“You can pick one.”

A story of self control and making connections 🙂 https://jimstoybox.com/2023/03/29/you-can-pick-one/ #MakeMineMego #walmartfinds #dccomics #greenlantern #aquaman #Shazam #TheFlash #Mego #jimbumgardner #jimstoybox

Collecting nostalgia in a nostalgic way (and it’s as tough now as it was then).

How does one choose a favorite friend? Today I figured it out.

Act 1 – The Challenge

If you were like me back in the golden age of going to the store with your Mom and Dad, I know you faced this challenge while standing in front of them with an armload of toys; “You have to pick one.” They delivered it in a way that made it sound so easy. Of course it wasn’t but you had to do what you had to do or be a brat about and loose the negotiation completely. Nobody wanted that.

It’s with that perspective and memory, I challenged myself as a parent now, to treat my collector habits like they did then. I could only pick one. Considering the choices it was just as tough now as it was then. Even though it was MY money! Still, it was a fun idea and would be a practice in self control. “What could warrant such a highly dramatic approach to buying a toy, Jim?” Four letters that followers of my online exploits know very well:

M E G O

Having went a little crazy on picking up the first series of 50th anniversary Worlds Greatest Superhero’s (Superman, Batman and Robin), the second series arrived at my local Walmart and I promised myself (and wife and daughter) that I would be a little more restrained in my impulses. But come on! There were now faithful reproductions of Aquaman and Shazam joined by new offerings (as if Mego made them back in the days of disco) of The Flash and Green Lantern to add to my block o’ nostalgia and collectors dream come true. It’s with that in mind that the challenge was born. And today was the day that I had to face the challenge.

Act 2 – What are the factors?

With the self imposed restrictions of my purchasing power agreed to, I walked into the Walmart here with a bunch of determining factors to consider:

So which one do I go with? What will the final decision be based on?

A. A faithful reproduction? Aquaman or Shazam

B. The new and exciting? The Flash or Green Lantern

C. The short packed? This was interesting too as it was a split between one of each classic vs new (2each Aquaman and The Flash’s and 4 each of Shazam and Green Lantern)

It was a serious dilemma I was facing but I was determined to make a logical (by my definition of logic that is) decision as to which one it was. One factor that was starting to come to the forefront of my selection process was to make it easier on myself by going chronologically. To go with which came first in the old days: Aquaman or Shazam. The newbies could wait. And as I was looking at them all and reverting back to my 6 year old self in 1979, something happened that was completely unprecedented in my neck of the woods:

John showed up.

Before I get to who John turned out to be, I must share the background and why his appearance had to be of some sort of dimensional enigma wrapped in a quagmire. You see dear reader, I am pretty much if not the only dyed in the wool, hardcore Mego fan in this neck of the world. I can prove this by point you back to earlier on this article of how I went a wee bit overboard with the series 1 assortment. I literally bought them all. Not at one time though. I spread the purchases out over several weeks as to not be one of “those guys” who hoards things. Sure it may look like it if you don’t know the story, but I don’t care. Those were fair shipping terms as far as I’m concerned. Plus, literally no one else was buying them here. Not one. To me that was a disrespectful shame and not an Afro t to the things I love to be allowed for too long. Hence my surprise when John walked up and politely asked me if I had grabbed the ones I wanted.

“What is happening here?” was the first question that popped into my head. “I’ve never seen this guy before. Is he a reseller? Is he looking to snatch away my precious plastic memories? What was this guys deal?!?” My rational journalistic mind snapped back into play and decided to just ask him. His answer was one for me that was of a serendipitous and maybe even divine intervention.

He was a fan.

Not only that but he was also a really good dude. I told him about my challenge and asked him if it was cool that I interview him for this most monumental encounter. He agreed and not at all awkward. You see, dear uninitiated to the collector world, we fanboys and fangirls share a kinship that knows no labels or limitations. It’s a wonderful thing.

Along with sharing his story of being from out of town but making it a point to pop into Walmarts along the way in search of these little prizes, he also shared so much about his connection to the toys and his hopes for kids to discover them as well. So many times his answers sounded like my own thoughts, words and deeds. I’m telling ya, gang, it was a fantastic exchange. That is until he posed the question back to me that I had started this journey off with; “So, which one are you going to pick?”

I had to pause due to this new x-factor which came in the form of John and the figures in his hands. I shared with him my points of consideration to which he completely understood. He also understood how the scale was now tipped with his selections. I’m not aging this was like a scene in a movie where the camera cuts into an extreme close up of the heroes eyes and we see the one bead of sweat appear and slide down his eyes… but it was close.

Scarcity. That would be my determining factor! But… it is MY money and this challenge is dumb and I might miss out on the one if I pick the other… damn it! So I grabbed them both. There was no shaming glance from John as it appeared my will power fell through and I put both Aquaman and The Flash into my handcart and we both headed toward the registers.

Before we made it all the way up though, I did need to touch base with my wife to see if there was anything else I did need to pick up before I left. Perhaps it was in this moment of responsibility, I made the internal judgement call to put one back. And I did.

*To note, John saw his three selections all the way to the end.

Act 3 The decision

So what did I do?

Who did I choose?

Why did I choose this one?

What is the moral of the story?

As I walked away from the collectibles section having returned The Flash to his spot amongst the remaining Shazam’s and Green Lantern’s, I looked down at the Aquaman in my hand basket and smiled. I had practiced self control and used (once again) my own form of collectors logic and justification in making this choice. I decided to proceed forward by staying chronological in my selection. Way back when, Aquaman was one of the original four including Superman, Batman and Robin so that made sense and also set the order of operations for my next pick ups in the coming days or weeks. I still want to give other fans a shot at them although, jumping ahead of the four Shazam’s to get to the now one lonely The Flash will be a chore I’m sure.

So the moral? Self control is still possible in an on demand, I want it now and not only that, it’s incredibly satisfying to know that in the most unexpected ways and at the most unexpected times, we all have opportunities to connect with like minded folks and share stories and moments so long as we’re willing to accept a challenge.

Now, Go Play!

Jim 03/28/2023

If you liked this article, I’d truly appreciate it if you would take the couple seconds to time to like, comment, subscribe and share it far and wide. It would also be swell if you are in the market for Mego toys to stop by your local Walmart and pick one up there. I can’t speak from a position of authority in this but I do believe the more that sell at retail the longer the line will go on. But of course, supporting your favorite online retailer is a great thing to do too as they are truly committed to helping folks bring the magic literally home via the various shipping services available. Yet if all that fails or those avenues are out of stock, I would ask you to consider buying a Mego their official store on Amazon where I do get a piece of as an Amazon affiliate. And if you want to learn more about all things Mego consider joining the official Mego Ambassador group on Facebook for the latest news and informs straight from the source.

“You can pick ONE!”

A story of self control and making connections 🙂 https://jimstoybox.com/2023/03/29/you-can-pick-one/ #MakeMineMego #walmartfinds #dccomics #greenlantern #aquaman #Shazam #TheFlash #Mego #jimbumgardner #jimstoybox

3 Robins: Different but equally loved.

Robin Group

I thought it would be fun to put all of these fellow’s together, side by side and chat about them for a moment. Our subjects in case you didn’t know are Robin the Boy Wonder in three different incarnations.  In this article I’ll do a basic breakdown of the nuances of each.

MEGO

Robin MegoUp first is the original Mego Robin. This particular specimen is the T-2 body style which has been the standard that most good re-Mego’s have followed (Yes I am dissing you Mattel, go back to your corner and slouch and as you recall, you didn’t even bother making a Robin.).

Nothing will ever replace this wonderful feat in toy engineering for me. No matter how good a reproduction may be, nothing will ever match this version note for note. But it is clear to see this fellow has been loved quite a bit over the last few decades. While the gloves are reproductions everything else is original Mego including the internal rubber bands that hold him together.  Actually this Mego Robin is my daughters that she has been playing with for the past couple of years. Don’t worry Kaitlynn, Daddy will bring him home once I’m done with this article.

Figures Toy Company

Robin FTCNext we find the Figures Toy Company reproduction. In their marketing they use the term “Exact” however this is not the case. There are noticeable color variations, Robin’s head is smaller while his neck is longer, the internal rubber bands are almost too tight which has caused some breakage issues for some folks and the body is made of a lighter weight plastic. With all of that said though, none of those are damnable offenses.

I consider the color variations not much different than what can be found in Mego’s original run of the World’s Greatest Super Heroes.  As far as the head size, to the casual observer and non- Mego collector this is most certainly a passable facsimile.  The rubber bands are what they are and I’d almost be willing to bet that FTC is going to get this resolved as it would be the poor business plan to have to keep replacing bodies all the time, which I hear they have no issues with. As far as the lighter weight plastic this isn’t a bad thing. If not for the super tight rubber bands these bodies are actually quite durable. Again I would like to take this time to publicly commend Figures Toy Company for having really turned their quality ship around. Bravo to you!

Castaway / ZICA

Robin S Type

And our final specimen is the S-Type body from the combined efforts of Castaway and Zica Toys outfitted in the Figures Toy Company’s Robin accessories and head. While I love the body as a whole and raved about it in the video I posted earlier there are two issues that I would like to point out. The first is purely aesthetic. The S-Type is just different enough from the T-2 body that it does stand out as being just that, different. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, I’m just saying.

And secondly the legs and arms are not as beefy as the T-2 or the FTC facsimile of the T-2 body. This is not a huge deal BUT the oven mitts will slide right off with little provocation and the shoes are loose. Again none of these are terrible flaws and in fact this one is the most playable. I even offered it to my daughter but Kaitlynn is a creature of habit and loves her “old Robin” just fine.

Conclusion

In the end I feel I’ve shared with you three examples of some great toys that hit on numerous positive levels.  The negatives that were pointed out were merely observations that I make as a lover of these toys. It does sadden me however that I didn’t have a Doc Mego or EMCE example to post along with these as the good Dr. will always in my eyes be considered the champion of the Mego cause and without him none of this resurgence would have happened.

Now, Go play!

Jim 02/12/2014

FTC Robin on the new S-Type body

Review coming soon but in the meantime dig this awesome action pose impossible to do before!  Be sure to order your S-Type bodies NOW while they are still at the introductory (read: crazy low) price of $7! A more in depth review is on the way as well!

Now, Go, Play! – Jim 02/02/2014

P.S. You can get a great deal on the FTC Robin by clicking HERE. Do me a favor and tell him Jim sent you!

Robin Zica Pose

The best Toy Hunter episode to date is coming up tonight!

Almost showtime… break your regular viewing habits and kick it over to the Travel Channel at 8PM Central and check out Toy Hunter where tonight Jordan, along with Darryl McDaniels aka DMC of Run DMC pay a visit to a great guy and pal of mine Vincent Carnabuci. Seriously, come play! http://www.usatoday.com/story/popcandy/2014/01/29/toy-hunter/5017385/

Swing back by here tomorrow for some post show recaps and discussions! Jim 01/29/14

 

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