Jim’s Toy Box isn’t getting any kickback on these links at all. I’m doing this shout out solely for the purpose of celebrating a small business that earned my business the old fashioned way: AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE!
Late night heads up thanks to my brother from another mother, Tom. Movie Posters Etc has the new Mego reproduction figures of Superman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman and Shazam and the wish list figures they missed of Green Lantern and The Flash in hand and shipping now! Needless to say, I got my order in! Anyway, when you click on any of the picture links below you’ll see that their price is incredibly good even with shipping figured in and is better than a certain mega retailer that doesn’t need the free advertising.
To note, the Toy Box isn’t getting any kickback on these links at all. I’m doing this shout out solely for the purpose of spreading the Mego heads up and giving a shout out to a small business that earned my business the old fashioned way: AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE! I’ll share more about that story soon but for now, go Collect ’em All!
Jim 11/19/2022
All are officially-licensed, approximately 8″ Classic action figures released to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of MEGO’s release of the DC super hero characters. The figure is produced by MEGO and remains new and sealed in MEGO’s original NEAR MINT window box-style packaging.
Greetings and good morning, noon, or night dear readers I figured I’d cover all bases on the salutation considering I never know when you guys and gals may be reading this. Call it Southern Hospitality. Another great place to find not only awesome hospitality but also an incredible amount of toys is my good buddy Tom Beck’s place; “The World’s Largest Toy Museum” in Branson, Missouri.
The pictures you will see below are from the first weekend in May of 2011. This was the first opportunity the wife and I had to take the baby to this must stop destination for the toy collector and kid at heart. In a perfect world where time is in abundance I would love to go into super detail about every square inch of this marvelous museum. Unfortunately it’s not so the best I can do is share with you a very large handful of pictures that we took during our far too brief visit.
For the sake of freshening up the blog this one is gonna be one of those “check back often” blogs. But i promise you it will be worth it. We took some great shots and a ton of ’em. And even then didn’t really scratch the surface of this wonderful place for oogling.
Again I don’t recommend places and businesses without serious consideration. The museum however is one of those spots however that I can do so with no reservations. So if your in the – or traveling through the -middle of America take a detour down the Highway 76 Music strip and look for the big top. You’ll be glad you did. And tell ’em Jim sent ya!
This is Tom Beck owner of the "W.L.T.M." He's a super nce fellow if you can't tell by the pic. Here he is posing with the latest addition to the museum, Buck Rogers and Tiger Man from ZICA Toys graciously donated by Mr. Craig Owen.
These two soldiers stand waiting to great you every Monday thru Saturday. Sure they're there on Sundays but they won't let you in no matter how much you beg.
It's really tough to get the whole building in one shot. I love the way the old school DC heroes logo's are used on this far right side of the front of the building.
It's amazing how much Superman stuff you can fit on one shelf!
The T2 Mego Superman sitting down is actually one I donated a few years back. Tom insisted I put my business card with it so I said okay. The numbers changed since then so don't call it.
A whole bunch O' Batman stuff under glass.
This display just screams "Creepy" but the wife and baby loved it. Almost looks like their colection. Almost.
Some REALLY old school Buck Rogers toys from the late 30's early 40's.
This is just one of the scenes from a "Christmas Carol" window display that came from a department store circa.1948. This display alone is worth the price of admission.
The family that geeks out together stays together!
Lot's O Barbies to be found!
See? 🙂
They never end!
Not a great shot but still cool to see Mego Trek represented.
A Christmas Carol Pic 2. The detail is wonderful and charming.
Christmas Carol Pic 3
Christmas Carol Pic 4
Christmas Carol Pic 5
Jim Bumgardner is a 20 year veteran of the broadcast industry and currently serves as the news director for television station TKO 8 in Harrison, Arkansas. Jim is the father of two the husband of one and firm believer in the power of toys for both the mind, body and soul. You can contact Jim via email at jimstoybox@gmail.com or visit his website at www.jimsmegos.com
All images and products are the sole copyrighted property of it’s respective owners. Specialty photographs and graphic work used for this article were done by Jim at the TKO 8 Studios located at 500 N. Main St in Harrison, Arkansas. “Little Jim” was created by Dawn O’Connell of Little Buddies Action Figures. Learn more about getting your own Little Buddy at www.littlebuddiesactionfigures.com
Not since John Travolta have we seen such a happy guy in a bubble!
Billy Batson all supped up is a very happy guy. But wouldn’t you be too if you had the combined abilities of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury? And wouldn’t you also just shorten it to SHAZAM! Add to all of that he’s also been rendered in 8 inch Mego style that has really been stepped way up on the coolness scale. Still he does look a bit goofy but that’s okay, we’ll examine the customizing possibilities thanks to his unique looks that have really brightened up my Toy Box.
1. What it is.
Mattel Toys DC Retro Action Super Heroes – Shazam from the Wave 4 Assortment of 8 inch figures.
2. Where it came from.
Standard back for all of Wave 4’s figures, like previous Wave’s.
As all other DC Retro Action Super Heroes (and Super Villains) he’s a Toys R Us exclusive in the brick and mortar world. I however got mine off of ebay from the seller: page3au (http://cgi.ebay.com/Retro-Action-DC-Super-Heroes-Series-3-Darkseid-New-MOC-/370493548571?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564322e81b ) who did such a great packaging job I have to give him some props and a plug. Seriously this figure came layered in protection; Layer 1. Plastic Bag, Layer 2. Newspaper wrapped like a gift, Layer 3. Cut to size cardboard sheets laid on top and bottom of the figure and taped into place, Layer 4. Another wrapping of paper, Layer 5, A padded envelope also taped securely, and finally Layer 6, packed in a Priority Mail box with bubble wrap and packing paper filling in the gaps in the box to prevent any shaking or movement. Impressive.
3. The Good.
This picture should be erased, destroyed all and all disappeared.
When I first saw the pictures of the prototype figures I thought to myself, “Wow, that looks stupid,” mainly because of the elongated neck. The final product however has that oddity corrected. Which immediately raised my rankings of this guy.
All of the gold used on this figure is a nice brigth addition to your collection.
Also the costume is fantastic. From the gold boots and trim to the ornately screened cape this guy is remarkably true to the comic book look. Also the snap at the top corner of the flap on the front of his suit is a very nice detail that really adds to this particular figures perceived value.
The snap on the upper right shoulder is a nice touch that is more ttrue to the comic than a unitard would lend.
The pattern detail for the cape is also a nice touch.
4. The Bad.
The head sculpt is fun and I get the expression but I think the naysayers in the collecting community would have been less likely to complain about the likeness had the makers went with the squinty eyed look versus the wide eyed, happy go looking and kinda dopey stare. When I first saw the figure I was trying to put my finger on who exactly this guy reminded me of. The jury’s still out but in this guy I notice two possible candidates while my wife noted one. To me he looks a bit like Bill Paxton when he played ‘Chet’ in Weird Science and then the football player guy (Brandon Molale) that Adam Sandler punched in the mouth in Mr. Deeds. My lovely wife Alicia however says he looks similar to Lois & Clark’s Dean Cain, he just needs a tan. Again the jury is still out.
Customizing options abound with this guy!
5. Why I like it.
Attention sellers! Use THIS pic and not the proto. Watch your sales soar!
Again the prototype pictures had turned me off originally. Thanks to those shots I had put this guy way down on the bottom of my collecting priority list. I’ll be the fist to admit that I was indeed very wrong in that assumption and the folks who are still using those pics to sell their product are doing themselves a great injustice. This figure is very cool and tons of 8 inch, clothed action figure fun! Also if you stand him side-by-side the original Mego release you’ll see the designers here refused to allow such a bland representation be re-released upon the world. To that I say “BRAVO!” to EMCE Toys for the excellent redesign work.
6. Why you should or shouldn’t get one.
You should because…
You know Captain, you really make me smile!
Along with the ‘Good’ points above I’ll add here that adding this figure to your collection of Super Heroes will enhance the color and pop of your displayed figures. This Shazam just explodes with brightness.
You shouldn’t because….
“Happiness is a state of mind! It’s also the state in which I live!”
The only negative I can see in this aspect is that if you are a purest when it comes to likeness this figure will probably leave you cold. In that regard he does kind of look like a way to “Red Bull-ed” up car salesman in a Halloween costume.
In Conclusion
Again I held out on this guy because of the prototype pictures and now I’m glad to say that I did finally break down and dropped the bucks on Billy Batson’s alter ego. I’m also very thrilled with the fact that Mattel did indeed fix the body issues that plagued Waves 1 and 2 of the line. So with my new Shazam in hand I look into the horizon as I wait patiently for the next Wave of Retro Action figures to be announced and then released. Now, Go Play! – Jim 05/12/11
Another Retro Action figue I decided to pick up.
Jim Bumgardner is a 20 year veteran of the broadcast industry and currently serves as the news director for television station TKO 8 in Harrison, Arkansas. Jim is the father of two the husband of one and firm believer in the power of toys for both the mind, body and soul. You can contact Jim via email at jimstoybox@gmail.com or visit his website at www.jimsmegos.com
All images and products are the sole copyrighted property of it’s respective owners. Specialty photographs and graphic work used for this article were done by Jim at the TKO 8 Studios located at 500 N. Main St in Harrison, Arkansas. “Little Jim” was created by Dawn O’Connell of Little Buddies Action Figures. Learn more about getting your own Little Buddy at www.littlebuddiesactionfigures.com
While not so much a ‘must have’ figure this Black Adam does deserve some respect.
In every collector’s life there comes a time when he or she picks up an item simply because its needed to finish a set or collection. That time is now for me with the Retro Action Black Adam. However I do want to point out that while I could care less about this character in general, the figure is indeed fun looking, better body quality than previous Waves from Mattel and also funny looking. That goes a long way in my Toy Box.
1. What it is.
Mattel’s Retro Action DC Super Heroes – Black Adam
2. Where it came from.
Picked this one up on ebay on the cheap.
3. The Good.
"I can fly! Well, with your help and imagination.""I can also walk like an Egyptian. Take that Billy Batson!"
The body is fixed! The costume looks very snazzy with the gold accents. And it is good to have another bad guy in the balanace. For that I must applaud Mattel for their strategy in releasing an equal amount of both good and bad guys. Too bad Mego didn’t take this same approach back in the 70’s.
4. The Bad.
Do we cut along the dotted line? I just don't get it.
Considering I’m pretty indifferent when itcomes to the character I can’ t objectively find any faults. I do have two things that strike me as odd and or kinda stupid. The first is the boots. What gives with the dotted black lines? I’m not sure what effect the designers were going for but in this example I’m totally clueless.
His head seems a touch too small for his neck. But then he is a bad guy, and they're supposed to be ugly.
Another thing that I’m not to overly impressed with is the head sculpt. He looks okay (I actually like his likeness, we’ll come back to that in a minute) but his head seems to be too small for his neck. Leaves him looking like a pin head.
5. Why I like it.
Outside of it being another “new” Mego style super hero to add to the Toy Box, the biggest thing to me is silly but hey it’s my collection right? In all joking seriousness the fact that this figure is a dead ringer for comedic actor Harland williams is simply too cool for school. I’d say Harland do two things here; 1. sue for likeness rights and 2. Agree to drop the suit so long as he is guarenteed the role if they make a live action “Shazam” movie. Again, my two cents.
Harland Williams fans REJOICE!
6. Why you should or shouldn’t get one.
You should because…
Desipte his lower teir ranking in my book, he is still a nice figure overall.
You gotta collect ’em all! Seriously he is a well made figure with an improved body over previous waves. The shiny gold accents do look cool when on display with other figures.
You shouldn’t because….
The gold touches are nice. Tacky, but nice.
If your not a big Shazam fan you probably have no real interest in this guy. I understand completely. Honestly had I not got him so cheap I probably wouldn’t be writing this review today.
In Conclusion
The Mattel Retro Action Black Adam is a well made figure especially when compared to his counterparts in Wave’s 1 and 2. He’s also a ‘fair’ representation of the character, not great but not too terrible either. Overall i woould recommend this figure to the RA collectors out there because of the quality. I however can’t see this guy ever going for big bucks on the secondary market. Had this wave actually made it to Toys R Us locations (I have no idea why they didn’t btw) I’m sure this fellow would be a peg warmer even more so than Sinestro still is from Wave 1. Maybe they could have tea or something?
Thanks again for stopping in dear reader. Now, Go Play! Jim 5/01/11
Even though he is kinda stupid looking I have to show him some respect because of his quality. Shoot me because I have manners see if I care.
Jim Bumgardner is a 20 year veteran of the broadcast industry and currently serves as the news director for television station TKO 8 in Harrison, Arkansas. Jim is the father of two the husband of one and firm believer in the power of toys for both the mind, body and soul. You can contact Jim via email at jimstoybox@gmail.com or visit his website at www.jimsmegos.com
All images and products are the sole copyrighted property of it’s respective owners. Specialty photographs and graphic work used for this article were done by Jim at the TKO 8 Studios located at 500 N. Main St in Harrison, Arkansas. “Little Jim” was created by Dawn O’Connell of Little Buddies Action Figures. Learn more about getting your own Little Buddy at www.littlebuddiesactionfigures.com
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