#1102 BIKER MICE FROM MARS – VINNIE vs. GREASEPIT (1993)

I presented this toyline with two of the villains, which are the first I managed to complete. In the meantime, I completed these other two figures: another villain, Greasepit, and one of the three main characters: Vinnie in its first version. The mice came with more accesories than the villains, so they are more difficult to get complete. 

They toyline is gaining popularity among collectors today, and it is often mentioned when discussing the action figures which are most sought-after nowadays. Just a few years ago, they were extremely cheap to find, but a nice complete figure is nowadays a bit too expensive for me. The few bits I have were bought some years ago for very low prices. I recall having bought a huge lot of Biker Mice (including Motorbikes) and Action Man because it included just a few bits of older collections such as StarCom for no money. When I received the huge parcel I sorted the Action Man for sale and kept the rest, although I had no Biker Mice yet. I am glad I didn´t sell them at the time, because I wouldn't have got much money for them.

Vinnie is one of the three members of the gang together with Throttle and Modo. In this collection, such as in the Ninja Turtles, all are equally important and there is no character that appears more than the other two in the cartoons. Something interesting is that the mice had an accident in which they lost the sigh (Throttle), an arm and an eye (Modo) and his face got burned off (Vinnie) and that all of them have a dark side (or, at least, darker than in most cartoons). Vinnie sometimes behaves egoistictly, is stubborn and braggs when things go well. The characters are maybe designed for older kids who would appreciate a more elaborated plot, compared to, for example, the Ninja Turtles cartoons (not the comics!)

Greasepit is the classic not-so-intelligent and clumsy bad guy, following the orders of his boss, Lawrence Limburger. It is the only evil figure to have its own motorbike, the Grunge Cycle (a tri-cycle, actually). As all the figures representing evil characters, his face is cartoonish, while the face of good characters are more human-like. For kids in a shop (in 1993), trying to choose which figure to buy, I guess Greasepit would come as number one choice for an evil character.

Opposite to the two figures presented previously on this blog, these two are very well articulated. They can bend knees and elbows/wrists, but the shoulders are articulated by means of a ball-joint, same as the legs. This adds a lot of playability to the toys, mostly considering they have to be poseable enough to sit in and drive a motorbike.

As any quality action figure, they included a series of accesories. The mice always include a helmet (safety first), plus other stuff. Vinnie comes with a claw and a metal bar, which is a choice I do not like very much, but, at least, is something original, rarely seen. Greasepit comes with a more common gun attached to a backpack/can. The cardback also included a filecard that roughly explains the background and the history of the figure.

I still have other figures and vehicles to show, but I´ll let some time pass between two entries dealing with the same toyline.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: VINNIE vs. GREASEPIT
• Toy Line: Biker Mice from Mars
• Year: 1993
• Company: Gaoob (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figure: Around 15 cm

#1095 DINO RIDERS - TYRANNOSAURUS REX with KRULOS, BITOR and COBRUS (1988)

I still have many Dino-Riders toys to be published. I am still missing the Pachyrrhinosaurus, the Edmontosaurus and, of course, the Brontosaurus, as well as a few loose figures. But I have all the other toys, and I will be publishing them some time in the next few years. Today, I want to show the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the biggest and most impressive toy in the first series from 1987, and maybe the most iconic reference of the whole toyline. As a matter of fact it was the model used to create the dinosaur character in the Toy Story movies.

It took some time to get it complete. I had some parts from a flea market, then I bought more parts on the Internet, and finally, I bought the dinosaur with almost every part of the armour, and with all these, I made a complete set. The plastic parts have become fragile and they break easily, so if you have the toy, do not try to remove or separate any parts from each other. The cannons pointing to the back are usually broken (the two that move up and down and the other two that move left to right). I repaired the two attached to the pink part in a way that it cannot be noticed.

The dinosaur also shows the pass of time, as the rubber bands in the wheels below its feet are worn and broken. I guess there are ways to repair it, but I have to find them out.

According to the comic, the T-Rex is the first dinosaur that the Rulons capture by using the brainbox. They prepare a trap on the top of a rock, and when the dinosaurs comes close, they drop the brainbox on its head. Since then, Krulos and the others can control the beast at their will. 

Krulos, of course, is the leader of the rulons, the most important character on that faction. The other two are secondary characters of the Antmen (Bitor) and Snakemen (Cobrus). Even though all evil characters in the series shared three heads (the Sharkmen are not represented in this set), these two are the most appealing one, due to their combination of red and black paint with some details in yellow. The colour scheme recalls somehow the eruption of a volcano or lava or something like that.

Krulos as a commander of the Rulons took for himself the upper position in the dinosaur. He stands in some kind of tribune of pulpit with two small cannons. A bit too exposed to the shoots of the Valorians, but we know from the cartoons, that these were not very good shooters. 

The body of the dinosaur is quite protected with big shields covering torso (or whatever it is called in a theropod) and legs. A central harness holds two cannon nests on the sides, very well covered (as opposed to the pulpit on top) with two shields in the shape of a cubic box. 

The front part has another position for a figure which seems to control two mechanic claws whose utility is uncertain: What are they good for? 

The tail is also heavily protected and has many cannons to cover the attacks from behind. A huge platform has space for another figure and a big shields hangs from that point down.

The last part to be commented are the two pieces that attach to the legs to pretect them, which have the nice detail of carryying a circular saw.

Amont the non protective parts, we can observe a very big motor (I guess all those lasers have to be powered somehow) over the pink platform, partially covered by the top plate, that also covers the two gunner´s seats at the sides. This last part (the "roof", so to speak) is the most fragile in the whole set, and the one it took me longer to find in an acceptable shape. The hinges of the parts exactly over the side cannons can be broken, and also the part that fits in the motor may have some wear or can be broken.

The dinosaur is battery operated and moves its legs in a way that the dinosaur walks. It is one of the fastest dinos (or, at least, faster than the other I have seen in action). The dinosaurs stands by using its tail, in the way that dinosaurs were depicted before the 1990s. Since Jurassic Park, theropods are represented standing on two legs and using the tail to keep balance when moving or running.

All in all it is one of the greatests toys from the 80s, a nice addition to any collection, although it takes quite a lot of space.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: TYRANNOSAURUS REX with KRULOS, BITOR and COBRUS
• Toy Line: Dino-Riders (Wave 1)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Tyco (U.S.A.)
• Scale of the dinosaur: 1:24
• Size of the figures: 2½’’ or 6,5 cm

#1088 STARGATE – COL. O’NEIL (1994)

This Hasbro toy line is based on the 1994 movie Stargate, which was a moderate success at the time. The film tells the story of an interdimensional gate discovered during an archaeological excavation in Egypt. A team of U.S. soldiers and an archaeologist cross the gate and are transported from the 20th century to a distant planet that closely resembles ancient Egypt.

The movie was full of action and special effects, so it was expected to be popular among kids and teenagers. However, the success was smaller than anticipated. By then, teenagers were losing interest in action figures, so the toy line was short-lived.

Figures in the Toy Line

The collection included eight figures:

• Ra

• Anubis

• Horus (Palace Guard)

• Horus (Attack Pilot)

• Skaara, leader of the Shepherd Boys of Abydos

• Daniel Jackson, the archaeologist

• Colonel O’Neil

• Lt. Kawalsky

Vehicles and Creatures

Hasbro also released three other items:

• All-Terrain Cruiser (a military light ATV)

• Mastadge (a beast of burden with a sleigh)

• Winged Glider (an alien fighter jet)

Style and Features

All figures were made in the Kenner style, with 5 points of articulation and several accessories. They had no action features but usually included missile launchers.

For collectors today, the most interesting detail is that many accessories and vehicle parts were reused from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line. Hasbro had absorbed Kenner that same year, which explains the construction style of these figures.

This figure is missing a grey missile launcher and two dark grey missiles.

Character Details

• Ra – The main god of ancient Egypt. The figure came with a pharaoh hood, skirt, staff, missile launcher, and two missiles (from G.I. Joe). The artifact included was a small pyramid.

• Anubis – Came with a hood, skirt, staff, missile launcher with a unique design, two G.I. Joe missiles, and the Winged Glider artifact.

• Horus (Attack Pilot) – Included a hood, skirt, staff, missile launcher with two G.I. Joe missiles, plus the Chariot artifact.

• Horus (Palace Guard) – Came with a hood, skirt, staff, a futuristic missile launcher (not G.I. Joe), two G.I. Joe missiles, and the Sarcophagus artifact.

• Colonel O’Neil – The main character of the movie, played by Kurt Russell. The figure included a black beret, missile launcher with two missiles (reused from G.I. Joe), and a small Stargate artifact.

• Lt. Kawalsky – Another soldier. He came with a helmet, large machine gun, backpack, missile launcher with two G.I. Joe missiles, and the All-Terrain Cruiser artifact.

• Daniel Jackson – The archaeologist. His figure included a baseball cap, machine gun (same mold as Annihilator, 1989), backpack, missile launcher with two missiles, and a small black pyramid artifact.

• Skaara – The shepherd boy. He came with a rocket-firing launcher and two missiles (identical to those used by G.I. Joe in the 1990s), a head strap, and the trident-style machine gun originally used by Monkeywrench (in a darker gray than the 1987 version). His blister pack also included a small Mastadge artifact.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: COL. O’NEIL
• Toy Line: Stargate
• Year: 1994
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 3’ or 7.5 cm

#1078 MIX 'EM UP MONSTERS - GROPPLE, THUGGER and BLIBBLE (McDONALDS' PROMOTIONAL) (1989)

I got these three monsters over the years with no real intend to collect them. They must be so common, that they simply slided in lots of toys that I purchased.

They are giveaways from McDonalds that could be found in the Happy Meal boxes. There is some kind of disagreement on when they came out. The copyright is from 1988, and some people say the promotion was available in 1988. Others say 1989, and other webpages with a high confidence date the promotion in the UK as late as may/june 1991.Of course the promotion could have been available first in the US, then in some countries in Europe, then somewhere else... I guess there are some people tracking this kind of information as there are many McDonald's toy collectors. 

The collection comprised four monsters, named originally Corkle (light blue), Gropple (yellow), Thugger (purple) and Blibble (green). I have three of them plus the inlay/instructions of the fourth one in German language. In this piece of paper, we learn that the blue one (Corkle in the original) was named Türki (probably because of German Türkis, or turquoise, the main color of the figure).

The toys and the name Mix 'Em Up Monsters are a trademark of Current Inc. and are actually a by-product of a children's book with the same name, published in 1980. This book consisted of 8 pages, divided in three sections each, that could be turned independently, mixing the heads, bodies and tails of 8 different dragons. It was probably a best-seller at the time, according to the big number of books for sale (second hand) today. With 8 different monsters and three parts each, you could build up to 512 differtent monsters. With only 4 toys, it is only 64 combinations you can make.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: GROPPLE, THUGGER and BLIBBLE (McDONALDS' PROMOTIONAL)
• Toy Line: MIX 'EM UP MONSTERS
• Year: 1989
• Company: Current Inc. Books, McDonalds (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 7 cm approx.

#1076 JURASSIC PARK – DENNIS NEDRY, TIM MURPHY and ROBERT MULDOON (1993)

With the current update rate of this blog, it takes ages until one toyline comes again, so this time, I will present several references from Jurassic Park by Kenner. I will focus this time in the three figures that I haven´t commented yet. In entry #819 you can read about Allan Grant and Ellie Sattler.

All these three characters: Dennis Nedry, Tim Murphy and Robert Muldoon are secondary and therefore less recognizable than the previous two, and maybe that is why they were packed with very cool dinosaurs and accessories. As I mentioned in the entry dealing with Alan and Ellie, the figures were produced before the film was actually shot, and the figures do not resemble the actors. On top of that, they didn´t produce in the first place the figure of Ian Malcolm, the character that most people remember from the first film and almost the entire saga.

Dennis Nedry. The computer specialist, and also the traitor who disables the security fences in order to steal some dinosaur eggs, and triggers the whole danger and chaos situation for the other visitors… and himself. The figure is far from the complexion of the actor Wayne Knight, who played the role. The colors of the clothes are also very different from the ones that appear in the movie and the face is generic. Pity, because we are missing those Hawaiian shirts. Since the bad guys tend to sell worse than the other figures, this one was given very nice accessories: a gun with a backpack that could spit water (one of the classic accessories in most action figure series) plus an strange helmet, that may have some importance in the novel (I haven´t read it) or the original script, but that it does not appear in the movie. The dinosaur hatchling in this case is the dilophosaurus, as it is the dinosaur that best fits the character.

Tim Murphy. Is the grandson of Dr. Hammond, and one of the two kids in the movie. Why there is no figure of the granddaughter (Lex) is unclear to me, pity, again, that Kenner didn´t cast it. I guess there was already one woman in the series and it was always risky, as female figures also tend to sell worse than their male counterparts. The figure of Tim does not look like Joseph Mazzello (who was 9 when the film was shot while the figure actually looks like a teenager), and also the clothes are different. The figure came with a brachiosaurus hatchling, a cage to carry it, a red lasso-bazooka (whatever it is called) and the nightvision googles, a very small accessory that is difficult to find.

Robert Muldoon. The main InGen hunter comes in a generic uniform that is far from the more military one used in the film. The face of the figure has no similarity whatsoever with the actor Bob Peck. This figure is actually the most commonly seen together with Allan Grant, maybe because it included a T-Rex hatchling and many accessories: a red bazooka, two red missiles (different from each other) and a backpack to carry these. The weapon could really shoot. Altogether, the figure is great.

The figures are nice, even considering that they do not resemble the movie characters, but in this collection, what every child wanted to have was the dinosaurs! I guess the best business was made with the dinosaurs, and as a result, the figures today are not so easy to find, if you are looking for complete samples in good condition. The dinosaurs included no accessories (some included a piece of detachable flesh) and are easier and cheaper to find. Next time I will show some dinosaurs.

To finish the article, a “family” portrait of all human figures in the series 1 of this great Kenner toyline.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: DENNIS NEDRY, TIM MURPHY and ROBERT MULDOON
• Toy Line: Jurassic Park
• Year: 1993
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 10 cm long