Mego Bill Maxwell Prototype Found!

[sauce]

very nice find! i'm excited about the possibilities for the future!

i watched GAH a LOT way back when....and i think these figures would have sold pretty well. i woulda wanted them. :-)

[starsky]

what an awesome discovery!!! definitely the find of the year! looks very similar to the 3 3/4 inch bill counterpart. brian, do you know if the owner just found it or has been sitting on it for awhile?

[Captain]

This is undoubtedly a fantastic find and we're grateful to have it here at the Museum. The owner is very lucky!

That said---I'm kind of surprised by this line. I disagree that this is a good likeness of Robert Culp or the character. Both this and the Ralph seem very undercooked to me and don't capture the personalities very well--not as well as other lines of the time like CHiPS or Dukes.

Why the white jacket when the character was nearly always in a rumpled grey FBI suit? Perhaps that was intended to change after prototypes and toyfair photos?

Part of it may be the paintjob or lack thereof--it looks like they sculpted Culp's weird gritted teeth smile but without toothpaint it doesn't come across...?

Looking at photos online today I was reminded what a funny show this was, especially Culp. The Jack Davis card art is right on, but the figures are oddly subdued.

Very interesting figure...

I was wondering about the white jacket myself...Mego already had a suit pattern from the alter ego stuff, so you would think they would have went that way. Then I realized, if you look at the collar and cuff designs, it might be a protottype version of a baseball (or club style) jacket? Maxwell wore one from time to time.The white hair really throws him off a bit too. I wonder if it really is white, or some kind of color change that occurred over the years?

The head sculpt here looks more refined than the photos in John B's book, not sure if thats from the different paint job or what? Ralph's head sculpt was horrendous in those photos...The difference in the Bill sculpts may be a sign that the figures were still works in progress??


Should have clicked on the link...its grey, just photgraphs white!! DOH!

[jemboy2004]

for about 200 it looks like this buyer did very well. I thought about going for it but I just don't like this series or these figures that much but for what it sold for I sure wish I had paid better attention to it. Congratulations!

[AcroRay]

An excellent score for Mego history and this community! I love the fact that it was scored for so relatively little, which really energizes collectors - I think - when it becomes apparent that you don't absolutely have to be independently wealthy to obtain something like this.

Objectively, I'm a little underwhelmed by the figure's design (True, though, it must have been tough to make Federal-drab Bill into an exciting figure.) and the head sculpt. I look at the head & wonder "Could I make a Trent (Demon With A Glass Hand) out of it?" and I don't think I could. Yes, I am inclined to believe that the GAH line might have wound-up like Waltons.

As popular as the GAH figure that was briefly offered a year or so ago (at FX, Fla?) turned out, would a similar repro of Bill be as popular?

[AUSSIE-Rebooted-AMM]

WHAT an amazing discovery - so are those shoes? boots? can't really make too much out there, but they don't look like standard footwear.

How cool that a member here won this. . .and for not too many $$$$'s too.

Congrats and enjoy it. . . savour your moment!

[megowgsh]

The owner asked not to be publicly named and we're going to respect their wishes. I'm just happy they shared.

we don't need their name, just their address

[Action Martin]

If the GAH line had actually been produced rather than just a few odd prototypes floating around, who here would have actually bought the line? I'm sure a few of you would have, but something tells me if the GAH line were mass-produced at the time, we'd all be setting here saying they're in line with The Waltons, Happy Days, and Our Gang/Little Rascals... In other words just another MEGO line that most could live without...

I would not have purchased a GAH line. To me it would be just like you said, lumped in with The Waltons, Happy Days, and Little Rascals.

[Dave Mc]

WHAT an amazing discovery - so are those shoes? boots? can't really make too much out there, but they don't look like standard footwear.

"Bill sports Duke boots and a Chips watch. The body is a standard Type 2 Mego body with black lower torso. "

[ctc]

>Bill sports Duke boots and a Chips watch.

That watch looks like it has more detail than a CHiPs one.... not just the paint, but it looks like it has raised detail.

Don C.

[joshvox]

wow. This hobby just never gets old or dull. Congrats to the buyer!

[palitoy]

I'd have been all over this line. Loved the show as a kid, and it really holds up now that I'm an adult and can appreciate it for more than just Ralph crashing every 5 minutes.

I was crazy about the show too as a kid and would have bought any merchandise.

[Meule]

I don't believe it. We're still finding new discoveries after all this time? Un-friggin-believable. And thanks to the owner for sharing
Are there any discoveries left to be made?

[txteach]

I remember the story about 15 years ago about finding these at a flea market. I wish someone would repost it.

[palitoy]

I wish I still had that copy of Jim Maine's old magazine that featured it.