In my opinion...

[PNGwynne]

I had no love for Captain Cold honestly, (just a Mr. Freeze wanna-be), but he grew on me.

No derail intended, & I get that many didn't like Cold, but in all fairness:


--Cold came first; it's Freeze that is seemingly derivative: 6/1957 vs. 2/1959
--Cold has long been a premier Rogues Gallery foe; until deft handling in the
'90s BAT:TAS, Freeze was a gimmicky C-list Bat-Foe. Only Batman '66 saved him from obscurity. "Mr. Zero", anyone?

Just sayin'. (I like them both.)

[jetzjungle]

Haters provide nothing of substance to the hobby. So do something constructive and provide valuable criticism in a new forum that helps helps make future products better! It may not be well received (especially by Jason at BBP) but there is a place for it here in order to make Re-Mego products as viable as the original.

[Toyman_Chris]

Haters provide nothing of substance to the hobby. So do something constructive and provide valuable criticism in a new forum that helps helps make future products better! It may not be well received (especially by Jason at BBP) but there is a place for it here in order to make Re-Mego products as viable as the original.

I completely agree. Just don't feel as though anyone here is a hater. Sorry you do.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I completely agree with ScottA, my major complaint was distribution. beyond wave 1 you could not find these in any of the local TRU. i hat having to buy something online i should be able to easily get at retail. the bodies were poorly made but Mattel did correct that by wave 4. as far as the head sculpts I thought most of them were great and truly captued the 70's vibe they were going for.
i truly am sorry to see the line end

[LonnieFisher]

Haters provide nothing of substance to the hobby. So do something constructive and provide valuable criticism in a new forum that helps helps make future products better! It may not be well received (especially by Jason at BBP) but there is a place for it here in order to make Re-Mego products as viable as the original.

How many little kids and parents do you think switched the bodies with other bodies? Probably none. I think the point of this thread was lost with the "hater" comments. And in my defense, I make custom bodies that can stand! I have improved several of the original Mego bodies. It's too bad we didn't get a mass produced, articulated waist muscle body. I have a hand made one...
I also made an all original Man-Thing figure.
This isn't a "hate Mattel" thread, it's an observation about how people reacted at my table at a two day toy and collector show. Another seller had some Retro-action figures, and sold none. I made a sign that said "vintage '70's Mego" and a lot of people didn't even know they existed. So when the new generation sees vintage Mego, they have no idea they aren't the new figures.
So, in my opinion the Mattel figures have dealt a devastating blow to the other new retro style figures.

[rche]

I get what you are saying, Lonnie. However, I think if there is any fallout with GQ Public, it will be short lived. And, I might add, it would be directed at Mattel. Most parent/purchasers know who made the toys they buy and are more than happy to ring up the customer service departments of those companies.

Both Mattel and BBP had megolike products on the shelves of a chain store last year, so Matty is not the only 8" cloth item that retail buyers saw. Perhaps the only superhero figure, but not the only 8" figure. Plenty of monsters, Twilight Zone, and Venture Bros changed hands as well.

I don't think there are a whole bunch of folks who look at vintage Mego and say, "hey, aren't those the dolls with the tiny heads, gigantic hands, and oversized gloves/boots?" I think Famous Covers had a much bigger sales base and if one was not aware of vintage Megos, these could have left that sort of taste in the consumer mouth. But that does not seem to be the case.

I don't really see anyone confusing CTVT items with original Mego on a grand scale either, and many of those were direct copies.

Perhaps for your next show you should have a copy of WGSH or Bonivitas book on your table for your customers to flip through.

[MIB41]

I see your point Lonnie and its well illustrated with your experience. But I think collecting tends to hit people on a more emotional level than just what one line can dictate. Sure the Retro Action line was not marketed with today's generation in mind (hence the name). But I also think had the line tried to cater to the tastes of today's kids, that design also would have been at odds with the old Mego figures. Kids today are graphic happy. They want plastic figures with tons of articulation and a slop of paint on them which they call "detail". Anyway you slice it, there will always be a generational gap between what kids desire today versus what our expectations were back then.

Before Mego's, our generation didn't have much of anything to pick from unless they were considerably bigger scale figures like GI Joe. And even then it was limited when it came to heroes. Mego was a revolutionary moment for action figures. For those of us who were around then, it's a timeless moment we can never forget. It forever changed what "play time" would be. And for many of us, it defined the rest of our childhoods. It was lightening in a bottle. You were either there and experienced it or you read about it from a latter generation and want to relate with it. Either way it's emotional in it's most fundamental form.

Mattel is not the first to try this either. So I wouldn't think interest, or any perceived lack thereof, could be solely blamed on this line. Mattel tried to mimic Mego like other companies before them. And like those companies they tried to create what they felt were "improvements" to that original Mego idea. From my perspective, EMCE has done it best and remains the most faithful to the overall concept. But, at the end of the day, their all eight or nine inch figures with cloth outfits. They all vary whether the brand name is Mego, EMCE, Castaway, BBP, Mattel, Toybiz, or Hasbro. But they all carry the same inspiration from the 70's. So I can't imagine one line in that lot taking blame for any downturn in this format. There is alot of product out there so kids have more choices than we ever had when we were young. If I had to guess, I would say your probably watching that option being played out.

[jetzjungle]

Seriously?

Mattel is killing the Mego memory and market. I had lots of people see my Mego figures at a toy and collectible show this weekend. Most thought they were the new(dead-in-the-water) Retro-action figures. So, opposite all the opinions that the lame Mattel body wouldn't affect the sales of the figures, the overwhelming negative comments about them say otherwise. The line died because they look goofy, the thighs are too bulbous and they wouldn't stand on their own. Not one positive comment about them. I overheard a lot of the comments and they weren't made to me. Just people talking about the Retro-action figures. Now people think negatively about the original Mego figures. (I really hate that the community demanded on calling the trash Mattel figures "Mego"!! Now Mego has a bad reputation and word-of-mouth is spreading it.)
It really made me sad that there were a lot of uncomplimentary comments about my Mego figures.

Comments like Dead in the water, over-whelming negative comments, goofy, bulbous add nothing of substance to the hobby...the thread started on a nasty note that is obvious to see.

[Werewolf]

Sure the Retro Action line was not marketed with today's generation in mind (hence the name).

Totally, these retro lines are directed at people that collected them back in the day and want to share them with their kids, in my opinion. The licenses aren't exactly kid friendly choices. I don't see Venture Bros, Twilight Zone, Bionic Man, etc. being high on the Christmas list of the average child. Licenses that would appeal to them wouldn't appeal to us.

But I also think had the line tried to cater to the tastes of today's kids, that design also would have been at odds with the old Mego figures.

I agree. I don't think some people realize how drastically different they would have to be to purely appeal to today's kids. For example, look at the re-imagined classic brands aimed at kids like Strawberry Shortcake and My little Pony. They would be unrecognizable to most of us to appeal to kids. I don't think most Mego collectors would be happy with Mego-like WGSH or Bionic Man figures done in the style of those chunky DC Super Friends toys aimed at kids.

[LonnieFisher]

Comments like Dead in the water, over-whelming negative comments, goofy, bulbous add nothing of substance to the hobby...the thread started on a nasty note that is obvious to see.

Get a better pair of glasses...
I was writing comments I heard from others and their opinions. Those were what gave me the opinion I wrote in the first sentence concerning Mattel.

[jetzjungle]

According to you ..."Mattel is killing the Mego memory and Market"...Try using some glasses to see that your opinion adds nothing of interest to this discussion. Try forming your opinions based on your own ideas and you might be much happier and better informed!

[LonnieFisher]

According to you ..."Mattel is killing the Mego memory and Market"...Try using some glasses to see that your opinion adds nothing of interest to this discussion. Try forming your opinions based on your own ideas and you might be much happier and better informed!

"My opinion" is the discussion. As per the title of the thread. My opinion was based on the comments by the crowd at the toy and collector show I attended as a vendor over the weekend.

[thunderbolt]

Maybe that crowd was too young to remember the Mego figures, I'm sure there is a large toy buying market now that doesn't know GI Joe was once 12 inches tall either.

[Werewolf]

Maybe that crowd was too young to remember the Mego figures, I'm sure there is a large toy buying market now that doesn't know GI Joe was once 12 inches tall either.

Other toy collectors I knew, that didn't collect Mego, thought my Mego figures were goofy looking long before any of the new figures came out.

[tllgn]

the way i see it ,for me i loved the retro dc line,for me it was the thrill of seeing "8" superheros on the market again,even though it was short lived .for me i had a good time,mego will always be the best ,and the best of everything will always be copied ,and will confuse non-mego people all day long .i dont think it hurts mego figures ,just confuses people who may want, or perhaps not want to pay a lot of money for say an old batman,when the new one works just fine for them,the bodys do suck,and again maybe the person does not give a rats behind how its made ,if they do then buy the old toy or have a customizer ,found here build one for him .