Year 10: July Update

The last update was in February, and not too much has happened since then. I'd meant to make at least one toy video this summer, but that hasn't happened. Life has gotten in the way and I've been a bit lazy I suppose. After building the new PC, I thought I'd play more games this year too, though I have not done that either. One thing I did do was visit Arizona, someplace I'd not been since 2014, and that gave me a little bit of time to sift through some boxes at my parent's home. They were boxes that were primarily my sister's things, however, I found some items that were mine, such as Mego Superman's cape, a Hot Wheels coloring book, and instructions to Tomy's Cosmic Clash game. Unfortunately, I didn't find what I was looking for, which would be the clothing to some 12" Star Wars figures. I want to make a video of those and I will if I ever find Obi-Wan and Luke's clothing, or at least some of it.

In the post before this one are magazine scans of the original Masters of the Universe movie, and this week I saw the new movie. I don't consider it to be good, maybe average. At nearly 2.5 hours long, I'd expect more character development, more locations, and more Battle-Cat. I'll pick a few things apart, and there will be some minor spoilers here. The movie begins with a young Adam and then he is suddenly in his 20s, and we don't know what happened when he got to Earth; who raised him? Of course, everyone's development got fast-forwarded, and we don't see what happened to Man-At Arms and Teela after a battle, and the next time we do see Man-At-Arms, he is an alcoholic. Also, Adam is very dumb, which I think is the worst part of the film. In the cartoon he acted clumsy and clueless at times to hide his identity, but he wasn't stupid. Here he makes Skeletor look like a genius by comparison. Good or bad, there is an android that, if you're a Star Wars fan, will keep reminding you of Rogue One's K-2SO. Obviously, the movie is not meant to be serious, and the writers do have fun with the silly character names, but the story could have been much better.

Speaking of movies, Hasbro is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie with a 4K theatrical release September 17th. That had been announced earlier this year, and more details have come out for it and many, many other things this weekend at San Diego Comic Con. There is plenty of news about Marvel movies, like a Ghost Rider film coming in 2028 that will star Ryan Gosling, and confirmation that Deadpool and Peggy Carter will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel will be publishing a new Indiana Jones comic book too, with the first issue coming in December. Last year, DC had announced an animated film trilogy based on the 1993/94 Batman comic book story Knightfall, and that will be available digitally on August 25th, and a physical release will follow shortly thereafter. 

It may seem way too early for Christmas, but Hallmark has already released new ornaments for the holiday season. I always mention these because they usually feature licenses related to what I talk about and are cool miniatures, and some can be displayed nicely year round. A few of the newest highlights include a PlayStation that plays the start-up sound, X-Men '97 Blackbird that plays music, and a Batcomputer from the classic TV series, with lights and sound.

And last but not least, it's LEGO time. I write the blog updates so infrequently that there is always a new LEGO set, or two, worth mentioning. One of the best video game consoles of all time got the brick treatment: Sega Genesis! You can even choose to make it a Mega Drive instead. It was announced in May and released in June at a price of $39.99. For Nintendo fans, LEGO is releasing a Donkey Kong Arcade with playable level on August 1st for $199.99.

By the way, you might notice some sort of links (blue text in a white bubble) on posts. I have no control over those, they are automatically being added by Blogger.

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Thanks for reading!

-Jonathan

Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments (White's Guide to Collecting Figures - July 1997)

I've posted about ornaments on the blog more than I ever thought I would. However, Hallmark does make detailed ornaments based on numerous fandoms and other subjects, from comic books and toys to sports and Coca-Cola so I think they're worth taking a look at. Previous ornament posts include Star Wars original trilogy and prequel trilogy, Star Trek, and then a few ornaments appear in Superman and Batman articles. For this post I've scanned a 4-page article titled "It's Christmas in July" from the July 1997 issue of White's Guide to Collecting Figures which obviously covered more than just action figures. Below that I'll highlight some of Hallmark's 2023  Keepsake ornaments as they're still going strong and they've got some very nice video game selections this year. 

Although the magazine is about collecting and I do mention the value of things from time to time, the article rightly states, "It doesn't matter if they go up in value or not because they will bring you pleasure every year when you put them on your Christmas tree." That being said, it does often pay to wait as the cost can drop below the MSRP when the store discounts the unsold stock or they show up on the secondary market a few years down the road. I've found when selling some of my 25-year-old ornaments that they commonly go for less than what was originally paid, especially the athletes. There are too many 2023 ornaments that are based on Star Wars, video games, toys, Disney, Star Trek, and other things that relate to the blog to list here so check out this link if you want to see more: Hallmark Keepsake. Hallmark is even selling a Star Wars tree skirt that lights up (it's $119.99!). 

Nothing says Christmas like Han being frozen in carbonite! Of course, most of these licensed ornaments have very little to nothing to do with Christmas but that's okay and you really don't need to use them as ornaments. Many also look great sitting on a shelf and being displayed year round. My personal favorites are these light-and-sound Sega and Nintendo game consoles. Unfortunately, they are only sold online and three of them are currently out of stock so these might actually end up being difficult to get.

 

[YouTube] McDonald's 1970's & 80's Products & Promotions

https://youtu.be/sXSivq74oHQ

Recently McDonald's has been stormed by Pokémon fans and scalpers who want to resell the Pokémon trading cards included in Happy Meals. That led to me thinking about the items I'd get at McDonald's when I was a kid. Most were small things, typically plastic doodads branded with McDonald's characters, such as Ronald, Grimace, Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, and Captain Crook. There were some Happy Meal promotions that included real toys as well, like Hot Wheels cars and basic LEGO sets, but most of the movie and cartoon licensed Happy Meal toys didn't become common until the '90s. This is a look at a variety of merchandise that was either available in stores or in McDonald's restaurants primarily during the 1980s, though some did originate in the '70s. Of course, I've stuffed way too many things into this post and video as I'm prone to do so it is a bit long.

School Supplies

This is a mix or rulers, paper clips, Grimace erasers, and a Ronald pencil topper. The ruler with the stencils melted around Captain Crook which likely occurred in storage.

Basic Plastic Objects

A random assortment that includes a flying disc, wrist case (?), rings, top, and lock puzzle. Not sure what the wrist thing is supposed to be. It fits like a watch with a Captain Crook cover that opens and can hold small things, such as coins. The bright green color made me think it might glow in the dark but it did not in my tests. Below that are three rings representing Halloween, Ronald, and Captain Crook, and then a green top. I don't have all the pieces of the McPuzzle Lock; I believe it should be four parts that rotate and unlock once a character face is completed.

Other Happy Meals Goods

I'm not sure how to group all of these things but these are probably all from Happy Meals. First up are a cardboard tag and beach balls promoting the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. The inflated beach balls are wrinkled because they'd lose some air every time I tried to put the plug in. After that is a pull back car with Ronald in it. There is an incomplete jigsaw puzzle that included all the pieces before I misplaced them. Next to the puzzle is Mac Tonight on a skateboard making him twice as cool with kids. While doing some research for this post, I stumbled across a story about a lookalike character that has become a symbol of racism. Of course, I'm not showing the toy because of that but it may have been one reason the character faded from McDonald's ads. The toy is from 1987 when Mac was a crooner trying to convince the masses to eat fast food. The stickers at the bottom are meant to be placed on a Happy Meal container itself. Rather than the cardboard boxes or paper bags, the container for these stickers was a two piece (easily breakable) plastic railroad car (four were available). Also, these particular stickers are from Canada which I must have visited in 1982. 

Glassware

The first two glasses were used by my family and while Grimace is a bit faded, Hamburglar's colors are still strong. These would not have been free I don't believe and were likely sold at the restaurants alongside a food purchase. After that is a set of three Garfield glasses though the complete set would be four. These I sort of remember getting as this promotion ran at a time when my mother, sister, and I were visiting my great grandmother in a nursing home, and we'd get dinner at McDonald's on those days. Around that time was also when I got Hot Wheels cars which I'm not including here since they are simply standard cars that were available in stores too and don't have McDonald's branding. A couple of those cars can be seen in the Hot Wheels Service Center post. I expect I have some of the LEGO sets seen in the ad above too though they'd just be pieces mixed in with my other LEGO bricks at this point.

Books & Stickers

The heading doesn't quite cover everything as this bunch has the McDonaldland Fun Times, a calendar, postcard, stickers, Magic Pads, and Santa Claus: The Movie activity books. The Fun Times was a free magazine for kids to enjoy that was published every other month. Not sure where I got the 1983 calendar though it could have been sold at restaurants. It has a Mattel rebate offer inside that can be seen on the blog's Facebook page in the toy ads album and I also scanned some of the pages for the activities album. Sets of McDonald's stickers were sold in stores and as the price tag shows they were a steal at 20 cents (being from Odd Lot that would not have been the original price). I like the picture on the postcard but it had a very old piece of masking tape on it that tore the image when I tried to remove it. Magic Pads have three pages that appear blank until a pencil is rubbed over them to reveal a character and quote. The activity books are a promotion for Santa Claus: The Movie which I have no recollection of. 

Promotional Pieces

I've posted the 1984 Halloween sign a few times before which was for people handing out McDonald's gift certificates on the holiday. Used in last month's blog update is the 1986 NFL promotion with a reward based on the outcome of the game shown. Denver won the game on this card so it could have been redeemed for a free medium Coke. Also, Steve Grogan who is pictured did not play in that game. Last one is a combination of an ad with a record from 1988.

Random Goods

In this group we've got a watch, patch, magnet, plate, and two ornaments. The watch is digital and if I recall correctly my sister had one with a red band. The patch is an iron-on of officer Big Mac from 1978. Also from 1978 is the Ronald magnet. Although I believe the plastic plate of which I own two was used, the artwork still looks quite nice. The clear plastic ornament is based on the 1984 made-for-TV movie A Christmas Carol and the other is a 1983 Norman Rockwell ornament.

Toys

Here are two actual toys or at least parts of toys. McDonald's was so popular that Remco made seven action figures (or dolls) of the McDonaldland characters in 1976. Although I don't own any, I've got the Ronald outfit. The other toy is a McDonald's employee that was included with a 1974 Playskool set. No idea if the set is still around, it could be at my parent's house as could another restaurant set from Mattel's Barbie toy line.

 

Birthdays

Decades ago McDonald's was home to many kids' birthday parties and as the ad to the right says, it's a happy place to have one! The paper hat that features excellent art of the characters must have been handed out at birthdays, however, in the two photos I'm sharing, my sister is wearing an employee style hat. Not sure if I ever had a birthday party at McDonald's but my sister definitely had two and I found a photo of a Burger King birthday as well, and once again that was my sister's party.