Like I tell my kids- the 80s was the greatest pop culture era of all time. TV, movies, music, fashion, toys, Nintendo vs Sega, cartoons…everything was hittin’!
The eighties or the early 80's was greatest time. Yeah the 80s was the greatest decade to be alive. Life was simple and peaceful. Easy going and music was everywhere. The cartoons, movies, toys, food was better than today.
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal I never had Transformers because of the price. I had some Gobots. They were the poor boy's Transformers, so I can understand why they wouldn't make a top 20.
I remember Voltron’s being impossible to get all the lions. But the actual toys were awesome large metal toys with great playability. My parents didn’t have a lot of money so go bots were my gobots toy as well as gi joe. How about WWF.
Not judgmental at all great list me personally would’ve snuck wwf Ljn figures in… considered dog toys to many, but were definitely playable for any wrestling fan growing up in the era of Early Hulkamania
That's a good list. I think everybody's top 3 is transformers Gi Joe and he man. I agree Voltron and l am surprised you didn't mention robotech. Robotech is arguably one of the animation cartoons in that era hands down. The eighties was the best decade for animation 82-85. I was blessed to be alive.
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimalRobotech had Many figures from all 3 generations. They had the TV show comics and Books (the books going well beyond and filling the gaps between the 3 Generations).
Loved the list! Hard disagree about the lack of innovation with Star Wars figures, though. That series created the model for the 3 3/4 inch action figure. Without that size becoming the norm, toy vehicles would have been too large and expensive to produce. Without vehicles, GI Joes wouldn't have become the juggernaut they became.
I will say, Star Wars was crazy innovative with playsets and vehicles. And you make a good point that they started it all, they just weren't the best made figures
Actually that's incorrect. Takara actually started and standardised the 3.75" action figure scale in 1974, with Microman, which MEGO imported and released in 1976 as the Micronauts. In fact there's a strong possibility that it was the Micronauts which influenced Kenner to go with the 3.75" scale for figures, because as Microman had shown, it opened up far more scope for releasing vehicles and playsets to go with them (eg Biotron and Stratastation).. It was also Microman which pioneered the o-ring design. In fact, as I understand it, Microman is the reason why 1980s G.I. JOEs used their iconic o-ring design.
sw has some amazing vehicles (thank the original artists), and some cool playsets, but the figures are basic af and never really tried to evolve the articulation
I loved Eagle Force. I had the Eagle Lair also. Much like you, I was all for trying new toy lines when I was a kid. I got deep into Star Wars, Transformers, and G.I. Joe, but I also got into Battle Beasts, Starcom, and Starriors.
As a kid born in the mid 70s, I was the prime age to enjoy 80s toys and thanks to two loving parents, I had them all. My top 20? 1. GI Joe 2. Transformers 3. Masters of the Universe 4. Star Wars 5. The Real Ghostbusters 6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7. Super Powers 8. Voltron 9. M.A.S.K. 10. Thundercats 11. Captain Power 12. Visionaries 13. C.O.P.S. 14. Silverhawks 15. Inhumaniods 16. Bravestarr 17. Go-bots 18. Sectaurs 19. Dungeons and Dragons 20. Starriors Honorable mentions: Madballs, Battle Beasts, M.U.S.C.L.E, and Army Ants
Your list is great! Your honorable mention list is absolute gold. I had and played with those honorable mention toys the most when not playing with MASK, He Man, GI Joe, Voltron, Transformers, Go Bots, Star Wars, Thundercats and Sectaurs. I definitely would include your honorable mention toys in my top 20. Maybe even higher.
@@HoonAgain Thanks! My honorable mentions were basically what I got with my allowance and mowing money while I was waiting for the new waves of Joe, Formers, and MOTU to hit. I fondly remember loving to play with Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E.
aside from tf and joe, i knew there were japanese toys that were next-level. i managed to get that red countach diakron and that made me aware of the dianaut pilots. i would also see amazing-looking godaikin at fancy shops. if we had the full original lines of diaclone, machine robo, chogokin, etc. it would have blown my kid mind
M.a.s.k. and dinoriders and shadow force and transformers and g.i. joe and sky commanders and bionic six and thunder cats and silver hawks and gobots and Voltron and robotics and inhumanoids and bravestarr and zone raiders and centurions and laser tag and heman and shera and super powers and the wheeled warriors
As a kid, I never got into any other toy line other than GI Joe and Adventure People. GI Joe was awesome and continues to be awesome to this day. No other action figure toy line will ever beat it. Great video!
Fun video as always. I definitely would have ranked MOTU higher, and was really surprised not to see Real Ghostbusters, Voltron, or Jace and The Wheel Warriors listed.
Not having a lot of money in the 80's, I mostly had to make do with the cheaper toy lines, but even some of them were brilliant and most kids had a few of them. In no particular order, my favourites from the 80's were: Transformers, Go-Bots, MASK, Starcom, Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E :)
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal M.U.S.C.L.E, Monster in my Pocket ... I could only afford the cheaper stuff. We got lucky where I am, in that we had a big discount shop that sold all kinds of tatt, but for a while they did have the 8-packs of Battle Beasts, at a really cheap price!
Solid list, especially the top 5. It's so personal though. MASK is a very close 2nd to GI Joe for me. The top three as a whole were the right ones though. Stoked to see the inclusion of COPS. Those toys were seriously well made. For me ones that I loved, that would've been cool to see were .... . Battle Beasts (had an army of those guys, cool lore with the Transformers tie in as well) . WWF Rubber figures (no articulation, but displayed awesome, and you could beat the crap out of them) . Real Ghostbusters . Dino Riders . Sky Commanders (Soooo much fun building crazy zip lines etc with them) . Ring Raiders (short lived, but I built an entire air force in that time. Really swappable as well) . Micro Machines . Mad Balls head poppers . Voltron . Entertech motorised water guns (the colourful ones. Not action figures, but every kid I knew wanted them. Mine lasted for about 20 years as well) Man we had it so good.
Yes, agree this is really personal. I'll also admit to missing a few. Probably should have put Real Ghostbusters, WWF figures, Voltron and Robotech on the list
No it's not. Maybe in America. In Europe and Asia and South America. . . . . Basically THE WHOLE WORLD, it was Transformers, Turtles, He man, Thundercats and M.A.S.K. GI JOE was boring and dull.
transformers and gobots were the best toys ever made by far not even close i had every thing in the 80s and a robot that can change into cars, planes trains ext you cant beat that just really think about it when you played with your transformers in the 80s i didnt want to play with joes or sw because transformers took up all my time lol
Aliens toys missing!!! As well as Micro Machines, Hot Wheels, Ghostbusters, dino-riders, zoids are all that can replace some in this list lol. Definitely agree with 1 and 2 though 👍
You missed a few decent ones. The Real Ghost Busters. Ghost Busters. Go Bots, Voltron (lion version) had Two different versions dicast and plastic with figures. Robotech had 3 different versions dicast miniature versions plastic with figures and full sized akin to the full size Transformers in Transformers got sued for making Skyfire a Veritech from the Robotech Series.
I think any of the top five could be someone's favorite. They are all incredible. Yeah, Transformers cartoon may be the overall best cartoon, although I need to rewatch
Seeing the ninja turtles it's like I can almost smell the fresh plastic of the action figures and feel the excitement of finding the newest turtle on the shelf.
My top ten would be 1. GI Joe, 2. Star Wars, 3. He-Man, 4. Transformers, 5. Thundercats, 6. Super Powers, 7. COPS, 8. Silverhawks, 9. Visionaries, 10. Spiral Zone
Being a kid of the 80s... I was watching a tube (probably yours) about the MotU line, year by year... Of course I was keeping a mental note in my head of which ones I had as a kid, and about year two, it occurred to me that it was seeming like I had 85-90% of the line.... But I had to call my mom, "Hey, I need to ask you... so I remember having almost all of the He-Man stuff, but like, I don't remember ever craving it or needing it... or demanding that I have to have it or I'll die... so umm, what was up with that?" And then she told me, "Oh yeah, that was me and Gram. We decided you were going to be a He-Man boy, and that was our little game, always trying to one up the other..." So yeah, I had nearly the whole line, because my mom and grandmother were competitive 😂
You know the 80s pumped out toys when we can think of so many others that didn't make this list. Gobots, Voltron, Robotech and Ghostbusters are big ones. And maybe even Wheeled Warriors to an extent. Then you got Dungeons and Dragons, Dino Riders, Super Naturals, Bionic Six, Starriors, Battle Beast, Starcom, Air Raiders, Sky Commandos, Captain Power, Power Lords, Spiral Zone, Secret Wars and Muscle Things.
My friend had several of those. It was a bold move to compete with Rambo and the A-Team. Sly Stallone movies did better than Chuck Norris at the box office, and the A Team was staple TV for adolescent boys in the 80s.
I lived in the UK until I was 8 (‘88). The major difference in my view was the comic book scene back then. Marvel UK did a great job with Transformers producing a vastly superior product. They also had a pretty good Thundercats comic. Action Force (GI Joe) did not do as well, eventually becoming a back up strip in the Transformers. Also, the Hasbro produced Action Force was not as popular in the UK, as it was very US focused with an “international” mask. So for me, Transformers beats out GI Joe pretty easily.
How about another list? Maybe the next 20? Including Dino-Riders, Sky Commanders, Marvel Secret Wars, the WWF toyline, Spiral Zone, Captain Power, Air Raiders, Captain Power, Dino Saucers, Dungeons & Dragons, thr Real Ghostbusters, Voltron and the Go-bots and many others to complete the next list. Thank you so much for a wonderful video! Keep making more. New subscriber here!
I agree with your ranking 100% except for one thing… TMNT should have a 5 for lore. The toys don’t really have much of a place in my heart because they were late 80s, and I was a little too old for them at that point, but the storyline has never really hit a lull with the countless ongoing comics and cartoons and movies and video games. Even heavy hitters like Star Wars and Transformers and GI Joe all had relatively long gaps where no new content was being released.
Transformers, Star Wars , G.I.Joe, Superpowers, He-man master of universe, Go Bots, Thunder Cats, Marvel super heroes sercet Wars, Rambo, The A Team, WWF wrestling figures and Voltron Lions 🦁 and Cars 🚗 version
I'm really surprised that GoBots wasn't listed. Granted, even as a kid, it didn’t take me long to realize they were second-rate Transformers... but even second rate Transformers should probably be on the list of top 20. Was happy to see Cops make it. It had one of the best intro/theme for the cartoon of the era. Granted, nothing touched, Mask. 😊
I also love MASK. It's so good. Yeah, I probably coudl have done a 25 list. I missed GoBots, Robotech, Real Ghostbusters, Jace and the Wheeled Warriors, and Voltron. That might have made it a perfect list
I'm an 80s kid, DUDE...I had ALLLL that stuff and MORE!! The figures, the vehicles, the castles, the play sets, the mail aways EVERYTHING!! 🤘🔥💯 I agree C.O.P.S was pretty awesome and underrated! You're list is pretty good 👍 and reminded me of things I TOTALLY FORGOT about like Visionary, Skyhawk, The Monster things, YEAH MAN 80s TOYS RULED!! 🤘🔥💯👍
No way Joe has the lore or scope of Transformers. TF comics & movies are wildly more successful. IDW TF comics are in the top 5 all-time in comic sales by raw numbers. Cartoons as well. The 2 original 80's cartoons were about equal in popularity as they ran back to back, but TF's carried on w/ either a new cartoon or a new animated series at all times continuing to this day. It's never stopped. It also never stopped being a toy on shelves. Joe disappeared for 20+ years until the recent Classifieds resurgence. These are indisputable facts not opinions. There are toy companies tht make nothing but the Transformers toys tht Hasbro doesnt like X-Transbots & Fans Toys. Literal companies exist that make nothing but toys of Transformer characters. Joe is not close to that objectively. Innovation is ultimately an opinion but figures tht transformed into cars, dinosaurs, guns, microscopes, or construction vehicles tht combined is IMHO much more innovative than 3 inch army men figures tht had vehicles. Zartan changed colors but beyond tht name a figure tht had a cool gimmick like a He-Man figure. I actually think Joe scores low in gimmicks. It's strength was presentation & scope as there is many. I can see why ppl rank it high because it took the same formula as Kenner Star Wars & improved it by releasing more vehicles & play sets. It gave the figs more accessories & more articulation. They were able to be more accurate to the screen than TF's as they were made as toys & put on TV at the same time. Transformers were more complex & were made in Japan long before they became a cartoon. Tht made the show unable to match the detail of the packages or the tech details on the stickers from the actual toys. It would've been too time consuming to animate all that. I understand several kids preferred Joe & tht's fine. Tht is subjective. BUT they def do not deserve all 5's in ur categories objectively. They don't have 1 character as popular or more known than Optimus, Megatron, or Bumblebee. Cobra Commander, Snake Eyes, & Destro are prob the 3 most known from the line & I guarantee more ppl have heard of Prime than any of those 3.
How do you not have Dino-Riders on this list? That's what supplanted The Transformers for my top toy as a kid! Also, how is Star Wars on this? Yeah, I get that it was 1978, but the bulk of Star Wars content came out in the 1980s.
Some honorable mentions. Secret Wars, Battle Beasts, Gobots, Wheeled Warriors, Dungeons & Dragons, Ghostbusters, Dino Riders, Bionic Six, Commando. There are a ton more that could be dug out of my head or looked up. I can't argue with who's on your top seven; though, I did blank on Mask until you mentioned them. 1 Joe, 2 Transformers, 3 Star Wars, 4 He-man, 5 TNMT, 6 Thundercats, 7 Mask.
Dino Riders was a sick toy line! Plagued my parents for months to get me the T Rex. Can’t remember if there was a cartoon series but I remember the feature length one.
Not the greatest, popular, or successful toy line but my favorite is MASH from Tristar International. Hawkeye and BJ saved many Joes hurt on the battlefield as a kid!
GI Joe are great, but I never actually collected them. Transformers have _always_ been my #1; I've literally been collecting them non-stop since 1984 (I'd put the Lore score at a 5 for them, too; with all the TV shows and comics they've had over the years). Other favourites: Masters of the Universe MASK GoBots Centurions ...and missing from the list, StarCom. I didn't get into these till a little later when I discovered a bunch of them at a local cash & carry store, but they were _fantastic,_ and I wish I knew what happened to mine (probably lost in a move somewhere). The figures were about comparable to MASK, a little smaller but similar articulation, with guns, and importantly, magnets in their feet. These let them stick to various metal plates on the vehicles, but also in some cases activated special features, like motorised cannons, or the ingenious airlock on one of the playsets. One of my favourite features was that a lot of the smaller vehicles folded up into a cargo pod format that allowed them to be carried by the bigger vehicles. There was also a cartoon that was very short-lived, but really high quality...
Totally agree about Starcom. I didn’t have many of them, but I distinctly remember those Shadow Parasite and Starwolf vehicles. Very memorable toys and for some reason, that line felt more “space-y” than any of the others. Don’t really know why but they nailed the theming. Thanks for the reminder
@@TEGVB- I think I know what you mean; it felt a lot more realistic; they had a somewhat authentic military-style structure, they weren't overly flashy with the colours (a lot of blacks, whites and dark greys). In a lot of ways, it felt more like a combination of Trek and Wars, but with an even more grounded version of both, like they really were a near-future version of the US Military/NASA. I didn't have many of the toys either, but I loved the ones I had. There was a Shadowbat (but no Parasites for the wings), and a motorised Invader that fit in the cargo bay; I also had a Starwing Six Shooter, and a couple of the small Astro Marines ground vehicles... I have a special appreciation for the way they folded into little cargo pods for storage... 😁
Even as a massive Star Wars kid, I have to agree. The figures were definitely not as fun to play with as GI Joe because of the lack of articulation and accessories. I feel like you ranked them appropriately!
My Top Ten Most Played with Favorite Toy Lines: 1. G.I.Joe (no competition) - How many times did I send Tomax & Xamot down that zipline? It was never enough. I meticulously created various scenes inside handmade shoe box dioramas decorated inside with construction paper, complete with props. The cartoon was really pretty good.as.well. 2. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars - That red & blue Spider-Man figure of mine got so much play time. Difficult to pose with limited articulation, but very colorful figures. These were the only Marvel figures available and I was big into the comics at that time. Weapons were virtually nonexistent. They came with those lame shields with lenticular changing pictures. 3. DC Super Powers - Batman, Robin, the Batmobile, Penguin, Joker, Superman, even Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, all got a ton of play time from me. Weapons were very limited (Penguin's umbrella, Green Lantern's lantern), but the cloth capes were a nice touch. 4. Star Wars - Limited articulation, but it's Star Wars! The vehicles; landspeeder, snowspeeder, speeder bike, TIE fighter, AT-AT. The names; Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Ewoks, Max Rebo, R2D2 & C-3PO. Nuff said 5. The Real Ghostbusters - Colorful toys based on the haunting cartoon of the same name. The figures had limited articulation but came with cool photon blasters and colorful translucent ghosts. 6. Voltron - I hated everything about the Voltron cartoon. Admittedly, the toys were incredible. 7. Transformers - The toys I had were great with Starscream and Soundwave.and they had the cartoon to back them up. I just never understood how transformers came into existence or why they were fighting each other. 8. Muscle Men - Zero articulation, small, colorful, rubbery figures. I had so many of them and loved to play with them. Whatever happened to all the Muscle Men figures? Where did they all go? Hell if I know. 9. Mask - These little action figures with their masks and vehicles were too cool for school. I did not make much time for the cartoon. 10. Thundercats/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/He-Man - This 10th spot is a tie for me between these three separate but similarly bulky looking action figure lines. These three all had cartoons to back them up as well.
It was all articulation for me as a kid. My epic slow motion battles.!!! Making figures hit the ground and scorpion then tumble slo mo. Taking shots. Had to be Joes. I just got Bravestarr from ebay. My favorite articulated big figure probably but I was Yo Joe all day. Emptying my pocket full of Joes before bed like I do now with my wallet and keys after work.
Snake eyes and timber I remember that character it took me about a year to find it I was living in Wilmington California at the time back in 1986 I had to take a bus to Carson I got off the bus went into Toys r Us in the Mall I was looking through I was looking through they just replenish stock it was the third one on the first rack on the first pag that I went through man I was going fat chick crazy man I was like oh he ll yeah I got it that was the most awesome toy I ever seen for I like snake eyes and I love wolfs so 🤘 thank you for the memories my friend
Although I'm a transformers fan I have to agree witj your top choice.. Here in the UK gi Joe (or action force) was never a favourite but when I first saw their articulation I was blown away. Such great play value
To me the 2 most spectacular and deluxe feeling toy lines of the 80s were: A: StarCom B: Dino Riders I personally was a Masters of the Universe kid, but even back then I thought StarCom was on a whole other level and objectively better than MotU. Everything about it seemed advanced and kind of more grounded in realistic engineering. The figurines felt premium because despite being tiny, had more articulation than most action figures, had magnets in their boots and movable helmet visors. And the vehicles and play sets all had cool mechanical features and electric motors and even LED lights if I remember correctly. They did a really good job of fusing real life space technology looking stuff with typical action figure toy line war machine design, which made the vehicles look like that would actually be how stuff might look in a future where mankind has colonized most of the solar system. The vehicles kind of looked like real space shuttles, but with guns, but without being lazily designed as this might make them sound. They were different enough from real space shuttles and other real space vehicles, but still captured their feel and style. Hard to put into words but I think anyone should get what I mean when looking at them. Dino Riders was sort of similar to StarCom and seemed premier and luxurious for the same reasons. Lots of cool mechanics and electrical motors combined with cool designs and small but well made figurines and I remember the toys feeling kind of high quality because they felt like they were made of very thick, sturdy, hard plastic unlike the often somewhat thin and flimsy stuff Masters of the Universe vehicles and playsets were made of. Of course, dinosaurs are just inherently cool, so that was a bonus but the whole thing kind of felt unapologetic and "balls to the wall" in how they just slapped tons of guns, laser cannons and missile launching pods on to the dinosaurs. Both toy lines just seemed like the next level and a step or two above stuff like MotU or Ghostbusters.
Great list, I think I would tinker with some of the order a bit. The only swap I'd make is personally I didn't know anything about Eagle Force and would swap that with Kenner's Real Ghostbusters.
I think you are spot on. In UK we had USA GI Joe towards the end of the 80s so we were not so interested and yes, although star wars was my favorite you are correct it wasn't the best and lived off Star Wars. I would have to say that I really loved MASK.
great list but I would definitely add some toy lines like Sky Commandos, StarComm and Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors. I loved those toys. I was never a Joe guy, I didn't collect them though I did watch the show. I would say that articulation was never a big deal to me as long as they had 5 points. I did love Kenner figures like Super Powers, Dark Knight Collection, Swamp Thing and M.A.S.K. Secret Wars by Mattel were also cool. I never really played with Thundercats as much as I loved the show. In fact my two favorite cartoons (and toys) from the 80s were Silverhawks and Centurions. Silverhawks was a great show and I would play with the figures for hours. I have a complete set of the vintage line and I think they still hold up. Centurions had such a great cartoon as well. I thought the figures were too large but I loved how you could change out the weapons.
It's a legit list. GiJoe was by far the best toy line to come out in the 80's; like by a lot.I would argue Star Wars was number 2 but I digress. The Joes were so far in front its a non issue hahaha. I would've also mentioned the DnD figures although they had no affiliation to the cartoon and maybe the Bionic Six, but its a solid representation of the 80s for sure. Loved me some Sectaurs. They went south so fast I got all of mine cheap back in the day!
I had a mom and pop video store that didn't care about renting R rated movies to kids only a bike ride away from my house. I remember renting all those movies. Robocop, Rambo, Toxic Avenger. It was a great time.
Star Wars should be in the top 3 for sure & the fact that robotech & Voltron were left out for obscure toy lines that didn't even have a cartoon is a travesty.
Honestly dude I feel the Rambo figure looks more like Robert DeNiro than Stallone. The She-Ra line suffered imho because all the girl figures look alike. With MOTU they tried harder to differentiate the characters. To me Inhumanoids had great villains but the heroes were bland as notebook paper. Whereas The Centurions were great hero figures but the villains stunk. If I had both I would put them against each other. MOTU #5?! Blasphemy lol. M.A.S.K. is a really cool concept. To me as cool as the toys for Transformers were/are they aren't as awesome as the comic books. Out of the cartoons I think G.I. JOE did the best especially since they had a few episodes that were absolutely batsh*t insane. Remember the one where Shipwreck thinks Lady Jay died and he actually was surrounded by clones?
Ha, Yeah, it does have an early DeNiro look. Yeah, It seems form most people, Mask and MOTU could be reversed in rank. I was a bigger MASK fan, but I loved them both. I agree the inumanoids heroes were lame, but those monsters are awesome
Sectaurs ahead of Super Powers is absurd in my mind.G.I.Joe is only number one because you love it the most. Transformers I'd have to put above it due to modern relevance. We're getting modern Joes, yes - but it's just us buying them. The cartoon DOES NOT hold up today - certainly not vs. Transformers, which is more or less timeless. All that said, Joe is definitely number 2 and Star Wars would be 3 on my list. Some stuff not mentioned - Voltron, Robotech, Wheeled Warriors, Bionic Six, LJN Dungeons and Dragons (Warduke!). Tje galoob TV show stuff - Buck Rogers, Dukes of Hazzard (although...) and A-Team. There were so many, that's what made it the best time for us! Here is my list - maybe I'll do a competing video. In the meantime here's my version. 20. Sky Commanders - derivative of MASK/Star Wars with many figures and sets that worked with strings ("ropes"). 19. Robocop - sure, okay. I only wanted the basic Robocop and ED-209 for obvious reasons. I feel like this didn't hit until the 90s, but close enough. 18. C.O.P.S. - a Joe derivative and they were pretty fun, but goofy - in toy and cartoon. DiC strikes! 17. Sectaurs - cool, but not no top 10 - no way 16. Air Raiders - small figures but the vehicles launched projectiles via air tubes. Could reasonably play with Transformers - see also StarCOM. 15. Visionaries - fun concept - if they were 3 3.4 they MIGHT have lasted longer 14. Centurions- Ramen Toys are producing fake Centurions. They don't own it. 13. Princess of Power - I guess. 12. Batman - started after the 1989 movie but still the 80s. Started the whole multiple of one guy thing. 11. Inhumanoids - the EarthCorp guys were secretly in the 3 3/4 inch scale- the heads were the same size as Joes! Below 10 are things not really directly derivative of other lines. 10. StarCOM - these things were freaking awesome, had a show, and great playability. Lasted a little more than a minute, but I've NEVER forgotten them. 9.Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 8. Super Powers 7. Thundercats 6. M.A.S.K. - definitely up there in terms of fun, but DiC screwed that one up, too. You forget season 2 is M.A.S.K. racing?? It also had a comic book by DC that wasn't really good. 5. TMNT - closer to the 90s, but the impact was real 4. Masters of the Universe- I didn't even really play with these all that much, but the star that shines the brightest burns twice as fast 3. Star Wars - you don't get virtually anything on this list without it, both innovatively or financially 2.G.I.Joe A Real American Hero 1. Transformers - very narrowly over 2, but probably due to the same preference you have for Joe
I like the list, personally I would have Transformers #1 and GIJOE #2. Silverhawks probably higher, toyline was better than Rambo lol Voltron is a big miss, Ghostbusters, police academy. Last one was crap on cartoon but the movies were funny back in the 80s. Great video overall!
WTF is Eagle Force?!? To paraphrase Gandalf: “I have no memory of this toy…” This just really reinforces the theory that when the LHC was turned on we fell through to an alternate universe. Will you next tell me that Spiral Zone was never really a thing?
Don't agree with your take on Transformers0 Their articulation was fine for the most part. Engineering was amazing for their time. Should be #1. You're a GI JOE fan so it makes sense. I have Joes as #2.
Yeah, I feel like most people have GI Joe and Transformers as 1 & 2, but it is just a matter of taste as to which is your number 1, With He-Man being the third most popular. Apparently, my love of MASK was not as common.
Motu at 5 is rough… my list would have them at 1 followed by GI Joe, Transformers and then Voltron, with Star Wars maybe at 5. I think with so many great toys, it matters how old you were and the cartoons you watched.
Though, you did have a really good list, am I the only one that has a bit of nostalgia for?Capain Power and the Soldiers of the Universe? Yeah it was a short-lived line, but I enjoyed watching the show and the figures were kind of cool not to mention the laser tag light vehicles
I loved this! I’m definitely blessed to be an 80s kid. We truly had an unmatched childhood. I’m a Transformers guy first and foremost, but I loved GI Joe as well. When are we finally going up get a truly great crossover?
GI Joe is the line I had the most fun playing with as a kid. Loved the story of Star Wars, but GI Joe figures are so much better for play. And agree on Transformers. Very cool design but the articulation on characters like Sideswipe... Bad. Plus Ironhide's toy looked nothing like his cartoon counterpart. I would put He-man higher than MASK probably, but those vehicles are great. Fun list.
when you see the original designs with the "dianaut" pilots, the g1 stuff makes more sense. they really botched some of those toys when bringing them west
No i get it i expected star wars to be higher on the list as in not as good a spot as you gave it cause allthough they were one of my first loves in the toy narket there playability sucked as far as action figures they can do the nazi march thats about it the can sit in there way kool vehical lines there play sets were off the chain but the refusal to articulate the figures worth a damnd was just ridiculous and that whent all the way to dang near moderen day
I just knew GI Joe would be #1! Back in the day, most kids were either into GI Joe or the Transformers and for me it was definitely the Joes. I had the action figures, collected the comic book (which I always thought was underrated), and watched the cartoon. The live action films have certainly been a big disappointment. I don’t know why they couldn’t get it right. It certainly had the potential.
My top lines were 10. Bravestarr 9. Blackstar 8. Silverhawks 7. Thundercats 6. Centurions 5. Masters of the Universe 4. Mask 3. Star Wars 2. Transformers 1. GI Joe
My personal top 5 in no particular order would be transformers,gi joe,he man,tmnt and power rangers( not from the 80s but to me just as iconic and popular)
Okay, I think you are right about Robotech, That's my oversight. I wasn't into wheeled warriors, so maybe you are right there, not sure. Gobots are second rate Transformer. Secret Wars are terrible figures--so although I loved the for giving us the only version of Marvel heroes, they did kinda suck
Personally while I like Transformers and remains my favorite 80s cartoon and toyline, my top 3 would be, 3 Masters of The Universe 2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 G.I.Joe Because of the figure's articulation, the number of waves or varieties, weapons and accessories plus vehicle and playsets.
What bigoted comment? I am unaware if I said something offensive. it might be I'm just kinda old and dont know what's offensive. If you dont mind, please respond with the time stamp, that way I know for future videos
I skipped the intro and guess he explains why Star Wars isn’t included. I definitely would’ve had Robotech and Voltron on my list… and pretty dang high at that. I might’ve also included Gobots, M.U.S.C.L.E. and maybe even Smurfs on my list.
A few things. Firstly, how could you leave Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future off that list? The lore for the series was off the charts, with J Michael Stracynski writing the show and having a 4 year plan, similar to Babylon 5. The infrared gimmick you love with Bravestarr, actually originated with Captain Power and could actually interact with the credits and some parts of the TV show. In fact training tapes were sold, which were cartoons and were essentially like a video game. It also was the king of the very controversy you spoke about with Robocop and Rambo. In terms of articulation, factor out the o-ring swivel and they have the exact same articulation as Series 1 G.I. JOEs. From an objective perspective, I could ask about Defenders of the Earth, Voltron and Robotech, but in terms of significance in the toy industry, I don't understand how Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future wasn't anywhere on that list. Secondly, while it was poorly executed, Transformers, G.I.JOE and Inhumanoids all took place in the same continuity. Thirdly, Silverhawks, along with Tiogersharks, are actually spinoffs of Thundercats and they actually take place in a shared universe.
I am also a 1972 kid so. I enjoyed the crap out of the 80's it is for sure in my opinion the greatest era of Action figures. Till this day I will always be a Transformers guy but G.I. Joe has always been my number 2. I will admit they are of the 2 have the better innovation. So happy my son gets to still enjoy both lines 40 years after they came out even if they are a little different.
Cool list. Thanks for sharing andbrin ing back some memories. My top 20 would include the Dungeons and Dragons action figures. They had great sculpts, good articulation, good weapons, shields, armor. Why they hell did they leave out the main characters from the cartoon? I would have loved to get my hands on a Dianna back in the day, and Hank was my hero. I only had two of those D&D figures because they were pricey compared to GI Joes. But the top seven: How could you leave out WWF 8" action figures led by Hulk Hogan?!!! No add-ons, zero articulation, but almost every kid I knew had at least one. They were in virtually every house that had a male member present. I didn't have any; hated WWF and couldn't understand why those figures were so popular. Now I can see it's their pure simplicity that made them innovative. And don't tell me they had no real playability. They sparked imagination! Gotta swap Mask for WWF in the top seven. Never had one and never will, but they were iconic. Last, He-Man goes to second place on my list. They had an interesting comic that ran perhaps 3 issues. It was completely different from the cartoon and dialed in the Frazetta feel. The toys themselves were as creative as any ever made. And they were backed up by their own live-action film. Then again, Transformers the cartoon movie had the balls to kill Maximus Prime. Okay, they can keep second place.
I'll have to check out the He-Man comic. I'd love to see a darker more serious version of He-Man. I agree, the figures were really innovative. I was a wrestling fan but the wrestling figures weren't great. Yeah, D&D figures could have made this list
I have a hard time believing that The Real Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice were not in the top 20. Both line of action figures were made by Kenner in the 1980's. Just like M.A.S.K.
![เปิดบ้าน พี่ตูน Bodyslam หลังใหม่คนแรก ที่ภูเก็ต l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/flFwcmyDQSk/mqdefault.jpg)
Like I tell my kids- the 80s was the greatest pop culture era of all time. TV, movies, music, fashion, toys, Nintendo vs Sega, cartoons…everything was hittin’!
It's true. Just about everything right now is a rehash of something made in the late 70's or 80s--from horror to toys
Early 90s also great for movies and music
I was there for the 80's and I agree with you on everything except for the fashion. Lol
The eighties or the early 80's was greatest time. Yeah the 80s was the greatest decade to be alive. Life was simple and peaceful. Easy going and music was everywhere. The cartoons, movies, toys, food was better than today.
Was it, or were we just super aggressively marketed to, and fell for it?
No Voltron(s), no Gobots...dude? loved Sectuars and Mask.
Yeah, I can see that. Voltron is on par with Indiana Jones. What hurt Voltron was a lack of villain figures.
Fair critique, thanks for replying
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal I never had Transformers because of the price. I had some Gobots. They were the poor boy's Transformers, so I can understand why they wouldn't make a top 20.
I liked Gobots better than transformers. They had some cool figures like a submarine and tank.
I remember Voltron’s being impossible to get all the lions.
But the actual toys were awesome large metal toys with great playability.
My parents didn’t have a lot of money so go bots were my gobots toy as well as gi joe.
How about WWF.
Not judgmental at all great list me personally would’ve snuck wwf Ljn figures in… considered dog toys to many, but were definitely playable for any wrestling fan growing up in the era of Early Hulkamania
Yeah, you are right. That one slipped by for some reason. I was a huge WWF fan back then, and I loved those figures
Dic also did "The Real Ghostbusters", which was really good. So they didn't quite suck at everything.
Oh right. Yeah, that was good. I feel like they made a cpuple of good things
That's a good list. I think everybody's top 3 is transformers Gi Joe and he man. I agree Voltron and l am surprised you didn't mention robotech. Robotech is arguably one of the animation cartoons in that era hands down. The eighties was the best decade for animation 82-85. I was blessed to be alive.
Yes, Robotech toys look cool. I think way were hard to get and I only had 2 or 3 figures. The cartoon was amazing
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimalRobotech had Many figures from all 3 generations. They had the TV show comics and Books (the books going well beyond and filling the gaps between the 3 Generations).
Loved the list! Hard disagree about the lack of innovation with Star Wars figures, though. That series created the model for the 3 3/4 inch action figure. Without that size becoming the norm, toy vehicles would have been too large and expensive to produce. Without vehicles, GI Joes wouldn't have become the juggernaut they became.
I will say, Star Wars was crazy innovative with playsets and vehicles. And you make a good point that they started it all, they just weren't the best made figures
Actually that's incorrect. Takara actually started and standardised the 3.75" action figure scale in 1974, with Microman, which MEGO imported and released in 1976 as the Micronauts. In fact there's a strong possibility that it was the Micronauts which influenced Kenner to go with the 3.75" scale for figures, because as Microman had shown, it opened up far more scope for releasing vehicles and playsets to go with them (eg Biotron and Stratastation).. It was also Microman which pioneered the o-ring design. In fact, as I understand it, Microman is the reason why 1980s G.I. JOEs used their iconic o-ring design.
sw has some amazing vehicles (thank the original artists), and some cool playsets, but the figures are basic af and never really tried to evolve the articulation
No secret wars no gobots, I'm leavin'
I loved Eagle Force. I had the Eagle Lair also.
Much like you, I was all for trying new toy lines when I was a kid. I got deep into Star Wars, Transformers, and G.I. Joe, but I also got into Battle Beasts, Starcom, and Starriors.
Yeah, it was a great time. New stuff seemed to come out every week with some sort of innovation
As a kid born in the mid 70s, I was the prime age to enjoy 80s toys and thanks to two loving parents, I had them all. My top 20?
1. GI Joe
2. Transformers
3. Masters of the Universe
4. Star Wars
5. The Real Ghostbusters
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
7. Super Powers
8. Voltron
9. M.A.S.K.
10. Thundercats
11. Captain Power
12. Visionaries
13. C.O.P.S.
14. Silverhawks
15. Inhumaniods
16. Bravestarr
17. Go-bots
18. Sectaurs
19. Dungeons and Dragons
20. Starriors
Honorable mentions: Madballs, Battle Beasts, M.U.S.C.L.E, and Army Ants
Oh yeah, those are some good ones I missed
Your list is great! Your honorable mention list is absolute gold. I had and played with those honorable mention toys the most when not playing with MASK, He Man, GI Joe, Voltron, Transformers, Go Bots, Star Wars, Thundercats and Sectaurs. I definitely would include your honorable mention toys in my top 20. Maybe even higher.
@@HoonAgain Thanks! My honorable mentions were basically what I got with my allowance and mowing money while I was waiting for the new waves of Joe, Formers, and MOTU to hit. I fondly remember loving to play with Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E.
aside from tf and joe, i knew there were japanese toys that were next-level. i managed to get that red countach diakron and that made me aware of the dianaut pilots. i would also see amazing-looking godaikin at fancy shops. if we had the full original lines of diaclone, machine robo, chogokin, etc. it would have blown my kid mind
@@jaymorrison8419 Agree 100% There was just something about the Japanese robot toys.
M.a.s.k. and dinoriders and shadow force and transformers and g.i. joe and sky commanders and bionic six and thunder cats and silver hawks and gobots and Voltron and robotics and inhumanoids and bravestarr and zone raiders and centurions and laser tag and heman and shera and super powers and the wheeled warriors
As a kid, I never got into any other toy line other than GI Joe and Adventure People. GI Joe was awesome and continues to be awesome to this day. No other action figure toy line will ever beat it. Great video!
Thanks! Agreed
Fun video as always. I definitely would have ranked MOTU higher, and was really surprised not to see Real Ghostbusters, Voltron, or Jace and The Wheel Warriors listed.
Thanks! Yeah, Real Ghostbusters probably could overtake Indiana Jones. Voltron's lack of villain figures hurt it
Not having a lot of money in the 80's, I mostly had to make do with the cheaper toy lines, but even some of them were brilliant and most kids had a few of them.
In no particular order, my favourites from the 80's were:
Transformers, Go-Bots, MASK, Starcom, Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E :)
Oh yeah, M.U.S.C.L.E could have been on the list
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal M.U.S.C.L.E, Monster in my Pocket ... I could only afford the cheaper stuff. We got lucky where I am, in that we had a big discount shop that sold all kinds of tatt, but for a while they did have the 8-packs of Battle Beasts, at a really cheap price!
Solid list, especially the top 5. It's so personal though. MASK is a very close 2nd to GI Joe for me. The top three as a whole were the right ones though. Stoked to see the inclusion of COPS. Those toys were seriously well made. For me ones that I loved, that would've been cool to see were ....
. Battle Beasts (had an army of those guys, cool lore with the Transformers tie in as well)
. WWF Rubber figures (no articulation, but displayed awesome, and you could beat the crap out of them)
. Real Ghostbusters
. Dino Riders
. Sky Commanders (Soooo much fun building crazy zip lines etc with them)
. Ring Raiders (short lived, but I built an entire air force in that time. Really swappable as well)
. Micro Machines
. Mad Balls head poppers
. Voltron
. Entertech motorised water guns (the colourful ones. Not action figures, but every kid I knew wanted them. Mine lasted for about 20 years as well)
Man we had it so good.
Yes, agree this is really personal. I'll also admit to missing a few. Probably should have put Real Ghostbusters, WWF figures, Voltron and Robotech on the list
I agree with the top two for sure. G.I. Joe was and is still the best toy line.
Yup. it is the GOAT
No it's not.
Maybe in America.
In Europe and Asia and South America. . . . . Basically THE WHOLE WORLD, it was Transformers, Turtles, He man, Thundercats and M.A.S.K.
GI JOE was boring and dull.
@@craiggibbons8228 I guess but it was and still is popular here. Enough that they have run into many successes the last four years bringing it back.
transformers and gobots were the best toys ever made by far not even close i had every thing in the 80s and a robot that can change into cars, planes trains ext you cant beat that just really think about it when you played with your transformers in the 80s i didnt want to play with joes or sw because transformers took up all my time lol
I remember in the 80s that going to Toys R Us was like going to heaven. Man. I miss the 80s so much!!
Aliens toys missing!!! As well as Micro Machines, Hot Wheels, Ghostbusters, dino-riders, zoids are all that can replace some in this list lol. Definitely agree with 1 and 2 though 👍
zoids were incredible, but the western line was very limited
micro machines were expensive and cars I guess that still counts as a toyline
You missed a few decent ones. The Real Ghost Busters. Ghost Busters. Go Bots, Voltron (lion version) had Two different versions dicast and plastic with figures. Robotech had 3 different versions dicast miniature versions plastic with figures and full sized akin to the full size Transformers in Transformers got sued for making Skyfire a Veritech from the Robotech Series.
Yeah, you are right. I should have done 25 Greatest
I loved the TF cartoon the most, but I agree with GIJ being the best toy line, articulation for TF was an issue back then.
I think any of the top five could be someone's favorite. They are all incredible. Yeah, Transformers cartoon may be the overall best cartoon, although I need to rewatch
Seeing the ninja turtles it's like I can almost smell the fresh plastic of the action figures and feel the excitement of finding the newest turtle on the shelf.
My top ten would be 1. GI Joe, 2. Star Wars, 3. He-Man, 4. Transformers, 5. Thundercats, 6. Super Powers, 7. COPS, 8. Silverhawks, 9. Visionaries, 10. Spiral Zone
Being a kid of the 80s... I was watching a tube (probably yours) about the MotU line, year by year...
Of course I was keeping a mental note in my head of which ones I had as a kid, and about year two, it occurred to me that it was seeming like I had 85-90% of the line....
But I had to call my mom, "Hey, I need to ask you... so I remember having almost all of the He-Man stuff, but like, I don't remember ever craving it or needing it... or demanding that I have to have it or I'll die... so umm, what was up with that?" And then she told me, "Oh yeah, that was me and Gram. We decided you were going to be a He-Man boy, and that was our little game, always trying to one up the other..."
So yeah, I had nearly the whole line, because my mom and grandmother were competitive 😂
You know the 80s pumped out toys when we can think of so many others that didn't make this list. Gobots, Voltron, Robotech and Ghostbusters are big ones. And maybe even Wheeled Warriors to an extent. Then you got Dungeons and Dragons, Dino Riders, Super Naturals, Bionic Six, Starriors, Battle Beast, Starcom, Air Raiders, Sky Commandos, Captain Power, Power Lords, Spiral Zone, Secret Wars and Muscle Things.
Yeah, I am considering redoing this video and upping it to 30. I missed too many big ones
M.U.S.C.L.E., Battle Beasts and Secret Wars for sure.
Honorable mention: Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos
Oh yeah, I did love those
My friend had several of those. It was a bold move to compete with Rambo and the A-Team. Sly Stallone movies did better than Chuck Norris at the box office, and the A Team was staple TV for adolescent boys in the 80s.
I lived in the UK until I was 8 (‘88). The major difference in my view was the comic book scene back then. Marvel UK did a great job with Transformers producing a vastly superior product. They also had a pretty good Thundercats comic. Action Force (GI Joe) did not do as well, eventually becoming a back up strip in the Transformers. Also, the Hasbro produced Action Force was not as popular in the UK, as it was very US focused with an “international” mask. So for me, Transformers beats out GI Joe pretty easily.
Yeah, I think they can be neck and neck, and dependent on taste. But GI Joe wins out on scope.
How about another list? Maybe the next 20?
Including Dino-Riders, Sky Commanders, Marvel Secret Wars, the WWF toyline, Spiral Zone, Captain Power, Air Raiders, Captain Power, Dino Saucers, Dungeons & Dragons, thr Real Ghostbusters, Voltron and the Go-bots and many others to complete the next list. Thank you so much for a wonderful video! Keep making more. New subscriber here!
Yeah, I did miss a few. I probably could have done a top 30
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal I love your videos. Thank you for replying.
I agree with your ranking 100% except for one thing… TMNT should have a 5 for lore. The toys don’t really have much of a place in my heart because they were late 80s, and I was a little too old for them at that point, but the storyline has never really hit a lull with the countless ongoing comics and cartoons and movies and video games. Even heavy hitters like Star Wars and Transformers and GI Joe all had relatively long gaps where no new content was being released.
Yeah, that's a good point. There are so many incarnations of TMNT it's crazy
All other toys obey Optimus Prime.
Oh what I miss that time, everyday all day.
Transformers, Star Wars , G.I.Joe, Superpowers, He-man master of universe, Go Bots, Thunder Cats, Marvel super heroes sercet Wars, Rambo, The A Team, WWF wrestling figures and Voltron Lions 🦁 and Cars 🚗 version
I'm really surprised that GoBots wasn't listed. Granted, even as a kid, it didn’t take me long to realize they were second-rate Transformers... but even second rate Transformers should probably be on the list of top 20. Was happy to see Cops make it. It had one of the best intro/theme for the cartoon of the era.
Granted, nothing touched, Mask. 😊
I also love MASK. It's so good. Yeah, I probably coudl have done a 25 list. I missed GoBots, Robotech, Real Ghostbusters, Jace and the Wheeled Warriors, and Voltron. That might have made it a perfect list
the japanese original "machine robo" seem a bit less budget
I'm an 80s kid, DUDE...I had ALLLL that stuff and MORE!! The figures, the vehicles, the castles, the play sets, the mail aways EVERYTHING!! 🤘🔥💯 I agree C.O.P.S was pretty awesome and underrated! You're list is pretty good 👍 and reminded me of things I TOTALLY FORGOT about like Visionary, Skyhawk, The Monster things, YEAH MAN 80s TOYS RULED!! 🤘🔥💯👍
No way Joe has the lore or scope of Transformers. TF comics & movies are wildly more successful. IDW TF comics are in the top 5 all-time in comic sales by raw numbers. Cartoons as well. The 2 original 80's cartoons were about equal in popularity as they ran back to back, but TF's carried on w/ either a new cartoon or a new animated series at all times continuing to this day. It's never stopped. It also never stopped being a toy on shelves. Joe disappeared for 20+ years until the recent Classifieds resurgence. These are indisputable facts not opinions. There are toy companies tht make nothing but the Transformers toys tht Hasbro doesnt like X-Transbots & Fans Toys. Literal companies exist that make nothing but toys of Transformer characters. Joe is not close to that objectively. Innovation is ultimately an opinion but figures tht transformed into cars, dinosaurs, guns, microscopes, or construction vehicles tht combined is IMHO much more innovative than 3 inch army men figures tht had vehicles. Zartan changed colors but beyond tht name a figure tht had a cool gimmick like a He-Man figure. I actually think Joe scores low in gimmicks. It's strength was presentation & scope as there is many. I can see why ppl rank it high because it took the same formula as Kenner Star Wars & improved it by releasing more vehicles & play sets. It gave the figs more accessories & more articulation. They were able to be more accurate to the screen than TF's as they were made as toys & put on TV at the same time. Transformers were more complex & were made in Japan long before they became a cartoon. Tht made the show unable to match the detail of the packages or the tech details on the stickers from the actual toys. It would've been too time consuming to animate all that. I understand several kids preferred Joe & tht's fine. Tht is subjective. BUT they def do not deserve all 5's in ur categories objectively. They don't have 1 character as popular or more known than Optimus, Megatron, or Bumblebee. Cobra Commander, Snake Eyes, & Destro are prob the 3 most known from the line & I guarantee more ppl have heard of Prime than any of those 3.
How do you not have Dino-Riders on this list? That's what supplanted The Transformers for my top toy as a kid! Also, how is Star Wars on this? Yeah, I get that it was 1978, but the bulk of Star Wars content came out in the 1980s.
Some honorable mentions. Secret Wars, Battle Beasts, Gobots, Wheeled Warriors, Dungeons & Dragons, Ghostbusters, Dino Riders, Bionic Six, Commando. There are a ton more that could be dug out of my head or looked up. I can't argue with who's on your top seven; though, I did blank on Mask until you mentioned them. 1 Joe, 2 Transformers, 3 Star Wars, 4 He-man, 5 TNMT, 6 Thundercats, 7 Mask.
Oh yeah. Commando. yet another ultra violent 80's action flick that had action figures
BATTLE BEASTS!!! D&D had a cool cartoon and a few awesome figures.
Dino Riders was a sick toy line! Plagued my parents for months to get me the T Rex. Can’t remember if there was a cartoon series but I remember the feature length one.
I remember decompose actually really weirded me out as a kid . It was the one episode of that show I caught and it stuck with me forever
Not the greatest, popular, or successful toy line but my favorite is MASH from Tristar International. Hawkeye and BJ saved many Joes hurt on the battlefield as a kid!
GI Joe are great, but I never actually collected them.
Transformers have _always_ been my #1; I've literally been collecting them non-stop since 1984 (I'd put the Lore score at a 5 for them, too; with all the TV shows and comics they've had over the years).
Other favourites:
Masters of the Universe
MASK
GoBots
Centurions
...and missing from the list, StarCom. I didn't get into these till a little later when I discovered a bunch of them at a local cash & carry store, but they were _fantastic,_ and I wish I knew what happened to mine (probably lost in a move somewhere).
The figures were about comparable to MASK, a little smaller but similar articulation, with guns, and importantly, magnets in their feet. These let them stick to various metal plates on the vehicles, but also in some cases activated special features, like motorised cannons, or the ingenious airlock on one of the playsets. One of my favourite features was that a lot of the smaller vehicles folded up into a cargo pod format that allowed them to be carried by the bigger vehicles. There was also a cartoon that was very short-lived, but really high quality...
Totally agree about Starcom. I didn’t have many of them, but I distinctly remember those Shadow Parasite and Starwolf vehicles. Very memorable toys and for some reason, that line felt more “space-y” than any of the others. Don’t really know why but they nailed the theming. Thanks for the reminder
@@TEGVB- I think I know what you mean; it felt a lot more realistic; they had a somewhat authentic military-style structure, they weren't overly flashy with the colours (a lot of blacks, whites and dark greys). In a lot of ways, it felt more like a combination of Trek and Wars, but with an even more grounded version of both, like they really were a near-future version of the US Military/NASA.
I didn't have many of the toys either, but I loved the ones I had. There was a Shadowbat (but no Parasites for the wings), and a motorised Invader that fit in the cargo bay; I also had a Starwing Six Shooter, and a couple of the small Astro Marines ground vehicles... I have a special appreciation for the way they folded into little cargo pods for storage... 😁
Even as a massive Star Wars kid, I have to agree. The figures were definitely not as fun to play with as GI Joe because of the lack of articulation and accessories. I feel like you ranked them appropriately!
80's is the great era of everything!
It's great that you have M.A.S.K. at the top 3 (didn't expect that). However, you forgot The Real Ghostbusters in your top 20. Overall, great list!
Yeah, they maybe should have beat a few. I can see that.
I LOVE Mask. Waiting for them to reboot it
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal, still hoping for that day to come
Hey man, its your list, and i respect that. Great video 😎
Thanks!
My Top Ten Most Played with Favorite Toy Lines:
1. G.I.Joe (no competition)
- How many times did I send Tomax & Xamot down that zipline? It was never enough. I meticulously created various scenes inside handmade shoe box dioramas decorated inside with construction paper, complete with props. The cartoon was really pretty good.as.well.
2. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
- That red & blue Spider-Man figure of mine got so much play time. Difficult to pose with limited articulation, but very colorful figures. These were the only Marvel figures available and I was big into the comics at that time. Weapons were virtually nonexistent. They came with those lame shields with lenticular changing pictures.
3. DC Super Powers
- Batman, Robin, the Batmobile, Penguin, Joker, Superman, even Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, all got a ton of play time from me. Weapons were very limited (Penguin's umbrella, Green Lantern's lantern), but the cloth capes were a nice touch.
4. Star Wars
- Limited articulation, but it's Star Wars! The vehicles; landspeeder, snowspeeder, speeder bike, TIE fighter, AT-AT. The names; Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Ewoks, Max Rebo, R2D2 & C-3PO. Nuff said
5. The Real Ghostbusters
- Colorful toys based on the haunting cartoon of the same name. The figures had limited articulation but came with cool photon blasters and colorful translucent ghosts.
6. Voltron
- I hated everything about the Voltron cartoon. Admittedly, the toys were incredible.
7. Transformers
- The toys I had were great with Starscream and Soundwave.and they had the cartoon to back them up. I just never understood how transformers came into existence or why they were fighting each other.
8. Muscle Men
- Zero articulation, small, colorful, rubbery figures. I had so many of them and loved to play with them. Whatever happened to all the Muscle Men figures? Where did they all go? Hell if I know.
9. Mask
- These little action figures with their masks and vehicles were too cool for school. I did not make much time for the cartoon.
10. Thundercats/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/He-Man
- This 10th spot is a tie for me between these three separate but similarly bulky looking action figure lines. These three all had cartoons to back them up as well.
100% agree with #1! Also loved Mask, Star Wars, Rambo, Super Friends & He-Man. Great video!!
It was all articulation for me as a kid. My epic slow motion battles.!!! Making figures hit the ground and scorpion then tumble slo mo. Taking shots. Had to be Joes. I just got Bravestarr from ebay. My favorite articulated big figure probably but I was Yo Joe all day. Emptying my pocket full of Joes before bed like I do now with my wallet and keys after work.
Snake eyes and timber I remember that character it took me about a year to find it I was living in Wilmington California at the time back in 1986 I had to take a bus to Carson I got off the bus went into Toys r Us in the Mall I was looking through I was looking through they just replenish stock it was the third one on the first rack on the first pag that I went through man I was going fat chick crazy man I was like oh he ll yeah I got it that was the most awesome toy I ever seen for I like snake eyes and I love wolfs so 🤘 thank you for the memories my friend
it truly is in the upper ranks of action figures
firefly was another that made my brain bubble
Dino Riders should not be overlooked. Great toys! Very popular in its time
Although I'm a transformers fan I have to agree witj your top choice.. Here in the UK gi Joe (or action force) was never a favourite but when I first saw their articulation I was blown away. Such great play value
To me the 2 most spectacular and deluxe feeling toy lines of the 80s were:
A: StarCom
B: Dino Riders
I personally was a Masters of the Universe kid, but even back then I thought StarCom was on a whole other level and objectively better than MotU.
Everything about it seemed advanced and kind of more grounded in realistic engineering. The figurines felt premium because despite being tiny, had more articulation than most action figures, had magnets in their boots and movable helmet visors.
And the vehicles and play sets all had cool mechanical features and electric motors and even LED lights if I remember correctly. They did a really good job of fusing real life space technology looking stuff with typical action figure toy line war machine design, which made the vehicles look like that would actually be how stuff might look in a future where mankind has colonized most of the solar system.
The vehicles kind of looked like real space shuttles, but with guns, but without being lazily designed as this might make them sound. They were different enough from real space shuttles and other real space vehicles, but still captured their feel and style. Hard to put into words but I think anyone should get what I mean when looking at them.
Dino Riders was sort of similar to StarCom and seemed premier and luxurious for the same reasons. Lots of cool mechanics and electrical motors combined with cool designs and small but well made figurines and I remember the toys feeling kind of high quality because they felt like they were made of very thick, sturdy, hard plastic unlike the often somewhat thin and flimsy stuff Masters of the Universe vehicles and playsets were made of.
Of course, dinosaurs are just inherently cool, so that was a bonus but the whole thing kind of felt unapologetic and "balls to the wall" in how they just slapped tons of guns, laser cannons and missile launching pods on to the dinosaurs.
Both toy lines just seemed like the next level and a step or two above stuff like MotU or Ghostbusters.
Life Size Zaranna Blow-Up Doll, BESTEST TOY EVERZZZZZ!!!!
Give me the Baroness
That would make a good HASLAB. It would get funded in 30 seconds
Great list, I think I would tinker with some of the order a bit. The only swap I'd make is personally I didn't know anything about Eagle Force and would swap that with Kenner's Real Ghostbusters.
Yeah, I can see that. Real Ghostbusters was fun
I think you are spot on. In UK we had USA GI Joe towards the end of the 80s so we were not so interested and yes, although star wars was my favorite you are correct it wasn't the best and lived off Star Wars. I would have to say that I really loved MASK.
Thanks. M.A.S.K. needs a reboot. Still love it
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal definitely
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal didn’t they redo thunderhawk
great list but I would definitely add some toy lines like Sky Commandos, StarComm and Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors. I loved those toys. I was never a Joe guy, I didn't collect them though I did watch the show. I would say that articulation was never a big deal to me as long as they had 5 points. I did love Kenner figures like Super Powers, Dark Knight Collection, Swamp Thing and M.A.S.K. Secret Wars by Mattel were also cool. I never really played with Thundercats as much as I loved the show. In fact my two favorite cartoons (and toys) from the 80s were Silverhawks and Centurions. Silverhawks was a great show and I would play with the figures for hours. I have a complete set of the vintage line and I think they still hold up. Centurions had such a great cartoon as well. I thought the figures were too large but I loved how you could change out the weapons.
It's a legit list. GiJoe was by far the best toy line to come out in the 80's; like by a lot.I would argue Star Wars was number 2 but I digress. The Joes were so far in front its a non issue hahaha. I would've also mentioned the DnD figures although they had no affiliation to the cartoon and maybe the Bionic Six, but its a solid representation of the 80s for sure. Loved me some Sectaurs. They went south so fast I got all of mine cheap back in the day!
Honorable mentions, Go Bots, Power Lords, Blackstar, Dungeons n Dragons. Wrestling figures. Crystar.
I had a mom and pop video store that didn't care about renting R rated movies to kids only a bike ride away from my house. I remember renting all those movies. Robocop, Rambo, Toxic Avenger. It was a great time.
Ha. Thank god for adults with no boundaries
My list would include Gobots, Crystar, Roboforce, and Starriors.
Crystar! OMFG!!! Early 1980s and awesome. I had a few of those.
Oh yeah, Crysta was pretty cool. Marvel Legends just rebooted Crystar
Star Wars should be in the top 3 for sure & the fact that robotech & Voltron were left out for obscure toy lines that didn't even have a cartoon is a travesty.
Honestly dude I feel the Rambo figure looks more like Robert DeNiro than Stallone.
The She-Ra line suffered imho because all the girl figures look alike. With MOTU they tried harder to differentiate the characters.
To me Inhumanoids had great villains but the heroes were bland as notebook paper. Whereas The Centurions were great hero figures but the villains stunk. If I had both I would put them against each other.
MOTU #5?! Blasphemy lol.
M.A.S.K. is a really cool concept. To me as cool as the toys for Transformers were/are they aren't as awesome as the comic books. Out of the cartoons I think G.I. JOE did the best especially since they had a few episodes that were absolutely batsh*t insane. Remember the one where Shipwreck thinks Lady Jay died and he actually was surrounded by clones?
Ha, Yeah, it does have an early DeNiro look. Yeah, It seems form most people, Mask and MOTU could be reversed in rank. I was a bigger MASK fan, but I loved them both. I agree the inumanoids heroes were lame, but those monsters are awesome
Sectaurs ahead of Super Powers is absurd in my mind.G.I.Joe is only number one because you love it the most. Transformers I'd have to put above it due to modern relevance. We're getting modern Joes, yes - but it's just us buying them. The cartoon DOES NOT hold up today - certainly not vs. Transformers, which is more or less timeless. All that said, Joe is definitely number 2 and Star Wars would be 3 on my list.
Some stuff not mentioned - Voltron, Robotech, Wheeled Warriors, Bionic Six, LJN Dungeons and Dragons (Warduke!). Tje galoob TV show stuff - Buck Rogers, Dukes of Hazzard (although...) and A-Team. There were so many, that's what made it the best time for us!
Here is my list - maybe I'll do a competing video. In the meantime here's my version.
20. Sky Commanders - derivative of MASK/Star Wars with many figures and sets that worked with strings ("ropes").
19. Robocop - sure, okay. I only wanted the basic Robocop and ED-209 for obvious reasons. I feel like this didn't hit until the 90s, but close enough.
18. C.O.P.S. - a Joe derivative and they were pretty fun, but goofy - in toy and cartoon. DiC strikes!
17. Sectaurs - cool, but not no top 10 - no way
16. Air Raiders - small figures but the vehicles launched projectiles via air tubes. Could reasonably play with Transformers - see also StarCOM.
15. Visionaries - fun concept - if they were 3 3.4 they MIGHT have lasted longer
14. Centurions- Ramen Toys are producing fake Centurions. They don't own it.
13. Princess of Power - I guess.
12. Batman - started after the 1989 movie but still the 80s. Started the whole multiple of one guy thing.
11. Inhumanoids - the EarthCorp guys were secretly in the 3 3/4 inch scale- the heads were the same size as Joes!
Below 10 are things not really directly derivative of other lines.
10. StarCOM - these things were freaking awesome, had a show, and great playability. Lasted a little more than a minute, but I've NEVER forgotten them.
9.Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
8. Super Powers
7. Thundercats
6. M.A.S.K. - definitely up there in terms of fun, but DiC screwed that one up, too. You forget season 2 is M.A.S.K. racing?? It also had a comic book by DC that wasn't really good.
5. TMNT - closer to the 90s, but the impact was real
4. Masters of the Universe- I didn't even really play with these all that much, but the star that shines the brightest burns twice as fast
3. Star Wars - you don't get virtually anything on this list without it, both innovatively or financially
2.G.I.Joe A Real American Hero
1. Transformers - very narrowly over 2, but probably due to the same preference you have for Joe
Good list. I forgot about Sky Commandoes. They were fun as hell
I like the list, personally I would have Transformers #1 and GIJOE #2. Silverhawks probably higher, toyline was better than Rambo lol
Voltron is a big miss, Ghostbusters, police academy. Last one was crap on cartoon but the movies were funny back in the 80s. Great video overall!
LIFE WAS GOOD!! Take me back! 😢
WTF is Eagle Force?!? To paraphrase Gandalf: “I have no memory of this toy…”
This just really reinforces the theory that when the LHC was turned on we fell through to an alternate universe.
Will you next tell me that Spiral Zone was never really a thing?
Believe it or not, Eagle Force was big enough to be getting a modern reboot
Don't agree with your take on Transformers0 Their articulation was fine for the most part. Engineering was amazing for their time. Should be #1. You're a GI JOE fan so it makes sense. I have Joes as #2.
Yeah, I feel like most people have GI Joe and Transformers as 1 & 2, but it is just a matter of taste as to which is your number 1, With He-Man being the third most popular. Apparently, my love of MASK was not as common.
1. Gi Joe
2. Transformers
3. He-Man
4. Star Wars
Motu at 5 is rough… my list would have them at 1 followed by GI Joe, Transformers and then Voltron, with Star Wars maybe at 5. I think with so many great toys, it matters how old you were and the cartoons you watched.
Yes, it's all subjective, I can see any of the top five being someone's number 1.
My top 20 includes the GoBots and Robotech
Yeah, I never had many Robotoech, but they look awesome.
DIC gave us the Real Ghostbusters!
Though, you did have a really good list, am I the only one that has a bit of nostalgia for?Capain Power and the Soldiers of the Universe? Yeah it was a short-lived line, but I enjoyed watching the show and the figures were kind of cool not to mention the laser tag light vehicles
Oh yeah, I did have that. I remember it being tricky to get it to work, but it is a cool idea
I loved this! I’m definitely blessed to be an 80s kid. We truly had an unmatched childhood. I’m a Transformers guy first and foremost, but I loved GI Joe as well. When are we finally going up get a truly great crossover?
Awesome list. Spot on as usual. I was pretty fond of Starriors, they were cool toys and the Marvel comic was pretty dark.
Thanks. I forgot about Starriors until someone else here reminded me of it,
Yes. You are right. GI Joe #1. No doubt.
GI Joe is the line I had the most fun playing with as a kid. Loved the story of Star Wars, but GI Joe figures are so much better for play. And agree on Transformers. Very cool design but the articulation on characters like Sideswipe... Bad. Plus Ironhide's toy looked nothing like his cartoon counterpart.
I would put He-man higher than MASK probably, but those vehicles are great. Fun list.
Thanks. Yeah, I'm feeling that msot people would agree with you and MASK and MOTU should be reversed in rank
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal Though the Condor rules. That is my favorite M.A.S.K. vehicle.
when you see the original designs with the "dianaut" pilots, the g1 stuff makes more sense. they really botched some of those toys when bringing them west
No i get it i expected star wars to be higher on the list as in not as good a spot as you gave it cause allthough they were one of my first loves in the toy narket there playability sucked as far as action figures they can do the nazi march thats about it the can sit in there way kool vehical lines there play sets were off the chain but the refusal to articulate the figures worth a damnd was just ridiculous and that whent all the way to dang near moderen day
Yeah, agreed. Star Wars was amazing for kicking it off and having so much, but the figures are really not that great
I am really loving your videos! Did you ever get any Sky Commanders? Wonder what you thought of them.
Yeah, I had like three or four. They were pretty good. Maybe could have made this list
Woah no Voltron, Go bots and The Real Ghostbusters?
You left out a good one: Captain Power. Lots of great history behind that series.
Yeah, I had a few of those.
I just knew GI Joe would be #1! Back in the day, most kids were either into GI Joe or the Transformers and for me it was definitely the Joes. I had the action figures, collected the comic book (which I always thought was underrated), and watched the cartoon. The live action films have certainly been a big disappointment. I don’t know why they couldn’t get it right. It certainly had the potential.
My top lines were 10. Bravestarr 9. Blackstar 8. Silverhawks 7. Thundercats 6. Centurions 5. Masters of the Universe 4. Mask 3. Star Wars 2. Transformers 1. GI Joe
A few not mentioned: Voltron, Wheeled Warriors, GoBots, Mad Balls
Mad Balls were awesome. I still have one somewhere
My personal top 5 in no particular order would be transformers,gi joe,he man,tmnt and power rangers( not from the 80s but to me just as iconic and popular)
Yeah, I'm too old to not hate Power Rangers, but I get it, I would have been sucked in if I was a kid
Two not on your list are Voltron and Robotech. Did they just miss the Top 20?
Yeah, I probably could have done a top 25 or maybe even 40
Thanks for your awesome list dude! PS Billy Joel much? (soz)
You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed.
No Secret Wars? No Gobots? No Robotech? No Wheeled Warriors? Eagle force, Cops, Rambo, Bravestar, Silver Hawks and She-Ra did not trump these!
Okay, I think you are right about Robotech, That's my oversight. I wasn't into wheeled warriors, so maybe you are right there, not sure.
Gobots are second rate Transformer. Secret Wars are terrible figures--so although I loved the for giving us the only version of Marvel heroes, they did kinda suck
remember those little monster toys with the rub symbol? fire beats water.
Personally while I like Transformers and remains my favorite 80s cartoon and toyline, my top 3 would be,
3 Masters of The Universe
2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1 G.I.Joe
Because of the figure's articulation, the number of waves or varieties, weapons and accessories plus vehicle and playsets.
Great video as always, good honest insight too into a lot of lines I never had as a kid - but where is Starcom!!! :) Keep up the fab content
Where indeed?
Cannot disagree with your top 2!!
Definitely the two greatest
Video was okay up until the bigoted comment made.
What bigoted comment? I am unaware if I said something offensive. it might be I'm just kinda old and dont know what's offensive. If you dont mind, please respond with the time stamp, that way I know for future videos
I would have included The Real Ghostbusters. It was a really good toy line. Also Voltron, Beetlejuice and Batman.
Great video. Well made and good pacing. Of course Inhumanoids goes on this list!
Thanks. Yes, I need to get a couple of the big inhumanoids.
@@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal I had them. They were so weird
Glad you put in the Coleco Rambo toys sir. Was a favourite of mine along with Motu,Gijoe,,Mask,Super Powers,TMNT and Motu.
Yes, The Rambo toys were solid
I skipped the intro and guess he explains why Star Wars isn’t included. I definitely would’ve had Robotech and Voltron on my list… and pretty dang high at that. I might’ve also included Gobots, M.U.S.C.L.E. and maybe even Smurfs on my list.
A few things. Firstly, how could you leave Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future off that list? The lore for the series was off the charts, with J Michael Stracynski writing the show and having a 4 year plan, similar to Babylon 5. The infrared gimmick you love with Bravestarr, actually originated with Captain Power and could actually interact with the credits and some parts of the TV show. In fact training tapes were sold, which were cartoons and were essentially like a video game. It also was the king of the very controversy you spoke about with Robocop and Rambo. In terms of articulation, factor out the o-ring swivel and they have the exact same articulation as Series 1 G.I. JOEs. From an objective perspective, I could ask about Defenders of the Earth, Voltron and Robotech, but in terms of significance in the toy industry, I don't understand how Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future wasn't anywhere on that list.
Secondly, while it was poorly executed, Transformers, G.I.JOE and Inhumanoids all took place in the same continuity.
Thirdly, Silverhawks, along with Tiogersharks, are actually spinoffs of Thundercats and they actually take place in a shared universe.
I am also a 1972 kid so. I enjoyed the crap out of the 80's it is for sure in my opinion the greatest era of Action figures. Till this day I will always be a Transformers guy but G.I. Joe has always been my number 2. I will admit they are of the 2 have the better innovation. So happy my son gets to still enjoy both lines 40 years after they came out even if they are a little different.
Cool list. Thanks for sharing andbrin ing back some memories. My top 20 would include the Dungeons and Dragons action figures. They had great sculpts, good articulation, good weapons, shields, armor. Why they hell did they leave out the main characters from the cartoon? I would have loved to get my hands on a Dianna back in the day, and Hank was my hero. I only had two of those D&D figures because they were pricey compared to GI Joes. But the top seven: How could you leave out WWF 8" action figures led by Hulk Hogan?!!! No add-ons, zero articulation, but almost every kid I knew had at least one. They were in virtually every house that had a male member present. I didn't have any; hated WWF and couldn't understand why those figures were so popular. Now I can see it's their pure simplicity that made them innovative. And don't tell me they had no real playability. They sparked imagination! Gotta swap Mask for WWF in the top seven. Never had one and never will, but they were iconic. Last, He-Man goes to second place on my list. They had an interesting comic that ran perhaps 3 issues. It was completely different from the cartoon and dialed in the Frazetta feel. The toys themselves were as creative as any ever made. And they were backed up by their own live-action film. Then again, Transformers the cartoon movie had the balls to kill Maximus Prime. Okay, they can keep second place.
I'll have to check out the He-Man comic. I'd love to see a darker more serious version of He-Man. I agree, the figures were really innovative.
I was a wrestling fan but the wrestling figures weren't great. Yeah, D&D figures could have made this list
I totally forgot about Visionairies!!
Those shelves were STOCKED with toys...not today.
I have a hard time believing that The Real Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice were not in the top 20. Both line of action figures were made by Kenner in the 1980's. Just like M.A.S.K.
No WWF LJN wrestling figures or AWA wrestling figures? They were all over and selling. I loved them as a kid.
Good point. I was a wrestling fan as well.
@DestroIsMySpiritAnimal honestly they'd be in my top 5, but definitely most people's top 20.
As much as I loved WWF at the time, the toys sucked ass. They were just gummy statues.
Sorry but Transformers and Thundercats and Mask were MUCH BETTER than GIJOE.
EASILY
GI Joe and MOTU were the toy lines I got almost exclusively but I watched the hell out of every cartoon mentioned here.
It was a great era for cartoons. Sunbow killed it.