Wrasslin Wednesday LJN Hulk Hogan Wrestling Superstars where it all began

LJN Hogan. The first Wrestling Superstar I got, along with Piper, way back in the day. There were a million Hogans on the pegs and just by default, me and just about every other kid started out with Hogan. Even though I couldn't stand Hogan as a wrestler, I had to like the figure.

He's in a great pose ! Some of the Wrestling Superstars were in an awkward pose, I'm talking to you Rick Rude, but Hogan could punch and twist into moves pretty easily.

Then there's the Title Belt ! He came with the belt, and that just makes him cooler. The belt itself is pretty awesome. Durable rubber and detailed, it straps in the back with ease. My World Title belt was pretty hotly contested for !

Hogan was where my love of the LJN Wrestling Superstars began and til this day, they remain one of my all time favorite toys. When I got Greg Valentine, he kicked the crap out of Hogan and just about held the title until my Federation folded.

I said he was the first, but not the best ! I eventually customized Hogan into Barry Windham :)

My new Marx Fort Apache Playset got attacked by NINJA !!!

All I was doing was unpacking the Marx Fort Apache Playset I got in the mail today. I didn't have it set up or complete. Just snapping a few pictures then suddenly ....

Lovely Metal Case ....

 

Cool accessories ....

 

 

 

Just unpacking and taking inventory, then suddenly, the Gray Ninja team attacks !!

 

They wipe out the mounted unit quickly ....

 

 

To thier credit, The Riflemen quickly assemble to defend the Villagers !!! 

 

But to no avail, first, its the Archers on top of the Gallery .....

 

 

Then the Black and White teams attack from the rear .....

 

 

With the Army completely destroyed, the Ninja force turn their attention to the helpless Villagers !!

 

 

What will be the fate of the White Boxer, the Neanderthals and various others ???

 

 

Only the Black Nazi Ninja Leader knows ......

 

Stay Tuned !!!!!

Grand Admiral Thrawn from the Star Wars Expanded Universe series or Mitth'raw'nuruodo, if you please

Mitth'raw'nuruodo .... or Thrawn from Timothy Zahn's Star Wars; "Thrawn Trilogy" series of books is such an awesome character. When they made a figure, I had to get one. Who could resist the Grand Admiral and his Ysalamir for a display on any collector's wall ?

If, for some unknown reason, you have not read Timothy Zahn's books, get them, read them .... NOW !!! They do not disappoint. These books are one of the biggest reasons for the resurgence of Star Wars in the 90's. Thawn was a pivotal figure in the books and one of the greatest EU characters in the Star Wars universe !

1982 GI Joe Stalker the Straight Arm Ranger and all around Awesome !!

From the first wave of Hasbro's 3 3/4 GI Joe line released in 1982, the Army Ranger Stalker !!

 

 

One of my absolute favorites from this line !!!





Decked out in Full Camo and Green Beret, Stalker and his trademark M-32 Submachine gun !!

 

And the CARD !! That picture sets the tone !!!

I still remember getting Stalker the first time. My mother came home from shopping and handed me the Ranger ready for action. He was the fourth member of my growing army and he fit right in !! I loved the fact that he was a field medic, and he took over the duties of patching holes in his comrades. The camouflage uniform usually put him under cover or the first man in, forward observer. When I upgraded Grunt to a Swivel Arm version, Stalker quickly got his backpack to fill out his gear. His role in the Marvel comics reinforced his station on my team as a leader and one of the more formidable Joes available. My original Stalker suffered from "Cracked Thumb" syndrome, and he was quickly replaced by a new, Swivel Arm version that stayed with the team until the end.

 

This Straight Arm version, once teamed up with an incoming Swivel Arm version, will be inducted in the Toymorrow Joe Hall of Fame as part of a collecting objective; to assemble the Original line in both Straight Arm and Swivel Arm versions.

 

Click the link to read about it : Toymorrow Hall of Fame Introduction

Wrasslin Wednesday LJN WWF Billy Jack Haynes

Wrasslin Wednesday is where I can wax nostalgic about Professional Wrestling in some way and this week I present: Billy Jack Haynes from WWF LJN WRESTLING SUPERSTARS !!!

 

 

One of the coolest figures from the line. Tattoos, hat accessory and one of the best poses out of all the figures.

 

Nice paint apps on the boots and tights !

 

 

I know, Billy Jack Haynes wasn't that good of a character in the WWF but I really like this figure. He has a perfect pose to simulate a lot of maneuvers. Billy Jack had a feud with Hercules right away when he came into my federation. Had to have the obligatory full nelson challenge. After that I turned him heel right away, maybe I affiliated him with the Horsemen , I don't remember. It didn't matter to me if the character was lame on TV, I could make a star out of anyone that could kick ass ! Headbands were lame though ....

 

I did take my original BJH and customized it into Hawk of the Road Warriors, so he was versatile.

The Homliest Princess Leia Bubble Bath in the Galaxy !!

In the early 80's, the Lucas/Star Wars merchandising machine was in FULL force. Omni Cosmetics was licensed to produce Bubble Bath and Shampoo in containers featuring the likenesses of the Star Wars characters. Of course, Princess Leia was one of the characters produced but ....

GOOD GOD SHE LOOKS AWFUL !!!!

 

Look at this bottle. There is NO resemblance to Carrie Fisher at all. Neck down, good sculpt. That head ... yeeeesh !!

Her best look .......

 

I guess you can't expect much from a product like this but WOW that's bad. Imagine having THAT at the end of the tub staring at you. A little blue pill couldn't even get that goin ......

This Weeks Assignment for The League of Extraordinary Bloggers: Spacemen

 

This weeks assignment for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers;

Brian over at  Cool and Collected asks:

 

“Spacemen.”

 

Well, that's more of a statement than a question but I'm running with this one.

 

What do I think when I hear Spacemen ?

 

None other than the SPACE ACE himself !!!

 

ACE FREHLEY !!!!

 

LEAD Guitarist of KISS !!!!!

  

 

MASTER of all that has six strings !!!

Notorious ROCKSTAR !!!! 

 The musician that gave the world the ACE FREHLEY solo album !!

THE best of the "solo" albums put out by Kiss in 1978. 

 

 

EVERY track on this album is a classic :

 

"Rip It Out"

"Speedin' Back to My Baby"

"Snowblind"

"Ozone"

"What's on Your Mind?"

"New York Groove"

"I'm in Need of Love"

"Wiped-Out"

"Fractured Mirror"

 

If you don't have this album, GET IT, NOW !!! Ace is amazing throughout and every song rocks.

 

List of Terminology:

 

Album: (Vinyl Record):

A phonograph record, especially a long-playing record stored in a slipcase :p

 

Check out the rest of the LEAGUE:

Monster Cafe Saltillo

Fortune and Glorydays

 

Clash of the Titans Thallo is fear Personified !!!

Clash of the Titans was released in 1981 to Big Screens across America. After the success of the movie, a toy line had to be produced ! Mattel was chosen to produce the Action Figure recreations of the characters of the movie. While the toy line was nice, for the era, I can only lament what would have happened with this line if it was produced by a better toymaker.

THALLO. The name rings fear in the hearts of ..... um ... someone. Maybe Giant Scorpions. Calibos's pitchfork ...

 

The figure is a decent likeness of Tom Pigott-Smith and it's fairly well detailed considering it was produced in '81.



 

Thallo came with a Sword and Shield. Unfortunately, they were not movie accurate, but that's not a big complaint. The sword is sculpted nicely with a good bit of detail. The shield incorporates two clamps on the back to attach to his arm and is sculpted well too. The eagle design is pretty intricate for a 3 3/4 scale figure of that era. Mattel could have included his Whip/Fly Swatter, but you cant have everything.

 

I have to admit, I like Thallo a lot. I used him the most out of all the Clash figures and I had all the action figures of this line. I incorporated him into Dungeons and Dragons play pretty easily. Of course I wanted the Kraken ...... I usually used Thallo as a God that takes human form to fight alongside the mortals while dungeon delving. I know, Perseus was there, but I liked Thallo's Roman look.

One problem I have is the line should have been produced by a better toymaker. There are so many more figures and accessories that could have been incorporated. An Ammon with Bubo, the Stygian Witches and Medusa come to mind. A "Gods" set and maybe Calibos's lair.....

What could have been ..... None the less, Thallo is a nice figure. I do take into consideration that in 1981 there wasn't much emphasis on action figure quality so when looked at through that perspective, Thallo and the line as a whole really stands out.

 

Like this ? Click this Link to read what I wrote about Perseus from the Clash line:

 

Clash of the Titans Perseus

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Puffy Stickers have a few Suprises !!!

When TSR let LJN start merchandising the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons line, in 1983 we got PUFFY STICKERS !!!! Who doesn't love puffy stickers !?!?!?

 

 

We got a couple of regulars to the toy line, Zarak and Ogre King.

 

Here's where it gets interesting !  Here we have Charmay Good Enchantress and Caruso Good Half Elf. Do we have here a couple of unproduced figures ? Or do we have the precursor to Mercion and Melf/Peralay ?



Of course, there's always Strongheart standing guard !!

I love the feel of puffy stickers !! These are great and I think I had all of these as a kid. Who didn't have piles of stickers on their Trapper Keepers and had them incorporated on their brown paper bag book covers !?!?! I know I had em !!

Wrasslin Wednesday LJN WWF Ultimate Warrior !!

Wrasslin Wednesday is where I can wax nostalgic about Professional Wrestling in some way and this week I present: THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR from WWF LJN WRESTLING SUPERSTARS !!!

 

One of THE best figures from the line. He looks great !! Awesome paint apps, detail and he's in one of the best poses to kick some serious ass !! Just look at the "Warrior" detail on his boots !!!

 

LJN produced the WWF Wrestling Superstars from 1984 to 1989. The Ultimate Warrior came out in 1989 with the Black Carded 6th Series just before LJN closed up and sadly, production ended. So needless to say, his popularity and low production numbers make him a bit scarce. Mine is a bit battle worn but he is a awesome addition to my collection. Truth be told, I did not have him when I was of playing age. I got this guy later off the Usenet, before the Internet was quite so user friendly and Ebay was still in development stage. I did order one from "The Wrestling Ring" back in the day, but  was returned with Mr. Hellwig being sold out. I had to make my own Warrior out of an extra Paul Orndorff figure.

I wasn't the biggest fan of his back then, but if I did have this figure, there is no WAY I could have stopped him destroying the champion ranks ! Just on the pure AWESOMENESS of this figure, he would have at least been United States Champion in  few days. (I should mention that I made my own belts and kept champion stats so there were several championships for the rubber pugilists to acquire :)