A world beyond fantasy

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Hmmm, seems kind of smack dab in the middle of fantasy if you ask me.

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While toys like Manglors, Crystar and The Other World probably likely bring back fond memories for many of you, for me, they kind of have a bittersweet appeal.


I was teetering on being a teenager at this point in time and when toys did the big "fantasy shift" in the early 80s, I felt kind of ....left behind. It was because I was getting too old for this stuff and I knew it, it's hard to describe the feeling but I think we've all had that moment.


The early 1980s saw a lot of unique and creative toy lines and it must have rocked to be a kid.
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[Bruce Banner]

I loved the early 80s "fantasy shift". I collected MOTU in a big way during that era.

And I bought all the Crystar comic books, but where I lived in Ontario, I never saw any of the action figures in any stores, regrettably.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I LOVED "The Other World!" They were pretty cheap around here, and it was easy to amass an army. Lots of weird characters and nifty accessories.

Don C.

[Splitty]

I missed all those 80s figures in the 80s! 1
Because I lived in a hole in the ground, or opposite actually (squirreled away in the mountains).

So I discovered them later and have had an endless fascination (if small to sadly nonexistent collection) of them since.
Very imaginative and weird (the best of course!).

[Earth 2 Chris]

While I was big into MOTU (and to a MUCH lesser extent BlackStar), I felt the same thing when Ninja Turtles hit. I had just put my toys away when the cartoon and toys hit the shelves. I did pick-up a few, just to "set up" in my room, but I really envied the kids going ga-ga over them.

Chris

[Figuremod73]

Around '81 or so I got my first glimpse of the MOTU figures and was immediately facinated with them. I had turned 7 and was beginning to roll play with my toys a little more. The Blackstar and Thundaar cartoons only increased my interest and it was sealed once i finally got a chance to see Clash of the Titans, Conan, and some of the earlier HarryHausen films. (I would discover StarWars FINALLY a few years later,lol) I think it was also increased by kids sneaking a heman figures or two to school also.
I think it was christmas '82 I began asking for nothing but Heman, blackstar, warlord, etc. I quickly gathered an immense collection and enjoyed them on into '86 or so when the heman series and toyline were starting to lose steam.

I remember kinda wanting the Batman movie toyline when it first came out. I was being repeatedly told by that point I was to old for toys so I just played my Nintendo.

[toys2cool]

dam I've never seen that castle

[Figuremod73]

Welcome to WishbookWeb.com
1983 sears catalog. page 578

I use to look at this book for HOURS lol

[Werewolf]

Now we're talking!

80s sword and sorcery lines. Love that stuff. Those toys had the best gimmicks. The best glow in the dark, translucent, punching, sword slashing, sparking, water squirting toys ever.

I have two boxed sets of the Arco Other World toys. They put a surprising amount of effort and creativity into those toys considering they were budget level release and did I mention their weapons glow in the dark?

And don't forget Tonka's Supernaturals. Sorta like Dungeons and Dragons mixed with ghosts. A cool idea made even cooler with nifty gimmicks. They would have been cool with either glow weapons or holograms. But Tonka gave them both! Awesome!

[turnbolt]

Now we're talking.

This was my prime time for collecting. I had all of this stuff as kid. The Crystar castle and Other World castle Zendo are two of my favorite playsets. So cool.

Here are some crappy pics of mine.

[Figuremod73]

Supernaturals were so awesome looking back on them. I could never find them though.
I use to look forward to going to the dollar store back then because I would run to the toy section to see what kind of heman knockoff they had.

Regretably I had very few of the Dungeons and Dragon or Clash of the Titans figures either. I guess it was because they werent restocked quick enough.

[ScottA]

By this time I was in college and had pretty much left toys behind. But that doesn't mean I didn't secretly appreciate what was on the shelf with stuff like this.

[Werewolf]

This was my prime time for collecting. I had all of this stuff as kid. The Crystar castle and Other World castle Zendo are two of my favorite playsets. So cool.

Here are some crappy pics of mine.

That is wicked cool! Those playsets are awesome!

[Figuremod73]

Prices in 1985:

Heman--$5.45
Castle Greyskull: $29.99
Star wars B-wing fighter: 19.99
Gi Joe air craft carrier (U.S.S. Flagg?) : $109.99
6 pack of Gi. Joe action figures: $19.99
Super Gobot leader 1 : $8.99
Transformers Grimlock: $12.99
Transformers Optimus Prime : $23.99

[Figuremod73]

nice pics turnbolt