Mego 50th Anniversary WGSH revealed

[boss]

Who did you order from?

[Robert_Anthony]

Superman arrived today in the mail. So they have started to ship.

1st photo is the figure in packaging.

2nd photo comparison to an EMCE Spiderman Box and a Mego Invisible Man box. Spiderman and Superman boxes are identical in size, however the window is slightly longer on Superman. Also Mego Superman box is nice and sturdy much better than the EMCE Marvel releases.

3rd photo shows how Superman box is thinner than the recent Invisibleman box.

4th photo back of the box with that fantastic classic comic art.

5th photo for reference is a Movie Justice League Superman and the other Superman that Mego released. You can see the colors better this way because my camera does not capture "Blues" correctly.

6th photo comparison to an Original MEGO T2 Superman with a repro Label sticker.

7th open box next to the original. The colors are spot on.

8th open box next to the earlier Superman. It appears the new 50th bodies are slightly taller than the repro bodies that Mego utilized before this. Only very slightly but it looks much better.






I only received one in the mail (so far) and this one arrived in perfect condition so I'm not removing him from the package for an articulation/posing review. He is held in place with 3 of those clear plastic T end ties that they are also using on recent DC McFarlane figures

Walmart and Amazon have a habit of absolutely destroying my orders.

Overall thoughts:

The packaging is fantastic and sturdy

The boots are the best Mego has ever made, they are an improvement to the original as they appear slightly tapered to the ankles.

Cape quality is excellent I don't foresee any shredding at the edges and it is a slightly thicker material - but it is better.

Costume looks great and is a nice material at first look it seems better than what they were using before on recent figures. The only problem I see is that the belt is a little bit see through and the red of the shorts can be seen through it. Actually this is closer to some of the original earlier Mego releases that had this same look so it is accurate. Colors are perfect.

Skintone has that classic Mego healthy Tan to it no more pale zombie "Biff Bang Pow" or "Mattel" skintone here.

The Chest Emblem is a bright and vibrant sticker - I can't tell if it is paper or vinyl but it looks good.

From what I have seen so far this is an A+ or Home Run of a figure.

After some great earlier attempts they finally got it right. Welcome back MEGO

Looks like Mego done right! Can't wait to order mine. Not into pre-order as they take credit cards...mother and I share the same account. But I will get them come he** or highwater.

[Orion1]

Who did you order from?

Walmart

[Mejo]

Nice! Thanks for the review and pics!

[nubee]

Many thanks for the pics. Looks like Mego got a winner.

[Liu Bei]

I’ve got my preorders from ZLC. Hopefully we’ll start to see these hit soon. Gosh, what a time to be alive. This Mego relaunch has gone far beyond any expectations I ever had. Congratulations to Marty and crew, and thanks as well. They’re hitting home-run after home-run.

[TrekStar]

Nice pics, is the new costume thinner and finer than the original? I’m also not into preordering rather buy them off the shelves, just hope my local Walmart will carry them. I want to get Batman and Aquaman first.

[bat fisto]

... GL is probably the best figure in the line

[Orion1]

Update to the unboxed figure.

The pros:

- Arm articulation is great - The arms can be positioned with hands on hips, or straight out to the sides, or perfectly placed above head for flying poses and the figure holds the position. The Swivel elbow joints are great.
- Hips allow legs to be placed in a near perfect split out to the sides or straight out for a kick position and the figure holds either position. Something the originals couldn't do. Yes - even with the costume on.
- The material used for the hands is nice - it's a little bit softer than the rest of the figure so it can grip accessories with ease without fear of breaking. Seems very durable.
- The material used for the Head is not squishy, but retains the original "skin like" look of the classic rubber soft Mego heads. It looks great. It does Not have that cheap plastic like shiny sheen that modern Hasbro figures seem to have.
- Ankle articulation is sturdy
- The cape material could be identical to the original, but to me just seems slightly better
- The weight of the body has some heft to it - seems solid.
- The boots are similar to the original but much better material and sculpting
- Swivel knees for enhanced posing
- Height of the figure is nearly identical to the original T2 Megos it might be slightly taller but we're talking about only 1/16th of an inch.

Neutral:

- The costume is thinner than the original Mego outfits but still seems durable enough. The colors look identical to the original
- The Logo is a sticker - just like the original (Hopefully Doc Mego will be selling replacement sheets of these emblems)
- No more rubber bands and metal hooks - The new bodies are quite sturdy. Although I still appreciate the original T2 body as still being superior to anything EMCE or Mego has produced until this one.

The Cons:

Really not that much

- Velcro closures in the back. Watch out for snagging on the outfit. Disappointed they didn't use Metal snaps here.
- Knee articulation - the knees do not bend to a proper 90 Degree angle. As is they can only bend to about a 60 Degree Angle. Possibly some plastic could be shaved off on the back of the calf to allow a full 90 Degree bend.


Overall would I recommend them - Yes Absolutely.

Humorously on the back of the packaging it says "Recommended for Collectors over 17 Years of Age" However, I see no problem giving this figure to an intelligent child to play with. It looks like it could handle play wear more so than the original Megos.


I realize these are meant to be reproductions of the original figures and they achieve that.

What I'd like to see going forward for future DC Super Heroes:

- Fixed knees that can bend at least 90 Degrees
- Chest Emblems/Insignias that aren't paper stickers, nor crack and flake off like Mattel Retro Action Heroes, nor some poorly screen printed logo. The original 12 inch Mego Superman Movie figure and the Magnetic Batman figure had some kind of almost 3D like vinyl logo attached to the fabric and those have still held up until this day.
- Blue molded underwear/trunks as a nod to the original figures

[Mejo]

Humorously on the back of the packaging it says "Recommended for Collectors over 17 Years of Age" However, I see no problem giving this figure to an intelligent child to play with. It looks like it could handle play wear more so than the original Megos.

I've always wondered about this notation on the new Mego packages and I don't think it has to do with the figures being more fragile as much as it has to do with the toy mindset having shifted in the last 40 or 50 years, particularly for boys. The 3.75" virtually inarticulate "hunk of plastic" action figure has been around for a while now, so the articulated figure with actual clothes that can snag or fray is a novelty now. Plus there's the collector mentality of keeping things in perfect condition, hence the "17+" recommendation.

What I'd like to see going forward for future DC Super Heroes:
- Chest Emblems/Insignias that aren't paper stickers, nor crack and flake off like Mattel Retro Action Heroes, nor some poorly screen printed logo. The original 12 inch Mego Superman Movie figure and the Magnetic Batman figure had some kind of almost 3D like vinyl logo attached to the fabric and those have still held up until this day.
- Blue molded underwear/trunks as a nod to the original figures

On the first point, I thought we were assured for the past few months that the logos weren't going to be paper but vinyl. On the second point, I remember it only being my Star Trek figures that had the indigo-colored underwear (to preserve the dignity of the actors they were based on, perhaps?) All the super-heroes were flesh tones, weren't they? In any case, great review and assessment, Orion1!

[palitoy]

The 17+ notation (also on NECA toys) is due to insurance costs. It is much more reasonable to insure a toy for an adult than it is for a child.

Can you let a kid play with it? We turned out ok.

[Mejo]

Ah, okay, that makes sense.

I'll bet Jolly Jumper wished they'd thought of that. LOL

[Orion1]

On the first point, I thought we were assured for the past few months that the logos weren't going to be paper but vinyl. On the second point, I remember it only being my Star Trek figures that had the indigo-colored underwear (to preserve the dignity of the actors they were based on, perhaps?) All the super-heroes were flesh tones, weren't they? In any case, great review and assessment, Orion1!

The stickers could be vinyl - if they are they are very thin, but as stickers go they do look Sharp, Clean and Vibrant. I can't tell and I don't want to try tearing them to find out. I still have an original Mego T2 Spider-Man figure with the blue shorts.

[scott metzger]

On the second point, I remember it only being my Star Trek figures that had the indigo-colored underwear (to preserve the dignity of the actors they were based on, perhaps?) All the super-heroes were flesh tones, weren't they? In any case, great review and assessment, Orion1!

Early type 2s came with the light or dark blue shorts, including heroes. I started seeing the black/dark brown trunks with the Dukes. THe flesh trunks seemed most common toward the end of the line; all the French carded figures I got at Lionel Playworld back in the day had flesh trunks.

[Mejo]

Thanks, Orion and Scott, for clearing that up. The only Megos I remember having "speedos" were the Trek ones. The first earliest heroes I had--Superman, Batman, Robin, and Aquaman were type 1's with the paler, less muscular bodies, the thin stringlike connectors which broke easily (I don't know how many Superman figures I went through), and the tops of the legs that went into the "hips" were all bumpy, like a plucked chicken. Later figures I got were the slightly tanned, more muscular bodies with the smooth legs/hips but I thought all of those had skin-tone trunks but I could be miss-remembering on some figures.