Mattel vs Mego... T1 vs T2... a thought

[jimsmegos]

Considering all the debate about the new Mattel bodies versus the old Mego Bodies I had a thought...

Had the 'net been around in the 70's do you think there would have been as much huffing and puffing then when Mego went from the T1 to the T2 bodies.

Also for some of you "old timers" did you notice/ make a stink about the change over? Growing up I only knew the T2 so I'm just curious.

[Captain]

Much the opposite. My friends and I rejoiced over the newer, and much better body. Finally, our heroes could sit in a chair without looking like the ol' hemmerhoids were acting up.....finally, they could easily stand on their own....and they were much more muscular now.

If something improves, few complain..its when something devolves that the boo birds come out...Hence a lot of the "huffing and puffing" about the Matty bodies.

[rcbats1]

I remember when the change over to a T2 was discovered by me. It was at TG&Y and I had just seen the Marvel Ad in comics saying that the Hulk,Lizard, Green Goblin and Falcon would be coming soon.I come up on the Boys toy section looking for new Mego's and there was a Dark Green Box that I never seen before...it was Green Arrow! I was floored.I remember Looking all over for a Flash because the 2 characters I had seen in the Super Friends Show were Flash and Green Arrow.
No Flash was found but when I got home with Green Arrow I saw that they were using a new Body style. Back then I didnt think anything of it...only that there was a Green Arrow to fight along side my other Heroes in New adventures.
As I got older and started collecting I realized that the Megos that meant the most to me were the first ones I bought when I first discovered Megos. T1 figures.
I relate Mattels new figures to the T1 body...goofy looking but sweet and beautiful /toys/ at the same time!

Mitch

[Zemo]

I never noticed. They all were headed to the secret under ground tunnel to fight Apes and Joes and then blown up with fire cracker grenades. LOL

[VintageMike]

Ot depends if you're talking about kids or adults. Adult collectors..probabaly. Kids not so much. Mego was already well into T2 by the time I got them, but I did see the T1 body on a friend's AJ and remember not thinking highly of it.

[The Bat]

The only thing that I can really remember about the T1's I had as a Kid...is that they broke easily.

[LadyZod]

Nah, kids are so hopped up on candy and cake, they'll never notice.

[MIB41]

As a kid I never even referred to them as Megos. When your a kid, your not shopping brands, your just looking for toys that are cool and superheroes were it. And even though I had so many other lines (like Big Jim, GI Joe, Johnny West, Captain Action, etc.) Megos took up the majority of my playtime. But I would utilize my AHI monsters, and LJN Swat figures in those adventures as well. They were all interchangeable because they were all in the same format. It wasn't until I was in high school in '79 and '80 that I started equating which was which. Only at that time did I started noticing the manufacturing of the figures and how the bodies had evolved. Of course it would be more than a decade later before I would be introduced to the Type 1, type 2 terminology. So everything that we take as secondhand knowledge today was pretty trivial to myself as a kid.

But the one thing that always stood out with these figures is the fact I loved the packaging and I loved displaying them on my bookshelf in their boxes after I was done playing with them. So my "collector" mentality was already starting, even though I didn't fully realize it at the time. That's also the reason why I didn't care much for the carded packaging as a kid. When you opened them, the packaging was essentially destroyed and I hated that. The figure had a home in the box and he looked cool standing in it. If I use that same rule today with Mattel, it doesn't work for the same reasons. I think putting them in boxes would feed a collector mentality better than being on card because, as a kid, you can still take them out, but keep the packaging to preserve them when your done. As an adult I typically buy two of each if I like them, so I have one to preserve while the other one is used to pose loose.

[trekman101]

Wanna know what would be cool,even though the chances of it happening are slim......what if Mattel had a mail in offer for collectors to get a flattened box for each character sent to them for like a buck plus UPC...boxes have been included as extras for figures and toys in the recent past

[drogge]

T 1

I remember the metal pin bodies broke easier, the newer bodies were better. I was so young I barely paid attention but I do recall the metal pin bodies coming apart after a lot of play. I used to play with my removable cowl and removable mask Batman and Robin, both came apart.

[drogge]

T1

It was the metal pins, the knees seperated at the pin joint after repeated movement. I also broke plenty of figures by pulling the rubber bands apart. I was brutal. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been gentler.

[drmego]

I remember getting Green Arrow in 1974 and being fascinated by the new
all plastic body. I stared at the torso for hours, the better defined muscles,
and how it made the costumes fit better.

After that, type 2 was definitely the preferred body style for me.

[Mikey]

I was probably a little thick but back in the day the only difference I noticed were T-2's had painted underwear and didn't have bumps between their legs

[Spyweb007]

I preferred the type 2 as well, many of the figures I had were originally type 1 and got replaced with type 2's after they broke. I'd compare the current Mattel bodies to type 1's, room for improvement but I like them anyway. Hopefully Mattel will have there own type 2 body down the road and it will be as big an improvement as the Mego type 2 was.

[AAAAA]

i've notice an thought it was an improvement , the only complaint i had was the hand would not hold accessories like type ones.