Simply stated - the mid-late 80's was the best time to be a kid for toys and such. Not just tf's, all toys and the videogame explosion started by nintendo and continued by sega into the 90's with sega and 3do and eventually ps1. 1985-1995. What a fucking decade right there.

 

They weren't all cheap. Got Shockwave from Tasco and I think he was like $60 but that could have just been the store jacking the price. Still can't believe I talked my Dad into getting it for me.

I would head straight for the toy isles everytime I went to Kmart, Service Merchandise, and KB. Toy isles at department stores these days are down right sad compared to what they once were. Weren't any TRU nearby until I was a little older and got hooked on NES and didn't really care that much about toys then TRU became my favorite place on earth. The video game section there gave me chills. Seeing all those systems and accessories in the glass cases. The walls of video games hoping the one you wanted still had a piece of paper in it to take up to the register.

 

I've got lots of vivid memories of the toy aisles back in those days, but to be honest it was around late 85 and 86 that TF's were at their peak popularity.

I remember that, just like the GI JOE line, there were toys you just never saw in the stores...but at some point, I saw all the G1 stuff. That's the big difference, I'd say...you could always find what you wanted, as things didn't go in waves. My buddy picked up Prime a couple years after he was the super popular toy to have. Same went for Jetfire.

The last time I really wanted something from the toy line was a Sharkticon...never did get one, but thought they were really cool. Shortly after that, it was deemed I was too old for TFs   and carried on with a Nintendo obsession   But those seeds remained, and thanks to the internet, I've gotten back into picking up the few pieces that I really liked from way back when.

The Sears Christmas catalogs were also quite a big memory...for the above mentioned years, that is. I remember being in awe of Predaking...only one buddy had a toy, nobody could convince their parents that he was a must buy for Christmas (this coming from a guy who owned the GI JOE aircraft carrier, lol). I picked up my Platinum version last year and the world is once again at peace!

GI JOE and Transformers...I could sit in the toy section (and often did) for hours in those days! My folks knew where I was, but even after 2 hours I had enough reading boxes...which always caused trouble, me scouting the mall looking for my fam at the same time they'd come back to the toy section at Zellers   This went on for quite some time...lol.

 

Pretty sure that store was sharking you... here in Canada (where prices tended to be a bit higher than in the States, I think Shockwave was a $35 figure. I seem to recall Jetfire was around $40-ish. Prime and Megs and Soundwave clocked in at $24-$30.

But relative to the times, yeah... TF's were a bit pricey. However, I wouldn't say this was excessive considering the engineering and parts-counts compared to other popular toy lines...

I suppose the internet must have some catalogue pages from back then kicking around... that would show the prices, instead of relying on our fading memories.  

I think certain figures certainly had "their years" but there were re-releases also. I also noticed that older figures still seemed to circulate for a while.

This sounds pretty familiar.  

25 SKUs (and 28 distinct characters, to be accurate). Then how about 1985? (73 character releases) And 1986? (96 characters released) Or 1987? (90 figures) And so on? Then consider how these figures were dispersed in shipments over the year, compared to the staggered process we have now. Sure, a chunk of those figures each year were re-releases, but then... that still contributes to the sheer overall breadth and variety of characters that would be available in an active line in any given toy aisle. Suddenly 30 ain't so "thrilling".

Yep. Spread over a year and a half, released in small waves/increments, which generally means no more than 6-8 different characters will be on the rack at a given time. 11 of those are remolds/repaints (though I'm not sure that matters). And we're still "thrilled" by it, because it is rather exceptional on Hasbro's part. But it sure ain't 96 distinct characters in a single line-up!

Compare that to the experience of walking into a department store and finding 20 separate MOTU characters in a display, or almost the entire line of '84 characters in one aisle... that just doesn't happen anymore.

I think it's arguable that AOE and Masterpiece are not exactly the same line as Generations (though this line is blurring since some AOE molds will be released in Generations this year, I believe).

I think this is an important distinction, since that is still the primary market, even now. That is where the majority of kids get their toys... not BBTS... or even TRU.com... though it may be different in the states. TRU.ca is kind of lame. The selection on display at retail was rather more impressive.

Oh, and the photographic evidence of how many distinct main-line toys would be routinely found in a single location. That also contributes to the charm of those days... as opposed to today, when a trip to TRU will likely only turn up at best a dozen different characters... half that number in a non-movie year.

I think you are grossly understating the importance of character selection and variety in the practical experiences of kids and collectors both. In 1984, if you walked into a store, and the only Masters of the Universe figures available in that wave were He-Man, Battle Armor He-Man, Skeletor, and Orko... pointing out that there's also He-man, Ram-man, and Teela pencil toppers is not really going to mitigate disappointment. Like, at all. It doesn't cut it.

That was the beauty of the time... toy producers and retailers were not holding back. They were hitting you with both barrels all the time. I think the release schedules and the rationales behind case assortments have really changed that experience in a big way.

zmog

 

Totally agree.

 

http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/6/67/Seekers_ad.jpg

That's where I got my prices from my post above regarding inflation. G1 was pricey.

On your other points, I still read your post as essentially a comment on the difference in brick-and-mortar shopping in '84 vs. today. So, we'll just have to agree to disagree on the what contributed to the magic of G1.

 

In the olden days there was no colour, everything was black and white.

 

I remember tons of Transformers everywhere to the point that the drug stores in town were selling KO. It wasn't hard to find the Transformer you wanted (though you might have had to go to a couple of stores or go to a higher-end store to find the expensive figures like Shockwave) you could walk into any department store and see several rows full of many characters, kind of like the end to end treatment that LEGO has now. If I wanted to get a figure (that I could afford) it really wasn't hard to find it. And I didn't live in a major metropolitan area, it was a rural midwest college town. Today there are always retail figures that are hard to find that one may never see in person or there might be a non-exclusive wave that ends up appearing at only one store chain 50 miles away from me and may never appear in any of the stores in my town.

Back then really besides wanting a bicycle and a baseball mit all a boy wanted were toys because they were awesome but also because there wasn't much else. I had an Atari but video games couldn't hold a candle to the toys back then, now the opposite is true with many other options available as well.

Opening just about any G1 Transformer was an event, the act of pulling it out of it's styrofoam tray, putting the stickers on, reading the file card, looking through the catalog at the figures in the next wave, feeling how well built and heavy the figures were for the first time. The only times I've felt some of that recently have been with Metroplex, MP Soundwave, and Quakewave and I had to pay over $120 for those experiences compared to what, $10 back then.

It seemed like every time I went into a store's toy section I would discover something new and wondrous. It's not something that happens too often now to just stumble upon something cool or fun in a store. I guess sort of the only comparison today on a smaller scale is going into a TJ Maxx before Christmas and seeing the tables full of discounted toys long gone from Wal-Mart and Target.

I do remember being disappointed with Toys R Us when I was a kid completist collecting GI Joe (I was hooked on the comic and cartoon and my dad was in the army). TRU would have the very newest figures but only like 3 different characters. I was used to seeing at least half of a GI Joe wave at K-Mart where I would routinely buy 5 or 6 new figures at a time. I came away unimpressed with TRU that and everything cost more there.

 

Having a qualitatively better selection of characters on the racks at any given moment contributes lots of magic. Even with online shopping, it doesn't quite compare.  

But when Hasbro releases 90 distinct Generations characters in a year, maybe we'll see some of that magic again.  

zmog

 

I was born in 80's so Transformers toys and cartoon has been part of my life for decades.

OP powermaster 1988 was my first TF toy followed by Action Master.

 

This.

I'd extended from 1985-early 2000 though. I'm an RPG freak and 90's was full of that... and Beast wars 

 

I remember it a glorious time! Any Transformer, GI Joe, Voltron (all three), MASK, and MotU figure I wanted I wanted as a reward for a good report card being readily available! The first disappointment I ever had was in say 91 after saving my allowance and paper route money to not find Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES when it was first released.

 

A summer day. 1987? I cant remember the year. I do remember my moms awesome 79 Blazer we rode from Ft. Leonard Wood to Rolla in. I just knew we were going shopping and I didnt know where. I was busy playing around with my little G.I. Joes in the back seat. ZZ-Top was blaring. My dad was sitting in the passenger seat.

We pulled off the highway after what seemed like forever, it was about an hour or so, but the forces of Cobra were no match for the Joes. We pulled up to that giant giraffe and orange facade front. My eyes gleamed and I dropped the Joes I was playing with. My little 8 year old face burst into a HUGE grin. TOYS R US!

Now back then Toys R Us was a huge deal for kids. Before the internet and all these chain stores had all the same crap Toys R Us had the hook-up on childrens toys. I got out of the truck with my mom and dad. Holding my moms hand as we walked in I tugged for her to go faster. I wanted IN MAN!!! My dad pushed open the doors and I was told to look for potential Christmas stuff. If I was a good boy Id get a little something to take home. I ran....ran to the Transformers isle. On the way I passed through Voltron, He-Man, Thundercats, G.I. Joes. I dont remember Ninja Turtles stuff I think that was later. Hard to remember clearly. I do remember all the colorful boxes. Brilliant colors and box art on each piece. Full boxed sets of Devastator and the huge Optimus Prime box. The Castle Grayskull and He-Man action figures were right across from them.

There were other really cool toys too that had no affiliation to any brand. Lazer guns, cap guns, models of cars and planes, disc shooters, squishy balls with pop out face action, Lego sets that just sold you a huge bucket of blocks, Movie monster figures....it was a childs paradise.

That day I left with a toy hangover. Cliffjumper and Bumblebee went with me as well. I remember getting home and telling all my friends about it. It was a long rest of the year until Christmas. That year I got Optimus Prime, Smokescreen, and a bunch of He-Man and G.I. Joe figures. I also got Castle Grayskull and a bunch of GO-Bots.

Thats what toy stores were back in the day. They were awesome places kids could go and indulge their little minds into all manner of plastic injection molded debauchery. Ive been to a Toys R Us recently and the magic is gone. Not for me. Im still a big kid. The store is barren and empty now. The parking lot, where once was full of screaming gleeful kids, is now just a huge lot of empty space. The last time I went to a Toys R Us was about a year ago. I was looking for clearance Transformers for army building or kitbashing. It was so depressing seeing all those toys and no kids in site. The kids I did see were either being told not to touch anything or ushered along through the isle like a Disney ride. I literally have not been back since.

There was a time. Thundercats, TMNT, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Sectoids, Ghostbusters, Bravestar, Visionaries....these were not just words or titles. These were toys that represented a watermark. It was high up on the dock and I dont think it ever reached that high again. I loved living in that time and Im glad I got to enjoy it. Thanks for asking that question by the way. I really got all misty thinking about my first trip to Toys R Us. Im 36 now and though certain details fade those memories will always endure.

 

This thread is an amazing read for a fellow 80's kid.