The Top 10 Greatest Toy Lines Ever!

This is a list I've been thinking of for a good while, and now is as good a time as ever. If you read my stuff, you would think this list could be named "Top ten action figure lines", but that would actually not work. Sure, it's mostly dominated by action figures, but there may be a few entries that just happens to fall in a different category.

I have collected, played with - and ultimately considered a huge selection of toys for this list. Some of the toy lines were rather difficult to leave out, and I feel like mentioning a few of them (but not all, because that would ruin eventual surprises).

 I did consider the original, 1/6 scaled G.I. Joe, for historical reasons, and the great variety of accessories. They were before my time, but I enjoy them whenever I see them today. In the opposite category, when talking about toys that predate the 80s, are the Mego dolls. I just can't see understand attraction. 

A powerful contender was the Real Ghostbusters line. Creative monsters, solid build quality, all over fun toys. There have also been many great superhero lines, like Toy Biz' X-Men, and the various DC Direct lines. I'm also impressed with many of the contemporary toys, whether they're based on movies, like the Avengers figures, or the toys from the smaller, more independent toy companies, like Four Horsemen.

Japanese toys I considered included the various Valkyries based off the Macross shows (like the Bandai VF-25 in my banner), and the range of anime robots in the mighty Soul of Chogokin line.

While the top ten may be familiar to most of you, and in many ways be "obvious" choices, they were the toys that has impressed me the most and given me the most joy.  Essentially, these are my top ten toy lines. 

Agree, disagree, want to share your own list? Leave a comment below!

Dino Riders Triceratops

Some may have been surprised by Tuesday's list, specially the top 3. Personally I never had a lot of Dino Riders, which is somewhat sad. Because it's an amazing toyline. The concept was ridiculous, as any other toy line. But the execution was flawless. In fact, the toys were of such amazing quality that they saw a life beyond the toy stores.

The dinosaurs were so well sculpted that the natural history museum at The Smithsonian ordered the dinosaurs from Tyco to be sold in their gift store. Obviously in new packaging, without the guns and humanoid insect warriors.

Another really cool feature was that the dinos were morw or less in scale with each other, and that they from the mid-size and up had battery driven mechanized movements.

I had the Triceratops, which easily was my favorite dino. Today, I couldn't find any of the armor or guns. The insect warrior I know is lying around somewhere, but I can't be more specific.

So here is the dinosaur in it's natural glory. A fantastic toy that when I play with it only makes me want to get more Dino Riders.

The Top 10 Female Action Figures of the 80s

I felt a bit like an outsider, because my peers certainly didn't share my opinions, but as a kid, I loved the female action figures. They were rare, they were something different, and most importantly, they were usually extremely pretty. I guess I was a victim of... biology.

Looking back at these toys now, as an adult toy collector, I realize three things: The female action figures were severely  under-represented, to the point where it's actually offensive. Secondly, the toy makers struggled to translate the characters' beauty from cartoons and movies. And lastly, I realize that I still absolutely love these action figures. So much that I want to share a list of the ten best female action figures of the 80s. Skip a lot of paragraphs for the list, or simply read on! Either way, click in to read more, and leave a comment if you feel like it. Agree, disagree, how would your list look like?

Figure Friday: Remember Dino Riders?

I had a couple of Dino Riders toys back in the day, and I remember them fondly. I'll see if I can find them some day.
They were very similar to M.A.S.K., with that two inch figure size, and transformable vehicles. Except the vehicles were dinosaurs. Dinosaurs with lasers and rockets. Piloted by lizard- and insect men. How awesome is that?? I believe they were, like all 80-90s toys, accompanied by a cartoon, but I've never seen it.

Made by severely underrated toy company Tyco, the dinosaurs were so well made they ended up being repacked (without weapons and creepy insect warriors) and sold in various historical museums. The biggest dinosaurs had battery driven motorized motion.

Like I said, I'll dig up my old ones some day, if I can find them. But today, I'll simply share this delicious promo poster.

Enjoy your weekend!