10 Failed Kenner Action Figure Lines

[@opuscrap4322]

luv the Electric Company reference. :)

[@DJasonBolt]

When I was in 4th grade, all my friends had the Megabugs. If it was a failed line, we didn’t know it, because we played with the whole set on the playground!

[@TheTimPilot]

Absolutely love the Shadow Strikers line. Only missing the big tank and small buggy to have them all. Another awesome line is Hasbro Air Raiders 😀

[@danielkegley690]

You dug deep Junkman. I didn't remember any of those lines. I would have really been into Carzilla and the Rat fink toys as a kid.

[@andrewtaylor940]

I had Duke. He actually was a pretty good toy that played well with your old school GI Joe and Six Million Dollar Man figures. And also worked perfectly it you had any of the Marx Johnny West stuff that was still popular. Duke was also sold alongside of and somewhat connected to the Boy Scout line. The Boy Scout line wasn’t a horrible seller but was very niche. Mainly being bought by scouting parents. The accessories were actually really good. Very detailed for the time. Tents really well done backpacks, a canoe etc. a lot of cloth and soft goods in them.

[@KoolKatDave]

I have a Duke I bought from eBay some years back to go with my Big Jim figures, but he’s probably better suited for 12” Adventure Team sized GI Joe’s. Duke is a cool ‘figure’ that has opening jaws and is really well made.

[@mattmc5069]

Was Duke around long?

[@jeffreycoogan09]

​@@mattmc5069 No. Only for about one year. You see it's confusing, because not long after Kenner reused the ''Duke'' action figure for a toy based on the short lived live action NBC Saturday morning TV show ''Run, Joe, Run''.

[@alexrodriguez9441]

I had the spider from the Megabug line... had no idea what it was from, or if there had ever been any other toys in the line, but it was a really beautifully sculpted, solidly built toy. There was a roughly 1/35 scale molded yellow pilot in the cockpit surrounded by tiny sculpted dials and gauges, and a pivoting cannon that fired a grappling hook on a retractable line.

[@backroom12]

They look way more advanced for 1978. Very cool toys

[@jeffreycoogan09]

@That Junkman Did you know that ''Rat Fink'' is one of several Hot Rod characters created by artist (Ed "Big Daddy" Roth)? Who was one of the originators of ''Kustom Kulture'' of automobile enthusiasts. It's to bad Kenner's (Duke the Super Action Dog) Toy line wasn't a big success. Because the concept was very unique. And it seemed like it could have had a lot of potential. I could definitely see Kenner at some point creating a (12 inch Human companion) for Duke, In the form of a ''Forest Ranger''. Or perhaps even an Arch-Enemy, in the form of a (Rottweiler named “Baron”). ''Side Note''. Kenner later recycled the ''Duke'' action figure for a toy based on the short lived live action NBC Saturday morning TV show ''Run, Joe, Run''.

[@mattmc5069]

And ill add from kenner no one seems to recall the alien and predator toys from the 90s. The bull alien figure was amazing

[@mopar_dude9227]

Rat Fink didn’t make it’s debut until 1963, in the July issue of Car Craft magazine. Ed “Big Daddy” Roth created him, and other “weirdo” characters, that he airbrushed on T-shirts and sold at car shows.

[@adamn.4615]

My brother had one of those Shadow Striker things. I never knew the name of the line and don't remember what the vehicle looked like. The figure looked much like a MASK figure, but was even smaller. It was translucent, but if you put him in cold water, color appeared for his skin and clothes!

[@bookworm5433]

Yes, like bone age. I like the dinosaurs because they were really well made. I had one of those invisible guys to. Man, we had great toys back then. I remember the rat rods to, I always thought they were cool. Running in when the street lights came on. A bike could take you anywhere. It was a great time to be a kid, we were so free. I miss that world.

[@shawnengle6801]

The Sportsstars soccer figures were sold in the US, exclusively at Kay Bee Toys during the early 90s. They were discounted. I picked up a few of them.

[@ThatJunkman]

Yes. Important to discount stores in US

[@grotgrusson5124]

I remember the Sportstars figures. They were heavely marketed in the Italia 90 football Stickers collection album. My friend had a couple of these, and I have also seen them lately in some good will stores here in Sweden.

[@paluxyl.8682]

Never thought this figures are from Kenner , always thought they are of Tonka .

[@keltrepes2534]

I had Shadow Strikers, including that plane you showed. I remember that if you dipped the figures in hot water they'd turn clear. It was in a lot of ways a knockoff of M.A.S.K. It even had very short lived cartoon.

[@KingofPotatoPeople]

I must still be feeling Q*bert fever because yes there was a sequel called Q*bert’s cubes. Plus he was the first video game character to swear.

[@terencevandergraaf7937]

I think they sold the Sportstars Lineup figures in other European countries (Italy, Germany and the Netherlands) too. Some had different packaging and were released by Tonka or Parker.

[@Floyds_Toys]

The Kenner Steve Scout line was pretty extensive including a Jeep with boat and trailer (even though the scouts were too young to drive) and a massive lookout tower that rivaled GI Joe's training tower. I inherited almost the entire line from an older cousin. Sadly, I was too young to really appreciate it and the scouts and all their gear and goodies met a swift and tragic demise.

[@bradbrown8759]

Lol! I'm in the process of collecting Steve Scout stuff right now! I'm 54 now, But I had lots of Big Jim things, 6 Million $ man, Mego & GI Joe galore. But somehow I only discovered the Boy Scout toys a few months ago! I killed all my old stuff to.

[@thetxaggie6575]

I remember Shadow Strikers but I had one or two Bone Age toys, I liked them and wouldn't mind collecting them

[@adamn.4615]

Another failed Kenner line was Vor-Tech (technically Hasbro era, but the packages said Kenner). It was like a lower-quality reboot of MASK. I found all of the first (and only) wave on clearance at Kay-Bee in the late 90s. If I recall, the Vor-Tech figures were like MASK meets POTF2--same scale as original MASK figures, but they had really large muscles like those first few Star Wars waves!

[@TheTimPilot]

Love the Vor-Tech line :)

[@adamn.4615]

@@TheTimPilot I actually did, too. It didn't hold a candle to MASK, but it was great to have another chance to buy a similar toy line.

[@jameswarrick778]

Dude! had I known about Shadow strikers, I would have gotten them all. I had no clue they even existed.

[@YodaPagoda]

I got an older comic book from the late 70s when we visited a used bookstore, and I saw a big advertisement on two pages for Duke, and he sure came with a lot of stuff. He sure looked neat, but by 1986 those days were long gone.

[@cheddarcheese7928]

Duke the Dog is maybe my earliest childhood memory..I remember playing with him in the yard with some kinda rope to make him cross over from one step to another..Maybe I'll check old Duke out on ebay

[@andrewtaylor940]

Yeah. He came with his own zip line before those were a thing.

[@williamwilkinson8735]

the flying bug look similar to the Hornetroid ship in the MEGO Micronauts line

[@machineman6498]

Lobros (SP?) got an unproduced crab vehicle that was pretty close.

[@garzilla7123]

Bone Age looks kinda nifty. Mega Bug Gladiators is kinda cool looking too. The Battle Brawlers look a bit gnarly also.

[@kurtrocha2]

GI Joe is not from Mattel. Wish Hasbro would make the classic Star Wars with o-ring, swivel battle grip, and accessories that fit in the characters hands...

[@Barada73]

The “super dog” action figure probably only appealed to boys who couldn’t own a real dog for whatever reason. And I heard you say “Mattel’s GI Joe line” but I’m not taking the bait.

[@dustybragg4011]

Just think if you were patient, for about four years. You could have a legion of storm troopers, attack a Boy Scout camp lol.

[@Junk_World_Templar]

Rat Fink and Carzilla’s look pretty cool, Megabug Gladiators look awesome, would have loved those as a kid. Wonder if you could sit Star Wars figures inside them? I had a few Bone Age Figures, remember they came with helmets and accessories, would have loved the Dinosaur bones vehicles.

[@BoshiYoshi]

Ayeee ayee ayee Carzillas! I don't know why, but as a kid that commercial really hooked me and made me really want the toys. The gimmick was that all the cars had special tires that did something "cool" and battle-oriented. Some more interesting than others. Two of the cars had tires that turned inside out to transform into flaming and spike wheels. The police car had cage wheels with prisoners inside it. I think there was one with wheels that had bear traps. The only one I didn't have had wheels that big snakes would pop out of. Remember checking Walmart for that one constantly but never could find it!

[@nealwestmoreland8576]

Great deep dives Junkman.

[@tomperkins4965]

Maybe doing movies reviews of Toy story films

[@dcrock1592]

I had the Steve Scout stuff and it was great. I even had the set where they had a hot air balloon.

[@EdgedShadow]

Bone Age! I had a few. I'd forgotten what they were called though.

[@marcusdarkallius1194BC]

I had the African American boy scout figure back in the early 70's. I later used him with my He Man figures as a sidekick. It wasn't a bad figure. It had great articulation. Now I would have loved the bug bot figures and the bone age ones. I might have to look for those on ebay. Thanks Junk man!!

[@justme4998]

i didnt have any of them but i like the shadow strikers! invisible tanks would have been very handy in the Battle of Castle Grayskull! i dont recognize a damn thing from this list which is what makes it a great video...

[@deweyoxburger295]

I’m late to the party, but I had and loved all three of the Kenner Megabugs; I babied the hell out of those toys.

[@johnverley388]

i collected a of kenner action figures lines in the 80s but never heard of any or seen any of these lines duke could have been remade as max the dog to go with the bionic woman toy line

[@rs9003]

Still have all The Megabug Gladiators boxed...a scorpion and a dragonfly built to fight the spider. The scorpion might be tough to find in good shape because the rubber band in tail must be 40+ years old, now.

[@bradbrown8759]

A friend of mine had a Duke Dog. He was perfect for our GI Joe's & Big Jim stuff. I wish I had him now. I always thought it was a GI Joe accessory?... The Steve Scout stuff I only discovered a few months ago! I'm 54, and I don't know how this one got by me. I lived for camping, but I never got to be a Scout. I've actually started collecting some stuff recently. Good ole eBay.

[@thegeorgiealityshow359]

Wow this is vintage mind blowing I had hammer tail thx for taking us to the past.

[@miguelhuerta4916]

I loved savage mondo blitzers. Such a cool toy line

[@robdrabkowski2708]

I would have partnered Duke the Wonder Dog up with my '12 GI-Joe. It would have added a whole new dynamic to the action. Just look at Snake Eyes and Timber!

[@wyldebill4178]

Somewhere in a dark corner is a man with a complete set of boyscout figures.

[@manifestman132]

I enjoyed the car line as a kid. So you remember a line from the late 90s that had some sort of air vehicle for the main guy. I think it went with a cartoon at the time. I remember the commercial and seeing it once in a store then just forgetting about it.

[@SuprousOxide]

I think I had one of those bone age figures. Just the figure, not the big dinosaur skeletons. It was pretty cool, but only got the one, don't remember if I used any of my other figures for it to fight with.

[@tomlevier3615]

Shadow strikers? Never heard of them. Looked cool though. I remember Duke, and Bone Age.

[@p.d.l7023]

I still have a bunch of those Starting Lineups.

[@gloomcookie]

I had the scout figures and the jeep with trailer. Sold them for hundreds on eBay. My folks bought them for me thinking I’d make Eagle Scout someday. I just found another scout figure my folks must have picked up at a yard sale. Gotta dump that, too.

[@joemartin5669]

I have duke the dog.he's the mascot for my adventure team collection.I remember seeing it back in the catalogs and thinking it was a neat idea but I can see why it failed as kids use their figures to be the hero and who could relate to being a dog,even a heroic one?

[@machineman6498]

I think Lassie and Benji were big at the time. Even 6 Million Dollar Man got "Maximilian" the Shepard.

[@andrewtaylor940]

Actually from what I remember the Duke figure sold quite well. Pretty much everyone I knew had one. What killed the line was the accessories that nobody bought or needed for a dog. Among them was a fire fighting cart with electronics and Duke’s Action Rescue Headquarters. Which was a big underground lair with a hand cranked doggy elevator and a doggie periscope. Duke sold well. But all of the expensively tooled overpriced accessories sold like Dog Shit. People just bought Duke to go with Big Jim or GI Joe. They didn’t need Duke’s SCUBA outfit.

[@katenunyabizness9221]

Qbert is yellow? The Boy Scout figures made awesome Jonny Quests. Those Megabugs would be at home with the Micronaut line.

[@rickwj324]

Man...I don't remember ever seeing that DUKE the DOG figure!!

[@mattmc5069]

Not from kenner but i liked "inhumanoids" and "dino riders" how those 2 lines didnt work are up there with the mysteries of egypt

[@bethesdagamesareoverratedg3659]

Oh shit! I have that clear tank. I actually saw it in a box when I was looking for stuff to donate to amvets.

[@tombutler6451]

Don’t know any of these apart from Sportstars as a few of my mates had them over here in England

[@thelordofevil8875]

The Ratfink cars and Bone Age are really cool

[@jamesbounds]

Later on they released bigger scale Rat Fink Figures in the late 90's, early 2000's. I still have one of them today.

[@spoonlee1035]

They carry some Rat Fink figures at Ollies near me

[@jamesbounds]

@@spoonlee1035 They're pretty neat figures.

[@jcbvortex22]

I don’t understand why do people like clear figures you’re paying for less they didn’t paint it they use zero pigments in the application of the plastics you pay the same price they only do half the work.

[@pauricboylan960]

MEGABUGS and Battle Brawlers looked Great!! 👍

[@Degro76]

That striker line had a micronauts vibe

[@dreamlandnightmare]

I think I vaguely remember the Shadow Strikers. Rat Fink also. Don't remember Carzilla, but just looking at them, and considering they came out the same year, it's obvious they were a rip-off of the Attack Pack Hot Wheels line.

[@Dale_The_Space_Wizard]

I never saw any of these toys in the shops, except for the football guys, but I was never into football so passed on them. However, I think that I may of actually bought a large percentage of these, especially those clear guys in their clear vehicles.

[@jasonking3182]

I remember seeing Ratfink toys on the selves in the late 90s.

[@danielferstendig]

What about power spark welding set?

[@BigAL68xyz]

I still have my wind-up hopping Q*bert. Still works, too.

[@mikesmith2718]

Had ratfink and bone age. I would love to collect bone age and dino riders but they're tough to find complete and I just have to mant other things I'm collecting .

[@KoolKatDave]

Junkman, where do you place Kenner’s Beetlejuice line? I remember seeing them for a year or two and even bought one back then with all the swords thru him, but I didn’t think it was too popular. Some weird toys in that line!

[@ThatJunkman]

They were pretty well done and fun

[@KoolKatDave]

@@ThatJunkman agreed, I liked the cemetery toy and the creepy cruiser!

[@volodymyrzablotsky5372]

Hammer tail was pretty cool! But had difficulty actually standing up. Give it a bad stance

[@shanester1832]

The clear stuff is cool, never heard of it. Giant bugs always cool. The Boy Scouts make me think of that scene in 'Big' where Tom Hanks schools the execs about kids not wanting to play with transforming skyscrapers. Kids don't wanna play as themselves. At least make them zombies or a vampire troop.

[@badape3620]

I am still waiting for my line of Junkman action figures.

[@machineman6498]

Megabug Warriors look like they would go just nicely with the Micronauts Aliens. Anyone notice the prisoners locked in cages on the wheels of Carzillas? That's kinda messed up. I got to give Kenner credit for Rat Fink being an "Art Toy" before there were Art Toys/Designer Vinyl.

[@farpointgamingdirect]

Rat Fink was Bad Ass! I found a large Rat Fink stuffed toy at a flea market and snapped it up! I was a big fan of CARtoons magazine where I think he showed up from time to time

[@p.d.l7023]

I had Pace man fever and Hulkamania, brother!!!

[@backroom12]

Those shadow strikers are awesome , and I love duke ! So cool . Action adventure German Shepard 😂😂😂🤘

[@petebutler5139]

Love that snaggletooth hat!

[@theflyingninja1]

I'm sure Shadow Strikers got a cartoon.

[@ciscodeer9094]

I don'T remember those lines, but I had the Superman and Batman figures

[@captlazer5509]

Mattel GI Joe line?? Mandela Effect action figures lol -- ya I recall Carzilla and would have bought if they came with Godzookie.

[@ActionFuzz]

In what universe did Mattel ever make GI Joe?

[@danielferstendig]

Did u know if kenner madea wonder woman they would've reused the shadow strikers for the line .

[@p.d.l7023]

I still have that purple bug. Its in poor shape.

[@p.d.l7023]

I remember the "Soccer" players.

[@Wario7793]

Rat Fink? I would have bought some of those.

[@funkyfreshbboy]

Back in the day Steve Scout was the. Shit LOL LOL

[@danielferstendig]

I had a carzilla and the line failed.

[@quartercomicsart6610]

Still have my bone age figure and vehicle

[@sanroman3461]

Bone Age was amazing.

[@TheSickNeeds]

Those bugs look like transformers.

[@ronaldreaganrimjobs9327]

Carzillas rocked

[@p.d.l7023]

I remember Duke.

[@trtledave3079]

I think Dusty has some #MeToo stories about Steve Scout

[@kagemaru259]

I had Shadow Strikers. I always thought they were a rip-off of M.A.S.K.

[@williamsorrells6058]

So few things 1 SHADOW STRIKERS the toys weren't clear the vehicles just had clear plastic shells, the figures were color changing, and if you want to watch the pilot episode it's here on you tube, very interesting concept similar to their M.A.S.K. line but the figures and vehicles are of a smaller scale. Well the figures are standing about 2 inches, the line had promise but never got a real chance since the series never got picked up. As I said the figures are color change so they didn't look that good they could have avoided the higher cost of the color change plastic by just making 2 figures one clear and one normal. 2 bone-age good line and the dino bones are cool, but different colors, however the connection pieces easy snapped off after a few times of connecting and disconnecting the pieces, the cave men were of 3 tribes. Thought that was the extent of it no cartoon, comic, or story packed in with the toys. I believe this line was killed after the product was made so no other effort was made, even the commercial for the line didn't give information about the story behind it.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Late in the MASK line they had "Split Seconds", vehicles that would split and be piloted by a transparent "hologram" version of the main pilot.

[@williamsorrells6058]

@@KasumiKenshirou exactly Kenner had the knowledge of how to make decent size figures both clear and normal but instead went with a color changing plastic that was more expensive at the time so they had to make smaller figures for their large vehicle. Ex. The race car from shadow strikers is almost the length of outlaw from M.A.S.K.

[@trtledave3079]

Damn Kenner Qbert is like $50 on ebay

[@KingofPotatoPeople]

Got to add, I’ve never heard of Bone Age….but it looks brilliant! Stupid kids not getting those. Should have been huge!

[@kyleolson8977]

I don't remember Bone Age, which is pretty bad for a figure that came out in 1988. But I don't know why I would have cared. They look so boring they blend in. They look like the toys you see when you get past all the real toys in the Sears Wishbook and suddenly there are these no name cheapo robots or soldiers or dinosaurs and maybe parents would think they pass for the real toys but all the kids know they're crap. Except Kenner made these.

[@user-yt2hv8lv2s]

My grandma actually bought me bone age action figures lol

[@RAZVIELRAMOS]

GI Joe is Hasbro not Mattel

[@applehead6179]

Brilliant.👍👍

[@benfromthebunker9621]

You do realize Qbert is orange?

[@constancecherry3996]

You got tew be kidding