#535 X-CHANGERS - BATTLEHAWKS SKYWING (1986)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

Since the entry about the Cosmic Cowboys has had a great success so far, I will publish now another entry talking about a similar figure.

The Battlehawks are another toyline based on the X-Changers by Acamas Toys and Spearhead Industries. In this case, the line is future-themed, and its main characters are bird-alike creatures or birdmen, but there are also one character that resembles a tiger and another one that resembles a wolf.

Again, there are two factions, the heroic Battlehawks (Star Hawk, Skywing and Hawklord) and the evil forces (Nighthawk, Star Prowler and Iron Wolf) fight for the control of the cities in planet Falconstarr. There is a nice story in the cardback that recalls the origins of Night Hawk and theabilities of each member of each faction.

These figures ares, as explained in the Cosmic Cowboys entry, made of plastic and have approximately the size of a Master of the Universe. The special feature of this toyline and all the other X-Changers lines is that the arms and legs can be snapped off and on, and exchanged with other figures.

The only figure I own is Skywing, the “master of flight and agility and faithful protector of Falconstarr’s sky cities”. Each figure came with some accessories, in this case, Skywing came with a purple cloak (made of a tissue that seems to be plastic, or a plastic that looks like cloth), and a strange staff. According to pictures that I could find on the internet, all battlehawks came with some kind of stuff or small gun and maybe a harness or wings.

The figure is really great and as the Cosmic cowboys is very rare to find complete and very expensive anyway. This knock-off line was produced in very short numbers and today with the collectors of MOTU KOs they are very sought after.

I link here an interesting article in a blog that I would recommend you all to follow: Knock-Off Collector.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: SKYWING
• Toy Line: BATTLEHAWKS (X-CHANGERS)
• Year: 1986
• Company: Acama Toys Ltd. (Great Britain / Hong Kong), Spearhead Industries Inc. (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 5½’’ or 12 cm

#490 COSMIC COWBOYS – STAR MARSHALL COLT LAEZOR, CHIEF IRON LANCE and IRON JAW (1986)

The Cosmic Cowboys is a relatively unknown toyline made and distributed by Spearhead Industries Inc. by Acamas Toys Ltd. There is almost no information about those companies on the internet, and I cannot add anything, since they are also completely unknown to me.

The manufacturer seems to be Acamas Toys Ltd., settled in Dunham House, Westgate, Southwell, Nottinghamshire NG25 0JH, although the toys were manufactured in Hong Kong.

The Distributor seems to be Spearhead Industries, Inc., settled in 9971 Valley View Road, Minneapolis, MN55344.

What we know about them is that they manufactured and marketed other action figure lines with a bigger success. The X-Changers were the most popular, but there were other, like the X-Troopers, X-Terminators, X-Force or the Battlehawks. All these figures were roughly the size of a Master of the Universe, only slightly taller, since their legs were straight and not bent. They had a muscled torso, and their legs were also attached to the waist with a gum strap, just like the Mattel figures.

Their head are similar to MOTU’s soft heads. The distinctive feature is that feet (or better said boots) and forearms are removable, and can be changed from those of other figures of the same line, or other X-Changers toylines. This snap on/snap off provides further articulation points to the figure.

In this entry I will talk about the Cosmic Cowboys. They are a nice short toyline of only 6 figures, from which I own these three Mint on Card and the figure of Buck Meteor loose.  The cards are slightly bent and the bubble is not perfect anymore, because it is made of relatively thin plastic.

The complete list of figures is...

For the good guys:

• Star Marshall Colt Laezor
• Sgt. Alpha Cody
• Buck Meteor
• Chief Iron Lance

For the evil guys:

• Iron Jaw
• Jake Sidewinder

I bought these three from a friend, and the figure of Buck Meteor (I will show it some other time) was bought in the late 1980s at a street market. At the time I didn’t know exactly what was it, but I chose it because it looked like a MOTU. I need to repair it first, since the gum that attaches its legs to the body is broken. The importer to Spain was HISINSA that was also specialized in plastic kits of cars, planes and so on.

The figures came each with a plastic accessory to its chest, a belt and two accessories either guns or rifles. The guns are common to several figures, but the belt and armor are unique designs, so the line is one step further than most knock-offs in quality.

Another quality mark is the short, but interesting background story of the Cosmic Cowboys that can be read in the next picture.

Further about these figures is that they are today relatively rare, and very difficult to find in good shape and complete. The plastic of the accessories becomes quite sticky and it’s better to keep it far from the figure. The gum of the legs is also a weak point, and cannot be repaired so easily as we repair the Masters of the Universe. Additionally, the removable parts are often missing, or have been changed with those of another figure, and you only have two “half” figures…

In any case, Cosmic Cowboys is one of the coolest MOTU knock-offs ever (If you consider them a knock-off… because they are qualitative toys).

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: STAR MARSHALL COLT LAEZOR, CHIEF IRON LANCE and IRON JAW
• Toy Line: COSMIC COWBOYS
• Year: 1986
• Company: Acama Toys Ltd. (Great Britain / Hong Kong), Spearhead Industries Inc. (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 5½’’ or 12 cm