Cardboard Close-up

Card Series: Madagascar

Release Date: 2005

Collector's Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope your party is better than this one.

Blackstar

Name of Toy Line: Blackstar
Production Company: Galoob
Distributor: Galoob
Years of Production: 1983-1985
Countries/Regions Available: USA and Europe
Size/Scale: Action Figures: 6" ; Companion Figures: 3"
Figure Trade Markings: Action Figures: © 1983 FILMATION ; Companion Figures: None
Approximate # of Figures: 15 Companion Figures

Details:

Blackstar began in 1981 as a fantasy sci-fi cartoon produced by Filmation. It has many similarities to its more popular successor, He-Man. Check out the show's opening for the premise.



It's the story of John Blackstar, an astronaut from a future, technologically advanced Earth. He is sucked into a black-hole and finds himself on the planet Sagar, which is populated by a plethora of alien creatures. Blackstar aligns himself with the tiny Trobbit people in their battle against the evil Overlord. Action-packed high jinks ensue.

The toy line was released a few years later, beginning in 1983 and running to 1985. There were a total of three waves - one each year. The six-inch action figures came carded individually and also with a companion figure; The good guys came with a Trobbit figure and the bad guys came with a demon figure.

The Trobbit figures were also carded individually, but never the demon figures.

The action figures are made with mixed materials - both hard and soft plastic. The one example of an action figure I have has soft arms and legs and hard trunk and head. The figure is called Meuton; He's a baddy and appears to be a wasp-man. Creepy and cool!



Definitely would not want to stumble into that guy in a dark alley (or a well-lit one for that matter).

Of course here at Toypedia, the main attraction is not the 6" action figures but the diminutive 3" companion figures! There were a total of six Trobbit figures and nine demons. Both Trobbits and demons are made of a soft plastic.

The Trobbit characters are very reminiscent of Snow White's dwarves. They're tiny little guys with white hair, wearing purple, blue, and yellow garb. Unfortunately I only have the character Poulo in our possession at the moment. Let's take a close-up look at him.


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(The, uh, bit of plastic between Mr. Poulo's legs appears to be a nub of flashing left over from the casting process. I agree, it is a bit disturbing. I was tempted to edit it out, but chose to go el naturale instead.)



There were two types of demon companion figures. The first type was available in the first two waves. It consisted of a single sculpt cast in six different colors and paint schemes: Green, Yellow, Blue, Pink, Red, and Orange. The availability of the different colored demons varies with Green being by far the most common.

Let's take a look at a Green demon. Note the paint applications on the stomach, eyes, and eyebrows.


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Red and Blue demons arrived in the second wave.


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The two Blues I have appear to have slightly different paint application colors. The second figure appears to have stomach and eyebrow paint that is slightly more Purple.


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Three new demon figures were introduced in the third wave. Like the Trobbits, each new demon had a unique sculpt and a more complex paint scheme. The body of each demon is one single color however, and they are referred to by these colors. Thus, once again, there are Red, Green, and Yellow demons. I've got the Red and Green, so let's take a look at them.

Boo!


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It's a very fun, highly collectible toy line with several interesting figures, some harder to come by than others. Be sure to check the links below for more great pictures and information about this line.



Related Web Sites:

Blackstar @ Action Figure Archive

Blackstar @ Wikipedia

Cardboard Close-up

Card Series: Weird Ball

Release Date: 1986

Collector's Note: For additional information please visit this Toypedia post :)

Figabulary

Toy Line: M.I.M.P.

Sculpt Name: Unknown (Is that you, Frank?)

Color: Green with yellow and white paint apps.

Collector's Note: This figure belongs to the M.I.M.P. series Monster Wrestlers In My Pocket.

Terminator 2

Name of Card Set: Terminator 2 Judgement Day
Production Company: The Topps Company, Inc.
Distribution Company: Carolco Pictures Inc
Year of Production: 1991
Pack Contents: 5 stickers

Details:

When T2 burst onto the scene in the early 90's, it forever changed how special effects were used (and received) in movies. Combining never-before-seen effects with unbelievable action sequences and a kick ass soundtrack highlighted by Guns 'n Roses, Terminator 2 went on to enjoy huge success around the world. Never wanting to miss an opportunity at cashing in on an opportunity, Topps Inc. released a set of stickers based on the movie.



To be blunt, the effort behind this release had to be nothing less than half-hearted. The packaging (above) is extremely minimal, and the contents were not much better. Each pack contained five stickers and a stick of gu...wait...what's going on? No gum?!? Come on Topps! Perhaps the lack of the familiar stick of pink 'gum' best exemplifies the utter lack of effort for the T2 sticker set. The stickers themselves are good quality, and feature scenes from the movie on both the front and back. There are no inserts or fun 'character' cards as found in other movie-based releases.

Figabulary

Toy Line: Star Wars Galactic Heroes

Sculpt Name: Wampa

Color: White with minor paint apps

Cardboard Close-up

Card Series: Gremlins

Release Date: 1984

Collector's Note: This sticker is part of an 10 sticker subset to the set of trading cards released by Topps, Inc. The backs of each sticker featured a puzzle piece that (when assembled) portray the image of an extremely terrified Gizmo.

Figabulary

Toy Line: Kinnikuman

Sculpt Name: Tallman

Color: Flesh/Peach

Collector's Note: This sculpt was released with part 8 of the Kinnikuman keshigomu toy line, which can be seen at Naochin's Kinkeshi archive. It's a notable sculpt for M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors as it's one of several Kinnikuman sculpts that were not made into M.U.S.C.L.E. toys.

Donkey Kong

Name of Card Set: Donkey Kong
Production Company: Nintendo of America, Inc.
Distribution Company:The Topps Company, Inc.
Year of Production: 1982
Pack Contents: 3 Rub-Off Cards, 3 Stickers, 1 stick bubble gum

Details:

Serious card collectors can agree that non-sport trading cards are some of the best collectibles around, but when Topps decided to work with the almighty Nintendo – the results were pure magic. One of the first releases from this geeky power-couple was the Donkey Kong trading card set. As you can see on the package above, this was the “#1 Video Game” at the time, so this set was extremely popular.



Perhaps the most unique part of the Donkey Kong trading card set were the “Rub-Off Cards”. Honestly, the people at Topps, Inc. had to get a little chuckle about marketing “Rub-Off Cards” to 11 year old boys…but regardless, the cards were a hit. Each card featured a lottery-ticket-style scratch-off material on the front of the cards, and game instructions on the back. The collector could scratch off the circles in an effort to rescue the “Beautiful Girl” from Donkey Kong…as well as gain prizes to increase their score.



Aside from the scratch-off cards, the rest of the stickers featured cartoon likenesses of the characters of the game on the front, and puzzle pieces on the back. Thankfully for collectors, the Donkey Kong set was just the start of the relationship between Topps and Nintendo. Stay tuned to Toypedia, as we will no doubt be sharing the details on other sets in the near future!

Figabulary

Toy Line: M.U.S.C.L.E. / Kinnikuman Custom

Sculpt Name: Unknown

Color: Purple

Collector's Note: This custom figure was created by an individual who goes by the name halfaway on the LittleRubberGuys toy forum. The figure was created by cutting apart authentic M.U.S.C.L.E. figures and piecing them together to create a new sculpt. The figure was then molded and cast by an individual who goes by the name Muscle Things. Muscle Things uses an awesome material that is almost identical to M.U.S.C.L.E. material, though it seems to be a tad firmer.

Muscle Things has also cast several other sculpts created by halfaway and other toy enthusiasts. You can check them out at his blog: http://musclethings.blogspot.com/

Halfaway has said "the best is yet to come," so we can't wait to see what's next!

Cardboard Close-up

Card Series: Awesome All*Stars

Release Date: 1988

Collector's Note: Although the majority of non-sport trading cards released in the 1980's (and beyond) were released by Topps, Inc., it's interesting to note that this series was released by the Canadian company Leaf, Inc. At the time, Leaf was an up-and-comer in the Baseball card world, so perhaps they viewed this as a nice opportunity to take advantage of another side of the hobby.

Figabulary

Toy Line: Megaman

Sculpt Name: Unknown

Color: Translucent Yellow (Green)

Collector's Note: This is one of several mechs that were featured in the Megaman keshigomu line. The mech body is made up two parts: top and bottom. It is made of traditional soft, rubbery keshigomu material while the pilot is made of hard similar plastic.

Expect a full Megaman entry here at Toypedia in the future!

Cardboard Close-up

Card Series: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Release Date: 1984

Collector's Note: This sticker is part of an 11 sticker subset to the set of trading cards released by Topps, Inc. It's also one of the best stickers ever made. Trust me.

Figabulary

Toy Line: Diener Space Raiders

Sculpt Name: ZAMA

Color: Yellow

Little Shop of Horrors

Name of Card Set: Little Shop of Horrors
Production Company: The Geffen Film Company
Distribution Company:The Topps Company, Inc.
Year of Production: 1986
Pack Contents: 5 stickers, 1 stick bubble gum

Details:

“Feed me Seymour…feed me!” Who can forget the famous line from the amazingly wonderful (and completely off-the-wall) comedy/sci-fi/horror flick from the 1980’s, Little Shop of Horrors? Combining an All Star cast of comedians, with a screenplay from 1960, Frank Oz ended up creating a cult hit that is still celebrated today. And like seemingly every other semi-successful movie from the 80’s/90’s…Topps, Inc. decided to turn Little Shop of Horrors into a non-sport trading card set.



This set was a fairly typical release from Topps, and consisted of (a somewhat small-ish) 44 cards in a complete set. The cards consisted of a sticker on the front, and the backs featured either a scene from the movie, a character profile, or a puzzle piece.



Unlike other movie trading card sets, it’s not as easy to follow along with the movie by flipping through these cards – and that’s likely due to the small base set. But still, the stickers manage to capture all of the hilarity of Bill Murray, Steve Martin, John Candy, James Belushi, Rick Moranis and more! These are definitely a must-have for any fan of the movie (or cheesy trading cards!!).

Schöller Dinosaurier

Name of Toy Line: Schöller Dinosaurier
Production Company: Schöller
Distributor: Schöller



Years of Production: Unknown
Countries/Regions Available: Germany
Size/Scale: 1.5"
Figure Trade Markings: CE
Approximate # of Figures: 5 unique sculpts, dozens of figures

Details:

Sadly, we know very little about this cool little series of dinosaur toys, including the years of production and sale. They were distributed by the large German ice cream manufacturer Schöller, which is now affiliated with Kuchenmeister and Nestle. It's likely the figures accompanied the purchase of various ice cream products rather than being available separately. Schöller has released other toy miniatures as well, including Smurfs and several very popular series of koala figures.

The figures are made of a hard, light weight plastic typical of European mini-figures. There are five different sculpts representing five different dinosaur species. They include a Brontosaurus, Iguanodon, Dimetrodon, Triceratops, and what appears to be an Allosaurus (but may in fact be Dino from the Flintstones).

The design is very stylized and playful. It has a "Playmates" feel to it. Their unique style really sets them apart from the dozens of other dinosaur figurines that exist. We would love to know who the designer/sculptor is. All five sculpts come in a variety of nice colors including green, yellow, blue, purple, red, and many more.

If anyone has more information about these fun little guys, please drop us a line!

Okay, let's take a look at the figures!

Dimetrodon (Purple)





Brontosaurus (Red)





Iguanodon (Green)





Allosaurus (Yellow)







Triceratops (Blue)





Finally, we'll end with a couple of group shots showing off more colors and a close-up of a Brontosaurus figure. Note the texture of the plastic.






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Until next time!