Star Wars Micro Collection Love

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The Star Wars Micro Collection came out in 1982 and just as I had sort of kind of given up on the galaxy far, far away. I was 11 and being wooed by Star Trek reruns and the return of GI Joe (which was more of a passing fancy) but deep down I was sorely tempted.

Had the figures been sold seperately on cards instead of sets, I'd have been powerless to resist them.

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[El Hombre Nuclear]

Looking at these now, I have to admit that they're pretty darn cool, but back then, I'm afraid to say that Star Wars had really started to enter the "who gives a crap" zone, at least for me. I've always maintained that '82 is when "the 80s" finally began in ernest, and the 70s (which were still riding high through '80/'81) slipped away forever, and this was very much reflected in the toy market. The first truly iconic 80s lines (GI Joe and MOTU) burst onto the scene, and Star Wars suddenly seemed like yesterday's news. D&D-inspired sword & sorcery, Cold War paranoia-fueled military toys and video game mania (which reached a fever peak around '82/'83, right before the whole industry imploded) were in, and late 70s/early 80s space opera was out. Don't get me wrong, as I'm sure that ROTJ and its related merchandise made yacht-loads of money for all involved, but even as a kid, I had already moved on to other things.

[Hedji]

I lusted after these as a kid, and never owned a single one. I don't think my parents were too keen on me taking on another scale. The fact that they reproduced specific environments that the regular 3.75" line hadn't really tackled made it all the more tantalizing.

[enyawd72]

I agree with Hombre...I loved my Star Wars but when I first laid eyes on Skeletor, I forgot all about those puny guys. Then Super Powers and Secret Wars hit, and I forgot about MOTU

[palitoy]

It's weird when I speak to friends a year or so younger than me about their love of Masters of the Universe. I was smitten by the gorgeous packaging very briefly but that cartoon just made it feel like "baby stuff" to me.

I think I missed that toyline by like 6 months.

I'm afraid to say that Star Wars had really started to enter the "who gives a crap" zone, at least for me

Yeah, fatigue had set in for me. After Star Wars it seems like I bought at least one figure from every new line that came out, a He Man, a Crystar, a MASH figure. Nothing stuck like RAH, which probably lasted 5 months at best.

[Earth 2 Chris]

It's weird when I speak to friends a year or so younger than me about their love of Masters of the Universe. I was smitten by the gorgeous packaging very briefly but that cartoon just made it feel like "baby stuff" to me.

I was actually the target age for the show, and even I felt like it somewhat dulled the edge off of MOTU. Those early pack-in comics were standard fantasy fare, with no cuteness in sight.

Chris

[Werewolf]

Those are great toys. Got the Hoth World for Christmas as a kid. Loved the tiny figures. But you had to be very careful with them. The paint chipped off the die-cast figures pretty easily. Wish they made something like this today. The Star Wars Command figures are in desperate need of playsets.

[starsky]

i never saw these as a kid but eventually bought a millenium falcon mib as an adult. it was like $125 and i opened it! that top cover was so hard to remove that i was scared of breaking the clips on it!! very cool playset tho!

[cjefferys]

Great toys, I was a bit too old for them when they first came out but I did buy some as a budding "collector" when Child's World was blowing these sets out cheap on clearance circa 1990. I've since sold them but kind of wish I hung onto them now.

[El Hombre Nuclear]

It's weird when I speak to friends a year or so younger than me about their love of Masters of the Universe. I was smitten by the gorgeous packaging very briefly but that cartoon just made it feel like "baby stuff" to me.

Yeah, the show was pretty silly (I can't really watch it now, to be honest), but like Earth 2 Chris said, the toys were initially marketed more seriously, with a somewhat violent science-fantasy type of flavor, from what I remember. IIRC, the toyline predated the cartoon by well over a year, so I think there was a bit of a disconnect between the different aspects of the property. It was nothing compared to what happened with the AD&D license, though. You'd get these insanely awesome figures (one of the greatest lines ever, IMO), with spiked armor, vicious looking weapons and a card description like "Chaotic-Evil Half-Ogre Deathknight", and then the cartoon showed up and it was basically a bunch of kids running around in an amusement park with their magical pet unicorn. It makes me laugh now, but back then I was completely infuriated.

[palitoy]

Yeah I remember those little booklets as I'm pretty sure I had a He Man at the very least. They were well written and I liked them but when the cartoon landed I tapped out. Didn't Superman fight He-Man too? That original story was free I think and also kind of got me interested in the line.

Same thing happened with the GI Joe, that comic was great. I ran home the day they launched the TV mini series and was bummed right out.

As for D&D, I "collected" that line a little bit, I think the Paladin made a cameo on the show. I was pretty excited about that, such crumbs. I loved that show as a kid, I tried to turn my kids onto it but they did not take to it.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Superman did meet He-Man in a DC Comics Presents issue, and a free preview in all DC comics one month. Then the DC mini-series began. DC produced the mini-comics for a time as well.

Now, see, at the time, I felt the Joe cartoon was WAY more sophisticated than the He-Man one. I can see now it only SLIGHTLY skewed older, and was still WAY off the very nuanced storytelling Hama was using in the comics.

I never thought of the D&D toon as being a come-down from the toys, but I can see it now. I enjoyed that show, but it never made me want to branch out into other D&D realms.

Chris

[Falstaff13]

I was the target age for MOTU and did like the cartoon, but I always preferred the storyline from the original mini-comics (which were really more storybooks than anything). There was an edge and a feel for them that I thought was much better. The comics' world was also better early in the run before they completely mimicked the cartoon. I did enjoy the cartoon and its world, but I think it was too "nice."

I watched GI Joe but never got into the toys for some reason.

[Chris]

Luv the Bespin Micro Collection. Don't own the Death Star but wish I did.

[Werewolf]

As for D&D, I "collected" that line a little bit, I think the Paladin made a cameo on the show.

I was really into D&D when the cartoon came out. Had the box sets, metal minis, books and loved the LJN line. So, I was super excited for the cartoon. But then when I saw it I was like "what the heck!?" Not really a bad cartoon but doesn't really scream D&D to me either. The cameos of characters from the toyline like Warduke, Strongheart and Kelek were the high points for me.