John Bonavita's MegoheadToys.com Archive here at the Museum

[MegoGeek]

I had almost forgotten that John had graciously allowed us to be the sole host for his old megoheadtoys.com archive.

John Bonavita's Megoheadtoys Archive : Mego Corp : Megomuseum.com

The circumstances surrounding this good fortune escape me right now, perhaps someone can refresh my memory as to how the Museum became home to the Legendary Mego Head Toys Archive.

Years ago I would pour over that site drooling over such pics of a 1977 carded Green Arrow and the 75 US carded FF.....Good Times, Good Times.

[HardyGirl]

Wow, that's cool! Love those factoids!

[MegoNinja]

ive looked at that site a few times, looking at thing's that will never be, the prototype stuff really makes me wish I had a clone version of me that worked around the clock to give me Mego money.

[starsky]

does john still collect megos?

darren

[Meule]

I've spent many hours there already and still there's so much left to see

[The Toyroom]

I love looking at the prototype ideas on that site! Very cool part of Mego History and it's nice that is kept here under the collective banner of the Mego Museum instead of elsewheres where it may have gotten lost in the shuffle of the internet.

[GUYx1]

The thing that many people forget is that John's book was started well before all the internet mego discoveries. That was the next generation. Our Generation was a life of $300 a month overseas phone bills, faxing and newsprint "TOYSHOP" magazine subscriptions (Modelmart in the UK).
There were no other options. By the time subsequent editions came out, John often had to meet deadlines with little control beyond throwing in photos of new items everywhere possible.

A small collective of people were involved in the Bonavita books. John had to track down each item photographed, as well as locate former Employees, WITHOUT the internet. He always had amazing stories of meeting shady people in strange places.
Not to mention he had to shell out a lot of money (and a good chunk of his collection) just to own the prototypes, if only for a very short time.
He owned the items you see in the book, photographed them himself
but had to shuffle through things to fund new discoveries coming in.

When John was severely I'll and on his death bed, bills still had to be paid and there was a rather large liquidation of his collection.

It was like an adult version of the "well I went off to summer camp..." stories.
John has since recovered, but the Mego collection has not.
I remember certain Mego figures he wanted to be buried with. I think even those are now gone. What ya gonna do?
Toy collections do tend to rack up debts, especially the MEMORABLE toy collections.
I remember the pain John went through at the time. The Anguish Beyond the Physical pain. But he did what had to be done.
John often has a hard time getting into mego now because of all that.
The manic mego thrill is gone. John is far from the manic toy fiend he used to be, but at least he is still with us.

- Guy (aka one of the Bonavita camp)

[Mikey]

The Mystery of the Mego Musketeers!

I still remember having a good old fashioned thread about them on the Museum when John first published that article.
Good stuff

[mitchedwards]

I love the Mego warehouse re visit story. I wish we could see the mural on the wall in the cafeteria.

[dumbldor]

When John was severely I'll and on his death bed, bills still had to be paid and there was a rather large liquidation of his collection.
- Guy (aka one of the Bonavita camp)

When John was on his death bed and the bills were piling up, John also agreed to sell his website, Megoheadtoys.com, to an 'expert' 'super collector' from Connecticut who had started his own Mego forums. This jagbag who had agreed to purchase Megoheadtoys reneged on the deal. Subsequently, John thought it fitting to give the site to the jagbag's rival Mego site, Mego Museum. Or so I hear.

[palitoy]

The thing that many people forget is that John's book was started well before all the internet mego discoveries. That was the next generation. Our Generation was a life of $300 a month overseas phone bills, faxing and newsprint "TOYSHOP" magazine subscriptions (Modelmart in the UK).

You'd be surprised Guy at how many people here are from that era, we're not teenagers here. Hell, I started buying out of Starlog in '84. I got my first wantlist from John in '89 and half the things he was looking for were just rumours.

Most of the people who posted in this thread did the "Comic Buyers Guide" calls every week.

[palitoy]

When John was on his death bed and the bills were piling up, John also agreed to sell his website, Megoheadtoys.com.

No, actually that's not how it went. John originally told me in 2002 that I could have MHT when it expired in 2004, he wanted somebody to keep it alive.

When he fell ill, his wife informed me she had two offers on the site, I certainly wasn't going to stand in the way of them making some money. I told her to sell it.

A year later, John emailed me and asked me if I'd like to host the site. The purchaser never made good on the promise and the other offer (from a toy company) had since passed. I was thrilled to host John's site and keep it in it's entirety.

So Megoheadtoys is completely the property of the Bonavitas, any other site using MHT images is using them without permission.

[Mikey]

Interesting and very informative, Brian

So John's site isn't Mego Museum today....
It's just hosted by Mego Museum....

Very cool.
I never knew that.

Good thread ...

[megoscott]

And John was instrumental in the creation of the Mego Museum. He was thrilled it existed and graciously granted permission to use some photos from his book like Zorro and GAH. He is a big supporter. It was also an article he wrote for the Museum that attracted the attention of Neal Kublan, so it really worked out.

[Mikey]

John was one of the coolest persons i've ever met in the Mego Community.
I still remember, way-way back BS'ing with him about Mego's.
John sent me a whole surprise package of Mego literature he'd compiled throughout the years. .. and I really didn't even know him, short of a few emails.
Total surprise to me.
The guy wreaks of class.

He definitely deserves all the praise he gets--- and then some.