FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE!11!1!!! I still can't find one, all I got was a crummy bootleg from the dollar store that had a picture of Rey Mysterio Jr. on the package for no reason.
Ultrakaiju asked for a story, so that's what I gave him earlier. He also gave us permission to present a couple childhood grails, and I just remembered one that I would have LOVED to have had, but mommy and daddy would never pony up for - ROM: The SPACE KNIGHT! "The micro-electronic creation from Parker Brothers." Here he is in ACTION!
In 1951 when I was 10 years old I saw an article in Life magazine with these toys made by Charles and Ray Eames. I"m sure I had no idea who the Eames were at that time but I had dreams of having one of these giant magical animal heads as my own. I haven't been able to find any information that shows if these were ever even produced for a market. There is tons of info on the photographs and prints/posters are still available today. I'm sure if any of these heads are around today they would be worth a fortune.
I'm sucking at not remembering what my grails were. Carrie Fisher and an AT-AT probably I never got the X-Wing, the Tie-Figher, the Dewback, the Wampa, IG-88, the Cosmos 1999 ship and the Smurf house. This was frustrating ( ) but not grail like.
to this day i feel bad after i realize how many things i asked for were never available as toys. regardless though my mom did try to find them. keep in mind the era was 1974- 1979 in USA. short list would be: ULTRAMAN (closest i got was Hasbro Bulletman) Bigfoot (authentic cryptid not bionic man version) Salt Vampire aka M113 (foreign knockoff was made by UFP) a pull string Talking Quisp Alien (prototype only NFS) realistic grail? AHI Creature from the Black Lagoon (male version) photo by Marquis_de_Sass pretty much got everything else i ever wanted except at age 4 i saw an image in an old magazine of a character that still is a grail.. SHRIMPENSTEIN *Wah Chang rendered this character, you may know of another monster he did that Bemon remade. it has 2 heads..
I paid $500 for one of these last year. Box is messed up something chronic but he's complete....in my garage somewhere with my other grail...A diecast Popy Godphoenix that also took me 20 years to get.
^^^^ So let me get this straight.... you finally found your childhood grail last year for $500 and it's sitting in your garage? That's sad!
AT-AT for sure and the Giant Mazinger. My cousin had one and I always loved playing with it. and luckily, as for the AT-AT, was able to score 5 yes 5 AT-AT when they released the newer line of SW at ToyrUs for $20 a piece! still no mazinger thou....
Inhumanoids were one of the best toy lines of the 80s. I still love how messed up the proportions of D'compose was. Opening rib cage and skullish animal head. It would actually make a really cool vinyl toy translated properly. http://youtu.be/AfAr3fN7uP8 As far as grails, it would have to be the large diecast Voltez 5 where all the pieces could properly disassemble just like the cartoon. I only got the smaller version that did not disassemble but it did spark my love for Japanese toys. Also made me realize how much of my mind expanded with the right toy. It wasn't only playing with the toy but realized how my mind opened up with the endless scenarios and visuals my mind would create from one toy.
I think we have this somewhere. Not fucking kidding. It was my sisters and I swear we have it in my parents attic still.
I can remember lusting after this lego space ship. I had the smaller blue one, but I really water those clear yellow pieces from the cockpit on this one. Never got it. This was just about the time my dad got canned from his job and my family started living cheap for the next 15 years.
I had this stupid bear, i'd have traded it for one of those rubber monster pupets that came in the cage for the 80's
All our good stuff is in the garage right now....we're getting some new cabinets in about a month and some shelves to rectify this. He'll need a custom built case though because I'm a bit antsy-in-the-pantsy about having him out unless hes in a case-within-a-case. People always pick up the rarest thing in any collection and put their DAMN DIRTY APE PAWS all over them every time otherwise.
Oh man, somewhere I have a photo of me attempting to communicate with my young nephew through Jingle Bear. It worked. The little monster finally talked to Uncle Dean thanks to that dang bear. It wasn't a toy but when I think folks here can appreciate this: When I was about ten I wanted Ray Harryhausen's "Film Fantasy Scrapbook" really badly. "Golden Voyage of Sinbad" had just been released and the book updated to include production drawings and stills from it. Being pre-internet, it took my parents quite a bit of bookstore searching to find the book, but they finally did and I was one happy geeky kid that Christmas. I honestly don't remember having grail toys as a kid but as a very young youngster I had Major Matt Mason and that zip line thing of his, the fuzzy-beard version of GI Joe in camo, loved SuperSpirograph and Creepy Crawlers.
I wanted a Matt Mason Space Station; they're hard to find complete these days. Also, an on-model Superman halloween costume; not the pieces-of-shit ones that were just flammable blue pajamas with a picture of Superman below his name- complete with generic red cape and Lone Ranger style mask. What the hell? - Superman doesn't wear that crap!
A lot of my Kid Grails were ones that I didn't own, but went over to friends houses to play with... Then there were these three that I once saw in a local comic book store. I knew nothing about Creech, Reservoir Dogs or Sin City at the time, but the detail and hardcore vibe from these figures were hypnotizing. And one I still drool over till this day... Still don't know why I don't own this. Maybe I want to let it still be unobtainable...
Ha! I have that figure sealed in the card still. How funny. I had that Frank fig too until a recent garage sale where it got flipped for like $2. That's funny!
I had that MAXX toy unopened for years, a friend gave it to me. Last year I gave it to another friend, just gets passed around among us.
my cousin had it and fucked it up! I got to play with it when he first got it though. Next time I came over, pieces are gone and shit...
