Toy-Ventures: Big Jim Kung Fu Studio

[@katenunyabizness9221]

Lovely touch to have the martial arts mania history for the prelude. That's one awesome looking set, nothing says 1970s like those colours!

[@BrickMantooth]

Great point on the colours.

[@Dorelaxen]

With all the other toy lines coming back with a vengeance, this is one they should consider reviving.

[@BrickMantooth]

agreed

[@eltenda]

Big jim always bring me back memories

[@BrickMantooth]

Me too, I'm instantly five.

[@chris-q7c4x]

Just found you by accident. I guess from looking up big jim and Josh that I had as a kid. I subscribed can't wait to see more

[@bio1656]

The shaw brother's opening was classic .You know the yellow gee was from enter the dragon .

[@genesanford9412]

Glad you FINALLY got the set. It WAS tons of fun for MANY figures as i grew up.Cpt. Kirk & Spock loved the workout. Mccoy just grumbled.

[@benbradford9533]

The first 40 seconds of this video are the most entertaining thing I've seen on KZbin, bar none. The rest of the video is pretty good, too.

[@manofaction1807]

The 1970's was awesome! We were all Kung Fu fighting, and He Men of Adventure wore butterfly collars and chains! A smoke in one hand, a Tom Collins in the other, wrapped around a tight body assistant, and always knew the right quip for every occasion! I'm going to have to hunt me down a Big Jim. I almost forgot about that guy. I had a Sam Cobra, and G. I. Joe. The kids that lived the next block over had Big Jim, and ALL the accessories.

[@tedharrington5432]

Back when I was a little kid I would connect the Big Jim Kung Fu Studio, Big Jim Sports Camper, Big Jim Rescue Rig, Big Jim Safari Hut, Star Trek Enterprise Bridge and Six Million Dollar Man Mission Control Center and play for hours. Hey! It made sense to me at the time. Sadly, I was not allowed to have any of the Planet of the Apes toys.

[@BrickMantooth]

That sounds amazing!

[@tedharrington5432]

@@BrickMantooth It was!

[@fluxcapacitor007]

I had one of these. Soooo nostalgic to see it again. Unfortunately when my family moved in the 80s about 90% of all the vintage toys I owned were in storage above the garage and when we left there wasn't room for those boxes in the trailer. Since we were moving only 20 minutes away my father told me he would come back for them. Unfortunately, he lied. Thus things like my vintage toy 7up machine, Fort Apache set, Snoopy Stunt set, all my Hot Wheels cars, tracks and accessories, motorized Spider-Man, Rock Em' Sock Em' Robots, Carl Barks comic books, and and my Big Jim Studio were gone forever. :( At least I still have things like my Remote Controlled Ferrari, Captain Powerjet, Sears Millennium Falcon, E.T. Figure, vintage board games, and Jetfire Transformer.

[@subversive1219]

I got the Sky Commander for Christmas back in 1974, if I remember correctly.

[@BrickMantooth]

It's a killer toy.

[@GreenLanternPrime01]

First off, that intro was awesome! I had a "Big Jack" figure as a kid but my friends had the P.A.C.K.

[@BrickMantooth]

I was trying to find a Big Jack for this episode!

[@ryanbarker5217]

ah, gotta love lines from 'black dynamite,' what a great movie.

[@BrickMantooth]

agreed.

[@jonacheson]

I had the Sky Commander, the camper, and the Laser Vette as a kid, but had no idea this playset even existed!

[@BrickMantooth]

You had some awesome stuff!

[@mandofoe7447]

Oh man I used to see this in every comic I read as a kid and along with mego superheroes salivated over it every time. 1970-1985 the absolute golden age of childrens toys and so glad I lived through it. When was the last time you saw a new and original toy line that wasn’t a retread of something from that golden age. So bring on 12” gi joes, big Jim, micronauts and weeble wobbles!!!!!

[@BrickMantooth]

It was a good time to be a kid.

[@Floyds_Toys]

Didn't have any Big Jim figures but I did have the jet playset that was sort of a mobile Hall of Justice for a Mego Superheroes. An older cousin had the Kung Fu Studio but it was off limits to me on visits so I just admired it and messed with it when no one was looking. Count Dante, now there's a character.

[@BrickMantooth]

Count Dante needs an action figure.

[@jambogb]

My grandfather had a toyshop here in Italy in the 70's and 80's and we just found in his attic a treasure! Boxes full of this character and play sets! Probably this Big Jim was very popular back then!

[@BrickMantooth]

Wow, great find. Big Jim was beloved in Italy.

[@leamenrs]

love the intro

[@BrickMantooth]

thanks, it was fun to do.

[@marineboy1964]

There was 3 tv show for me in the UK First being kung-fu and there was two Japanese shows that was dubbed in English and shown on the BBC, the water margin 1976 -78, and monkey 1978 -80 everyone who is old enough still remembers those two shows in the UK and I am not sure if they made there way to Canada and the USA

[@BrickMantooth]

Monkey didn't air here and I believe the Water Margin played in Toronto but it wasn't in English.

[@donaldwiller9238]

Yes I had it as a kid .and glad 😊 I get one for my Collection last year. Grate video.

[@BrickMantooth]

Thanks for watching!

[@walterheinen5298]

I didn’t have the studio as a kid, but had the big Jim camper and rescue rig. For some reason, I never saw the kung fu studio as as child, but because of my 40+ years in martial arts snatched the studio up as an adult. I have since bought the camper and rescue rig, as well. What an addiction. Thanks for covering the 70s classics. So many are 80s GI Joe, but us old timers LOVE the old stuff. MEGO, Joe, Johnnie West. Such good memories.

[@Scottyx0x]

Well.., I need to get this again. Thank you Brian for the Trip down memory lane. I was a Big Jim kid before exclusively going to 8in Mego/ljn. and think it’s time to look for this and the sky commander again. I still have my Rescue Rig with Jim inside in his fire suit. And I must say I’m interested in the ski slope thats one I didnt have as a kid.

[@jasonesler2716]

Lol....that was great! Kung fu theater was awesome as a kid. Even Saturday afternoon on channel 20....lol great job as always

[@travishiltz4750]

Well played with starting with the Shaw Brothers logo. Congrats on finally getting it. It's a cool looking set. Never collected Big Jim, I was more a GI Joe and adventure people guy. Was fascinated by that ad for the PACK figures with the Jack Kirby art, but never tracked down the figures.

[@kevinluisbatista9363]

Mattel should make a remake of this.

[@originalhaggis]

At the risk of my sounding like a broken old LP, you have managed to, once again, dish up a tasty basket of deep-fried vintage toy coolness along with a heaping side of savoury childhood joy. Your PlaidStallions style is a formidable one, Sober Master! 😉 🥋

[@professorcasey8662]

What is super cool about this is that MY favorite playset as a kid, the Karate Kid Attack Alley, had a bunch of stuff that looked like direct homages/references to this set that I didn't know about until now, down to the architectural style, shape of windows, and dragon on the door. It was like the evolution of this set and Remco hit a home run with it.

[@sneakyskunk1]

That was a surprisingly intact and well cared for playset, given the age and its intended demographic. Someone loved it before it found its way into your hands, and it is nice to see that someone who deserved it actually got it. Thanks for another great video!

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah, I'm glad I went for it.

[@sneakyskunk1]

@@BrickMantooth You made the right choice. Thank you for the reply and heart!

[@dferris7767]

Love this! This set brings back a lot of memories. I was a huge Big Jim fan back then. Within the last 10-12 years, a childhood friend that I had reconnected with had seen this set in an antiques store somewhere and sent me a bunch of pictures. We emailed back and forth for awhile to try and remember what we would eventually figure out was the "muscle mover." We both had tons of Big Jim stuff. So, the Big Jim (and Mego) content you post bring back memories of that friend. This is the closest thing to a time machine to revisit those days of my youth. Thanks.

[@BrickMantooth]

Aw thanks for saying that, I'm glad.

[@maddun1969]

Great video ! As I mentioned before I got this when it came out and put it side by side with GI Joe headquarters and Major Matt Mason Space command sets. So glad I was a kid in those easy days of the 70's ! Oh, does it have that new vinyl smell ? ha ha. Thanks

[@Scottyx0x]

Ive been waiting for this one!!!

[@ivane5110]

Great video, not just as a toy review but as a pop culture history piece as well. So many great memories. This touches on why I enjoy repurposed toys when done right.

[@BrickMantooth]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@genesanford9412]

I had this set! : D ( also the camper , & a few other catalog items . ) loved Big Jim ,Action Jackson , K/O,s & my 12 " Joes . The price sticker on the box says $4.99 ! wow have things changed. Today gravy-lappers would fetch $ $49.99 for the MSRP.

[@GeekCreek]

What a fun set! I had no idea Barbie items were repurposed for such rugged, manly toy series, ha ha.

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah, Jim even put laser guns in Barbie's car.

[@Exar_Kun]

🎵🎵”Everybody was “Kung Fu Fighting,” in dojos next to Rite Aid!”🎵🎵 Also, “….included things for Jim to break, like a brick, a stool, and a bamboo stick…” AND the hearts of Dragon Ladies everywhere!!!!!

[@BrickMantooth]

Damn straight.

[@elcowabungahe-man6156]

I am a super fan of martial arts movies love this video i wish I was born during those days i would have ask my folks to get me this great video

[@BrickMantooth]

Oh yeah, I'm a Kung Fu movie addict.

[@vincentfranklin17]

I definitely remember this playset!

[@ismaelrodriguez6420]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane once again! I did have this playset as a kid and the PACK too. I guess being an only child for the first part of my life paid off. Curious note, in Puerto Rico (where I grew up), the PACK was sold with Torpedo Fist as a member of the group, Dr. Steel was a later addition. As always, you do have cool toys and I will attest that this one gave me hours of play time.

[@TheMovieDawgs]

Finally the epic video we have been waiting for!!!🤘😝🤘⚡Absolutely awesome Brian!

[@BrickMantooth]

Thanks!

[@robertthefilmmaker2590]

That is the best opening to an Action Figure playset video in all of KZbin and I could not stop laughing. I wished when the first guy got kicked he flew through the break away wall, lol. That set is much nicer then I expected too.

[@MrGnarlyskull]

Excellent video! I remember seeing this playset at a thrift store when I was a kid in the 80s. It was missing all it's pieces so I have never seen it intact and in all of it's glory until now.

[@richardwatts4660]

Absolutely loved this video, especially the start sequence which was a nice recap of the Kung-Fu craze I remember of the time. I unfortunately never had this here in the UK, but after seeing this video, I certainly would have loved to have it for sure. This playset yet again perfectly illustrates why 70's toys rock; like the Kenner Six Million Dollar Man line, the attention to background detail in this playset is amazing and so detailed in the colours, drawings and decals.I really liked the 70's stuff not just for playability, but also for the intricate detail work at the time on playsets. The Kung - Fu playset is just amazing, and I've had to watch it a few times in order to appreciate the detail fully. I'll definitely check out Dr Steel for sure, as he looks a pretty badass figure. Definitely one of your best produced videos Brian, really really enjoyed watching it as it sure captured that 70's Kung - Fu craze well, what with the brilliant tv shows, comic adverts and the like. Just a wonderful video, thank you.

[@ShadeofJeremy]

Man that does look like it was fun. I never had any Big Jim toys as a kid. I actually done even remember knowing about them honestly. I'd have loved them I'm sure, they seem to be right up my alley. Another cool video Brian. Keep up the good work.

[@BrickMantooth]

thank you so much.

[@brotherkellymatthewbarnes8882]

Bobby Orr "... now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time, a long time." -That Wizard that's just a crazy old man.

[@UpAllNight325]

Great video Brian. I love the Big Jim Ski-Jump!

[@martinrenner2992]

I always used to see ads for this in Marvel comics (but I lived in New Zealand so no luck). I did get the Jungle Truck, Terror off Tahiti set and Sports Camper. I'm in the process of re-collecting all these items I loved as a kid. The dojo looks great and I will definitely pick one up at some point if given the opportunity.

[@randymoses3972]

This may be your best video yet!

[@BrickMantooth]

Thanks, I was trying to make it the best I could.

[@schristy3637]

I'm a kid of the 70's( I'm 56) I don't remember Big Jim at all. G.I. Joe( with the fuzzy hair) Mego Action figs, and Action Jackson( Mego). I don't know who make the Mego toys now,but maybe they should ask Bruce Lee family if they could make retro Action Fig of him. Kato from The Green Hornet and Mr. Lee from Enter the Dragon. Here if a funny. I been in retail for over 30 years now. I work for Toys R Us(Not very long). I was putting up the Barbei's dolls one day(I was in my 40's then). I thought to myself.... This girl can't keep a job.. She does it all... She has even been in Star Fleet.HA!

[@BrickMantooth]

Hey, Mego made an 8" Bruce Lee a couple of years ago. Yeah Barbie sure has a long resume.

[@stevenmacias3605]

I remember seeing this in the toy dept. at my local Kmart. Though I never got this, I believe this is an awesome playset. I really miss the old days when toy departments were filled with many cool toys and toy companies trying to outdo each other, unlike now. Thank goodness for eBay. Congratulations on snagging this treasure. 👍 🥋

[@DelbertCole-m2u]

I never had big Jim toys but as an adult I found out about them and I knew I wanted my son to grow up with big Jim and he loves big Jim 😊

[@wofwof007]

Nice touch - starting with the Shaw Brothers intro. I'd give a body part for a top of the line Five Deadly Venoms action figure set.

[@BrickMantooth]

That would be cool!

[@earheadsix4119]

I had the Big Jim and camper but I had 0 knowledge of the kung fu studio. I wish I had known. Missed this one. Great video. I really liked the nfl films music during the toy action scenes.

[@kevinschmith9379]

I had that it was my Batman training center for robin

[@chrishight6598]

Had this one as a kid and loved it. Are you going to do a video on how you found this slice of gold? Maybe a reenactment that involves a shifty looking dog and a mailman?

[@Merylstreep1949]

I'd buy all 36 advertised Kung fu studios for 3.99 lol Wow!! I want that ski run set Bet that's unobtainable now

[@BrickMantooth]

Funny story, I was doing a toy show in the late 80s and I went to get a coke across the street and the store still had one on the shelf. I bought it.

[@fashiondolldreamer]

I just got the Barbie Country Living Home (in mint condition! 😛) and a fellow collector told me about this structure so I had to see it. Great video as always and this was such an impressive toy! I would have loved this as a kid, too!

[@deopersad2915]

Awesome 👍🏻😀 I want to get some of the big Jim stuff hopefully later on? I remember in school we had Bruce Lee karate book I would look at and other books in the past of how bmx started and hotrod's from the 60s gasers so cool 👍🏻😀

[@DinoStagno-g1u]

Yes i got one in Canada Toronto when I was four

[@scottstalcup6980]

Moment of truth, Brian. How many times during filming did you have Dr. Steel say something you could have Big Jim answer with, "Bull S**T, Mista Hand Man!"? 😊

[@BrickMantooth]

I'm embarrassed that I never thought of that.

[@scottstalcup6980]

@@BrickMantooth Don't be. I'm embarrassed that I DID. 😆

[@robbieaussievic]

..... Well done Mate, Can You please urge Big Jim to see a doctor regarding the 'Polymer glue like compound' emanating from his upper neck region.

[@BrickMantooth]

that happens to man dolls of a certain age.

[@johngeraci3887]

Yes I did like it as a kid

[@tikielvis]

I accepted Sir Run Run Shaw as my Lord and savior long ago. :)

[@walterheinen5298]

Thanks for the memories

[@Busk_N_Groove]

Another awesome video Brian! Never had any Big Jim stuff but always thought G.I. Joe w/ Kung Fu grip was pretty boss…

[@robertgriffiths1724]

They should reissue it with a master splinter mego action figure

[@exodore2000]

Man this is so familiar I remember all of this to the point of thinking I had this set. But maybe not I might be thinking of Big Jeff and his Safari Hut set and Jungle Truck that I know I had.

[@Siansonea]

I have all the Barbie playsets that Big Jim's were based on. The Country Camper and Country Living Home are especially cool. I'm surprised they never made a boat for Big Jim based on Barbie's Chris Craft Dream Boat. Of course, it could probably be used for Big Jim as is, it's not really all that Barbie-ized.

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah, I thought the same thing about the boat.

[@Bucky749]

Maybe big Jim’s tiger style needs work .

[@davidpenn9396]

Yes! I sure was a really Big Kung Fu Nut and still am as of now and I think I was 13 years old buying a Big Jim figure I never ever forget The Kung Fun outfit and studio which was Really Neat from that period of time

[@dannyd464]

Mmmmmm you can smell that 70s vinyl

[@BrickMantooth]

indeed and thankfully it's not "basementy".

[@mpRamosgroove]

HAHAHA! That intro is amazing!

[@jaygrinder7694]

Did you shoot this in Shaw Scope? I mean hey, it looks epic. BTW, I want all subscribers who understand this question to answer this inquiry. Who is your favorite Shaw Brothers star? I'll get the ball rolling by stating mine first; Fu Sheng.

[@BrickMantooth]

Glad you dug it. Oh and I'd probably say Jimmy Wang Yu or Gordon Liu.

[@jaygrinder7694]

@@BrickMantooth Great picks, I was actually lucky enough to meet Liu once. I was going to interview him a little later (this was back in the 90s), but I was uncertain as to what publication it would have been for at the time, and he was a bit uncomfortable with doing a print interview because of his English skills, he spoke English relatively okay at the time, but I guess he wasn't comfortable reading English, and was fearful of being quoted wrong and not knowing it. I was not lucky enough to have met Jimmy Wang Yu and that's obviously never going to happen now (well perhaps in the afterlife). But, I must say, that man was a real character, both on, and off screen. If only half of his biography was true, he probably lived a crazier life than we ever will.

[@UncleGhoulieTv313]

I had this. It was super fun

[@jorgel.santos4855]

Quiero comprar un big jag como lo puedo conseguir

[@kingerikthegreatest.ofall.7860]

Very cool. I remember a breaking board. I don’t know from what toy though.

[@spaceknight793]

Wanted it. Never had it. I do have a Big Jim on my shelf wearing the yellow outfit, tho.

[@mathieu4204]

Man, hearing Jim talk in Black Dynamite's voice makes me wish that you'd add Slade to this scene.

[@lazarus30001]

BIG JIM!!!!!....YYYEEEEEESSSSSS!!!

[@alkebulon7488]

I got the Big Jim RV and my brother got the Dojo

[@errolthomas9426]

Damn shame I can't seem to find the commercial of this

[@VintageToyTheatre]

Wasn't this the playset you were hoping to find on your US roadtrip a few weeks ago? Ironic that it was in your own backyard.

[@bigjimschannelMiguelAngel]

Great 👍👍👍👍👍

[@Busk_N_Groove]

Count Dante looks very much like Angel Martin from The Rockford Files… “Jimmy, Jimmy, JIMMY!”

[@davewhitehead135]

I Had Big Jim Kung Fu Figure,& The Studio.

[@davewhitehead135]

Yas. I Had The Kung Fu Studio.

[@3dartistguy]

Why was karate so popular in the early 1970s?

[@gjg8766]

That muscle mover didn't work in 1974 either.

[@paolomongon6616]

You didn't plug the attachments in properly into the muscle mover. The back points have to be squeezed together than inserted all the way into the mover attachment point. That's why your Jim kept falling off.

[@jamesmurray8558]

G.I.Joe with the kung fu grip.

[@davewhitehead135]

I Had A Dr Steel Figure, But A Friend Nagged Me Into Trading My Dr Steel Figure For A Skate Boured

[@PeterPrism]

bamboo comes from big jeff

[@Scotty-Z70]

Karate is to men as ballet is to women.