Peg warmer then, beloved figure now?

[MRP]

There's been a lot of talk about which of the current crop of Megos are/will be peg warmers, and that may or may not be a fair assessment, but I also see a lot of figures that were peg warmers from my childhood that are beloved and sought after figures now. It's a given that demand for all figures in a line will never be equal. Some will be more popular than others when they are released. But when a product goes from being a currnetly available product to a nostalgia based collectible, perspectives change.

I am not sure if sales figures from the past are available, so anecdotal accounts will likely be the main source for this, but are these some Megos from the past that were the peg warmers of the time that are now beloved figures or sought after collectibles? (I am sure there are examples from other toy lines as well, but this is the Mego Buzz section).

-M

[palitoy]

I think the biggest one would be Action Jackson, he certainly wasn't terribly appreciated when I began collecting. Since then, he's got a dedicated group of fans and some of his stuff brings big bucks.

[hedrap]

I can't think of a line from the 90s onward where the glut figure became beloved. Thats a very pre-collector market mentality. For example, i couldn't get away from Cloud City Leia as a kid, but today, its money.

IMO, the sought after unique Megos today will be the ones wanted in a few years. As in Spock's value won't hold, but Gorn will.

[PNGwynne]

I think I'm in the minority in really enjoying vintage Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Horrible Mummy.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I think Secret Wars Kang, perhaps the greatest peg warmer of all time, is still a dud among collectors and fans.

The Nightmare Before Christmas was initially a peg-warming line. Just a few years later the film got HUGE in Japan, and then the rest of the world, and those original Hasbro figures are quite pricey as I recall.

As for Mego, not sure. Some of those unpopular lines like Little Rascals are still cheap, but I think they are very under appreciated.

Chris

[cjefferys]

I am not sure if sales figures from the past are available, so anecdotal accounts will likely be the main source for this, but are these some Megos from the past that were the peg warmers of the time that are now beloved figures or sought after collectibles? (I am sure there are examples from other toy lines as well, but this is the Mego Buzz section).

I know that a number of end run Mego stuff from the early 80's sat around on clearance shelves but are now very tough to find. One example would be the Greatest American Hero box set with the figures and car.

The Nightmare Before Christmas was initially a peg-warming line. Just a few years later the film got HUGE in Japan, and then the rest of the world, and those original Hasbro figures are quite pricey as I recall.

Ugh, I remember seeing the Hasbro figures on an end cap at Target when they first came out and thought "I'll pick some up next time" as I had just seen the film on video and really liked it. When "next time" arrived a bit later, they had all disappeared and next thing I know a year or two later they were selling for big bucks on the secondary market. I was thinking "What the hell??", I wasn't expecting that!

[ODBJBG]

I had all the Nightmare before Christmas figures, because it was Tim Burton and stop motion and I thought I was going to love the movie and bought all the toys. And then I hated the movie, I think it's absolute garbage, and pretty much tossed the figures and ended up kicking myself later because they became worth something.

I kept the wolfman cause he was kinda neat looking.

[Megotastrophe]

I remember seeing the grey headed teen titans at TRU long after everything else Mego had departed the store.

[Mr.Marion]

Super powers Darkseid and Star Trek Ilia

[rykerw1701]

Going way back, the GI Joe nurse from the 1960's was a complete dud, and now it goes for crazy money. Also the GI Joe Bulletman was mostly a flop, and now goes for a pile of cash.

[Megotastrophe]

Going way back, the GI Joe nurse from the 1960's was a complete dud, and now it goes for crazy money. Also the GI Joe Bulletman was mostly a flop, and now goes for a pile of cash.

I wanted Bulletman soooooo badly...never did get him.

[MIB41]

I think the "future value" perspective is the collector's addiction talking. Hell, some of the most pedestrian items I grew up with, from shampoo containers to phones, are worth money now. So the chances of something becoming a valued antique one day is a given, especially with figure lines. The real question is will you be alive to see it happen? Start boxing up those Mego Alice figures now. They might send your grandchildren to college. Or is it your grandchildren's children? Eh, somebody will benefit eventually. Hopefully that flocking will last too!

[hedrap]

^What MIB says. That's exactly right.

Bulletman is a very early memory for me. A great design in the wrong scale, released at the wrong time. The packaging was a disaster, so you could never find one that wasn't opened and wrecked. Broken joints should have been part of the marketing. The helmets cracked like eggs. A precursor to the Superjoe implosion nightmare.

[Mr.Marion]

Start boxing up those Mego Alice figures now. They might send your grandchildren to college. Or is it your grandchildren's children? Eh, somebody will benefit eventually. Hopefully that flocking will last too!

In the short-term I completely disagree with this. After going to Targets Jimi usually is missing and trek, monsters seem to sell ok but alot of the Brady bunch, AJ, Angels, etc look like they are going to be there for a while. I hope mego learns what buyers want and doesn't get the plug pulled too quickly. I doubt the Target suits are thinking mego will a make great Elvis or Green Hornet figure when all they know is Charmed dolls didn't sell.

[Mary Canary]

No disrespect to anyone else here. But I think if you're collecting because "it's rare" or "it might be worth something someday" or "it's a numbered limited edition and says it's collectible, therefore it's a collectible," then you're collecting something for the wrong reason. As Brian says in his Mint Off Card videos, "buy what you like." Some people are completionists. Some people need everything to be mint in pristine packaging. Some people just want certain characters. And all of that is good and fine. But I think you should collect something out of love and because it brings you happiness. If you're buying just to box things up in hopes of the value somehow skyrocketing, especially in your own lifetime, then I personally wonder if you actually enjoy the thing that you collect. We'll all be dead one day, and you can't take it with you.