Evolution of Action Figures - Vintage to Modern Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
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I'm a female collector i have been for 20+ years. Love your videos!! When i was young i used to play with my brother's action man. Good ole days.
Action man from the 70s?
Tatooine77 Yes it was the original action man. He still owns it with a mint box of Lego.
@@septemberblueuk Mego
Tatooine77 Sorry no, Lego bricks.
I fought against the Ken dolls from my nieces with my ActionTeam. We always won. Ken had no guns.. Ghehe :))
Damn, I'm 17 and I have several hundred action figures. From lines like, Joe, TMNT, TF, MOTU, Spawn, WWF/WWE, and a several other lines. And about 60% of all that is vintage...needless to say I'm proud to be a toy collector.
thats a huge collection for someone your age, how did you manage to afford all that? Good for you though!
@@TheToyBoy1978 hard work thru 2 jobs sometimes 3...even with school and a lot of dedication. Thank you brother
Who wouldn't be?
Action Man and imagination lives in the modern age. Victory!
Great video.
I work in a toy store, you will be surprised at the number of parents who request Action Man (or alternative) for their children.
I have a 6 year old son and I've introduced him to collecting action figures. From Neca reel toys horror figures to tmnt, to marvel legends ,mezco king kong ,Godzilla, anything collectible . He loves the stories I tell him of the toys I grew up with like marvel's secret wars collectibles to he man and the masters of the universe to what got me back into collecting todd mcfarlane movie maniacs. I enjoy your content of toys from years past to how really collectible they are today.
I'm only 18 and I have tons of figures of TMNT,MOTU,Dragon Ball,Star Wars and other franchises that are both modern and vintage (about 50% Vintage and 50% Modern)
I'm glad to know I'm not the only young toy collector!
Excellent piece! I love the way you presented the history behind action figures, their evolution, and how today they are no longer considered toys, but collectibles. Simply amazing.
Thanks Tony!!!!!
I'm 10 years old and I collect vintage action figures and this is probably the best action figure and toy channel out there
Thanks mate
Love watching brings back so many memories cheers 70s kid
I'm 56 and still collecting , mostly thanks to You , Retroblasting , Toypolloi and the brilliant Stan Solo .
Excellent video as always, thank you. Fortunately my young sons both are obsessed with Transformers & G.I. Joe.. often wanting to watch "Dad's Transformers" instead of anything more recent. Naturally they have many of those action figures.
Good on you for that bit at the end. I think back to my childhood (I'm 43) and I remember the level of creativity and imagination that playing with action figures gave my friends and I.
Did you see their reaction video?
@@AnalogToys I've not.
@@AnalogToys Right, now I did. I guess TH-cam decided I didn't need the notification for that. =(
I'm proud to say I've been on board with Analog toys since around 500 subs. Tony you are a national treasure! I don't have a vintage Action man in my collection but am going to try getting one to Canada soon!
Another great video Tony, cracking overview and ended on a surprisingly encouraging note!
My favorite action figure line was Kenner's Jurassic Park. The 5 POA 3¾ scale humans loaded to the gills with action weapons and a baby dinosaur, the to scale vehicles with Dino Damage and capture gear, and both plastic and rubber dinosaurs with Dino Damage and play features. This was my Star Wars figure set, and I loved it.
Loving your channel, nice to see you back again. I like how you give us all a history lesson of all the old toys that I grew up with as a kid.
i am 13 and i have loved gi joe since i was 8 and have around 90 figures
I don't give up hope. Despite this age of Ipods, Smart Phones, and Game Consoles more complex than ever, Dungeons and Dragons (5th Edition) has been on the upswing. I visited my local gaming store today, and they told me that they are having a hard time just keeping D&D stuff on the shelves. If such a quaint thing like a pen and paper board game like Dungeons and Dragons can make a big come back, I think Action figures can too. I was in the weight room, and was talking to some high school football players, and they were actually telling me how much they loved Masters of the Universe! It turns out they watched episodes of it on Netflix when they were younger and continue watching even today! I was laughing and telling them "war stories" that I used to have with my old MOTU figures, and these guys were like hypnotized! We didn't talk too super long about it, but the last thing they said to me before getting back to their workout routine was how they wished they'd had the action figures when they were kids. I don't think it would take much! Just a good solid line that's EASY to get access too (So, Mattel, that means no flooding the stores with the same 4 figures, you have to balance it out with all the characters this time!) and good price, and I think MOTU...and other action figure lines...could easily make a comeback!
I'm an avid collector mego star trek universal monsters etc.great show!!
I'm very new to the hobby, just started a small collection of 12" action figures; if the kid me saw them now, how freaking cool and spot-on they are, she would've gone BANANAS!! It was a wonderful time to be a child - and it's a wonderful time to be an adult collector!
Just fantastic. Well done on the history, and the end message about youth these days. I have a 3 year old and ANY time she wants to play action figures I always do, in my attempt to stear her imagination that way rather than towards the new digital age. Great job
I loved the story of those two kids at the end. Keep it going!
Εvery video touches the perfection, you have a kind and ethical way when you talk, god gives you and your family health and that your soul wishes, greetings from Greece!
Another great video Tony, it is a shame that kids of today don't really play with toys like we did, i think Ben 10 was the last successful action figure toy line for kids with a cartoon attached to it, the next best thing after that was the SkyLander interactive toys for use with video games consoles, a sign of the times you might say.
Great episode, I'm one of those adult collectors, and to this day I keep collecting but now modern figures like hot toys, but now I'm thinking in going back and complete my vintage star wars line that is still with me.
Hope you'll do a video comparing Capt. Action & Mego figures.
These days, a single company having licenses to multiple series would be unheard of.
Thanks for sharing!😉👍🙌🙌🙌😍👌👏👏👏‼️‼️
A fantastic video Tony, well done. Never easy to try and squeeze 50 years into 20 minutes.
Sadly, I agree with modern toy sales. At least for Action Figures. What used to be rows and rows of figures in KMart/Target/BigW is now maybe one row? The last time I was in my local Target, apart from a few random unsold figures; Star Wars was gone completely (although that may say more about the modern figures and movies).
Two lines that still seem to be hanging in there are Transformers (as long as Michael Bay keeps pumping out those movies) and (my favourite) TMNT. I grew up in the 80s, so started off with Star Wars, but in reality my most cherish toys were GIJoe, Transformers, He-Man, and the Turtles. Hence why my personal collection has a mix of all of them and recently picked up the Playmates 6” Turtles from a few years ago.
It's been on my radar for a small while now to see this video and I have to say, I was really enthralled by it. It was well done, informative and was never pretentious but genuine and well researched. I can never fully say I let go of collecting toys since childhood and this small documentary of the "Action Figure" adds more appeal to sticking to my childhood fascination.
RiderOrigin thanks for your kind comments!
Tony, the ending to this video was charming indeed! Kudos to those kids.
I’m 12 and starting to collect action figures. I like your channel because it helps me see what to collect and gives small history of the toys. I got into collecting because of you and my dad who has a large collection in his office.
Keep up the good work!
Great history lesson very enjoyable
Great video!
Worth mentioning that before Hasbro had created their multi-artic 4 inch Joe figures, Mego had already created similarly articulated figures for their Buck Rogers, Black Hole, Chips and Dukes of Hazzard lines. I think Mego just used the Microman artic.
Very well done! Collected Star Wars, The A-Team, & G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero action figures growing up and this is definitely one of your best videos- Thanks for this one.
That's such a cool Flash Gordon shirt. I recently showed the movie to my wife and we both love the colorful camp and killer soundtrack by Queen.
Thanks Tony. As usual, another quality video!
I got action man out and about over Christmas, my best friend does elf on the shelf for her 5 year old son, so i sent action on a journey across the council estate to capture the elves and put them back on the shelf.
Apparently her son loved the daily updates on Facebook of action man crossing the estate, hiding from cats, camping in the cold etc. Finally making it to the house to tie up the elves.
Hopefully he wants one.
Damn straight Skippy another time warp through my childhood Tony, born in 67' I played with every one of these toy lines in the same order until around 1980. It truly was the golden age and origin of action figures. GI Joe was my 1st and still my favorite today. MEGO Super Heroes Star Trek & Planet of the Apes soon joined the party in the mid 70's followed by PULSAR and The Six Million Dollar Man a few years later. Naturally after seeing Star Wars in 1977 I asked for multiple figures and vehicles for Christmas that year and ended up getting a DAGOBAH play set Luke's land speeder to go with them. Stretch Armstrong and Evil Knievel were added somewhere in the mix to round out my childhood collection. As you said it was a time devoid of technology when Saturday morning cartoons and our limitless imagination ruled and I wouldn't have had it any other way!
Thanks Edwin, I'm working on as new GI Joe video at the moment so make sure you stay tuned to the channel!
Amazingly thorough. Thanks for the history lesson!
Great Video Tony.. as usual. I found a Remco energized Spiderman and Superman at the flea market this past weekend...great seeing the box in the video..
As a kid who loves action figures, I hope I can give you security by saying they’re are still some of us out there that love playing with action figures, but because of toy companies prices getting bigger and bigger, I’ve resulted to buying vintage, the Batman and spawn toys from the 90s are some of my favorites
Wow what an interesting and heartfelt video, really liked the end especially!
Thoroughly enjoyed this
Alot of good memories playing wit action figures.
Awesome dude… great memories my childhood with figures…
Another great episode!
I *loved* Big Jim, especially when they introduced the P.A.C.K. line of de facto superheroes. His laser-armed corvette is one of my favorite vehicles ever.
Memories of another time great video Tony
Ok I subscribed. Thanks for bringing my childhood back.
I hope you told Arthur and Rufus' Mum to bring them to Coalville this weekend for AMCon! ;-)
Another great video Tony!!! Love the history you bring out in these toys. I also was missing you not having a new video till now. Great one to get in before Thanksgiving.
Great Review Tony, that's very true only a fraction of the children today are into collecting action figures and it's really sad but anyways were hopeful aren't we, please keep up the videos.
A random guy smiled at me because I got excited about finding an original gi joe action pilot in a case at an antique shop. I'm guessing he was happy a young person was getting excited about an old toy
Your videos are amazing and your narration is pleasant and editing make them a joy to watch.
Thank you for your videos my friend
Great job, Tony!
Really enjoyed this video, Tony. PS- Love the t-shirt. Kevin
Great review... I wish to show you my collection
Brilliant stuff mate....my lad got into Buzz lightyear toys and would glaze over when I mentioned Action Man.
I only got into Mego's, and Star Wars as a kid.
Really enjoyed that. Thank you. 😊
Another great video Tony with a lovely touch at the end.
That was cool. Thanks!
Awesome video.
Tony, great vid! Something you said rings very true, that kids today are not into collecting action figures. We were not into collecting anything as kids. We wanted to play with them. We wanted the characters and vehicles we saw on the TV, either on Saturday mornings, or everyday after school.
Companies do not make toys to be played with anymore. My oldest, who is now 19, wanted the Transformers toys from the first live action movie. Those "toys" were almost impossible for a child to transform.
Both of my boys like action figures. My youngest, at 10, is really aggravated that there are no quality action figures, right now, that are as cool as what I had growing up. What to do, right?
I will always love toys
Good on ya!
Great video Tony! Have a great Xmas!
My son is 4 and love's my old toys... he think's there better then all the new stuff..
So well done and thank you for rekindling memories
Awesome video!!!
Another great vid.....quality work 👍
Very cool video
Remember Airfix kits?
That was the best era to grow up in when it came to toys 😋 Tony, you bring up a lot of good points, but if I can add to it, I think that governments involvement in what companies get to do for marketing influenced what toys are now, I do understand what they were trying to prevent but I also can’t deny the results of what 30 minute advertisements were...referring to cartoons 😅
Now a days, you don’t see real cartoons that would make kids like an action figure, I would’ve hope it meant kids playing outside more, but sadly no, they’re glued to their phones all the time 😕...don’t know if I made sense.
Anyway, love your videos Tony, keep them coming 👍🏽✌🏽
Just letting you know in 1995 was when Hasbro bought Kenner and released starwars figures but still under the Kenner title. Great video though I love your videos very educational about the toy brands and are great help when collecting.
Great video!
In a Netflix documentary about the Star Wars toys, it said that the way that the toy height was established was the distance between the Manager's pointer finger tip and the tip of thumb when both were extended. It was measured out to 3.5". I think the reason our generation (I was born in 1974) loved action figures was we didn't electronics as much as kids today. We had to use our imagination and play with toys. It was better if you ask me.
Nice vid
New sub👍🏻
Started to be a collector 1 year ago
I normally collect funko pops but I got one Big Jim figure, Darth vader from 1980 and other stuff like that and I always find new ones with box I am buying on Ebay
I love your channel of toys😮
Great video Tony
Hi, Great video. My son also loves Action Man and he is 7. He also introduced me to your video as well. :-) .
My 7 year old nephew likes action figures. He has “Star Wars”, “Aliens” and “Scooby-Doo” action figures.
greetings from massachusetts tony!
Great show my friend. I truly enjoyed this episode. I relived from about 1973-1982 in a short time you might say. Saw many of my old toys. I had one action figure that was Big Jim i think..... He wore a blue like jumpsuit and had a regular face and when you pushed button he had an angry fighting type facial expression. Does this sound familiar? I remember he wasnt very popular because it seemed none of my friends had him or knew anything about him. He may have been very popular elsewhere but not in my crew so to say. Pulsar was like that around my scene also......
God I loved M.A.S.K!
Wonderful summary- and my son is also 12- and I literally hold his PS controllers until his homework is done. the Magic of the Action Figure has shifted to us 40-plus year-olds. It seems to have skipped this young Generation, directly from Video Games. Sad.
I'm 12 and have a GI Joe collection (12 inch).
I say the new Jurassic Park figures have been pretty successful at least. Maybe time to bring back Street Sharks or another forgotten line like the Toxic Crusaders
Didn't Action Man have a bit of a revival in the early 2000's? I remember my nan buying me a few
I really enjoy your videos, this one included. They are very informative and I learn a lot. There is one piece, though, that I believe you left out. I could be mistaken, as I was not alive during this time; however, as a collector of the Aurora figure kits, I am all too well aware of the impact that the 12" figures of GI Joe and Action Man had on the sales of Aurora figure kits during the 1960s. The figure kits actually started in the late 1950s and by the early 1960s the monster kits were selling like crazy. It is my belief that the interest in figure kits, along with that of the in barbies that you mentioned, spawned G.I.Joe. Aurora even came out with their own version of Action Man. Figure kits, unfortunately, could not compete with the action figures. Most did not have articulation and they were very fragile to boot. Aurora's prehistoric scenes did have interchangeable limbs and movable parts, but times had changed by the 1970s and those soon ceased production by 1977.
Didn't Mego once produce a GI JOE knock-off called The Fighting Yank?
Has anybody ever heard of the action figures called adventure people they were figures it would be out camping and boating and hiking I never hear about them
Shirt is killer
Any tips on how to get some of the reproduction or original older figures at a better price. I'm looking to build some uniforms up and love the painted head joes
Great video, thank you for making and sharing this. If you ever do a remake or update to this video you may want to include the Henshin Cyborg (what Takara did with the 12 inch G.I.Joe body) to give the full story of how 12 inch G.I.Joe eventually lead to the Transformers. When the oil crisis happened Henshin Cyborg shrank and became Microman. In the late 70's Mego brought Microman to the U.S. as The Micronauts (I believe this is the first time the O-ring was used in U.S. figures and was later used in G.I.Joe ARAH line(not sure if Hasbro stole the design from Mego or licensed it from Takara)). Later Microman would split into 2 lines MicroChange (where everyday objects would transform into robot helpers for Microman) and Diaclones (where a 1 inch version of Microman would pilot vehicles that transformed into robots). These transforming objects and vehicles were brought to the U.S. by Hasbro as The Transformers. I'm sure you can tell this story (and may like some of the Henshin Cyborg line) in a much more interesting way with more detail for viewers than what I mentioned here. Keep up the great work and thank you.
7:52 is that Adam West doing the voice over for the Big Jim commercial?
Those who are in their 30's to their 50's are perhaps the last generations who will be collecting toys massively. It is said that you should liquidate your collection before your generation dissappears otherwise no one will be interested but it is not so easy to predict how the market will behave once the generations that grew in the 70's through 90's dissappear.
Perhaps toys are not the phenomenon they were in the past anymore but from my own shopping experience as a collector, I still see waves of thrilled children on the toy stores aisles asking their parents for toys and in my country they are solid sellers at least on Christmas.
Kids always will be kids and toys are so essential for children like school or sports.
Absolutely, and boys will be boys.
Just like the beach stuff, buckets and shovels will always remain to build sandcastles.. ;))
Well I am pretty interested in megos action figures and I’m thinking about buying some
Dude I started collecting vintage toys when I was 3 and do you want to now which my first vintage toy was the action man talking commander which used to belong to my dad