’76 Mego X-Men: What could have been.

This post comes on a Thursday morning and as such I got caught up in “throwback Thursday” mode. While I have no desire to share old pics of me rocking a mullet wearing a ’89 Batman shirt… OK maybe one:

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OK, I promise to never do it again.  Back to a better throwback… this time let’s go all the way back to 1976.

As America celebrated her Bicentennial,  1976 was also the year Jimmy Carter was elected the 39th President of the United States… NASA introduced the first space shuttle named of course in tribute to the Star Trek television show; The Enterprise . .. the ‘Rocky‘ series began… and more importantly Mego ruled the boys toy aisles. All of your favorite DC and Marvel super heroes were able to share in the 8 inch scale adventures of your imagination. Well, almost.

History shows us that there was one glowing omission. Professor Charles Xavier’s merry mutants were no where to be found. That problem was corrected thanks to the talented Mego customizer extraordinaire and a great Mego Museum pal of mine, Austin Hough.

In 2013 he came up with a customizing challenge for himself that is mind numbing in its scope. What he set out to do was create a new custom Mego figure for every week of the year. He actually exceeded that goal by quite  a few extra dozen figures. Impressive is an understatement. (links coming soon)

One of the final results of his efforts were Professor X’s best… The X-Men as featured in this groundbreaking book:

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Late last year (2013) Austin had contacted me about the project and asked me if I’d be willing to do some editing for him.  Of course I said yes and am very proud to share these fantastic “What If?” spots with you. So join me now as we revisit a 1976 that would have been super sweet had Mego looked over at the comic rack.

BUT WAIT! There’s even a playset!

I’d like to take this time to again thank Austin for allowing me to play in this fantastic “What if?” world he created.  It’s projects like this that inspire me and remind me that it’s so important to stop and play from time to time. And with that said thanks for popping in for this throwback Thursday moment. Again I apologize for the mullet.

Now, Go Play! – Jim 02/06/14

P.S. That super sweet playset is just one example of the incredible work that is done and available to you from Mego Museum founder Scott Adams. Check ’em out HERE or by clicking the pic.

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Author: Jim Bumgardner

Jim's Toy Box features programming that is inspirational, uplifting and motivational all the while offering encouragement to those who wish to make the most of this life in preparation for the next.

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