The Lone Ranger Week: Legend of the Lone Ranger Action Figures (1981; Gabriel)

With the high-profile release of The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) in theaters, Gabriel Toys had high hopes that it could re-capture the magic of Yesteryear and its 1976 Lone Ranger toy line.

Unfortunately, the movie proved a bomb, and Gabriel’s merchandise was largely ignored in the post-Star Wars toy marketplace.  Cowboys and Indians had become passé, and outer space toys continued to be the rage (until The Masters of the Universe and later Transformers came along…)

In essence, Gabriel recreated the toys of their earlier line, only in a much smaller mode. 

Here, characters such as The Lone Ranger, Tonto and Butch Cavendish and General Custer were created in fully-poseable 3 ¼  inch variations. Because of their diminutive size, these toys did not have the removable clothes items or hats that their predecessors did, which made them somewhat less fun to play with.  

Gabriel also released smaller versions of Silver and Scout, the heroes’ steeds.

I remember, I bought all the Legend of the Lone Ranger action figures at Englishtown Flea Market in 1982 -- still on their cards -- for a dollar-a-piece.  At that point, however (I was eleven, I guess…), I never really played with ‘em.  They have managed, however, to stay in my home office collection to this day.