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Post by Faithfulbutler on Jul 16, 2004 6:19:03 GMT -5
Supermans maybe?
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Post by reideen1313 on Jul 16, 2004 10:19:12 GMT -5
I'm thinking it was Aquaman.
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Post by Roback on Jul 16, 2004 18:47:08 GMT -5
Good guesses guys but its time for the real answer. Our beloved Bruce Wayne was the head sculpt that was used the most by the Mego Corp. Here's the run down that all incorporated the very same head sculpt:
Mego Bruce Wayne Alter Ego
Removable Mask Batman
Tex Willer ( Italian Western character )
Mystery Astronaut
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Post by Roback on Jul 18, 2004 19:02:36 GMT -5
Another rumor that was debunked thanks to Mr Abrams attending Megocon was that Mr Mxyzptlk's initial release ( smirking face ) was not changed to a smiling one due to the scaring of small children. It was most likely a running production change although I must admit that I like the rumor much better! ;D
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Post by Faithfulbutler on Jul 18, 2004 19:27:14 GMT -5
I agree,the rumour does sound much better.Nothing beats toys that make the kiddies nervous.
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Post by Roback on Jul 19, 2004 9:53:36 GMT -5
Marty also said that the lowest production number would be at 1000 units for a proto so some of these rarities that only a few have surface may be out there in larger numbers. The blued haired Frankenstein and red haired Dracula were both changed to keep far enough away from the look of the Universal Monsters but in other cases it may just be because they ran out of paint and they used another color ( most likely whatever was lying around ) ;D
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Post by Roback on Jul 20, 2004 19:09:18 GMT -5
Can you believe that the Mego Corps Super Knights linenever even made it to retail? Marty Abrams was quite sure of himself on this one as he said that all that did make it out were of " back door action " which amounts to theft. They had huge employee theft problems which had to do with their production being outsourced to Hong Kong. Throw in quality problems and you can see how he came to that conclusion to build a state of the art manufacturing plant so he could have better oversite. The Super Knights ( Ivanhoe, Sir Galahad, Black Knight, Ivanhoe and Sir Lancelot ) have always been my favorites as the Mego Corp invested all of the money that they saved on licensing ( the Knights were a public domain ) and put it right back into the figure.With vac-metalized swords and unbelievable detail its no wonder they had such appeal to both kids and adults. A quick side note: Most Knights are still found mint in box as mostly adults purchased them. The line flopped as far as kids were concerned.
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Post by Faithfulbutler on Jul 20, 2004 19:37:57 GMT -5
Don't ask me how but i had one of those as a Kid.I loved him they were so cool and detailed.I can't remember which one i had but i always wanted more.He disappeared into the mists of childhood somewhere unfortunately.
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Post by reideen1313 on Jul 20, 2004 19:48:06 GMT -5
The Super Knights ( Ivanhoe, Sir Galahad, Black Knight, Ivanhoe and Sir Lancelot ) have always been my favorites as the Mego Corp invested all of the money that they saved on licensing ( the Knights were a public domain ) and put it right back into the figure. I'm guessing they had similar savings on the Pirates line, since they were in the public domain, they could add extras to the figures, like the parrot on Long John Silver's shoulder. Those were some of my favorite Megos growing up - they were always great fill ins for the Joker or Penguin's henchmen, or they could be villains all on their own for my DC Megos to battle! Thanks Robert for providing us with this inside look at Mego. I know I've said this before, but it brings back lots of memories for me at least and I really look forward to every post on this topic!!
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Post by Roback on Jul 21, 2004 5:04:48 GMT -5
Here's one for all of you StarTrek collectors out there. During the panel discussion at the Megocon Marty Abrams was asked if their Startrek figures had any relationship to that God awful Trek cartoon that aired around the same time. Not only was the cartoon horrible but as Marty said it actually hurt the property! So for all of you Mego Trek fans out there, the figures were based on the TV show and not the cartoon.
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Post by Roback on Jul 24, 2004 6:20:39 GMT -5
Ok, here's one for ya. Which Worlds Greatest Superhero character was released in a box and not on a card and why? ;D
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Post by Faithfulbutler on Jul 24, 2004 8:34:51 GMT -5
With absolutely no idea i'm having a stab in the dark.The Hulk because he required a larger bubble for a card and Mego wasn't tooled up for the packaging.
That's the best i can do Robert.
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Post by Roback on Jul 24, 2004 13:18:03 GMT -5
anyone else wanna take a stab at it? It's not the Hulk but that was a good guess. ;D
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Post by reideen1313 on Jul 24, 2004 17:10:33 GMT -5
Captain America, because of the shield?
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Post by reideen1313 on Jul 24, 2004 17:54:52 GMT -5
Robert, could you shed any light on the Elastic Heroes line that Mego put out? I have just recently found this page - www.megomuseum.com/pocket/elastic.shtml and they are interesting to me. I'm assuming that those that still exist have either crystalized innards, or no innards at all and are just a rubber bag by this point. Do they come up for sale often?
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Post by Roback on Jul 24, 2004 18:59:42 GMT -5
Jeff, the Elastic Heroes do indeed come up for auction every now and then but most of the time their inards are leaked which needless to say ruins the packaging. I do have the packaging for the Elastic Superman which I think is in the pic I sent you. If not let me know and I'll take a pic of it for you. As for the answer to my question, it's the lord of the jungle himself, Tarzan! When the Mego Corp switched from boxes to cards ( due to numerous retailer demands and to also save on shelf space ) the license that the Mego Corp held with Edgar Rice Burroughs expired making Tarzan the only Worlds Greatest Superhero to never be produced on a standard US card. He was released on an earlier Kresge card however so all is not lost for all of you card collectors out there in Mego land. If anyone is interested in starting a Mego collection I have access to many loose figures at some really affordable prices. PM me for details.
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Post by Roback on Jul 26, 2004 20:31:28 GMT -5
Did you know that the Mego Corp scrapped plans to do a Dr Doom just because it cost a few extra pennies than they expected? If you look closely at a Mego Ironman you'll see that the head sculpt is very similar to Dooms likeness.
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Post by Roback on Jul 28, 2004 4:38:34 GMT -5
Did you know that a Dodge City playset for the American West line was pictured in their catalog but never released? It would have went well with the likes of Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bil Cody, Davey Crockett, Wyatt Earp, Cochise and Wild Bill Hiccok from the American West line. The Mego Corps " Legends " lines ares some of my favorites as the diversity is unparrelled. Knights, Robin Hood, Mad Monsters and Pirates make up the assortment and all came mint in box. The American West line was the only line that was available on cards. Pics available upon request.
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Post by Kid L on Jul 28, 2004 5:11:06 GMT -5
Did you know that the Mego Corp scrapped plans to do a Dr Doom just because it cost a few extra pennies than they expected? If you look closely at a Mego Ironman you'll see that the head sculpt is very similar to Dooms likeness. wow... that's pretty wild! any ideas as to what the extra cost was for?
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Post by Roback on Jul 28, 2004 6:26:03 GMT -5
I have an old issue of Toyfare where super collector John Bonivita was interviewed which stated that the Doom figure was scrapped due to the tooling costing a few extra pennies over their initial quote. A side by side comparison of both Doom and Ironman was pictured and you can plainly see how the Dr Doom head sculpt was reconfigured as Ironman. I've chatted about this subject with John quite a bit over the years and it seems that the Mego Corp were huge fans of the cross sell as they included pics of their upcoming releases on their packaging that was already at retail. Mary Abrams noted at Megocon that the Captain Action line failed miserably due to the fact that kids wanted entire figures and not just costumes to change on one main generic character. Play testing was used quite a bit by the Mego Corp execs to see what the primary target audience preferred. The beauty and charm about the Mego Corp was their cost cutting ways which added a simplicity to the figures which has appealed to thousands of collectors and which has stood the test of time. " Being able to pop off the head and switch them if a character didnt sell was the magic of our concept " said Marty Abrams at the discussion panel seminar at Megocon. He went on to say that the reason they were so aggressive with releasing hundreds of different characters was due to the fact that they were young and didnt want any other company to give them competition. They sometimes bought the licensing and never went to production just to block possible competition as they learned from their oversight on the Charlies Angles line. While other companies had mulitple channels to go through before a decision could be made ( Mattle for example ) Marty cut through all of that with a simple yay or nay. Six months later product was on the store shelf. More on this in my next installment. ;D
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Taichi
Legions Of Gothamite
Sidekick
Posts: 97
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Post by Taichi on Aug 2, 2004 14:23:18 GMT -5
I know my Aunt has a Solid Boxed Aquaman, as I've seen it with my own eyes....
I love the box art, a thing of beauty........
and one day, it will be mine........
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Post by Roback on Aug 2, 2004 16:56:25 GMT -5
Oh wow, a solid box Aquaman? You gotta give me first dibs on that baby if and when you want to sell. ;D
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Taichi
Legions Of Gothamite
Sidekick
Posts: 97
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Post by Taichi on Aug 2, 2004 19:33:02 GMT -5
Well, the Aquaman isn't going anywhere, I dunno why, but it's my fave of the solid boxes.......
but there are more.......I assure you.......
and my aunt is an adult collector, in her 60s, she was an adult when these were new, and the condition is fantastic......
she is not a MEGO collector, but rather a doll collector, however, she has picked up quite a few Superhero, and mego related items over the years.......
I know she's got quite a few Super Powers and Secret Wars figures, not to mention the aforementioned Megos.....
to be honest, I've probably only seen a tenth of her collection, there's not telling WHAT treasures I could unearth........
and, I don't think I'd sell much of her collection anyway, though I wouldn't have room for everything, so it's anybody's guess......
but, fortunately, she's still a pretty healthy woman, and I hope to have my aunt for several years to come......
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Post by Roback on Aug 8, 2004 18:34:30 GMT -5
Marty Abrams mom took care of all buisness that was done with Montegomery Wards and yes, that would include the very rare Mego Corp Secret Identity figures. Marty told us at Megocon that anything Mego items that Montegomery Wards sold was due to his moms doing. Marty became President and CEO of the Mego Corp at the ripe old age of 28. And here it is I thought I was doing pretty good. ;D
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BatBat
Gotham Tourist
Posts: 10
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Post by BatBat on Aug 17, 2004 7:21:17 GMT -5
I want more Mego facts and trivia!!!
Please?
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Post by Roback on Aug 17, 2004 21:10:06 GMT -5
Well since you asked so nicely.... ;D\ Packaging variations have always been a big draw for me and boy, does the Mego Worlds Greatest Superheroes have them in spades. First off on our list is the logo on the boxed Thor. Came in two ways, large logo and small logo. I think these subtle variations are way cool. We'll get into many of the different boxed variations this week and then move onto cards. Sound good Ooochy?
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BatBat
Gotham Tourist
Posts: 10
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Post by BatBat on Aug 18, 2004 13:49:37 GMT -5
Great!
Do you have a pic of the large and small Thor logos?
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Post by Roback on Aug 18, 2004 19:10:57 GMT -5
Yea, I do. As for box variations, there are a ton. First issue boxes have 5 DC characters and one Marvel character ( Captain America ) but once the Mego Corp received a complaint they removed Cap to make it an all DC box but replacing him with Shazam. They went on later to make an all Marvel box.
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BatBat
Gotham Tourist
Posts: 10
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Post by BatBat on Aug 19, 2004 12:22:57 GMT -5
Wow! Can you post a pic of the Thors.
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Post by ThatBlockoGuy on Aug 19, 2004 21:04:52 GMT -5
Hey, Robert. Loved the pic of you in Lee's. I've been meaning to ask you this for a while. I remember that many of the boxed Green Arrows had their bow stings "cut" at one end. I know this wasn't true for all of them though because one that I got in '77 was perfect (don't ask me how I remember this). Why the need for the cut "string"?
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