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How's that for a broad landscape of opinions? I ask that question specifically because there seems to be a myriad of opinions on what constitutes quality today and what separates one person who loves a retro line to another who nearly hates it. And sometimes the line between those two is often very thin. So I thought this might be a good place to speak your peace on what it is you look for today versus what you had as a kid. And are those demands necessarily based on realistic measures or are we competing with childhood memories that don't always produce an equal playing field? My hope is we can develop a better understanding of how each person thinks on the subject, which can lead to better discussions when new product comes out. I'll start...
I was between 8 and 9 years old when the first Action Jackson figure first hit the marketplace. So I had already spent a good piece of my childhood with no outlets to that kind of action figure. So by the time the WGSH line came on the scene the following year, it was life changing for me as a kid. It forever changed the concept of play time and provided me with a vehicle to exercise my imagination with characters that I never got to see before. And I immediately started customizing from day one never realizing or fully appreciating the value of what that would mean decades later. Who could have guessed? But that was pretty much the happy accident of what many kids did with these. Removable costumes was an enhancement any kid could take in any direction.
I doubt Mego fully understood that angle since they were too involved in the day to day business of making popular licensed toys. So when Star Wars came along, that really was a game changer for me. I was fully expecting Mego to lead the pack in action figure goodness. And when that didn't happen (and I saw what we got instead), that really slammed the door on my playing days. So I watched Mego's slowly fade from store shelves and become truly a toy from yesterday at a very young age of it's inception. So when you think about it, the Mego action figure was really a short lived concept. And when Mego disappeared, pretty much everyone followed suit and jumped on the tiny figure bandwagon. So that was my exit from figures and my childhood.
So fast forward to the present. Here I am, 50 years old, with a few less hairs on my head and few more pounds around my waist, but buried in more action figures then I could have imagined, let alone convinced my parents to buy back in the "glory years". For me this resurgence has been a thrilling ride. It's very much like re-experiencing that awakening from the early 70's, but with more of a nostalgic nod to that little kid in me who first saw a RC Batman sticking out of a solid box on a spinning rack. I never thought I would see figures like that as a kid, and I never thought I would see figures like that again, once they died out. So I have celebrated this revival with a perspective of what WAS versus what HASN'T been for decades since.
And thus far, I haven't bought anything I don't already have an original of (either from childhood or my recollection habits of the past 20 years). It's the idea I can buy it new as opposed to my parents who bought it back then. Or it applies because the license for this scale was not developed back in the 70's and now that error has being rectified. So for me, I have a load of history on why these figures play to the tune they do today.
And as far as quality goes, my general feeling is most of it is relevant to how Mego's or Mego-related figures were made. I'm not seeing much difference. I have a drawer full of old limbs and other body parts from Type 0, 1, and 2 bodies in the 70's. I loved displaying my figures, but some still broke. My AHI monsters pretty much all have big heads. I have probably 5 AJ figures in various states of disrepair and more for the superheroes. Some were put through the paces while others broke on their own. It's not an exact science and appearance will always be subjective. I've certainly read and respect those who have received broken pieces or figures not tied down in pricey packaging. Those are QA problems that need fixing, but I think most companies in this field have good replacement service on those issues. So I enjoy these for what they are, pick and choose like I did as a kid, and reject some if I think the price is gone too high or just don't like the general appearance of something. It's a general rule I apply to any product. But I'm also aware this will not last forever, so I'm doing my best to immerse myself in the love of this rare resurgence and enjoy it on it's own merits.
Can it compete with my childhood memories? NOTHING does that. But they certainly rekindle old memories and feelings I had as a child, so I find value in them for those reasons.
I was between 8 and 9 years old when the first Action Jackson figure first hit the marketplace. So I had already spent a good piece of my childhood with no outlets to that kind of action figure. So by the time the WGSH line came on the scene the following year, it was life changing for me as a kid. It forever changed the concept of play time and provided me with a vehicle to exercise my imagination with characters that I never got to see before. And I immediately started customizing from day one never realizing or fully appreciating the value of what that would mean decades later. Who could have guessed? But that was pretty much the happy accident of what many kids did with these. Removable costumes was an enhancement any kid could take in any direction.
I doubt Mego fully understood that angle since they were too involved in the day to day business of making popular licensed toys. So when Star Wars came along, that really was a game changer for me. I was fully expecting Mego to lead the pack in action figure goodness. And when that didn't happen (and I saw what we got instead), that really slammed the door on my playing days. So I watched Mego's slowly fade from store shelves and become truly a toy from yesterday at a very young age of it's inception. So when you think about it, the Mego action figure was really a short lived concept. And when Mego disappeared, pretty much everyone followed suit and jumped on the tiny figure bandwagon. So that was my exit from figures and my childhood.
So fast forward to the present. Here I am, 50 years old, with a few less hairs on my head and few more pounds around my waist, but buried in more action figures then I could have imagined, let alone convinced my parents to buy back in the "glory years". For me this resurgence has been a thrilling ride. It's very much like re-experiencing that awakening from the early 70's, but with more of a nostalgic nod to that little kid in me who first saw a RC Batman sticking out of a solid box on a spinning rack. I never thought I would see figures like that as a kid, and I never thought I would see figures like that again, once they died out. So I have celebrated this revival with a perspective of what WAS versus what HASN'T been for decades since.
And thus far, I haven't bought anything I don't already have an original of (either from childhood or my recollection habits of the past 20 years). It's the idea I can buy it new as opposed to my parents who bought it back then. Or it applies because the license for this scale was not developed back in the 70's and now that error has being rectified. So for me, I have a load of history on why these figures play to the tune they do today.
And as far as quality goes, my general feeling is most of it is relevant to how Mego's or Mego-related figures were made. I'm not seeing much difference. I have a drawer full of old limbs and other body parts from Type 0, 1, and 2 bodies in the 70's. I loved displaying my figures, but some still broke. My AHI monsters pretty much all have big heads. I have probably 5 AJ figures in various states of disrepair and more for the superheroes. Some were put through the paces while others broke on their own. It's not an exact science and appearance will always be subjective. I've certainly read and respect those who have received broken pieces or figures not tied down in pricey packaging. Those are QA problems that need fixing, but I think most companies in this field have good replacement service on those issues. So I enjoy these for what they are, pick and choose like I did as a kid, and reject some if I think the price is gone too high or just don't like the general appearance of something. It's a general rule I apply to any product. But I'm also aware this will not last forever, so I'm doing my best to immerse myself in the love of this rare resurgence and enjoy it on it's own merits.
Can it compete with my childhood memories? NOTHING does that. But they certainly rekindle old memories and feelings I had as a child, so I find value in them for those reasons.
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