Playmates: A Force to Be Reckoned With (Collecting Toys - August 1994)

When I posted the Gang of Five article from the August 1994 issue of Collecting Toys, I mentioned I was actually scanning something else when I stumbled across that story. This is what I'd initially planned to post back then. It's about the toy company Playmates, best known for its Star Trek and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) action figures. I've shown a few of the toys in posts about the Star Trek Generations Enterprise and TMNT merchandise. As you'll see in the article, TMNT is the property that turned Playmates into a major player in the toy industry. Along with TMNT and Star Trek, it also had toy lines based on Exo Squad and seaQuest DSV in the '90s, and it began publishing video games in 1994, such as Earthworm Jim. Playmates Toys Limited is still in business today and just this week announced that its TMNT licensing agreement with Viacom will not be renewed when it expires at the end of 2026. It had also returned to Star Trek action figures in 2022, but due to poor sales, it ended production of those in 2023.

Year 9: August Update

When I went to write this post I was surprised to find that I hadn't actually written a monthly update since February. Unfortunately, I don't have much planned other than to keep scanning some magazine articles, and I do have more video game ads to share eventually. Despite not having a lot of actual work to do, it feels like I've been busy and I haven't kept up on much game and toy news. The best announcement I saw recently was LEGO's Batman Arkham Asylum, a 2,953-piece set that comes with 16 mini-figures, including Batman, Robin, Batwoman, Catwoman, and nine villains dressed in orange jumpsuits. It releases on September 5th at a price of $299.99. Also, now available from LEGO is the Decepticon Soundwave, who joins the previous LEGO incarnations of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. He does transform and has cassettes of Laserbeak and Ravage. The 1,505-piece set is available exclusively at the LEGO online store for $189.99.

Another new toy announcement comes from Jakks Pacific. Apparently there was a Sonic the Hedgehog and DC crossover comic book back in March, and now there are action figures based on it. Jakks Pacific will be releasing a variety of figures, including single Sonic characters dressed as superheroes, such as Sonic as The Flash, Amy as Wonder Woman, and Silver as Green Lantern. There will also be double packs of Superman with Knuckles, Batman with Shadow, and Cyborg with Tails. Jakks unveiled new action figures in its Super Mario line and The Simpsons too.

As far as video games, well, Nintendo did release the Switch 2 since I last wrote an update. That was June 5th, the week before the former week of E3. It costs $499.99 and is less powerful than its competitors as usual, though it is getting some of the higher end games that previously released on PlayStation and Xbox systems. I didn't find anything too exciting come out of the aforementioned former E3 week. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, though I think it has more to do with the lack of originality being shown, plus I don't own any hardware new enough to play most of the big games releasing these days. 

Yep, that was a short update. Sorry it's been such a slow year for the blog!

Thanks for reading,
Jonathan

[YouTube] Star Wars Droid Factory

https://youtu.be/qNkfKr7XR9U

The Star Wars Droid Factory is an original playset from Kenner that draws inspiration from the Jawa Sandcrawler scenes of the first film. It was released in 1979 and again in 1980 when the packaging added The Empire Strikes Back logo. Included in the set are a base measuring 10" by 12" that supports a crane and has grooves that hold many of the droid pieces in specific spots. A variety of generic droids can be built in addition to an R2-D2 with center leg. Some pieces connect to one another via permanently attached pegs and some require using the additional connector pins.

This is one of only two classic Star Wars toy boxes I still have and, although it was wear on the edges, it's not in bad shape. The front and back of the box feature the same image; I'm posting photos of both sides so you can see a "clean" side and the side that still has the price tag, indicating it cost $11.99 at Bradlees. I also scanned the Droid Maker Blueprints booklet and parts sheet. Unfortunately, I'm missing the R2 head and some of the orange "hydraulic tubing" pieces.

Some scenes with additional action figures:

May the 4th Be With You!

[YouTube] X-Men 1990's Action Figures

https://youtu.be/Hz5xvzzEkvE

Both the X-Men comic book and animated series were quite popular during the '90s which led to numerous X-Men-branded toys and other products being produced. Some of those included Micro Machines, trading cards, playing cards, yo-yos, Colorforms, board games, video games, and action figures, of course. Toy Biz made the most of its partnership with Marvel that began in 1990, even becoming part of the Marvel empire in a 1993 deal. Throughout the '90s it released a variety of X-Men, X-Force, and some other "X" character action figures and accessories. This is by no means a comprehensive look at what Toy Biz made, just at the X-Men action figures I collected, plus a Bend-Em! To save time I did take group photos for many of them.

X-Men

X-Force

Generation X

Bend-Em