Almost Vintage: Mattel Retro-Action DC Super Heroes Green Arrow

Back in the very early Seventies, a company named Mego began producing some of the very first Super Hero action figures. They produced a wide array of characters from both DC and Marvel comics in a toy line titled "World's Greatest Super-Heroes!" They were 8" tall, colorful, and full of playability. Many "kids" of that era swear by Mego figures as being the best toys ever created. Mego figures may not have been the most durable toys but kids loved them and many grown men (and women) today still do. The way that Mego figures were designed often left the characters looking slightly goofy and "off-model." However, looking back, the quirkiness of Megos lends them their greatest charm.

Over the past ten or fifteen years, nostalgia for Megos has lead to at least two toy companies trying to recapture the "magic" of Super Hero Megos in a 9" format. Two of the things that makes a Mego a Mego are cloth costumes and and a "reusable" base body. In kind, the new 9" "Megos" from Hasbro (DC Super Heroes) and Toybiz (Marvel Famous Covers) had cloth clothing and utilized a "reusable" base body. Both companies succeeded to some degree with both hits and misses in their respective lines. However, both companies were trying to create a product that would appeal to both nostalgic Mego collectors AND to the current generation of children roaming the toy aisles with their parents. In my opinion, by trying to hit both targets, they also missed both to a great degree. The 9" format wasn't truly in scale with the vintage Mego figures that Mego collectors already had AND children were more used to action figures with sculpted clothing and a smaller scale. Both lines did fairly well but began to fizzle after a relatively short time.


Just recently, in 2009, Mattel toys announced that they would partner with EMCE Toys (makers of the fantastic Star Trek and Planet of the Apes Mego replica figures) to resurrect the "World's Greatest Super-Heroes!" toy line by producing brand-new "Megos" in an 8" scale. The figures would be made to closely resemble the style and look of vintage Mego figures. All new characters that Mego never produced would also be a part of the new Mattel line. Mego fans rejoiced at the prospect of having all-new Megos and have been waiting anxiously for the figures to become available. It should also be noted that the "World's Greatest Super-Heroes" name has changed, sadly, and the line is now called "Retro-Action DC Super-Heroes."

The first new "Mego" from Mattel is Green Arrow and he is an online exclusive through mattycollector.com. The following waves of figures will be exclusive to Toys R Us stores and a few online toy sites. Green Arrow just shipped out to collectors last week and is just now arriving to homes, currently.

So, how does this new "Mego" stack up? Let's find out.


Packaging: The packaging on the "Retro-Action" Green Arrow is a definite "nod" to the packaging of vintage carded Megos. It consists of a somewhat flimsy cardboard backer and a simple clear bubble to hold the figure. The figure and accessories are packed in the bubble with nothing to hold them in place. This is exactly how vintage Megos were packed and it definitely adds to the nostalgia factor of this toy to not have twist ties or an insert tray to keep everything in place. The packaging art is also clearly an homage to vintage Mego art using many of the same design cues like the rectangle for the name of the toy line, the white line around the border of the card, and vintage looking drawings of the characters on the front and back. There is also a bit of "distressing" to the card art to help carry over the idea that this is an homage to a vintage toy.


The figure: The figure itself is very Mego-like. The way that the costume and accessories have been produced gives them a quality that is very close to vintage Mego. The costume seems to be made of the same type of material that Mego used and the accessories are molded in a single color (without painted details) just like vintage Mego accessories. His hat, bow, and quiver all look very much like their vintage counterparts with just a slight bit of updating.

Green Arrow's boots are made of a much denser, hard rubber-like plastic that gives them a bit of a different feel than vintage Mego boots. Vintage boots are a bit slimmer and less chunky looking. They were also made of the thinner plastic that almost "rattled" on the vintage figures' feet.

Green Arrow's head is still squishy like a vintage Mego. The headsculpt is also very reminiscent of classic Mego sculpts.

The body used on Mattel's new Megos will probably elicit the most criticism from vintage Mego fans. Clothed, Green Arrow looks quite a bit like a vintage Mego. However, it does have some key differences that do point away from Mego, somewhat. It's limbs and torso are sculpted to look a little more muscular than a vintage Mego. For instance, Mattel's new "Mego" body has a much smaller waist and legs that seem a bit too muscular and "bow legged." However, official word is that the legs will undergo some "tweaking" before the second wave (characters yet unannounced) of these figures hit shelves. Articulation-wise, this new body has the same basic style of articulation of vintage Megos and in the same spots on the figure. That's a plus.

As you can see, the new Retro-Action Green Arrow "hangs" with vintage Megos quite well.

Overall, the Mattel Retro-Action Green Arrow hits almost all of the right buttons and should produce a good dose of nostalgia for anyone that loves the old Mego action figures. I definitely felt a nostalgic rush while cracking open this brand-new "Mego." Much more so, than other aforementioned attempts at bringing back some "Mego Super Hero magic." I, for one, am very excited about the what the future holds for this line.

As I mentioned, Green Arrow is currently available at www.mattycollector.com. This Spring (2010), the next four figures (Superman, Lex Luthor, Green Lantern, and Sinestro) will begin hitting Toys R Us shelves.

I can hardly wait.

Mattel Battlestar Galactica Colonial Warrior

This is Mattel's Battlestar Galactica Colonial Warrior.

I don't have too much to say about this guy. He's supposed to represent one of the "good guys" from the not-so-successful-but fondly-remembered 1978 TV show, Battlestar Galactica. However, he doesn't resemble any of the actual characters from the show.

My only guess is that Mattel wanted to make a quick buck off of the TV series and used the available resources they already had to pull it off. The Colonial Warrior actually uses molds from Mattel's late 1960's toy line, Major Matt Mason. Major Matt Mason toys were small bendy-type figures with space helmets and lots of cool accessories. The Colonial Warrior's twin, Captain Lazer, was a 12" scale figure sold as "Major Matt Mason's Friend from Outer Space." He was kind of an anomaly as he was a 12" figure being sold in a 5 or 6" scale line of figures. I guess he was some sort of big, alien friend.

From what I can tell, Mattel's Colonial Warrior is nothing more than a redeco of Captain Lazer with a brown fuzzy vest. To be fair, Mattel DID release a Cylon figure at the same time that did feature, at least, a new head sculpt.


The Colonial Warrior is made of hard plastic and features very limited articulation. He has a backpack that takes two AA batteries. When you push down on the backpack's plunger, the gun (or detachable view screen) lights up.

A complete Colonial Warrior should include his brown vest and the "view screen" that attaches to his molded-in-hand gun.

Almost Vintage: Mattel Hot Wheels 1966 TV Batmobile 1/18 Scale

Occasionally, I'm going to feature a toy that is from the current era but is something that is in the spirit of a toy from the 1970s. It may be an actual replica of a 70s toy (like Megos or Evel Knievel) or it may just be something that is very similar to something we had in the 70s. At other times, it may be a current toy based on a film or television show from the 70s.

Today is such an occasion. This is the Mattel Hot Wheels 1/18 scale 1966 TV Batmobile. Sure, this car is technically from the 60s but it's popularity carried it far into the 70s (and into today) and many kids of the 70s played with a toy version of this car in one form or another. In a big way, this diecast model is the spiritual successor to Corgi's original diecast metal Batmobile from the late 60's and 1970s.


Now, Hot Wheels is giving us the ultimate die-cast version of this classic car (I believe this was released in 2008...maybe 2007). Hot Wheels released three different versions of the 1966 TV Batmobile in 1/18 scale: the basic edition (pictured in this post), the Elite (more detail, opening hood and trunk), and the Super Elite (even more detail, etc.). The Elite and Super Elite come with higher price tags and are suited for the more particular Batman or diecast collector.

For my money, the standard edition is just fine and comes with enough quality and detail to satisfy my need for having a version of this car on my shelf. The doors open and close and the front wheels turn with the steering wheel.




This is a great pre-built diecast model and I can't recommend it highly enough for the Batman or TV Batmobile fan.

Mattel Shogun Warriors Gaiking

This is Gaiking. He's another one of Mattel's Shogun Warriors from 1979. He's big (about 2 feet tall). He's yellow and blue. He shoots missiles out of his chest and his right arm shoots off at the elbow.


I don't really have much to say about this guy that I didn't say about Shogun Warriors in my post about Dragun.

Gaiking sports just a tad bit more articulation than Dragun as his horns can rotate forward (making him look like a bit like a bull) and his right arm bends at the elbow to enable a better firing position for his fist. Like Dragun, he has wheels on the bottom of his feet. He also has articulation at the shoulders and neck.


This particular Shogun belonged to my younger brother, Mike. He was recently rescued from the garage (the Shogun, not the brother) and now stands watch in my studio along with his older brother, Dragun. I seem to have become the curator for a lot of my younger brother's old toys...and he can have them back at any point... maybe...if he knows the secret password and promises to always address me as "Esteemed Keeper of Plastic Artifacts." Heh, heh.


A complete Gaiking should include the missiles (I believe he came with four) and the firing fist. The fist fires at the press of a red button at the elbow. The chest missiles fire with a rocker switch mounted on his back.

Like Dragun, Gaiking is a bit of a mystery to me. Is he good? Is he bad? Why does he have a goofy animal face on his chest? I'm sure the true answers to these questions are more knowledge than I deserve, at this point. Ignorance is bliss.

Mattel Shogun Warriors Dragun

Shogun Warriors were quite the anomaly on toy shelves when they were released in 1979. Japanese culture in America wasn't nearly as pervasive as it is today. Sure, everyone knew who Godzilla was and many kids were tuning in to the Battle of the Planets cartoon each week, but by in large, Japanese influence on American culture was somewhat negligible. I know that none of my friends had any clue what "manga" or "anime" was, at the time. So, when 2 foot missile firing robots started showing up on toy shelves, we all thought, "COOL!!! ...What is it?"

We had no idea if they were good robots...or bad robots...or even if they were truly robots. Although Marvel Comics eventually produced a Shogun Warriors comic book series, for the majority of the time the toys were on the shelf, we had no idea who the characters were or what their background was. Frankly, I still don't know. There was, however, a Godzilla figure as part of the line to help "Trojan Horse" these very Japanese looking toys on to American toy shelves. So, we did figure that these guys were supposed to fight him...or something.


At any rate, despite their very non-American toy appearance, the Shogun Warriors were just too cool to pass up. They were released by Mattel Toys. I believe Mattel was importing these from a Japanese Toy company named Popy. Interestingly enough, most of the copyright information molded on the figures is in Japanese.

These were large and quite expensive toys (generally speaking). So, in my neighborhood, everyone kind of had their own single Shogun Warrior and we tried not to double up and get the same one as a buddy. Shoguns weren't really a toy line where we hoped to get every figure. At least, that's how it was in my neck of the woods. My Shogun was this guy. His name is Dragun. That's all I knew about him except that he looked cool, fired shuriken-like stars out of his arm cannon, flung axes, and had spinning buzz-saws in his forearms.

Dragun has wheels on the bottoms of his feet, kind of like roller skates. His head turns and he is jointed at the shoulders. That's about it for articulation. His arm cannon rapid-fires red, yellow, and blue stars that are loaded into the top of the unit. He also features a spring-loaded axe flinging mechanism in his left hand. Just place the axe in his hand, rock it back into place, and hit the release button... axe flinging robot goodness at its finest. Dragun's buzz-saws are free-spinning and require a good flick-of-the-wrist to get them going.

A complete Dragun includes either 6 or 10 stars (depending on the release) and three axes (white, yellow, and blue). Obviously, this Dragun is a little short on battle gear.

Today, this guy has a place of honor in my studio after being rescued from the garage. I don't know whether to fear him...or slap him on the back for being such a good robot. 

I may never know.