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.

Kenner The Six Million Dollar Man: Bionic Adventure Set #2

BIONIC ADVENTURE: OSI Undercover Assignment Set

This is another one of the Bionic Adventure outfits that Kenner released for the Six Million Dollar Man. This time, Steve's going undercover...for a 1976 JC Penney catalog photo shoot, I presume. He's wearing denim from top to bottom and he's ready for his close-up.

This set includes "Leisure Denim Suit, watch, brown shoes, and portable bionic system."

At least this time, the OSI had the good sense to not include the giant emblem on the chest. After all, Steve's undercover in this one. That's a good thing, too, because this outfit just screams "Regular guy...no bionics here...move along." This set always seemed like a such a gip compared to the much cooler other Bionic Adventure sets...and it was definitely the peg warmer of the three.

The cardback on this example has seen better days.

KISS Radio

Love 'em or hate 'em, KISS was a force to be reckoned with in the 1970s. Their concert tours were like traveling circuses complete with pyrotechnics and over-the-top stage antics. With costumes and face makeup right out of a comic book, KISS (in the minds of many kids) rode the line between rock and roll musicians and living comic book characters.

KISS's stage show and persona were a perfect fit for the type of marketing that KISS began to employ in the mid-Seventies. At first, it started with the usual rock and roll merchandise items like posters, t-shirts, and belt buckles. Eventually, though, store shelves began to carry things like toys, games, puzzles, lunchboxes, school supplies, and sleeping bags. At present, KISS has left no stone unturned when it comes to KISS merchandise. Would you believe there's such a thing as a KISS branded house key? No joke.

In the 70s, things were a bit simpler when it came to music "on the go." There were no ipods, walkmans, or cell phones packed with music. There were, however, hand-held portable transistor radios. Most often, these small radios could only receive AM stations and would play music through a single mono speaker. Never leaving a marketing opportunity untried, the KISS transistor radio was born in 1977.

The KISS radio was only sold through mail-order and was promoted through low-budget television commercials. Cheaply made, the images of KISS on the radio are actually stickers that wrap around the four sides and top of the unit. The radio also features a hand strap to help the listener keep the radio from hitting the ground while dancing and grooving to the sweet sounds of AM radio.

I wonder... how many times did kids have to listen to "Muskrat Love" and "Copacabana" while waiting to finally hear "Rock and Roll All Nite" on these little plastic nuggets of audio AM bliss?

Kenner The Six Million Dollar Man: Bionic Adventure Set #1

BACK

BIONIC ADVENTURE SET: Test Flight at 75,000 Feet.

In 1976, Kenner released 3 Bionic Adventure Sets for the 12" Steve Austin figure. Each set dressed Steve for a particular mission.

This particular outfit prepares Steve for a test flight at 75,000 feet. I appreciate Kenner being so specific. I'm sure Steve would have needed a completely different outfit if he were to be conducting a test flight at, say, 45,000 feet.

The set comes with Steve's orange jumpsuit, helmet, boots, goggles, altimeter (to be certain that the test flight happens at 75,000 feet), and a blue plastic non-functional parachute pack... which should come in very handy should Steve need to fool someone into believing he's wearing a parachute. Maybe OSI spent too much money on bionics to afford an actual parachute. I know for a fact that GiJoe was outfitted with an ACTUAL parachute around this time. Why not Steve? Come to think of it, there were scads of dime store quality toys with actual parachutes. You would think that Kenner and the OSI would have spared the extra 50 cents it would have taken to help protect the 6 million dollar investment they had in Steve. Ah, well... hindsight is 20/20.

I also wonder if the other Test Pilots are jealous that Steve has a Six Million Dollar Man patch on his jumpsuit? Show-off. Very covert, Steve.

I really like the vintage art on these sets. I especially appreciate the cardboard Steve Austin portrait to help the buyer visualize what the set will look like on the figure.

Kenner The Six Million Dollar Man: Bionic Bigfoot

Bigfoot was a star in the 1970's. He's fallen on hard times, more recently, but was a full-fledged phenomenon back then. These days, I imagine he's hanging out with other stars of the 70s like Burt Reynolds and Tony Orlando jonesing for the good ol' days when a killer "stache" meant something. He was in movies, books, comics, magazines, television documentaries, and even Saturday morning kids' shows. He was EVERYWHERE. America had a fascination with Bigfoot in the 70s like never before or since.

The Six Million Dollar Man TV show capitalized on the big fuzzy guy's popularity and added him as a recurring nemesis to Col. Steve Austin. We enjoyed all of Steve's exploits but none so much as the ones that featured the fearsome Bigfoot.

I remember being genuinely frightened by the creature on the show and felt sorry for Steve for being so powerful that he, alone, had the job of facing the terrible creature in hand-to-hand combat. I felt that Steve was never in greater peril than when he was trading blows with this terrible, mythical beast.

In the end, Bigfoot's origins turned out to be "otherworldly" and it was discovered that he was, at least, partially bionic... like Steve.

Kenner gave us the Bionic Bigfoot figure later in the life of the 12" scale Six Million Dollar Man toy line (1977, I believe). We were excited to finally be getting the furry nightmare immortalized in plastic but the figure didn't quite live up to the amazing figures that had come before in the line. In a line full of action features and cool accessories, Bigfoot is somewhat lacking. His sole action feature involved a chest panel that popped off when he was hit in the belly button (square button seen in photos). Under the panel was a look at what made Bigfoot tick. He was exposed for being at least partially robotic. A rectangular hole in the upper portion of the exposed robotics allowed the Steve Austin figure to grasp Bigfoot and lift him with his ratchet-action bionic lifting feature. Bigfoot's articulation is also lacking. He has ball-jointed shoulders and cut hip joints. That's it. This compromise, I'm pretty sure, was implemented to not interfere with the "hairy" sculpt too much. Toy companies, to this day, have trouble with furry characters and adequate articulation (Chewbacca, anyone?).

Bigfoot included no accessories unless you count the removable panel. It can be tough to find a Bigfoot with the panel included. So, in a sense, it can be a somewhat expensive "accessory" when viewed as an item to complete the toy.

The Bigfoot figure also includes an odd "speaker" panel sculpted under his right ear. This is purely cosmetic and doesn't function in any way. I guess Kenner was trying to drive home the point that Bigfoot was bionic (Question: If I duct tape a speaker to the side of my neck, will people think I'm a robot?).



No Six Million Dollar Man collection is complete without this guy. Despite his flaws, you gotta love 'im.

Go, Big Guy.

New Posts Coming Soon...

Sorry for the delay in new posts.  I've been buried in work but will have time for more old toys in the very near future.

Thanks for staying tuned.

Ideal All Cracked Up! Charley Stevens

"A man is only as crazy as he seems,
we're movin' on to a life of silly dreams.
Most of us haven't a clue of which way's up,

That's why we're All Cracked Up!
All Cracked up!"

Who can forget that theme song and who can forget ABC's 1978 mid-season replacement sitcom, "All Cracked Up!" ...the show about a family that moves from the suburbs to the heart of Chicago so "Dad" can take on the new job of head doctor at a hospital for the mentally insane. This is only son, Charley Stevens who was played by actor Todd Rogers. In an effort to adapt to the new change in his life, Charley seems to become a bit wacky himself...pretending to become many different imaginary characters. It was always fun to see the "patients" on the show interact with Charley's different characters that he would pretend to be. I'm sure most people still remember the "grapefruit" episode to this day. A true classic.

In the Seventies, there was no shortage of toys from non-superhero or non-sci-fi tv shows. We saw toys released from such programs as Welcome Back Kotter, The Love Boat, Emergency, and even the Waltons. So, the figures from All Cracked Up might seem out of place on a child's toy shelf these days but were right at home in the climate of the 1970s. I knew at least 3 or 4 other kids that had figures from this show and that's a true testament to the popularity it enjoyed then. Other figures in the line included Charley's Dad (Dr. Stevens), Roy "Peanut Butter" McAllister (patient), and Satchel Geronimo (another patient).


This is Charley pretending to be the space cadet (no one said 70s show writers were original), Neemor.

This was probably the best choice for a figure over Charley's other characters like cowboy, Slim Bill or psychiatrist, Dr. Id. Science fiction was riding at an all-time high in the late 70s with properties like Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica in the public consciousness. Although Charley's Dr. Id character might have been more fitting considering the premise behind the sitcom, Charley's Neemor outfit is certainly more exciting than a white lab coat.



This particular figure is missing his blue plastic shovel. Charley would pretend that his shovel was all sorts of things and it was a constant in the show. As Neemor, Charley would pretend that his shovel was a laser gun. As Slim Bill, the shovel became a revolver. You get the idea.

Charley should come with his gray and blue spacesuit, two gray boots, and his blue shovel (not pictured).

"Who should I be today?"