General questions about Comic Action Heroes

[jds1911a1]

Disney had a strict "no toy guns" policy so the Black Hole characters couldn't have blasters.

Those ERTL phasers were so out of scale they fit nicely in mego hands.

so Disney allowed a gun (laser) for the villian (the sentry) but not the heroes? I don't discount the veracity of the statement it is just typical of "suits"

[palitoy]

I always thought of it the same way but we'll never know which house started designs based on microman first. Mego missed the boat on accessories for it's space lines especially based on Star wars success. I mean how can you have Pizer and holland fight sentrys without blasters. Bucks laser was part of his holster and he was in laser fights constantly in the show. I'll give a pass on STTMP since the "enemy" was a cerebral one but as a kid I wanted some phasers (loved the ERTL ones in 83)

Disney had a strict "no toy guns" policy so the Black Hole characters couldn't have blasters.

Those ERTL phasers were so out of scale they fit nicely in mego hands.

[jds1911a1]

You know, I never much considered GI Joe's RAH line as ripping off any of Mego's 3 3/4inch figures (Dukes, CHiPs, Buck Rogers, etc) in terms of design due to the Takara connection.

I mean, first came Hasbro's 12 inch GI Joe in the 1960's, which Takara licensed for sake in Japan under the name Combat Joe. Combat Joe became Henshin Cyborg when decided he'd make a cooler robot-man. He shrunk down and became Microman. Then Mego brought the rights to produce them in the states as Micronauts. From the Micronauts design came the design to many of Mego's 3 3/4inch figures. Which in turn led to Hasbro's using the design for GI Joe's RAH.

So I look at it as a design just coming home to where it ALL started, instead of a rip.

I always thought of it the same way but we'll never know which house started designs based on microman first. Mego missed the boat on accessories for it's space lines especially based on Star wars success. I mean how can you have Pizer and holland fight sentrys without blasters. Bucks laser was part of his holster and he was in laser fights constantly in the show. I'll give a pass on STTMP since the "enemy" was a cerebral one but as a kid I wanted some phasers (loved the ERTL ones in 83)

[LadyZod]

I remember thinking that the GI Joe RAH figures ripped off the Dukes body types. And indeed, they did.

Chris

You know, I never much considered GI Joe's RAH line as ripping off any of Mego's 3 3/4inch figures (Dukes, CHiPs, Buck Rogers, etc) in terms of design due to the Takara connection.

I mean, first came Hasbro's 12 inch GI Joe in the 1960's, which Takara licensed for sake in Japan under the name Combat Joe. Combat Joe became Henshin Cyborg when decided he'd make a cooler robot-man. He shrunk down and became Microman. Then Mego brought the rights to produce them in the states as Micronauts. From the Micronauts design came the design to many of Mego's 3 3/4inch figures. Which in turn led to Hasbro's using the design for GI Joe's RAH.

So I look at it as a design just coming home to where it ALL started, instead of a rip.

[Dadioche]

Can we consider Takara distributed the first 3 inches 3/4 figures with Micro Man in 1974 and Fisher Price the first occidental 3 inches 3/4 figures with Adventure People in 1975 ?

[jds1911a1]

>I've always felt Star Wars figures were completely ripped off from the adventure People in terms of look. Kenner even slipped a few in catalogs to serve as prototypes.

Someone posted this the other day. I don't remember who, but I'm glad they did:

http://theswca.com/index.php?action=...&item_id=62138

I actually like THIS Han and R2 better than the ones that were made.

>I always thought it interesting that Mego went with the "Star Wars style" articulation for the Trek figures, but the Micros style articulation with Black Hole and Buck Rogers.

Cost? The Trek ones were made last as I recall. Maybe they decided the Star Wars figures sold well and were a lot simpler than the Black Hole and Buck lines, so they took that route.

Don C.

I never realised adventuire people came out before SW. I would bet the licencse cost for STTMp made the difference in the body design to maximise profit and keep the price point in line

[ctc]

>I've always felt Star Wars figures were completely ripped off from the adventure People in terms of look. Kenner even slipped a few in catalogs to serve as prototypes.

Someone posted this the other day. I don't remember who, but I'm glad they did:

http://theswca.com/index.php?action=...&item_id=62138

I actually like THIS Han and R2 better than the ones that were made.

>I always thought it interesting that Mego went with the "Star Wars style" articulation for the Trek figures, but the Micros style articulation with Black Hole and Buck Rogers.

Cost? The Trek ones were made last as I recall. Maybe they decided the Star Wars figures sold well and were a lot simpler than the Black Hole and Buck lines, so they took that route.

Don C.

[cjefferys]

I always thought it interesting that Mego went with the "Star Wars style" articulation for the Trek figures, but the Micros style articulation with Black Hole and Buck Rogers. I wonder why?

[palitoy]

Since Micronauts was a resell of on existing Japanese line mego didn't have major design input

Initially yes, but by the time the Pocket heroes were devised, they were creating all the new figures in house.

i hadn't gone into ST TMP since thaat lines began after star wars it made sense their molds followed the star wars body type as the "industry standard" along with most other 3 inch lines of the late 70's (Flash Gordon, Galactica adventre people) but most other company offerings still seemed well behind kenner's Star wars in detail and sculpting
buck and Black hole were the 3 inch GIJOE body type and If i recall black hole came out before Joes but were lacking in detail especially paint on faces

Pocket Heroes came out well after Star Wars as well, so it follows the same logic. By 1979, the move at Mego was for 3 3/4" universe, much of the advertising was geared at mingling micronauts, pocket heroes and the Sci Fi lines.

I've always felt Star Wars figures were completely ripped off from the adventure People in terms of look. Kenner even slipped a few in catalogs to serve as prototypes. While Black hole and Buck Rogers didn't have facial paint, the detail of those Bill Lemon sculpts is far superior to Kenner product, too bad it's obscured.

Mattel's offerings have some proportion problems.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I remember thinking that the GI Joe RAH figures ripped off the Dukes body types. And indeed, they did.

Chris

[jds1911a1]

Most toys are copyrighted the year of their inception but not neccesarily the year of their release. Mego designed the line in mid to late 1975 and released them in 1976.



That and Mego was trying to create a commonality among it's action figure lines, so if Star Trek, Micronauts and Buck Rogers were going to be straight legged figures, the superheroes had better follow suit. The CAH looked pretty crude by 1979 standards.

Of course, that most likely leads back to Star Wars....

Since Micronauts was a resell of on existing Japanese line mego didn't have major design input (but you can see where the Black hole and 3 In Joe body type idea came from since both compnaies were associated with Takara)
i hadn't gone into ST TMP since thaat lines began after star wars it made sense their molds followed the star wars body type as the "industry standard" along with most other 3 inch lines of the late 70's (Flash Gordon, Galactica adventre people) but most other company offerings still seemed well behind kenner's Star wars in detail and sculpting
buck and Black hole were the 3 inch GIJOE body type and If i recall black hole came out before Joes but were lacking in detail especially paint on faces

[palitoy]

Perhaps some people think the CAH figures were released in 1975 because the figures and the packages (not sure for the packages) are copyrighted of 1975, which is not a proof ?

Most toys are copyrighted the year of their inception but not neccesarily the year of their release. Mego designed the line in mid to late 1975 and released them in 1976.

I do believe the adoption of the straight leg and softer plastics of Star wars for legs was the direct cause for the change from CAH to pocket heroes in 79-80

That and Mego was trying to create a commonality among it's action figure lines, so if Star Trek, Micronauts and Buck Rogers were going to be straight legged figures, the superheroes had better follow suit. The CAH looked pretty crude by 1979 standards.

Of course, that most likely leads back to Star Wars....

[jds1911a1]

CAH mego's early "home grown" foray into the smaller 3 inch scale. The scale was new to the industry in the us. the squatting stance was most likely a design choice to insure the figures stood up on their own. The vehicles were most likely designed around the figures (lets face it Batman doesn't look all that good in his batmobile and you need the buble glass to keep him in).
The straight legs of Kenner's Star wars were still a year away when CAH came out. The mangler is still one of the most innovative play items I have ever seen

I do believe the adoption of the straight leg and softer plastics of Star wars for legs was the direct cause for the change from CAH to pocket heroes in 79-80

[Dadioche]

Thank you for these answers.
Perhaps some people think the CAH figures were released in 1975 because the figures and the packages (not sure for the packages) are copyrighted of 1975, which is not a proof ?

[palitoy]

Comic Action Heroes, were sold by Mego from 1976-1978, although the best years were 76 and 77 because Mego limited the offerings by 78. I have extensive proof of this through catalogs, order forms and the like.

The bent legs were definitely to fit into Vehicles and to stand on their own, other companies produced 3 3/4" figures at the same time and they weren't all squatting.