GIANT Toy Monsters of the Late 1970s and Early 1980s: Godzilla, Rodan, Terron, Gregory, Krusher, etc

Giant toy monsters have been around a long time, but we have never seen a time in which the the giant monster toy was so prolific as the late 1970s and early 1980s. As soon as Godzilla was released to the Shogun Warriors toy line, a parade of other giant monster toys, including Rodan, Gregory the Vampire Bat, Krusher, Suckerman, and many more were introduced to toy shelves and to the delight of us monster fans. Lets go and rampage through some shag carpet with these creatures brought back from the distant past.
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[@goldenage]

These monsters were the real stars of playtime.

[@ghostshirt1984]

Vintage toys now.

[@daerth4423]

I still remember getting my Godzilla at a yard sale back in the early 80s. He had some serious battles with He-man and GI Joe back in the day. 😆

[@thelittlethings3309]

That was how I got my Terron. My parents found it at a yard sale and thought I would like it. Man, were they right! These guys could play with almost anything. Thanks for watching!

[@mrwoodandmrtin]

You're lucky to have such a great imagination. I never could figure out what kids were doing playing with action figures. Or even invent a story for them to follow. Imagination is a talent.

[@huntercatalcazar3728]

All my figures in my childhood were statues without articulation, but with imagination You just pretend they move & talk to each other. 😁

[@thelittlethings3309]

I had articulated figures and unarticulated ones, and it really never made that much of a difference to me either. Imagination did the work that the lack of articulation couldn't. I guess the best example of this is the D&D lines from the time, but it really was up to how cool/interesting the figure looked and how it fit in with play. Thanks for the comment!

[@Thrashedcrow]

Godzilla with the shooting fist, and the Shogun Warriors, some of my all time favs as a little kid.

[@thelittlethings3309]

I loved the Shogun Warriors and had a giant Raydeen. I wish I had included them in my video on late 1970s Sci Fi, but forgot about them. They will be the subject of a future video....hopefully. That Godzilla fist was really powerful too. At least mine was. They should have added THAT to the cartoon 😉. Thanks for watching!

[@arctrooper999]

I didn't have Godzilla but I had Raydeen, I'd set up green army men behind blocks, and Raydeen's flying fist was no joke. Plastic flying in all directions!

[@thelittlethings3309]

They did not care at all back then. The Christmas I got that Godzilla, I think I was 2 or 3, I ran over to it, grabbed the arm, and the fist immediately shot off and slammed into my gut and knocked the wind out of me. Immediately became one of my favorite toys for years. Thanks for the comment!

[@arctrooper999]

Oh, I have a story about the Hulk flying fist toy, I was playing with it in the car and I figured if I held the dart and hit the button nothing would happen. What did happen is the wrist launcher whizzed past my sister and grandma's heads and hit the dashboard in front of my ma real hard. Never saw the thing again.

[@thelittlethings3309]

😂 Good stuff.

[@AntiDecepticonCampaign]

21:22 those were the best. They were everywhere and then gone. They need to come back.

[@scottmoore1614]

I’ve still got my Godzilla and Rodan! They’re in my studio near my original Millenium Falcon.

[@thelittlethings3309]

I still have my Godzilla. The fist no longer shoots, which is probably for the better, or I probably would be dead by now. Rodan, however, is sadly gone. I got one of the small mini Super 7 versions to commemorate him. Cherish them. Cherish every day you have with them. Family and religion come and go, but Godzilla and Rodan will always bring you peace and happiness. I envy you. Thanks for watching!

[@scottmoore1614]

@@thelittlethings3309 Godzilla’s fist still shoots!! They both still look spectacular.

[@xenofett7008]

I had a lot of the late 70s & 80s monsters. I had Shogun Godzilla, Gre-Gory, Suckerman, Clash of the Titans Kraken, and the infamous Kenner ALIEN.

[@thelittlethings3309]

The Alien! I totally forgot about that one! I wanted that really bad but my parents wouldn't get me it. I guess it was because of the movie it was associated with, but it might have been because of the cost. I don't really know. Thanks for reminding me about it!

[@DMachoMickey]

Did Godzilla vs. Terron hundreds of times! I would set up a fortress made of a set of encyclopedias and fill it with army men, and had the monsters lay waste to it as they battled. Good memories.

[@thelittlethings3309]

That is the BEST thing I have ever read! That is very similar to what I did, and sometimes a Shogun Warrior or Rodan would get involved and then the Shizzmit would hit the fizzmit...metaphorically speaking of course. Thank you for this comment. May Godzilla protect and keep you, always.

[@mczilla8628]

Wow great video totally relived my childhood.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Thanks for watching!

[@droidzilla22]

Had so many of these. Krusher, Suckerman, several of the Clash figures, as well as the smaller King Kong and Godzilla

[@thelittlethings3309]

I think there was some kind of clause when we were kids that you had to own at least one Imperial Toys Godzilla and King Kong. They weren't the best looking toys but they sure were fun. Paved the way for all these Kong and Godzilla films that I still go see in the present. Thanks for watching!

[@alphawoolf5981]

Had a Stretch Monster until he finally died, revealing a soft, corn syrupy inner body. Still have my Terron, terrorizing my living room display :).

[@thelittlethings3309]

You still have the Terron! I hate you. I hate you, but g*dda@mm*! I respect you. May you live out the rest of your days in peace and awesomeness.

[@andrewtaylor940]

One thing that often gets missed regarding Monster Toys of the 70's. Aurora! Model Kits were sold at Toy stores back then. They were, for most of us, "Build your own Toy to play with" experiences. Aurora had all the classic monsters including rather substantial Godzilla and King Kong kits which were all we had for years. AMT or Monogram had a line of 1950's style giant bug monster dioramas. And of course Aurora's Prehistoric Scenes line. Which was a forerunner of many of Bandai's modern poseable action figure kits. With the Red Tyranosaurus Rex with the Glow in the Dark eyes, claws and teeth. 36" tall.

[@thelittlethings3309]

That is really true. They were an ignition point for a lot of the later monster toys. Also, I just remembered that I had a giant T-Rex Model as a kid that I used with all these guys too. It was dark green, and I think it was by Revell, but I am not sure. Thanks for reminding about these!

[@andrewtaylor940]

@thelittlethings3309 I think after Aurora died Monogram got some of their tooling. Including the t-rex. It was reissued in just single colors so probably green. They didn't do the eyes and teeth as Glow in the Dark.

[@stevenmccann2891]

I had the green stretch monster, the red sucker monster, and shogun Godzilla. Good stuff.💚

[@johncostello6019]

Such a great video. I had the Terron, Kraken, Shogun Godzilla and Raydeen, along with the Kenner Alien. Had some great battles. All are sadly lost to time, and I have a great (and overstuffed ) toy and figure collection now, but I'll always miss those guys and wish I still had them.

[@thelittlethings3309]

I totally missed the Kenner Alien toy. That would have been a great one to include. I never got it, but it sure looked great. Thanks for watching!

[@jaimesanchez5237]

I had Godzilla Rodan and the stretch monster very cool video

[@Kevsspot]

I had the 13 inch imperial, one of my fav toys as a kid

[@Allosauridz06]

Giant monster toys were my favorite niche to play

[@thelittlethings3309]

Me too. Thanks for watching!

[@remcocustoms5216]

I loved the Krusher when I was a kid

[@thelittlethings3309]

You, sir, had great tastes in toys. He was really a cool monster toy. Maybe he will get a re-release one day. Thanks for watching!

[@bladerunner752]

So cool to see all these again. However I still have my vampire bat, the blood liquid dried up a long time ago but it's still cool. I also have my D&D elementals like the plant looking earth creature and fire

[@thelittlethings3309]

I wonder if anyone has a Gre-gory with liquid "blood" still in it. I bet most of them have dried up by now. You are right, though, it is still a cool toy to have. Thanks for the comment.

[@MadisonCarter]

Absolutely love the "big guys" of those years. I had a good number of these during my childhood and loved to do big scale backyard wars with them, Rancor and Dewback from Star Wars, all the beasts/creatures I had from MOTU (especially Monstroid, that mf'er was awesome) and anything else that came along that just towered over the rest of my collection. I think I even used my AT-AT as a robot monster for that stuff. You are right that there's more out there, of course, including a Thing/Ben Grimm from FunStuff that works just like the Hulk Rage Cage. If you ever do a follow-up, may I suggest (I apologize in advance, I'm one of "those" people) the LJN Dune Sandworm; the monster from Mattel's Slime Monster board game; the squeeze toy Ooze-It; the infamous Kenner Alien; the weird green bug thing from Power Lords....sorry, I'll stop.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Absolutely! I almost included the Rancor and AT AT in this, but decided I would hold off for another video. It is good to hear that someone else used the AT AT as a giant robot monster as well as vehicle too. I also used the AT ST as a makeshift "mech" to battle with them too. Later, I would use Robotix to create some of my own Kaiju/mechs to add to the fray. Good times. The Sandworm, Alien, Trigor and the Slime Monster are great suggestions too. Gotta think about creating an addendum to this one too. The Spirit is willing but the fabric of space/time is weak. Thanks for the comment!

[@DevilFish69]

I want a big budget Great Garloo movie.

[@thelittlethings3309]

They better keep him in those giant flip flops too. Maybe he can be added to this new Godzilla/King Kong Universe. He just bums around the Monster World takin 'er easy for all us sinners. Like a giant, monster, Lebowski.

[@robinthompson8360]

You're back! Felt the glut of no new episodes for awhile there. Great 'Monster' episode. Love this channel. Keep 'em coming!!

[@thelittlethings3309]

Thanks! I'm back, baby! Real world pressures are keeping me from posting as often as I would like, but I will keep putting videos out whenever I get a chance. Unfortunately, postings this Spring may be a bit sparse 😞. Thanks for tuning in!

[@mikekomarinski]

Krusher looks like a cross between the Ymir from 20 Million Miles to Earth & Slithe from ThunderCats.

[@thelittlethings3309]

He does have a Ymir-y look! Good call! I loved those old Harryhausen films, and probably one of the reasons that this one got so much play with MOTU, as those films were really important to my views of Sword and Sorcery. Thanks for the comment.

[@mikekomarinski]

@@thelittlethings3309 U R welcome.

[@Mr.Boglin]

Ive wanted a Great Garloo figure for so many years, it's almost just Pathetic by now :(

[@thelittlethings3309]

I like the sandals and gold medallion he wears. Just a monster on Vay-cay, hanging out at the beach, trying to take that stress level down a bit. Thanks for the comment.

[@jaysonarends145]

I would love to see The Inhumanoids vs Godzilla.

[@thelittlethings3309]

That needs to happen! These new Godzilla and Kong movies remind me of Inhumanoids, with the whole "world of monsters under the earth's surface" thing going on. Maybe it's time to do a little incorporation. Thanks for the comment!

[@jeremiahball3970]

Loch ness creature looks like he just came back from Vietnam lol

[@thelittlethings3309]

He would just sit in dark rooms and stare our the window for hours at a time. Somewhere, in the distance, I thought I heard the faint sound of incoming choppers. I also think he appeared in the background of the Magnum PI episode "Did you see the Sunrise".

[@mikekomarinski]

No doubt the Kraken toy was around the same height as the actual stop motion model.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Probably true. It was such a strange design, but one thing Harryhausen did NOT lack was imagination. His movies were another Saturday Afternoon favorite of mine. Thanks for the comment!

[@mikekomarinski]

@@thelittlethings3309 U R welcome.

[@PozerAdultRacingTeam]

My friends had a few of those.

[@thelittlethings3309]

That's the right kind of friends to have as a kid. A lot can be forgiven or overlooked when cool toys were on the table for sharing. "Yeah, yeah, just keep talkin', Billy, and hand me that Godzilla while you go on." 😉 Thanks for the comment!

[@theblueoctopus4494]

Inhumanoids was awesome.

[@thelittlethings3309]

It really was a neat toy line and I liked the cartoon as a kid too. I think there was a lot of potential there, but, likely, there was just too many toy lines competing at the time. It was a great premise, though. Thanks for watching!

[@superiorcybergodzilla5670]

I have these Godzilla's bootlegs

[@dennissmith5807]

I have Rodan boxed.

[@thelittlethings3309]

LIAR!!! Just kidding. Treasure him always. Thanks for watching!

[@mikekomarinski]

The Terron could also B used as a monster in a stop motion Harryhausen like film.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Definitely. I loved the creatures from the Harryhausen films. Maybe one of the reasons I liked these guys so much. Thanks for watching!

[@mikekomarinski]

@@thelittlethings3309 U R welcome.

[@mikekomarinski]

Terron reminds me of a Dodongo from the Legend of Zelda.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Yes! It really does! I always liked the Dodongo, that might be one of the reasons why. Good observation. Thanks!

[@mikekomarinski]

@@thelittlethings3309 U R welcome.

[@ornilious]

I have terron! Lol

[@thelittlethings3309]

One of the greatest toys ever. Played well with so many different toy lines from that time (and beyond). I hope they re-release a version of him one day. I will definitely be grabbing one up then. Thanks for watching!

[@ThrobbingChomboni]

My neighbor had a 2 foot semi articulated vinyl UltraMan that I wanted so bag as a kid in the 70s. I literally cried and begged my family to buy me one. He was a prick and kept saying he dug it out of the side of a hill on a university campus I shoulda had Goldar and Jet Jaguar bitch slap that little turd

[@thelittlethings3309]

That is definitely going on my to do list when I get my Delorean up and running. Beeotch slap #132. Wait a minute...he dug it out of a hill on a University Campus!?!? Oh, bad juju there, brother. That is where that archaeology professor was seen burying something late on a full moon lit night before mysteriously disappearing. That kid definitely woke up to find a tarantula on his bed or kept wiping out when surfing or something. I am still keeping this one on the list though. Just for the principle of the thing. I will pick you up last Thursday. It's clobberin' time.

[@mikeoxlong6122]

I was slightly disappointed that sucker man was hollow on the back side.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Me too. Suckerman was pretty good, but I was disappointed in his construction as a kid, and I thought his face was goofy. Still got regular rotation in play, though. Thanks for watching!

[@donnyrankin8330]

Suckerman sucked. He only had a detailed molded front, the back was hollowed out with suction cups only in place of a molded back half.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Yeah. Always annoyed me too. I also thought his face looked pretty dumb. Thanks for watching.

[@BLOW_MY_HEAD_OFF]

Nice one!!!! I still have my 1985 6" Godzilla, He sits on my desk.

[@thelittlethings3309]

Wish I had kept mine. Brings back some great memories. They should re-release it for the nostalgia. Thanks for watching!