Cochise is often found missing his feather which was easily lost. This guy went on to play “Apache Chief” in many of my backyard adventures. The figure was used at the same time in Italy for the Tex Willer line of figures where Cochise was the comic character Tiger Jack
Dramatic Artwork highlights Cochise’s box, the artwork was recently found and it was painted by legendary artist Gray Morrow (see below).
The Western Hero Kresge cards are still found well under valued.
The 1980 Lionrock rerelease of the Western Heroes, most Lionrock cards are found with “Toys R Us” stickers and may have been exclusives. (Courtesy of Ron Stabilio)
This great German Two pack also featured Davey Crockett
In Spain the American West series got these cool boxes! Somebody find the Poch Superheroes! (Palitoy Collection)
In the early 80s, Tim Mee toys reissued the Mego American West using different packaging. The Tim Mee reissues are easy to spot, the paint jobs are sloppier and the materials used slightly different. This picture is courtesy of Lou at Mego Like.
The original Gray Morrow artwork is signifigantly larger than the packaging itself. Morrow also did the art for the Mad Monster Series. Photo courtesy of Ron.
Cochise wears a pair of simple green cloth pants with an elastic waist. These pants have been reproduced by Classic TV Toys. The CTVT pants are made of a totally different type of material, a very heavy felt like material. They also fit much more baggy. They are unmarked. The pants were reproduced during the Mego era by Tim Mee Toys. The vintage reproduction is very close to the original. The biggest difference is the thread color. The Tim Mee pants have a green thread around the waist and cuffs that match the pants. The original Mego pants have white thread.
Cochise wears a black shirt with red sleeves that has a yellow belt with a green stripe attached to it. This shirt has been reproduced by CTVT. The reproduction is made of a much different material. The original is made of the typical Mego stretch material used on most of the WGSH figures. The CTVT uses a very heavy stretch cotton material that is much thicker in feel and appearance. The CTVT uses ribbon to create the belt instead of the yellow vinyl with green cloth stripe that the original has. The CTVT belt is MUCH wider than the original. This reproduction is unmarked. Also reproduced in the Mego era by Tim Mee Toys, the TM version is very close to the original. The belt is sewn on a little higher on the body and the collar is a little more open. The biggest difference is Tim Mee used velcro instead of snaps on the back of the shirt.
Cochise shares a headband with Tiger Jack from the Willer line, which makes sense since he shares a head, shoes and weapons as well. The headband has been reproduced by CTVT. The repro doesn’t have the designed edge the original has. It is straight on each edge. It is also a more maroon than the original which is red. The repro is unmarked. Also produced by Tim Mee toys during the Mego era, the vintage reproduction is more narrow and also lacks the edge design the original headband has.
Cochise’s feather is the same mold as Tiger Jack, but with a unique blue color. The feather has been reproduced by CTVT. The reproduction is a touch bigger and a touch lighter blue. It is marked CTV on the back. The vintage Tim Mee reproduction of this feather is not pictured because it is identical in every way to the original Mego.
The rifle Cochise carries is common to many figures in the Western line and has been factory reproduced by CTVT. The original is brown with reddish tints where the repro is a pretty pure brown and is lighter in overall color. The repro is marked CTV on the stock. Also made during the Mego era by Tim Mee toys for their version of the Cochise figure, he vintage Tim Mee reproduction is exact in almost every way. So exact that a photo doesn’t show the slight difference, which is why it is not pictured. The Tim Mee is just a slightly lighter shade of brown and just a touch more on the reddish side, although not near as different in color as the CTVT reproduction.
Cochise shares a blade with Davey Crockett and Tiger Jack from the Willer line. It has been reproduced by CTVT. The reproduction is a little shorter and wider. The original is marked H.K. (Hong Kong) on the blade, and the repro is unmarked. Both the Lion Rock and the Tim Mee Cochise came with a the Robin Hood style dagger instead of the proper western knife.
Cochise wears bonetooth necklace also worn by Sitting Bull and characters in the One Million B.C. line. This necklace has been reproducted by CTVT. The reproduction is a perfect circle in shape, where the original is not. The details on the repro are smaller as well. It is unmarked. Tim Mee Toys also reproduced the necklace and it is exact in every way.
Cochise wears the same moccasins as Sitting Bull, Davey Crockett, some characters in the Planet of the Apes line and Starsky from Starsky and Hutch. They come in various shades of brown and burgundy tones. They have been factory reproduced by Classic TV Toys, EMCE Toys and Tim Mee. The CTVT reproductions are a darker brown than originals and are a little shorter with a slightly different overall shape. They are marked CTV on the inside. The EMCE reproductions fall well into the range of color shades you find originals in and the material used to make them is spot on, however, they are taller than originals. You can also notice that the original mocs were poured from the side (the minor flashing is evident) but the new EMCE versions are poured from the back. The other thing that makes the EMCE version spotable is there is a stamp on the inside of each moc. On the one I examined, one moc had the number 1 stamped in it, the other had a 4. To make matters a little more confusing, Tim Mee reproduced the Mego western line back during the Mego era using the same molds. So there are vintage mocs out there that are identical to mego in almost all respects. Color, material, molds, etc… The Tim Mee mocs are just a touch thinner, making them a little more flexible than originals. The big difference is that the Tim Mee’s are marked made in Hong Kong on the bottom, while the original Mego’s are unmarked.
Cochise shares a headsculpt with Tiger Jack from the Western series. It has been reproduced by CTVT. The reproduction is a much softer vinyl and has a longer neck, but a shorter overall face. The paintjob on the repro is less severe. The eyebrows and eyes appear less angry. The repro head is unmarked. Also reproduced by Tim Mee Toys during the Mego era, The Tim Mee head is very similar to the original, although just a touch wider in the cheeks. The eyes on the Tim Mee have white dots the original Mego does not have. Tim Mee used a flesh color more on the red side for the Native Americans in the Western line so the Tim Mee Cochise has a more red flesh tone.