Confessions of a toy-junkie (Part 1)By Chris Blake Sasser I love toys and I have to be honest I don’t mind admitting it. There’s no shame there. I’m also a 70’s kid. I only just missed being a “Monster Kid” of the sixties. But perhaps I was lucky. The Aurora Monster kits were still around and I had ‘em! Plus, there were so many neat toy treats that came out during that fine decade when I was kid, I think I did just fine.What follows is look back some of my favorites from that time periods I won’t bother to get into the whole Star Wars thing – that was something that completely unto itself. Star Wars changed toys and that phenomenon continues on to this day. So instead, I shall focus on some of the classics that inspired me. 1. MEGO ACTION FIGURES (Mego)
Still the most playable action figures ever. And what an assortment of characters! Both Marvel and DC Super Heroes! Monsters! Pirates! The frickin’ Wizard of Oz! And perhaps best of all, Planet of the Apes! What more could a young imagination ask for?
2. HUGO, MAN OF 1000 FACES (Kenner)
What an ingenious, if not creepy toy concept! You never see anything like this for kids today. No way. Hugo- a character with no back story or history to speak of. Is he an actor? A top secret spy? A mad villain bent on world domination? Only the child’s imagination knows for sure! The strange little bald man can be disguised with an array of scars, eyes, noses, chins, teeth and hair. It was the greatest! Maybe it’s just me, but I think it is high time for a Hugo motion picture.
3. GRE-GORY, BIG BAD VAMPIRE BAT (Mattel)
Here’s another terrific toy I can’t believe they made, but so darn glad they did. Ol’ Greg was a large rubber bat who came in a beautifully illustrated box which claimed the Bat you love to hate! Press his back! See blood flow in his chest! Shake him and his wings flap! And it’s all true! He boasted a whopping 15 inch wingspan and had a plastic window in his chest where one could indeed see blood flow when pumping the button located on his back. Plus his feet were made so he could hang upside down. Wonderful.
4. CASTLE DRACULA FUNHOUSE COLORFORMS (Colorforms)
Colorforms. You had to love ‘em. But there was one set that was heads and fangs above the rest. Forget your Snoopy colorforms. Forget even your Spidey colorforms, because we’re talking Castle Dracula here, kiddies. Drac, Frankie, Wolfie, Creature, Phantom and even the Mummy. They are all here; lovingly and rather humorously rendered. The artwork on this set is just gorgeous.There are three floors of fun to be had on the Castle play board along with several doors (or caskets!) to open up and hide colorform characters behind. Plus, you could put Gillman in a bathtub with a rubber duckie! It doesn’t get better than this!
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