I thought Clutch Poppers were awesome. What's their equivalent now? I'm thinking Fisher-Price's Shake n Go line, which I think are pretty cool.
Not sure if this was answered yet but are you talking about Converters? They came out around the same time as Transformers and it seemed like the line licensed a ton of random Japanese properties, but only the cheaper version of the toys. For instance they actually licensed Macross before Robotech came out and there was a little SDF 1 and chibi valkyries. They had characters from Orguss, and stuff that would also be licensed by Transformers like Beetras and Dorvack and the aforementioned Macross. Indy was a blue car that was actually the main vehicle in a series called Galvion... I think Megahouse or someone released an updated version recently because I have it. STA: Convertors
Some I haven't seen mentioned yet: There was a He man competitor called Blackstar that has not stood the test of time, but I had the castle because it was being clearanced. I loved the Spiral Zone cartoon and the toys, even though, let's be honest, they were dolls. Zoids kinda come and go all the time but I'll never forget opening a Gojulas on Christmas Day. Loved the Bionic Six cartoon. Could never find the toys, at least not enough that I could collect the main six. Mantech were like Centurions light with interchangeable arms and legs... but really ugly. The only reason I remember them is a short lived Marvel comic. I think someone mentioned it before but a shout out to Roboforce and whatever they were trying to do with their suction cup legs. There was a line of microman like toys, in that their vehicles became things like a pencil sharpener or a computer chip. I think it was called computer warriors. There was a line called Sky Commanders where the kinda goofy gimmick was that every vehicle rappelled on a zipline. I guess they fought in the mountains or something? The characters were basically MASK figures after that line died. Still I thought the designs were really cool. This wasn't a line but I wanted an Armatron for a long time, then it just sat in a box. I still can't believe Dinosaucers never had toys. I know they were in development but the unique nature of each of their ships was just ready made for toys. But we got cartoons and toys of such luminary properties as Chuck Norris, Rambo, and Police Academy. Before the laws changed so much of the toy industry was driven by cartoons and comics (Jim Shooter's Marvel had such an integral part in developing the concepts behind Transformers and GI Joe). I doubt I'd remember most of these if not for the related media. I remember the Starriors comic being so dark... And I bet nobody would remember ROM.
I can't believe they only sold the few toys that made into market in freakin' Brazil. Remember when we used to get toys based on R-rated movies? Not like some collector statues or the kind of pap we get these days, but honest-to-god-aimed-at-children-toys? It didn't even always require a cartoon spinoff like Rambo or Robocop, they even made toys based on Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando and Terminator 2, and the latter toys in particular are probably remembered fondly by more than a few people.
The thing about Spiral Zone figures was that they had some cool gimmicks and vehicles. The monocycles kicked ASS! They also had a decent story/backstory, although not as good as some others.
Can't believe I forgot about these. Still have the big rig and whatever vehicles I had in storage somewhere. Speaking of forgotten, Tonka Go Go Gears. I literally can't find any info on these through google. Still remember the commercial though from an old VHS we have with old Disney cartoons. Not sure where they are, but I do still have the tow Truck and a little car somewhere.
I found a couple of those recently amongst my kids' toys (Jawbreaker and Bugeye). Had no idea what they were until now. Centurions is my favorite forgotten toyline that has yet to get a revival. I assume Hasbro could still use the name and character likenesses since they were made by Kenner. I was also a big fan of M.A.S.K. and Battle Beasts. Had a few Sectaurs figures, but didn't like that they were not in scale with MOTU figures I wanted to use them with. Thought Air Raiders and Bionic Six looked like fun lines and I liked the cartoon for the latter but never actually chose them over more Lego, TFs, and GI Joe.
For toys I'm probably far more a 70's kid, likely being on th eupper age of the nostalgic nerdlings around here. I'm happy that my absolute favorites of the generation are still well remembered, Micronauts and Shogun Warriors. But there was a ton of cool old school stuff back then. Just not so much IP tied (remember back then you could not tie a cartoon to toys). One that I remember fondly that always seems to fly under the radar were the Fisher Price Adventure People line. The first 3 1/2" Action Figures. Just incredible sets and vehicles. Without them we likely would not have had 40 years of Star Wars toys. and amazingly fun to play with in every way. The old Mego Super Heroes were a fantastic thing back in the day (until the strings broke). Back then you could have Spider Man battling Batman in the same toy line! It took 40 years and Lego to get us back to that.
Unfortunately, no. When the Hasbro bought Kenner, Centurions was not part of the deal and all the molds were destroyed. While it could be "revived" without the use of the same molds, the owner of the property rights (which I believe defaulted to Warner Bros. but I might be mistaken) has stated that Centurions will never see any sort of reboot or revival. Apparently the estate owner wasn't thrilled with the buyout and "took his ball and went home." This is also why we haven't seen anything Silverhawks related as well.
I dug these up from my folks a couple years ago. They were my favourite toys for the first 12 years of my life. Guess what I have now...
Wow! I oneness a TRU ad in my email and at the end of the list I see...Stretch Armstrong! Gonna check back to see if they get the monster.
They still have a Pioneer Chicken near downtown Los Angeles, and a couple more around the area. It's not the same as I remember when I was a kid though.
Smaller toy lines that I loved and still collect: Mantech Sectaurs MASK AD&D Silverhawks Blackstar Warlord SuperNaturals Madballs Clash of the Titans Captain Power Bionic Six Bucky O'Hare Crystar Captain Planet Centurions Conan the Adventurer Cowboys of Moo Mesa Toxic Crusaders FP Adventure people Robin Hood Robotech Dick Tracy Other World Wuzzles Gummi Bears Popples Jem Rainbow Brite
One that I remember fondly, although in hindsight I question why was Mattel's 'Heroes in Action" toy soldier line. By todays standards they would best be described as "InAction Figures" They literally only had one point of articulation, the waist. But some of the playsets and vehicles were cool. They were state of the art until Kenner Star Wars came along.
