Spotlight: Flash Gordon Action Figures by Bif Bang Pow!

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It's been a good summer for me and new toys, as two lines based on retro properties came out and tickled my fancy (better than last summer's zero).

This week's is a slightly bigger deal to me as it's based one of my absolute favourite movies of all time, 1980's cinematic adaptation of Flash Gordon.

Indepth photo review, a contest and some scant blathering after the jump.





First, my thoughts, as a kid I was pretty upset we never got these on shelves, so this is wish fulfillment.

What I like best about these is that BifBangPow! didn't follow the "What would Kenner do in 1977" esthetic but chose to make figures in a vintage style. I noticed ZICA's name on the package, who made those awesome 3 3/4" Six Million Dollar Man figures last year.

So what we get is an action figure line that looks like another player in the toy game in 1979 be it LJN, Mego, Multiple, Ideal etc snatched this license and made figures hoping to catch some Star Wars heat.

I'm a toy history nerd, so this brings me more joy than it probably should.

Enough chatter from me, judge for yourself and don't forget, there is a contest at the bottom.




It was bothersome to remove these from the card, they're nice!




Cloth capes!



Everybody has a nice little extra.



The inclusion of Ming's robot is a nice touch.



It's pants wettingly great to finally have a Brian Blessed Vultan action figure.









Some fill in homies from the Filmation line.



Ming's bowling league of Evil.



The whole gang together.




A gathering of good guys I only wished I could have put together in 1980.



CONTEST TIME!

Thanks to our pals at Entertainment Earth I'm giving away one of these cool SDCC Flash Gordon and Ming Sets.


To Enter, simply send your name and your favourite Flash Gordon character to me at 70s*at*gmail.com (replace the *at* with an @) and I'll announce the winner next Friday!


Want to see series 2 of Flash? Buy Series one at Entertainment Earth or your LCS today.

For more Fashion Mockery and 70's toy love visit us at Plaid Stallions.com


More...

[nvmbrsdoom5]

I'm really pleased with the way these turned out. That Prince Barin is particularly awesome. As a kid, I was always so perplexed as to why there were no toys for that movie. It was (and still is) one of my favorites, I actually didn't realize how much people disliked it or thought it was second rate until I was much older.

[palitoy]

Yeah, I think if you were a kid at the time, it hits all the right buttons. I see the Camp now but it just blew my mind back in '80.

[PNGwynne]

Oops, double post.

[PNGwynne]

I love these figures, and the film. I saw it with friends and I got the Queen album for Christmas. Add repeated viewings on HBO, and this film is as much a part of my childhood as Clash of the Titans.

These are very nicely done, and I'm looking forward to Klytus in wave two, my favorite character.

[Bruce Banner]

Awesome movie, awesome figures.

[Hedji]

These are delightful. Hats off to BBP and ZICA for making these happen.

[Earth 2 Chris]

This is how it's done! These look great, and I dig the "other toy company" vibe off of these too.

Chris

[jacoblb]

Awesome review of great looking small scaled figures.

I entered the contest, but my email bounced back. I verified I typed the email address right and I did substitute the word "at" with the @ symbol obviously. I wonder why it failed to work.k.

[PNGwynne]

^I had the same problem with the contest email--I PMd member RSS. No reply as yet, but it's the week-end.

[palitoy]

Awesome review of great looking small scaled figures.

I entered the contest, but my email bounced back. I verified I typed the email address right and I did substitute the word "at" with the @ symbol obviously. I wonder why it failed to work.k.

Sorry it's [email protected]

[MIB41]

Wow! I keep saying I don't collect this scale and I keep getting made a liar. Putting my order in this morning. I LOVE Flash Gordon and, like Jaws, these are undeniable. Thanks for posting Brian!

[Hedji]

Funny you should mention Jaws... I put Prince Barin next to my Chief Brody figure, and Barin's ruddy flesh tone made Brody appear positively pale by comparison. Which is funny because Roy Scheider was well known for taking every opportunity on the set to sit in the sun and work on his tan.

I think Vultan wins as my favorite. Did anyone else have expectations of wing articulation because of familiarity with Super Powers Hawkman? I thought Vultan's wings would pivot, but no, they are fixed.

[palitoy]

I thought they'd be fixed, similar to Mattel's Vultan.

[Hedji]

Ah, see I never had him as a kid, so my expectations were different.