Vintage Mego 1978 Catalog - Micronauts- Superheroes - KISS

[@manofaction1807]

STRAIGHT OUT OF THE 70S!!! WOOT!!!

[@thinkforward8752]

Anything MICRONAUTS 🙌 To hell with the rest of that stuff 😄😂

[@TroySpencer-c3e]

I had Karza, my little bro had the Commander and we shared the battle cruiser. Very nice memories-you're right those figures were highly durable but losing the plastic rockets down a heat vent was inevitable. The handguns with the heavy rubber-tipped darts that made up the wings of the cruiser were awesome to the 9 year-old me. I really miss those toys-not enough to buy them now but still, Micronauts will always be dear to me-well done Brick.

[@charlesrobinson7469]

Great music, especially the 2nd track!👍

[@_The_Worst_]

Whoa...😮...that Barbi Benton doll's face sculp looked amazing for the time period...🤯💯✔️

[@ryanbarker5217]

i don't understand the sculpting philosophy of the time. some sculpts were dead-on likenesses for the most part, technology had nothing to do with it. but, a company like kenner put zero effort into making their 3.75" human faces remotely like the actors'. meanwhile, over at mattel they were doing a great job with the faces of the BSG, you just couldn't see it because no effort was put into the faces to highlight just how well they were done.

[@BrickMantooth]

Oh yeah, it really looks like her.

[@50footbrewery]

Always and forever Micronauts are my jam.

[@LightOfReason7]

I had the 2XL robot, he was really cute and funny!

[@ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In]

So many hours did I spend with 2XL, great memories.

[@ivane5110]

A slideshow of my youth; awesome! And not just the toys, but the shows too. I'm not sure which one I wikk have playing in my noggin longer, CHiPs theme song, (thanks to C.B. McCall) CW McCall's "Convoy" or the Happy Days song ; whichever way, I'm happy. Micronauts landed different in my area, especially with me. We all seemed to know the comic book first, so the line was actually infuriating on a certain level. Only half the main characters and not even all at the same size. But the ships were cool and at the perfect scale. I wish toy lines had just worked in the 8' and 3 3/4' scale so more couod be intergrated. But the highlight was Flash Gordon. What a great time it was as a fan of his. His cartoon on Saturdays, his Gold Key/Whitman comics, his action figures of 2 sizes, newpaper strip, his Buster Crabbe serial a perpetual part of either the Late, Late Show (or whatever the old moviee rerun at 11pm-ish was called) and even coloring books (I think). Even him teaming up with Popeye and so many others in the Man Who Hated Laughter cartoon movie (though onky saw that after the fact). And then capped off with the wild live action movie. (oh wait, now that'sthe song that'll be with me all day )A fan of his even to this day.

[@kingerikthegreatest.ofall.7860]

I had micronauts. I remember having a black horse.

[@BrickMantooth]

That was Karza's steed.

[@kingerikthegreatest.ofall.7860]

@@BrickMantooth ty

[@tikielvis]

I had SO MANY Micronauts figures/vehicles/robots from this period, and they're the only toys that didn't survive in any meaningful way to the present day. I took good care of my toys, I just don't remember what happened to my Micronauts.

[@VirtualSG]

I didn't have a lot of toys, but I recall fond memories of my brother and I in our beds trading stories about the adventures we could have with Micronauts - based on the TV commercials!

[@BrickMantooth]

the Micronauts could be a little fragile.

[@ApothecaryGrant]

It was the Micronauts that signalled the end for them . They invested in them and passed on the Star Wars license .

[@scottpendleton7248]

I got Force Commander and Baron Karza for my eighth birthday my parents took me to TGIF and then to Childerns Palace best birthday ever

[@ryanbarker5217]

i loved children's palace. where i got most of my micronauts from was best products.

[@kevingallagher188]

Heard someone say the oil embargo in the Carter years hit Mego hard because their biggest success was the right inch superhero line.

[@vintagespirit]

8:04 Magnanimals I had the Ape as a Kid . I don't know where i got it from , thank you for bringing back memories.

[@rumblehat4357]

Will never understand how the Micronauts didn't become huge. It's a property that could be a tv series or film series. I remember the comic book well. Arcturus Rand and Marionette were faves from the comic.

[@trinitythames6822]

We both have similar taste in toys.Thank you for the great videoes.

[@BrickMantooth]

thanks for watching, appreciate it.

[@marklatchford9557]

I think the really weedy Hulk at 3:20 would have to be my favorite!

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah it's a fun kit bash.

[@bio1656]

Great video . the micronauts comics made them popular .👍👍

[@BrickMantooth]

Yes indeed

[@rumblehat4357]

It also made kids realize the toys were "life size."

[@bio1656]

@@rumblehat4357 👍👍

[@jakecamp12]

KISS!!! :) For a KISS collector, it is one of the holy grail items.

[@BrickMantooth]

Absolutely.

[@dazwannawzad9272]

I was born in 1980, but as a kid my neighbors older brother had ALOT of Micronauts and I was so jealous. I did have a Mego Spidey, Hulk and a strechy Hulk though. Of course my childhood was Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, MotU, Thundercats, etc...But I love looking at the toys just before my time and when I was too little to recognize the greatness that preceded me. Thank you for the video!!!

[@BrickMantooth]

Thanks for commenting, appreciated reading it.

[@JimmyGAR1]

Hits right to the heart of my childhood. Have many of the micronauts and remember most of the rest. Some of the super heros were really never available in my local Kmart or toy store. I know because I checked every week. My mom would buy me whatever ones I wanted but the stores would always have just the top sellers. Human torch? Forget it. Green Arrow? I remember seeing him once and regret not asking for him. Never saw him on shelves again.

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

You make a great point about availability of many of these toys to some of us not able to shop at a big toy store. Eventually I had access to a KB toys but I was already into my later years of toy playing. Kmart and the other discount department stores (and there were dozens of them then...not just pretty much two like now) only had so much shelf space and Department managers were usually conservative and stocked the A lister superheroes but not very man of the B or C tier. The best bet was Montgomery Wards or Sears but my list got pretty long at Christmas and I found out later mom mostly just bought what she found at sidewalk sales and clearance sales from the previous year... basically last years list!😐

[@toysbackzen]

Yup! I had a Maganadoodle. Thanks for reminding me.

[@dennissmith5807]

I vividly remember seeing tons of Time Travelers on pegs at Sears. I picked up some graded Micronauts a few years ago.

[@BrickMantooth]

I remember those toys.

[@megofan5734]

Thanks again for showing another Mego catalog that many of us probably couldn't afford on Ebay. I'm happy to say that I own most of what is in that catalog. They're my prized possessions. Although 1978 was the first of my three Star Wars Christmases, I still received plenty of Mego items, many of which I still have.

[@BrickMantooth]

Lucky you for still having some of those!

[@brademerick9181]

I still have a few of my Mego toys , they're beat up ,stained ,and missing parts in some cases , but I loved them .

[@richardwatts4660]

Thank you Brian, absolutely spot-on here with how popular Micronauts were in 1978. Back then, my first Micronauts toy was a Hydra vehicle, maybe with a white or yellow Time Traveller I think. Micronauts were, and still are, such a collectable for myself. Absolutely loved the concept of the Pharoid with Time Chamber figure at the time, having all of the coloured variations available here in the UK. Just such a cool figure, and great nearly 40 or so years later I was able to at last obtain some of the rarer Microman Command originals that weren't available here. I'm so glad I reacquired a lot of Micronauts stuff a decade ago online, as today anything Micronauts seems very pricey to buy, which is a shame, and why the toy has not been re-launched for the 21st Century is a complete mystery, although there does seem to be a lot of legal matters or rights involved...

[@3dartistguy]

For one brief shining moment, Micronauts eclipsed my Star Wars figure collecting.

[@BrickMantooth]

Me too.

[@VirtualSG]

It's so interesting to hear about Abrams' pride in MagnaDoodle. That thing was indeed epic!

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah, I was looking for action figure anecdotes and I got a more interesting story.

[@nostalgicforthe70s18]

I was searching for the magnetic Spiderman and now after watching your video found out that it never came out. This would have been the most appropriate character for the 12 inch magnetic line.🤨

[@BrickMantooth]

SO logical.

[@T-RavisComics]

Loved my Micronauts as a kid. I got a bunch of them for Christmas in 78. Always liked how you could change chest plates out

[@ryanbarker5217]

mego definitely got a lot of my allowance, and my mom certainly contributed to their coffers when it was my birthday or xmas. one of the best toys i had was force commander.

[@kieronball8962]

Thanks for sharing this awesome Mego catalogue from 1978, Brick Mantooth. I did own many of the toys featured in this catalogue and (while I no longer have my childhood toys) I am slowly reaquiring them. My current toy collection includes a Baron Karza and Andromeda, in lovely condition. :)

[@Merylstreep1949]

That Barbi Benton would definitely be on my list as well as the Farrah and Flash Gordon

[@brademerick9181]

What ? Barbi Benton ? Gonna have to look for that one .

[@manko8852]

I love it all, great trip back in time.

[@mars0395]

Micronauts!!!!

[@japewisteria]

I never had the Astro Station as a kid (we just didn't have space in the house for vehicles/playsets), but it's the one thing I would've loved. All Micronauts are really pricey now, so it will probably get filed in the "not gonna happen" column.

[@TheMovieDawgs]

I looked at these catalogs for hours are in days on end weeks on in until the damn thing would fall apart. LOL loving your work Brian as always

[@ShadeofJeremy]

Cool video. I didn't have much of this, but i was only 5 at the time. I did have one Micronaut figure that I lost in the yard at my grandmother's. The toys that stand out to me from this however, are the CHiP's figures. Ponch and John were the only 8" Mego's I owned as a kid.The show was a favorite of mine and I loved those figures. Fond memories brought back seeing those guys.

[@megofan5734]

A longtime favorite of mine too- I never miss CHiPs when it airs on Charge. And of course, I have the action figures and their motorcycles.

[@BrickMantooth]

Oh wow! That's great!

[@robertgriffiths1724]

Great video Better with sound 🤙

[@BrickMantooth]

Thanks! 😃

[@jasonesler2716]

Great job! Some very cool throwbacks to the good old days.

[@medic599]

Whew! I had the original Magna Doodle, several Micronauts, Biotron and Hydrocopter (must've been a different year), a bunch of the superheroes, CB McHaul (I forgot about him), and 2XL. I remember begging for 2XL. Once I got him I thought he was a ripoff.

[@ken_r_action_figures7932]

This was awesome, thank you for this

[@Floyds_Toys]

I'd have to say my fave item in the catalog is the Micronauts Biotron. I wanted that thing like crazy back then but ended up with the Hydro-Copter instead (still a cool toy) I've never gotten Biotron over the years and he has kind of taken on an almost mythic kind of status with me. One of these days I'll get one but I know he can't live up to the 45 years of hype that I've built up.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

FYI, there was a Japanese-exclusive Smash Bros. style video game called "DreamMix TV World Fighters" that featured this toy, used by a Microman figure called M121 Mason. (I don't know what the Micronaut equivalent name is.)

[@megofan5734]

I have Biotron, and I believe it will live up to your expectations. Mine still works.

[@marklatchford9557]

I've got a Biotron - He's not in the best condition, but he's still very, very cool.

[@vershaladyn]

The synchronicity of this is amazing. I just broke out a bunch of my old Micronauts and I am introducing them to my grandson. Such a shame these toys are not around anymore. They inspired so much in my head. I don't understand why Hasbro hasn't done anything with them. If I was a billionaire...

[@patrickbarnes9462]

Thank you for sharing this. Mego Toys were paradise for me as a child. I had many of the superhero figures. Micronauts was absolutely awesome. There was nothing quite like it. I also had Aquaman vs the Great White Shark, which made bath time great fun. Aquaman and the shark, that I named Bob, were buddies in my imagination.

[@BrickMantooth]

I haven't met too many people who had it as a kid, that's awesome. Bob is a great name.

[@bobastu]

Mego having Marvel and DC was a game changer. How many kids had the Enterprise crew beam down to help Batman and Robin capture a Klingon stealing things in the past. The idea of figures being the same size was brilliant. At 12", 8", or even 3¾", it allowed so many adventures to cross pollinate. I have to wonder why modern Mego doesn't bring back cardboard playsets. A friend's dad had all of superheroes, DC and Marvel, in a room in his basement, each one in a plastic bag with all accessories. I was so jealous as a preteen.

[@BrickMantooth]

That dude was ahead of his time.

[@bobastu]

@@BrickMantooth have you seen the Anniversary DC figures, if they have the newer Mego bodies?

[@BrickMantooth]

@@bobastu Yes, they'll be on a newer body I haven't actually seen before but it looks pretty great.

[@brotherkellymatthewbarnes8882]

Please do a videos about 2XL and Magnadoodle.

[@BrickMantooth]

Down the line I will.

[@acrovader]

The science fiction toys of the late 70's helped define my childhood. I never cared much for Evel Knievel or Big Jim or Adventure Team GI Joe, or Mego's POTA, Superheroes, Star Trek, etc. (tho- I liked the Pocket Superheroes and 3.75" ST). To me, it was all about MIcronauts, Star Wars (including the Falcon & Death Star play set, etc.), Super Joe, 1999 Eagle play set, Black Hole, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Shogun Warriors, MB's Starbird, Metal Man, Arco's Spacewar, and Tomland's Star Raiders. And everything else in between, including FP's Adventure People. I could never imagine playing with Welcome Back Kotter, Happy Days, & the Love Boat figures. Fuck it- I wanted robots, conflict, cool villains, & aliens that didn't have to rely on pointy ears to be alien!

[@VirtualSG]

I was also partial to sci-fi stuff, but Big Jim, Gi Joe, Star Trek, and especially POTA were just as interesting to me - and the Evel Knievel stunt cycle is probably one the greatest toys ever made IMO.

[@LancetFencing]

Micronaughts were my toy of choice. they were awesome i think i still have a space glider backpack

[@robertgriffiths1724]

What was the tea about mego passing on star wars? I can imagine that Lucas wanted a bigger peice of the action

[@BrickMantooth]

The heads of Mego were in Japan and a lower level executive passed. Both Abrams and Kublan told me that they would never have let that happen. It was a slam dunk deal for them.

[@robertgriffiths1724]

@@BrickMantooth cool good to know, thanks

[@dannycruz5446]

Great timing! I was wondering just the other day what line & company that magnetic monkey & giraffe were from.

[@BrickMantooth]

The Magnanimals are seriously obscure.

[@bobbyhulll8737]

As a kid graduated from Worlds greatest superhero’s to Micronauts a far superior action figure than the stiff StarWars figures . But great to be able to use the vehicles when they came out

[@BrickMantooth]

Yeah i did that as well.

[@tanyabrown8935]

I had the candi styling head doll with the hair dye and accessories when I was 11 back in 1979

[@thegeorgiealityshow359]

Wow I once had 2XL but by the time I got him it was 1985.wish I still did had him but I have a cassette playing R2-D2 Still.

[@jamesschulziii9098]

I remember this just barely. I was 4 going on 5 . I don't think I had any mego catalogs but the sears wishbook I do. First time I had seen cb McCall, starsky and hutch etc. I mean 1978 was a big year ya had star wars coming out in action figure form which obviously was a contender for Mego. Great video as always.😉

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

I loved this trip into the Mego catalog Bian! Great music choices as well. Its funny I can walk through most toy aisles today and except for a Lego set here or there I am not interested. But show me these old toys from 44 years ago and I want the whole lot!! I would say any of the MicroNauts and especially the big city structure and the battle cruiser would be my favorites. Sadly never owned them as a child but I did have Biotron and several Time Travelers and two or three other cool vehicles. I bought a few odd Micronauts on Ebay a few years ago and sold them to mostly fund a few fun nights at a strip club. I am still debating with myself if the experience was worth parting with those pieces of plastic!🤔

[@Scotty-Z70]

i had the Suzanne Sommers doll, but in a pink dress. Got it in 5th grade, around 1980

[@JAbell1966]

Barbie Benton was also a four season cast member of the variety show Hee-Haw as well as being a moderately successful country singer.

[@BrickMantooth]

Oh I forgot all about Hee-Haw!

[@budgiecat9039]

1:39 hmm Im not sure who Barbi Benton is but that doll looks impressively accurate to her likeness for that time, as well as that Farrah Fawcett bust at 2:33

[@popcultureoppressionobsess2104]

love these!!!!!

[@loganjorgensen]

Nice montage, funky music and nice transition effects. I think everybody asks that question "What if, Mego had the Star Wars license?", the multiverse beckons lol. Definitely would like to see a resurgence of magnet based toys again, great simple gimmick that worked so well for so many lines. You can kind of see the writing on the wall for 12" playset cancellation given so many lines shrinking after the Kenner SW line. Yeah the timing is mostly off for some TV dolls and things like Flash Gordon, I think some of those would sell better later(FG movie in the 80s) and others definitely wouldn't sell past 1979. 2-XL is a tremendously sophisticated toy for the era, the designer of it is a real genius since mechanical AI is so much harder than the machine intelligence we would come to have with the boon of the microchip. Oh yeah Magna-Doodle is great design that still works today, Marty should be proud of it. :D

[@jamesbirch9614]

That Hulk looks like he went on a diet!!!

[@Busk_N_Groove]

Or possibly hanging out with Bruce Lee.

[@Collectorholic]

That catalog is so cool. New subscriber.

[@BrickMantooth]

thanks so much!

[@Scotty-Z70]

wow, what were they thinking with Barbi Benton. The Sweet Innocence is a copy of the Mattel Sweetheart dolls (a boy and a girl, with very articulated dolls)

[@Scotty-Z70]

I bought the Tenille doll just a few years ago...did you know she has NO EARS!!! It's SO CREEPY!!

[@Scotty-Z70]

same! I have my Karza and FC...and many of my Micros. The Battle Cruiser didn't survive. PARTS of the Star Explorer survived.

[@mixedhairless]

Took me back to 1978 when I was 7 years old.. I denounced Micronaughts, first mistake of my like. Doh🤬

[@t.s.180]

I was still about the Super-heroes at this point, but was about to outgrow them (and toys in general). I honestly don't remember Micronauts being a thing, which is probably indicative of the age I was. I also don't remember seeing the Flash Gordon figs, but that is a really good looking line.

[@p.d.l7023]

I still have parts of the white horse.

[@VirtualSG]

One of the things I remeber about the KISS action figures - there were two versions. There was a noticable difference in the quality of plastic than the other. But I have no idea if this diversity was among each of them from the start (e.g. Gene and Paul were better figures than Ace and Peter) or if all four were downgraded for subsequent runs.

[@BrickMantooth]

I think the first KISS figures were on Fashion doll bodies and later beefed up with Superhero bodies. My memory cheats but I think one character is only available on the superhero body.

[@VirtualSG]

@@BrickMantooth I recall one body reminding me of a Barbie Doll (quality wise) and the other was like a "hollow body" knock off. But since we're both saying roughtly the same thing... perhaps it was a combination of things. I did a quick google and didn't find any history about them. Most of us in the U.S. referred to them as The Kiss Dolls.

[@bobbyhulll8737]

Kiss figures were great as enemies for 12 “ inch Hulk as well as the Bionic man Big Foot and Maskatron . The one in the catalogue looks like he lost some muscle mass lol ..the one that came out was a great toy much better than the small hulk who seemed to be the shortest hero in the line

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

LOL. I was going to make a comment on Hulk losing a lot of weight.... due to radiation?!😅

[@sxhbk]

Filmation had the flash gordon cartoon series that came out in 79, toys look like it

[@neiltemple123]

I have a Force Commander. He was my fave. I never got Karza. What is the name of the toy at 9:05?

[@jeremybaker195]

Why do you Lavern & Shirley dolls look nothing like Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams? Most of the others have a decent likeness of the actors.

[@BrickMantooth]

I explained that. They were 8 inch figures blown up to 12". Not well.

[@VirtualSG]

Yeah, weird. Brian says the sculpter wasn't happy with them. I wonder what went wrong?

[@ryanbarker5217]

on the surface, changing scales seems like it shouldn't matter. but, in real life a dramatic scale difference can have bad results when you pantograph.

[@VirtualSG]

Most people don't know what a pantograph is. I googled it. A careless pantograph upscale would explain both the non-likeness and the original sculptor's dissapointment.

[@ryanbarker5217]

@@VirtualSG yep, pretty much. you sometimes do have to make changes in different scales, too, which most certainly they did not, lol. i agree, most people don't know what a pantograph machine is by name, but i think most of us older guys know what it is. once it's explained it's like, 'oh, yeah, okay, i kind of know what that is, sure.' the funny thing is that toys have a crazy history sometimes, but sometimes even more crazy is the history of the tooling (molds). as boring as that sounds, it can be a fascinating subject.

[@Exar_Kun]

Lol my coworkers thought I was watching 70s porn cuz they only heard the music lol.

[@BrickMantooth]

Well in a way, it's toy porn but it's safe for work.

[@Exar_Kun]

@@BrickMantooth 🤣🤣🤣

[@donkeypox1943]

Hey Amigo good channel and videers!

[@andrewwebb4919]

Did Barbie Benton come with a moustache?

[@oxleymations]

My favorite would, absolutely, have to the Gene Simmons figure at the end, such a unique take on the classic Demon

[@donstrutz750]

I had that Aquaman and shark.

[@jamesschulziii9098]

Oh also, who could deny the Micronauts?

[@mixedhairless]

Life , not like… 🤣

[@David29497]

Look how Batman had his hand lmao

[@Ken-vk8pb]

Why did the Mego Farrah Fawcett dolls have the Mego melt problem on the shoulder and hip and thigh joints where the plastic or vinyl melted through the dolls clothes or white jumpsuit? We're they made with cheap plastic and vinyl because the Farrah doll heads stayed in great condition even 50 years later so they must have been made of a better quality vinyl. The Mego Toni Tennille doll had the same problem but it was worse with the Farrah dolls. The Toni Tennille doll also had no ears but the Farrah doll had ears so that makes no sense on the part of Mego. The dolls were nice but many people say that they were ugly especially the Farrah doll but I think they did a great job with the dolls head sculpt and hair and face paint. But her body looked to thin and long for her large head so that could have been better. The dolls were in the 1978 Mego catalog but I thought Farrah and Toni Tennille were released in late 1977.

[@Busk_N_Groove]

Back in the day, Micronauts were my jam. Brilliant toy line, even the commercials looked like something from another galaxy. Lol… the forced look smile on the Farrah glamour head… yikes!

[@Scotty-Z70]

I wanted the KISS dolls so bad, but my mom said they were devil-worshippers. so nope. couldn't have them. Jokes on her, i have superior versions now thanks to modern Mego: 8" versions of all 4, and i prefer that scale to 12"

[@Scotty-Z70]

wait...there were 8" versions of Flash Gordon?!?!?! i had the 4" figures. Also, i totally forgot they did the 4 12" Laverne and Shirley dolls...they were so ugly, IMO. I had the 12" wonder woman from Mego

[@Scotty-Z70]

Batman and Robin...those hands are so inappropriate. I remember joking about that in middle school (i had Batman and Spider-Man)