 1981, they had some great years and brought Mego hundreds of millions but it starting to collapse into itself most likely because Mego just kept offering the same assortments and Rocket Tubes was a real bust.

[doctor09210]

wow
this forum got much more interesting than i thought it would get

any failed mego lines that made them loose extra cash

[MicromanZone]

http://i54.tinypic.com/mmy0pw.jpg

[doctor09210]

these guys weren't mego
were they? at one time

[draconianguard]

Historically, Mego seemed to only take on a license that were already successful. They never really gambled with something not proven. The Wizard Of Oz, Star Trek and Marvel and DC superheroes were already well established and popular when Mego picked them up. After the Star Wars incident, things changed. Mego gambled on a slew of unproven upcoming film and television licenses like never before. I've heard a few different stories, but my gut tells me they didn't look at Star Wars as anything special.

[doctor09210]

was that 10000 bc a bad line
cause it sure was ugly!

[Figuremod73]

hey guys, dont forget the problem (and legal problems) created from the stretchable figures to....

[palitoy]

hey guys, dont forget the problem (and legal problems) created from the stretchable figures to....

I think the equating of Mego's downfall to the elastic line is really blown out of proportion. Not one former Mego employee I've spoken to has ever said that the Elastics had anything to do with the decline of the company, they were a failure for sure but that rumour seems to stem from a collector.

[PNGwynne]

Thanks for the Museum link, Microman, and the additional info Brian.

(Admittedly, I mostly use the Museum galleries.)

[Figuremod73]

palitoy, was there any licenses they were trying to aquire just before the company folded? such as a last ditch effort sort of thing?

[MIB41]

Had Mego taken the Star Wars license, you most likely would have seen a resurgence in the 8 inch format, instead of the 3 3/4 inch scale. But Kenner grabbed it and the rest is history. But it is true. Micronauts actually kept the company afloat much longer than what they would have otherwise.

[Figuremod73]

mego star wars figures would STILL be a good idea!

[MIB41]

Oddly that's the only thing Lucas hasn't done with the license!

[palitoy]

palitoy, was there any licenses they were trying to aquire just before the company folded? such as a last ditch effort sort of thing?

Thundarr was pitched but somehow failed, Mego also acquired Hill Street Blues but I guess the show wasn't toy worthy.

[ctc]

>Thundarr was pitched but somehow failed,

AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

>Mego also acquired Hill Street Blues but I guess the show wasn't toy worthy.

HAW! THey may have been worried about the age appropriateness.... although that WOULD have been around the time they pitched "Dallas" figures. Maybe the pitch came BEFORE anyone knew how dark the show was?

>Had Mego taken the Star Wars license, you most likely would have seen a resurgence in the 8 inch format, instead of the 3 3/4 inch scale.

Maybe, but 'cos of the Micronauts they might have made the same decision that Kenner did: the smaller figures make vehicles more viable. THey'd even dabbled before that with the Comic Action/Pocket Hero stuff.

Don C.

[doctor09210]

i have HUGE amounts of star wars stuff and even the older ones are much better quality than the microbots, those microbots might of been possible but kennar have amazing quality on the non-possible figures

[palitoy]

AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

There, there it's alright, I feel your pain. 3 3/4" Thundar figures (hopefully sculpted by Bill Lemon) are the stuff of my dreams.



HAW! THey may have been worried about the age appropriateness.... although that WOULD have been around the time they pitched "Dallas" figures. Maybe the pitch came BEFORE anyone knew how dark the show was?

Somewhere I have a great article where a Mego Marketing exec explains exactly what they were thinking in terms of "Blues".

I think it was the case of sight unseen, grabbing the new "Cop show" license hoping it to be the next "Starsky and Hutch" and then having it be groundbreaking drama rather than an action show.

They grabbed Dukes of Hazzard and CHiPs that way and they were hits, I doubt Mego paid more than 5K for the license.

Dallas I think was done just because they had the license and it was a really big show, the prototypes are REALLY phoned in, I doubt they invested mush time in those.



Maybe, but 'cos of the Micronauts they might have made the same decision that Kenner did: the smaller figures make vehicles more viable. THey'd even dabbled before that with the Comic Action/Pocket Hero stuff.

Yeah, I'm of the mind that Mego Star Wars would have been 10" first (in time for Christmas 1977) and then as they realized what a money maker they had, we'd have gotten all kinds of crazy 3 3/4" and 12" stuff as well.

[doctor09210]

i
somehow
have an 8 inch darth maul action figure, and a couple of other 8''

[AcroRay]

i have HUGE amounts of star wars stuff and even the older ones are much better quality than the microbots, those microbots might of been possible but kennar have amazing quality on the non-possible figures

Do you mean Kenner's Microbots? What figures did Kenner do that weren't possible?

What the h3ck are you talking about?

You need really need to improve the clarity of your messages.

[doctor09210]

some of the first star wars figs were only 2or 3 points of articulation

[AcroRay]

Well, you'd have to consider just how much articulation an Astromech droid needs! :grin:

In recent years Hasbro has really hyper-articulated their Star Wars figures to meet collector demands, and I think it was the presence of Micronauts in the toy consumer & designer cultures in the US that really raised the bar for articulation in 1/18 scale action figures. That articulation migrated from Mego to Hasbro's 1980s GI Joe RAH line, and then Hasbro applied it to Star Wars when Hasbro acquired Kenner. (Also, it was applied to numerous lines in the years in between.)

You have to also consider that Kenner was probably really keeping manufacturing and R & D costs down with the simplicity of their Star Wars line when it launched in the 1970s. What if Star Wars had been a flop? They'd have lost a lot of money in a very competitive toy market. When the toys proved wildly popular, I think they decided that increasing the articulation wouldn't have improved the line's already amazing sales, so they didn't invest in it. Kenner kept improving details and likenesses... just not the articulation. It was only decades later - with a lot of competition on the toy department pegs that the decision was to drastically improve the quality of design and articulation in the figures.

Keep in mind also that Mego's Micronauts were *already* designed by someone else. Mego had very little R & D cost invested in the figures. (Takara had already done all that substantial, expensive work in Japan when the line was created as Microman.) Kenner didn't have that benefit when they had to develop the design standards and scales for their Star Wars line.

Mego's Micronauts set the standard on what a 1/18th scale articulated action figure could be. You can see the application of those design standards and elements in the action figure industry in the decades since.

But no matter what the quality of design, what Kenner's toys from Star Wars proved was that if the personality of the toy - the 'world' or 'character' it represents and the imagination it inspires - is what truly establishes the appeal of the toy and the desire of the consumer to own it. Some toys sell and thrive on play design. But true blockbusters are toys that represent a piece of a world that you want for yourself, and sometimes the quality of the toy is less important to consumers than the character the toy represents.

[doctor09210]

interesting

[AcroRay]

interesting

Yep! You'll find most of us here are as interested in the history, craft and industry of toymaking as we are in the toys themselves.

Toys are a huge part of our society's culture, and impact people in ways that follow them for the rest of their lives - inspiring their interests, professions, self-image, expectations, etc.

[samurainoir]

Yeah, I'm of the mind that Mego Star Wars would have been 10" first (in time for Christmas 1977) and then as they realized what a money maker they had, we'd have gotten all kinds of crazy 3 3/4" and 12" stuff as well.

Okay, this notion fascinates me. Why do you speculate 10" for Star Wars? was this around the time when they had that particular body purposed just for the Canadian Robin to go with the 12" Batman?

I know Flash Gordon used this format, as did Doctor Who. And ultimately a huge inventory of these were dug up for Maxx FX in the latter 80's.


It's interesting to look at the Star Trek TMP license... 12" and 3 3/4", but no 8" scale... which was their bread and butter for TOS/Animated Star Trek. Influenced by the Kenner Star Wars and trying to make them compatible?

Yet back to 8" for lines like Greatest American Hero prototypes.

[doctor09210]

the 8 inch lines to me are best cause they are not too big like the 12'' and large enough to have great details that 3 3/4 lack

[biotrontim]

I know I am with the Minority in saying this but, Micronauts are really the only thing I loved about Mego. Sure I have memories, I've collected, bought and sold other Mego lines but it is the Micronauts that are my drug of choice. I have had tons of Star Wars, Gi-Joe and just about every other figure line produced since then. Its the Micronauts that bring back the greatest memories. It has been my way of affording a small part of the Microman toy line. As an adult collector I can now appreciate where the Micronauts came from.
I do however, kind of wished Lucas went with the Adventure people prototypes. http://theswca.com/index.php?action=disp_item&item_id=62138

[palitoy]

Okay, this notion fascinates me. Why do you speculate 10" for Star Wars?

I've been told that 10" was easier to work with and get detail into as opposed to the 8" figures, plus you get better value for them. You still had the versalitity of the 8" brands as well.

It seemed that Mego was really into that scale around that time, in 76 Ali was 10" and then Flash Gordon and Logan's Run were introduced for '77. It seems likely that Star Wars would have followed suit as well.

I still think Mego would have also gone the 3 3/4" route as well for the brand, they pitched it for Star Trek in '77.

[doctor09210]

its funny
i went to a cowboy boots store and all the horse toys came with 8'' riders

[J.B.]

:troll:

[TrueDave]

I know I am with the Minority in saying this but, Micronauts are really the only thing I loved about Mego. Sure I have memories, I've collected, bought and sold other Mego lines but it is the Micronauts that are my drug of choice. I have had tons of Star Wars, Gi-Joe and just about every other figure line produced since then. Its the Micronauts that bring back the greatest memories. It has been my way of affording a small part of the Microman toy line. As an adult collector I can now appreciate where the Micronauts came from.
I do however, kind of wished Lucas went with the Adventure people prototypes. http://theswca.com/index.php?action=disp_item&item_id=62138

Actually after the figures based on Raplf McQuarries concept designs were made i thought reproductions of the Adventure People prototypes would get made as well.
I think if a line has to go as far as issuing toys of ideas that were scrapped theres just too much product.

Why did the Sentry droid get a Micronaut body and not the Black Hole humans?
Was The Black Hole the first line of "o-ring" articulated 3 3/4 ?

[ctc]

>Was The Black Hole the first line of "o-ring" articulated 3 3/4 ?

From Mego? I think Buck Rogers came first.

Don C.

[MicromanZone]

Why did the Sentry droid get a Micronaut body and not the Black Hole humans?The only thing the Sentry Robot got was Micronaut hands. Past that it’s all a new sculpt.

[AcroRay]

Why did the Sentry droid get a Micronaut body and not the Black Hole humans?
Was The Black Hole the first line of "o-ring" articulated 3 3/4 ?

All the Black Hole figures have the same Ogawa O-ring design (except for BOB, VINCent and Max, of course). The only thing specifically Micronaut about Sentry Droid and Capt STAR are the use of Micronaut hands.

Mego also used the Ogawa O-ring body for Buck Rogers, Dukes of Hazzard, CHiPs (iirc?). Later Galoob used the same body style for A-Team. Ertl used it for their Star Trek III figures. Then Hasbro applied it to GI Joe RAH.

I think a lot of that design work was done by the H.M.S. company. If so, they picked up the engineering for it while they were working for Mego, and then used it on other contracts.

[doctor09210]

Did the kiss line ever get bend flex

[ogemtoys]

theres a trap door for this guy right?

[jwyblejr]

That's not true at all, it's a sloppy rumour that won't go away. Micronauts made the company millions and the lack of the Star Wars license did not fell the company.

I never understood the logic behind how passing on Star Wars brought Mego down. Hasbro passed on the rights they didn't go under.

[Figuremod73]

it certainly would have been a huge help though! i still think 8'' star wars figs done in the retro style would not only look fantastic but would be a huge seller

[ctc]

>i still think 8'' star wars figs done in the retro style would not only look fantastic but would be a huge seller

I dunno; I think a lot of the Star Wars collectors are burned out any more, and 8" figures would be too expensive to buy a horde for the kids. Maybe when (if?) the toys cool down a bit.

As for quality, I think I've been spoiled by the customs folks here have made. It'd be tough to beat.

>You have to also consider that Kenner was probably really keeping manufacturing and R & D costs down with the simplicity of their Star Wars line

Y'know.... I wonder if the prototypes had anything to do with the final decision, in that the protos were mostly repainted Adventure People; and the AP didn't have much by way of articulation either.

Don C.

[Back2denali]

Yeah, I remember those Microknots; I had that 8" Farce Captain and the Baron Karzam. I think one them turned into a horse with parts from the Arcroyer.

[Megotu]

I remember the song from the Buggles..
Microbots Killed the Me-ego Dolls

[Type Two]

BWAH-HA-HA!

Thanks, guys. :)

[danadoll]

At least he didn't call them Micronaughts...Ugh.