[YouTube] 1990's Batman Action Figures (and 1995 Collecting Toys Article)

https://youtu.be/sUgGkiHTDcY

As noted in the previous post, Holy Bat-Toys!, it's Batman Day and I put these two posts, especially this one, together at the last moment (as in yesterday afternoon, evening, and early this morning). The video is simply a look at 36 action figures released by Kenner around the mid '90s. Since I'm keeping them sealed I could not do any interesting photo shoots and the rushed photos aren't my best work either, sorry! I sometimes put two or three toys in one photo to save time too. This post does have two somewhat unique aspects at least, one is an article scan from the June 1995 issue of Collecting Toys magazine that features a broad overview of Batman toy lines up until just before the release of Batman Forever. The other highlight is the bonus item shown at the end of the video, a photo of a retail store advertising piece that I cleaned up in editing.

Where Crime Pays (Collecting Toys - June 1995)

Batman: The Animated Series/Mask of the Phantasm/The Adventures of Batman and Robin

Legends of Batman

Legends of the Dark Knight

Batman Forever

Batman & Robin

Retail Store Advertisement

This is a Batman Forever poster board that hung from the ceiling at retail stores, directing customers to the official movie products. It's 27 inches wide and 35 inches long.

Holy Bat-Toys! (Collecting Toys - June 1995)

The third Saturday of September is Batman Day and that day is today. I had hoped to have some video game related content for the celebration but due to time constraints and an issue with a game, that fell through. This was all very last minute and so all I have are two article scans from the June 1995 issue of Collecting Toys magazine and one video looking at some sealed Batman action figures from the 1990s. Since one article is basically the evolution of Batman action figures, I'm including that one in the blog post for the video. The article featured in this post shows off an impressive collection by Joe Desris. Mr. Desris is also quite the expert on the character, as the article notes even DC sometimes contacted him for information, and in 2016 he co-authored a book about the 1960's Batman television show titled Batman: A Celebration of the Classic TV Series.

Meet the Father of Video Gaming (Video Games & Computer Entertainment - June 1991)

This is an article about Ralph Baer (1922-2014) from the June 1991 issue of Video Games & Computer Entertainment. It's a good read, especially if you aren't familiar with Baer, though the page color isn't the best choice so make sure to view the scans at their largest resolution. I never played the Magnavox Odyssey, nor the Odyssey 2, though I did have the opportunity to view and handle an Odyssey with its original packaging. The system requires taping translucent plastic overlays to a television screen to act as a game's graphics with players controlling a dot in each game. For example, there were backgrounds that represented ping pong, skiing, and a haunted house. A light gun accessory was also available for the console that was manufactured by Nintendo before it had entered the video game market, though it had begun making electronic toys in the early '70s. 

Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash

Like the Hot Wheels Wipout set I posted about in 2019, the Criss Cross Crash (1978) car launcher is suffering from old, crumbling foam so I opted not to record a video. Users rotate a steering wheel that spins a foam pad to launch a car around the track when it's working. Unfortunately, that foam doesn't hold up forever and over time it loses the force needed to be of any use. By comparison, this track is smaller than Wipeout's oval, it has a figure eight layout and no loops. As the name indicates, the design is meant to cause crashes where the tracks overlap. In the photos you'll see I am missing one small, yellow stand for the elevated track where the sign is displayed. The cars are a bit beat up as well, likely from crashing into one another. Also, when I opened this box I found the instructions to the Hot Wheels Service Center Foldaway Garage so I scanned them and updated that 2017 post.