tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post4440811973498136488..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining X-Men Action Figures: X-Men Series III & IV, X-Force Series IIAustin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-67267441708694506122017-05-31T20:13:55.857-05:002017-05-31T20:13:55.857-05:00Thanks, Chief!<br>Thanks, Chief!<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-6020603683445506142017-05-31T11:27:05.287-05:002017-05-31T11:27:05.287-05:00Neal Adams did the Apocalypse card art. Tom Grumme...Neal Adams did the Apocalypse card art. Tom Grummett did a majority of the others. I had a book that gave art credits to all of these, not sure where it went though.Chiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03179484714728962070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-34434401129458099362017-05-30T17:13:27.381-05:002017-05-30T17:13:27.381-05:00A Brood action figure? Wow.
The extension on Cycl...<br>A Brood action figure? Wow.<br /><br />The extension on Cyclops’ backpack in that group shot looks like it’s making a peace sign / rabbit ears behind him, as if it were Plastic Man or (more appropriately) Warlock.<br /><br /><i>// at least in terms of marrying playability and sculpting while still being driven principally by the comics //</i><br /><br />I both approve of and agree with your criteria, not that you asked. My childhood was mostly a take-what-you-can-get, beggars-can’t-be-choosers deal, although within the (odd in retrospect) parameters of cloth-costumed DC and Marvel figures from Mego there was impressive fealty to the extant designs for the characters released. When the smaller, sculpted <i>Secret Wars</i> and <i>Super Powers</i> lines debuted, with more TV-, movie- and comics-based lines to follow, the bench depth boggled my mind even as some of the variations for the sake of wider play scenarios and/or just selling more toys rolled my eyes.<br /><br />“Thrusting Knife Action!” is surprising to see on toy packaging of such relatively recent vintage (from my perspective as a grizzled fortysomething).<br /><br />Do you know who did the card art? The faces suggest Tom Grummett to me, but he only has one credit at Marvel, comics-wise anyway, during this period per the GCD.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-91589456077253953292017-05-19T00:11:10.773-05:002017-05-19T00:11:10.773-05:00Toys R Us had these for $4-5 each and sometimes wo...Toys R Us had these for $4-5 each and sometimes would run 2 for $5 deals on them. I can't believe if you want something like this today they are $10, so crazy.<br /><br />I was about 13 and the Aliens 3 figures were discounted at Walmart for .27 cents each. I bought them out of them. I took them to the local Toys R Us and traded them for store credit. I then took and bought a ton of the 2 for $5 X-Men figures. I took those to my local comic shop and traded them all in for $4 each. I bought the full run of X-Factor and had my monthly books were covered for months. Scott Churchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795112175606617848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-35615839885914803012017-05-18T13:59:06.061-05:002017-05-18T13:59:06.061-05:00Tusk's fellow Dark Rider Barrage was going to ...<i>Tusk's fellow Dark Rider Barrage was going to be released as Gauntlet (another company had the rights to the name Barrage, which is what happens when you give characters vague, generic names)</i><br /><br />They were going to name him after another guy in the same group when the real name was a no-go? Talk about throwaway characters!<br /><br />Rattl<b>o</b>r and Stink<b>o</b>r and whatsthere suddenly start making a lot of sense.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-85856258387474705692017-05-18T11:18:07.738-05:002017-05-18T11:18:07.738-05:00It looks like I had all of these except for Tusk a...It looks like I had all of these except for Tusk and Cable II. Cyclops, Apocalypse, and Sabretooth were probably my favorites, though I loved having a Professor X figure simply because I never would've expected one to be made. The armrests on his chair could flip open and he had little laser pistols hidden inside, which I never thought much of as a kid, but I find pretty funny as an adult.<br /><br />My only real problem with these figures as a kid was how they scaled with the prior waves. Wolverine's supposed to be short, so no problem there, and we got newer, bigger version of Apocalypse, Sabretooth, and Cyclops, so that was all good. But put the original Storm next to this Cyclops and she looked tiny. Iceman became pretty scrawny by comparison as well. I've always been anal about scale in my toys, even from when I was a very little kid, so that bugged me to no end.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-63572841162890934852017-05-18T11:13:44.464-05:002017-05-18T11:13:44.464-05:00I had that gift set. I don't know that I aske...I had that gift set. I don't know that I asked for it, so it was probably -- a gift. I think all the characters had their joints permanently glued, too, so they were like statues. But still, I got my mom to unscrew Professor X from the stand so I could have a figure of the guy. That didn't stop me from getting the carded version as well though, when it was released.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-15453305572526083932017-05-18T10:06:47.056-05:002017-05-18T10:06:47.056-05:00One more note on Professor X: He was actually alre...One more note on Professor X: He was actually already made in a gift set of X-Men but his hoverchair was screwed into a plastic base for all of the figures to stand on. The gift set came with several other X-Men figures but they were all re-releases. Nobody wanted to buy that thing and end up with doubles.Chiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03179484714728962070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-45012017251461628942017-05-18T10:00:50.566-05:002017-05-18T10:00:50.566-05:00This is when I officially went from being a kid wh...This is when I officially went from being a kid who buys toys to a hardcore action figure collector. I have so many memories of all of these.<br /><br />Bishop, Cyclops & Professor X were very popular for obvious reasons. The Sabretooth and Apocalypse figures were also much needed improvements over the originals. ToyBiz really upped their game in the year since the line began.<br /><br />The Brood figure was pretty great for its time and in my opinion still holds up today. That was the first non-humanoid sculpt ToyBiz did and it looked awesome and creepy to 10 year old me.<br /><br />As far as I know, this is the only figure ever made of Strong Guy. "Big" figures were a new thing at the time and I remember the huge guys were always well received. Even Tusk, despite nobody knowing who he was. Everyone started asking for an updated Colossus and Juggernaut once big figures were on the table but it was a couple years before we would get them. <br /><br />Ahab and Longshot peg-warmed like crazy. I kind of liked the Longshot figure but Ahab was such a dud. I remember countless disappointing Toys R Us trips looking for new X-Men figures and seeing nothing but rows and rows of those two.<br /><br />This X-Force wave was a bit of a let-down, way too many minor characters. Cannonball was a welcome addition but his costume was already outdated. When the X-Force line starts doing the Capullo costumes, it gets REALLY good. Seriously, the last couple lines of X-Force figures might be my favorite line of toys ever.<br /><br />I'm really glad you're doing these with your comic reviews as it really captures how hot X-Men culture was at the time.<br />Chiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03179484714728962070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-74301905866287009612017-05-18T05:31:47.759-05:002017-05-18T05:31:47.759-05:00Of these, I had Cyclops, which I loved, and Sabert...Of these, I had Cyclops, which I loved, and Sabertooth, which, although it had a great sculpting, the legs weren't flexible at all. The only worse figure than his was the Silver Samurai's.Licínio Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12545823888354348526noreply@blogger.com