Model Kit of the Week: The Dukes of Hazzard General Lee Dodge Charger (MPC)

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #12: G.I. Joe Adventure Team (Hasbro)

One of my favorite toys from childhood was Hasbro's G.I. Joe Adventure Team Headquarters, a two-story base for the large G.I. Joe action figures of the age.  

Now, I wasn't actually that big a fan of G.I. Joe himself (save for his 1977, sci-fi-themed Super Joe incarnation..), but his headquarters was an amazing piece of work, and it functioned admirably as an enemy fortress for the Knight of Darkness (Ideal), or for Mego's Klingons.

This large fold-out base came complete with a signal buzzer, an elevator chair, a map table, maps, equipment storage racks, and hangers, ear phones for Joe, and even an Adventure Team Comic-Book.  I still love the retro-futuristic look of the thing, with the blinking-light computers and tape-to-tape reels.

Designed for Ages "6 - 12," this Adventure Team H.Q. box was accompanied by the legend "where the adventure begins..." and could fold-up, like many play-sets of the 1970s, for "easy storage."  This feature made it easy to take outside, into the backyard, and into the thick of new adventures.

I'm still not certain how I came by my  original Adventure Team Headquarters, but I think it arrived courtesy of my (now-deceased...) uncle Glenn, my father's youngest brother.  He had collected a huge amount of G.I. Joe toys (including the Sea Wolf submarine, and a mobile support headquarters) and one day decided to pass the entire collection onto me, his nephew.  I'll never forget that act of kindness.  I know for sure that the mobile HQ was in that bunch of Glenn's toys, as were several figures, and I *think* that's how I got my hands on the Adventure Team HQ, though it is possible my parents found it for me at a yard sale.

The comic-book that accompanies the HQ encourages the reader to have a "different adventure every day with G.I. Joe" and to look for G.I. Joe adventures including "Danger of the Depths," "Flying Space Adventure," "Secret Mission to Spy Island," "White Tiger Hunt," "Fantastic Free Fall," "Capture of the Pygmy Gorilla," "Hidden Missile Discovery," The Shark's Surprise" "Space Walk Mystery" and "Secret of the Mummy's Tomb," among others.

Inside the comic book, the new H.Q. is described as "incredible" and a "team member's dream."  It also notes that it "takes more than daring to operate out of this Headquarters.  It takes a good knowledge of advanced electronic technology to operate all this special equipment."

All I know is that I spent a lot of great, imaginative play hours with this toy back in the mid-seventies.  I recently got my hands on one on E-Bay, and intend to share it with Joel.  We'll see what he makes of it...

Below, you'll find a TV commercial for the HQ.

2012 - a Year in Collectibles #11: Starship Voyager (Playmates)

You can read my 2010 critical evaluation and dissection of Star Trek: Voyager (1995 - 2001) here, if you're interested in doing so, but the merits of the TV series aside, Voyager (NCC-74656) herself remains one gorgeous spaceship. 

I fell in love with this Starfleet vessel the first time I watched the program's picturesque, galaxy-spanning opening credits, I suppose.  The ship is absolutely gorgeous in terms of the aesthetics of Star Trek's future. 

I should add, I liked Voyager's lines a lot better than those of the dull Enterprise E design we saw in First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis.  But then again, it's tough to replace the Enterprise D, a beloved ship we all feel we traveled with for seven years.

Playmates released a whole line of Voyager toys in 1995, including this plastic representation of the Intrepid class vessel, "featuring sounds and lights from" the TV show.  

Today, this Voyager mock-up stands as one of the rarer and more sought-out of the Playmates Trek fleet, perhaps in part because many fans had begun to feel ennui with modern Star Trek by 1995 and were no longer buying the toys.  Or maybe fewer Voyagers were made (though mine is # 32,697....). I don't know for sure why, but Voyager seems to have become one of the more collectible Playmates ships in recent years.  On E-Bay the cost of Voyager, even outside the box, is often, well, astronomical.

As you can tell from the box art, Voyager features "automatic pivoting nacelles!" and "Two starship Voyager sounds: photon torpedoes and warp speed."  There's also "authentic Starfleet Detailing" and a "light up navigational deflector." 

In terms of attention to detail, the ship looks terrific, and is very show accurate.  The decals on mine, however, are starting to peel, much to my dismay.  I guess 1995 really was a long time ago...

As you can also see, I couldn't be disciplined and keep my Voyager packaged in the box.  Back in 1995, when Voyager started, I was really quite taken with it, and hopeful about what it could achieve.  So I had to open the toy.  Right?

Today, Voyager is displayed proudly in my home office, right above my First Contact, Borg-centric Trek toys.  Occasionally, Joel asks for  Janeway's starship to come down from its perch for a frantic game of spaceship-fu -- meaning we run up and down the hallways of my house battling with opposing starships -- and that's a good work out for this durable, fine old girl.

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #10: Space:1999 Stun Gun (Remco)

I've always loved the look, feel and atmosphere of Space:1999 (1975 - 1977).   

When I was a kid, I was certain that this was exactly what the future would look like. I'm disappointed to this day that it hasn't been the case.

My admiration for the Space: 1999 vibe extends to the series' inventive and futuristic props, such as the comm-lock and the staple-gun-styled stun gun used by The Alphans.  Accordingly, as a child, one of my most prized possessions was indeed an "official" Space:1999 stun gun,  a toy produced by Remco.  

Featuring "realistic space sound" and "3 function actuator," this stun gun toy was actually little more than a flashlight, I suppose you could say.  But when you de-pressed the trigger (located above the handle), you could "fire" a "lazer beam," "project a light target" on a wall (like an Eagle, for instance...) or enjoy the "sequential color lights."

If memory serves, Remco also produced a Star Trek phaser very much like this toy, with similar light and sound effects, and the same capability to project images on the wall.  I'm pretty sure I had that one too, though I no longer own one today.

Recommended for children over five, the Remco stun gun operated on 2 "C" batteries, and proved a critical part of  many interplanetary adventures...in my own backyard, of course.

2012 - A Year in Collectibles# 9: Moonraker (Mego)

In terms of sci-fi movies and collectible toys, 1979 was a banner year. 

Movies such as Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Alien, Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, The Black Hole and Moonraker premiered that year, and every title on that list also saw memorable toys produced by Mego Corp.

I collected toys from all those sci-fi franchises, but never had the full line of Moonraker action-figures, alas. 

Still, I vividly recall seeing these 12.5” -tall action figures on the shelves at Toys R Us and wishing for them.

Recommended for children three and over was this action-figure of Roger Moore as James Bond, described here as “The World’s Greatest Secret Agent…Legendary Commander 007.”  On the box is emblazoned the legend: “Action-packed Spy Adventures in the Fabulous Realm of Space.”

The most amusing facet of the action-figure, however, is that Bond wears a (loose) bow tie over his space suit.

Other figures in the “fully articulated, fully poseable” line included Holly Goodhead, the menacing Jaws and Drax. I remember seeing all of the figures in stores many times, save for Drax, and to this day, Jaws fetches a pretty penny on E-Bay.

What makes this particular Bond toy special and memorable to me is that Moonraker represents the first occasion since the 1960s, I believe, that James Bond action-figures were mass produced and widely available.  This is the first time, in other words, Bond was in toy stores in his 1970s Roger Moore persona.

I also had a Moonraker model kit in 1979, which, of course, was merely a space shuttle model with special decals.

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #8: Star Bird Command Base (Milton Bradley)

One of the greatest of all Star Wars knock-off toy lines came from Milton Bradley in the late 1970s.  The Electronic Star Bird (Milton Bradley) came first, and later the The Star Bird Avenger and The Star Bird Intruder.  The designs for these plastic, interactive starships were fantastic, and the vessels could even come apart and re-form in new combinations, not entirely unlike the Micronaut Hornetroid or the Mattel Eagle One that I covered here last week.

My (now-deceased) grandfather drove me all over New Jersey in 1979 in an effort to find a Star Bird.  We finally found both at Willowbrook Mall in what I believe was a Radio Shack.  He purchased the ship for me at a price of thirty dollars, and then took me to lunch at Roy Rogers.  It was a day I’ll never forget, and which means a lot to me, especially now.

From the same Milton Bradley set comes the Star Bird Command Base, a huge “action control center” for the Electronic Star Bird. 

As the back of the box describes it: “The command base is a fabulous, fun accessory for more great excitement with your Star Bird.  Assemble the strikingly detailed fiber board and action plastic parts.  When you’re done, you have a specially equipped elevator base and control tower.”

Features of the base include:

“Anti-invasion laser guns: Set the turret bases into the corners of the tower cap. Mount the anti-invasion laser guns into any two of the bases and you can rotate them to return enemy fire.”

“Real working crane and hoist: Fit the working crane and hoist into any one of the four turret bases.  Pick-up the transport vehicle and swing it into the maintenance tunnel.”

“Transport vehicle: “You’ll have lots of fun with the transport vehicle.  It has four rolling wheels and a special carrier unit designed to hold the laser guns, Star Bird’s escape pod, its power thruster engine, or interceptors.”

“Interceptor landing deck: Star Bird’s interceptors sweep onto the Control Tower’s special landing deck.  Rush them over to the main landing platform on the transport vehicle using the multi-purpose carrier.”

Requiring assembly, the Star Bird Command Base is absolutely huge at a height of over 25”.  I had one of these for the longest time, but then in a fit of over-generosity gave mine away to a friend’s child in 1997.  I’ve regretted being so nice ever since. What was I thinking?

Just kidding!

I recently got my hands on the very Command Base you see pictured in this post, and Joel and I assembled it together last week.  He promptly manned the control tower with Zama, Horta, Dard, Brack and other rubber Diener “robots” from the same era.  All the orange, plastic astronauts that actually go with the set, however, have been termed “Under Men” by Joel and can only work under the base, not on the actual tower.  Don’t ask me why.

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #7: Navarone (Mego)

As a child, I generally didn’t collect military toys, preferring instead sci-fi, horror, and fantasy merchandise.  But I made a happy exception for this incredible toy, the awesome “Navarone Playset.”

Apparently, his toy was “loosely” (meaning unofficially…) related to Alistair Maclean’s 1957 novel The Guns of Navarone, which concerned a team of Allied soldiers launching an assault on a German fortress on the (fictional) Greek island of Navarone.   

The novel was adapted to film as “the Greatest High Adventure Ever Filmed!” in 1961, by director J. Lee Thompson.  It was a huge hit, and spawned both a written and filmed sequel, Force 10 from Navarone.  The 1978 movie starred Harrison Ford and was directed by Guy Hamilton.

In real life, there was no Battle of Navarone, but that inconvenient fact did not prevent Marx Toy Company, in 1976, from producing this multi-level mountain fortress, replete with two armies.  As you can see from the graphic, it originally sold for under $15.00 dollars.

The version of the toy I own today, however, is not from Marx at all, but rather from Mego.  Thus I can only assume that Marx sold the Navarone Playset mold at some point between 1976 and 1980.  When I was a kid, I’m pretty certain I owned the original Marx version, and not the Mego re-do.  This molded-in-black Navarone (from Mego) is for my son, Joel.

Anyway, the Mego version you see here in photographs urges one to “Recreate the World War II Battle of Navarone with this unique and exciting action playset.”

Navarone comes with:

“Two foot-high mountain

2 complete armies (92 soldiers)

4 military vehicles

2 long-range cannons

Complete play area in front and back

5 play levels

Working elevator

Working hoist

Authentic WWII flag labels.”

Honestly, as a kid I didn’t want to relive the past with this awesome mountain playset.  Instead, I utilized Navarone as a base for the Galactic Empire with my Kenner Star Wars figures.  In fact, I remember having a number of great adventures with Navarone but almost universally in a sci-fi setting.  I remember one particular adventure in which the crew of the Enterprise (Mego; 1979) had to go behind enemy line -- the Romulan Neutral Zone -- and destroy the base.

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #6: Interplanetary Star Fortress (Sears)

Back on November 30, 2011, I wrote here about one of my favorite StarWars knock-off toys, the fantastic “Interplanetary Star Fortress” manufactured and sold exclusively by Sears, and made to fit Kenner Star Wars figures, as well as Mego’s The Black Hole and Buck Rogers figures of the 1970s.   The playset is a quasi-cylindrical carrying-case that folds out to become an expansive asteroid surface and landing pad.

My own version of this disco-decade toy was missing several critical features, including a shuttle pod and plastic gun turret that could stand atop the cylinder.  My version was also missing the carrying strap and the box.

Well, via the wonders of E-Bay, I finally got my hands on a mint-in-box Sears Star Fortress that features all the elements I had been missing.  I only had a few of the base installations previously, but this version came with the “solar reactor building,” “headquarters,” “personnel quarters,” “1 particle accelerator tank” and “1 hydrogen storage tank.” 

Joel and I actually got to fold the light cardboard "buildings" into shape, and connect them together with tabs, which was fun.

This knock-off is a much more interesting toy with the missing shuttle pod and turret intact, as well as the previously missing base structures.  The shuttle pad actually has a door that opens, and snaps shut, and is fully decorated inside with high-tech (for the 1970s) imagery and detail.

Yesterday, Joel and I used the newly up-fitted Interplanetary Star Fortress to stage a battle between Ben Tennyson and Ghost Freak (plus minions BenWolf and BenMummy).  Not exactly the scenario I would have imagined at that age, but still a hell of a lot of fun. 

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #5: Knight of Darkness (Ideal)

Just keep telling yourself, this eleven inch tall action figure from Ideal, and manufactured in 1977, is not Darth Vader.  

Try it again: the Knight of Darkness is NOT Darth Vader.

Okay.  Deep breath.

Whether or not the Knight of Darkness resembles Darth Vader (d'oh!) is likely immaterial, because this "fearsome enemy from outer space" remains one awesome-looking sci-fi enemy and a great toy to boot.

Perhaps, Darth Vader, the Knight of Darkness and Baron Karza could all get together for lunch at the Mos Eisley cantina and compare notes on the Dark Side...

Anyway, The Knight of Darkness (No. 4603 - 7) looked so much like Darth Vader that allegedly George Lucas sued Ideal for copyright infringement.  He reportedly lost the case, in part because Ideal's S.T.A.R. Team (of which the Knight was a new part) already had a history on the toy market of over a decade.  Still, looking at the box art, at ZEM-21 (C-3PO) and the Knight in particular, it's tough not to feel a Star Wars vibe.  At least a little.

I remember as a kid in 1977 that I really wanted Star Wars toys, and  then my grandparents suddenly showed up for my birthday with a Zeroid (R2-D2?), ZEM-21, the Knight of Darkness and the Star Hawk ("the spacecraft of the Zeroid.")  At first I was tremendously disappointed and confused.  My grandparents had been snookered by a Star Wars knock-off and even at age seven, I knew it.

But then, I actually started playing with awesome Ideal S.T.A.R. Team toys, and creating my own space adventures.  I must admit,  it was actually a bit more fun inventing a universe than merely recreating scenes from Star Wars. 

So let's hear it for the Star Wars knock-offs.  There have been some great ones over the years, but none perhaps, more malevolent-appearing and yes, fearsome, than this Knight of Darkness, "dressed in his special uniform and boots," to quote the box.   The Knight, based on Captain Action figure molds, also came complete with a mean-looking laser pistol.

If only Ideal had released some minions for this Knight of Darkness to command, all would have been right with the universe.

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #4: Remco Mini-MonsterPlay Case

In 1980, Remco released a whole line of toys based on the classic Universal Monsters.  The line included figures of Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Karloff's Frankenstein Monster, the Wolfman, the Phantom of the Opera, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Karloff Mummy. 

Best of all, these small action figures were given a perfect home with this unique "Mini Monster Play case," a fold-up play-set that is a "monster mansion and portable storage case for all the mini movie monsters!"

This laminated play set with "glow in the dark features" came complete with a "flip-top mummy's tomb," a "carrying handle," a "creature cage," a "disappearing lab table with instrument panel," and a "spooky laboratory set with doorway." 

Unfortunately my old, battered Remco Play Case is missing Frankenstein's lab table, and I don't have any of the figures anymore, save for a very battered Count Dracula. 

Boy, do I wish I had kept track of those mini-monsters better back in 1980... 

By today's standards, this probably isn't the world's greatest or more accurate toy.  The scale of the "painted" laboratory on the rear wall is way off when compared to the actual action figures.  But still, I have such a love for these Universal Monsters that I find the Mini-Monster Play Case from Remco a jewel in my home office collection. 

I should add, these Mini-Monsters from Remco remain so popular that customized new monsters are today being created and sold on E-Bay.  These "new" monsters include Jack the Ripper, The Invisible Man, Dr. Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.

One of these days, when I have the cash to blow, I'm definitely going to buy a Remco Mummy and get him home in his tomb...

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #3: The Game of Jaws (ideal)

I was in kindergarten the September after Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) premiered in theaters, and I'll never forget that for Halloween, one of my best friends showed up costumed as Bruce, the great white shark. 

I also very vividly remember that at the book-mobile sale that year, I purchased a joke book based on Jaws.

Yep, America was in the clutches of Jaws-mania. 

Even though I didn't see the film at the time (I was five...) everybody was talking about it.  I remember my Aunt Vivian describing the movie to me in vivid terms when I saw her at my Granny's house.  Vivian was always great for that kind of thing.  While I was too young in the 1970s to watch R rated horrors like Halloween (1978) or Alien (1979), my aunt Vivian was great at giving me blow-by-blow descriptions of the movies, and let's just say I appreciated her devotion to providing ALL the details.

So for me, Jaws -- at least in 1975 -- came down to an appreciation of a joke book...and of this toy: the Game of Jaws (from Ideal). 

Designed for 2 to 4 players (ages 6 and up), the game box noted: "It's you against the great white shark...One wrong move, and the JAWS go snap!"

The goal of this game was to use a probe to fish the contents (yuck...) out of the shark's stomach, without those fierce jaws a-snappin'. 

Some of those contents included a human skull, a fish skeleton, a tire, a camera, a pistol, a glove, a boot, a walkie-talkie, and a wagon wheel (!).  In the version of the game I own, these delicacies are all molded in white or blue plastic, but the game box shows different colored items.

Jaws' snapping mouth was held together by two rubber bands, and alas, those are the only parts of this game that have not survived the intervening decades. 

When Joel and I play this game in my office, our shark is sort of slack-jawed, unable to close his mouth, unless we slam it shut.  

Every time I look at this Ideal game, I remember being a little kid, playing this game, and wondering what on Earth the movie Jaws could possibly be like...

2012 - A Year in Collectibles #2: Big Trak

On the cusp of the futuristic 1980s (!), Milton Bradley's electronic toys seemed truly amazing and forward-looking.  The toy company created the Star Bird (and later, Star Bird Avenger), as well as its nemesis, the Star Bird Intruder.  And, of course, MB created Big Trak, the "fully programmable electronic" vehicle.

As you can see from the box photos, Big Trak is a big, land rover-type vehicle, one with a nice futuristic sheen.  The craft is sleek and it looks bad-ass.  On the dorsal side of the tank is a rectangular computer panel, fully programmable.  As the box establishes:

"BIG TRAK's computerized Control Center -- with its intricate electronic memory -- can accept complex programs of up to 16 separate commands.  Big Trak can go out of the room and return to you; it can maneuver around furniture.  Detailed instruction booklet (with sample programs) included."

So Big Trak could "respond to your commands" and the box invites kids to "watch Big Trak perform!  Goes forward and reverse, turns, spins, and fires."

An accessory (sold separately, naturally) was the Big Trak Transport, which could be atached to Big Trak to "haul light loads for long distances."  You could also deploy the transport as a kind of dump truck, which was very cool. 

Alas, I don't currently have the transport...

But Joel and I have played with Big Trak up and down our driveway, across the street, and into the woods.  It's super easy to program, and the laser spotlight is pretty cool, especally in the dark. 

I believe a company (in England?) recently re-released Big Trak for the collectible crowd, but I'm not sure.  One thing I am sure of, though: this is a toy that really holds up.  Our Big Trak has been around for over thirty years and all the functions still operate perfectly. 

Also, as a side note, Big Trak has several brief cameo appearances (box and toy) in Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist.

2012: A Year in Collectibles #1: Planet of the Apes Village

For kids of Generation X (my generation...), there's one toy company that stands above the rest and absolutely remains a thing of legend:

Mego. 

In the 1970s, Mego held the Star Trek, Planet of the Apes and Marvel and D.C. superheroes licenses, and created some absolutely amazing toys that have now become prized collectors items. 

Growing up, I absolutely loved Planet of the Apes.  I avidly read the magazines and comics from Marvel, and played with the action figures and play sets from Mego.  As a kid in the 1970s, I could find many of these toys cheap at garage sales.  I still remember the time I purchased a boxed POTA tree house and Forbidden Zone play set for one dollar a piece. 

Best. Saturday. Ever.

One terrific and much beloved Mego Planet of the Apes toy from this era is the Planet of the Apes Village, a "giant 3 foot play set, headquarters for all Planet of the Apes 8 inch action figures." 

Truth be told, this play set is highly reminiscent of Mego's Batcave play set, but what the heck.  It's still cool.

The Planet of the Apes village folds down into a small carry case, and also opens up into this huge diorama of Ape City as seen in the 1968 film starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall.  There's a "secret entrance" to Ape City, plus plenty of accouterments.  These include a "laboratory table" (for dissecting humans, no doubt...), a flip-up "weapons bench," a "capture net and carry pole," a "detention pen," "3 control sticks" and "3 rifles."

When fully assembled (with a green mat bridging the two ends,) the play set is a pretty impressive thing, but I love the fact you can fold it up and carry it with you so easily.   

The play set itself is made up of laminated cardboard, decorated with some expressive art from the Apes saga (including vistas of the Statue of Liberty and Ape City itself). 

I'm not sure how much kids of today would love this retro play set, but for me the Planet of the Apes village just absolutely takes me back to the disco decade, and some great times spent in the company of Zira, Cornelius, Zaius, Urko and the rest.