I saw this mini figure on eBay and it tickled a memory in the deep recesses of my brain, but for the life of me I can’t place it. Anyone have an idea? ...

Tomy's Zoids-like Robo Strux toy line ...

This one is just for the lulz… ...

Tomy's Zoids-like Robo Strux lone of model toys ...

Tomy's Zoids-like Robo Strux toy line ...

I don’t collect or buy a lot of toys any more – I mostly have what I want – but I have developed a fondness for the sci-fi guns from Edison Giocattoli of Italy, and Sanchis of Spain. Which is unfortunate because they tend to be pricey. But I juat bought this ZX-271 off eBay … Continue reading Edison Giocattoli ZX-271 Super Pistola → ...

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I found these Masters of the Universe knock off toys at a recent toy show. The seller didn’t really know anything about them either, but they are super fun, and easily as cool as any of the genuine MotU toys from back in the day. I particularly loved the battle elephant and the, um, attention to detail … Continue reading Masters of the Universe Knock Offs → ...

I’ve always loved how visions of the future from the past envisioned technological progress that was essentially an improved version of what they had, particularly transportation. This Sky Rail set is no Mego Microrail City, but it does have an awesome vibe.  ...

Okay, these toys are probably intended for girls, but I had a huge crush on Kate Jackson and probably would have enjoyed a Charlie’s Angels <> Six Million Dollar Man nonetheless.  ...

ERTL was, hands down, king of  licensed die-cast cars. Take this Smokey and the Bandit set, complete with Trans-Am and elephant. But the bit that really sells it is the play surface the set comes with. The perfect gift for Burt Reynolds fans! ...

I don’t know a lot about this Paint by Monster set, but it would have been perfect to go along with my Mighty Men and Monster Maker and Thing Maker toys… ...

I’ve seen (and owned) a number of Mego’s licensed figures, but despite enjoying the TV show, never owned and CHiPs toys. I’d seen them, of course, but a couple cop figures just didn’t excite me. Now, if I’d seen Wheels Willy here (who I’m assuming was in the show) I might have changed my mind. … Continue reading CHiPs Wheels Willy → ...

One of my favorite things about shows from the 70s and early 80s is how the licensing teams left no stone unturned when it came to merchandising. I can totally see myself wearing these Battlestar Galactica Cylon sunglasses while listening to Devo.  ...

It may not be obvious from the photo, but the Ideal Robot Commando is huge! For a toy anyway. I love the color scheme on this bad boy. And the psycho the robot eyes.  Unfortunately, like so many giant toys, it doesn’t really do much except look really good.  ...

From Takara, purveyor of Micronauts, Timanic, Transformers and Microman, comes the fleet of ships on one giant robot Diakron Multi-Force. Check out the back to see how his various limbs and body parts become a huge array of smaller ships. Takara, more than any other company, nailed the transforming bot toy category. It would have … Continue reading Diakron Multi-Force 14 → ...

Cool mini robot find from the Time Tunnel Toys San Jose toy show. I’m not at all familiar with the Cosmo Robots line of toys. I’m assuming it is an import given the bilingual packaging. If you know something about it, or others in the series, I’d love to hear from you.  ...

Lots of new photos in the Micronauts section of the site. Navigate directly to a vehicle or figure for the photos. The Warp Racer, shown here, was my first, and favorite Micronauts vehicle. I loved the wind up engine, cool futuristic design, and the time traveler that came with it. As I received more micros … Continue reading Micronauts Warp Racer → ...

Not a huge update, but I’ve posted a new Microbots page with photos of these largely forgotten tiny construction bots. ...

With the return of Rom the Space Knight to the world of comics courtesy of IDW (god I would kill for that gig…,) I thought I’d update my photos of the silver skinned defender of humanity. I was an avid reader of the comics as a kid and really loved the toy. The combination of … Continue reading Parker Bros. Rom the Space Knight → ...

One of the coolest toys I had as a kid was Tomy’s robotic knight, Mighty Max. Although it’s not related in any way to Micronauts, the chrome head and Japanese influenced design made it feel like a Micronaut when it was play time. Best part about Mighty Max was his versatility. You could disassemble him … Continue reading Mighty Max by Tomy → ...

In retrospect, Buck Rogers was not the best sci-fi show on TV in the 80s. It was sexist, the plots were thin, the effects were canned. But I still really, really liked it and I loved playing with my Buck Rogers figures and in particular, I liked the ships. The Star Fighter and Draconian Raider … Continue reading Buck Rogers Star Fighter Command Center → ...

I’ve been messing around with the site design a bit lately – mainly trying to make it easier to maintain and make it more mobile friendly. The template I’m using now is a slightly modified “stock” template for WordPress. I’m curious if you folks looking at the site think the current template works as well/is … Continue reading Site feedback? → ...

A BEM reader emailed me about this figure asking if I knew what it was. Sadly, I’ve no idea so I’m posting here to see if any of you can identify it.  Everything but the shorts are metal, no markings.    ...

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Another toy show find. This Astro Train set covers air, land and sea and is a combination of steel and plastic. It was in remarkably good shape – even the box!      ...

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Spend much time on BEM and it becomes pretty obvious I have an Alien fixation. This was a really good year at SDCC for both the Ridley Scott Alien and the James Cameron Aliens incarnations.   Not shown is a Super7 prototype for a Kenner style Alien based on the Cameron movie.  ...

Adam West era Batman is still my favorite. There was a lot of great stuff to see for the Batman 66 fan. Here are some photos of my favorites.  ...

SDCC15 is nearly upon us! So I am posting some photos of a Mattel exhibit from a few cons ago that was all Battlestar Galactica – and all vintage. Check out the Viper launcher in the lower left corner of the group shot! ...

I’ve always loved the work of Ray Harryhausen. The skeleton sword fight in Jason and the Argonauts had me rivited, but the first Harryhausen film I ever saw, and my favorite one, was the last one he made, Clash of the Titans. And the best monster in a film with so many great ones was … Continue reading Clash of the Titans Kraken → ...

I love die cast figures and very few companies do it better than ERTL, from their Star Trek ships to these very cool Super Heroes. ...

As a kid, I spent more time playing with Legos than any other toy and especially loved the space kits.  After my family moved abroad it was much easier to get Tente and LocBlocks, so I ended up with a pretty mixed set of building bricks. I still vividly remember getting this exact set and … Continue reading LocBlocs Laser Tank → ...

For Easter, a tangentially related toy. More from Ork, the other Alien that came out of an egg.  ...

If you were a kid in the 70s, Evel Knievel was a real life super hero dare devil. I’m from Idaho and his jump spot near Twin Falls where he tried to jump the Snake River Canyon is a place I’ve visited more than once. Given the connection, it should be no surprise I love … Continue reading Evel Knievel Escape from Skull Canyon → ...

Here’s one for the fans of female action heroes, myself included, a fully functional Bionic Woman wrist radio that can tune in your favorite AM radio stations. Back when it was released, you might have been able to find more than political talk radio to entertain the kids. Think about the fact it’s powered by … Continue reading Bionic Woman Wrist Radio → ...

Sticking with the playset theme, I present a Buck Rogers and Twiki communicator. I really loved this show as a kid, but upon watching it as an adult, I was horrified to discover it was a misogynistic, poorly written, but of trash. I still feel quite a bit of nastalgia for it though. I loved … Continue reading Buck Rogers and Twiki Communicators → ...

Spend any time on the site and you will quickly learn I love Alien. I was a huge booster of Super 7 when they were working on the first set of ReAction Alien figures, so when they announced the Playset, I lined up at SDCC to order it. Nearly a year later, it finally arrived. … Continue reading Super7 ReAction Alien Playset → ...

Continuing with the 70’s era LARPing theme, I bring you the Space 1999 Utility Belt, complete with communicator, chronometer, and stunner disc gun. Space 1999 was really a terrible show, but the design of everything was stellar and Mattel, Dinky and Remco, in this case, did an incredible job of turning the visuals into toys.  ...

Who doesn’t love Shogun Warriors? I was desperate for one as a kid. I read the comics. Loved them. Never saw this playset, but if I had, I could easily see myself playing Rodan to my brother’s Gaiking. ...

I’m a big fan of Gerry Anderson, but I didn’t discover most of his work until I was an adult. But even without knowing the connection between the Thunderbirds Tracy Island player and the show, I still would have loved this toy as a kid. Oddly enough, I did have a bunch of Zylmex Thunderbirds … Continue reading Thunderbirds Tracy Island → ...

In honor of GDC this week, I bring you toys from the adorably bizarre Qbert. ...

Any child of the 70’s knows the name Farah Faucet. Boys dreamed about her. Girls dreamed about being her. So how better to do service to the magnificent Farrah than by making an action figure? When I see toys like this I feel better about Mego tanking. ...

What was it about the 70s and plastic model kits? I can’t count the number of cars, space ships, and Universal Monsters I put together. I can still smell the rubber cement. I actually had the Moebius Gigantic Frankenstein and it was every bit as awesome as it looks. ...

Since 1979 I have been mildly obsessed by the movie Alien and its many sequels. I got the Kenner 18″ Alien for Christmas that year and I’ve been collecting Alien toys ever since. I never saw the Alien Chase Target Set as a kid but sure would have loved it. I particularly like the Alien … Continue reading Alien Chase Target Set → ...

The System 7 – 7 Way Task Force playset would have been my favorite toy if I’d had it as a child. It’s James Bond, Get Smart, and Man from UNCLE all in one toy. I especially love how it comes with a ring. ...

Captain Chaos!!!! Can’t believe someone made a line of Cannonball Run toys, but they did. There’s the ambulance and a whole slew of others. ...

For a show that only ran one season, Battlestar Galactica managed to generate a lot of toys and licensed products. This Cylon Bubble Machine just seems wrong. Cylons wiped out humanity. They committed genocide. Cylons blowing bubbles seems like it sorta takes the sting out of their evilness. ...

I love knock-offs. Especially Star Wars knock-offs. This Wookie-like figure is one of the better quality ones I’ve found. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but the figure is maybe a half inch taller than the average Star Wars figure, and a bit beefier. My favorite thing about this Galaxy Empire toy is the … Continue reading Galaxy Empire Star Wars Knock Off → ...

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I’ve added a bunch of new images to existing pages this week. I got a new camera (finally!) and am playing around with it, which is much fun! So, for your viewing pleasure, you get the following: 1. New stills of Diecast Star Wars Ships 2. New stills of Starbird Avenger and Starbird Intruder 3. … Continue reading New images! → ...

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I was turned into a toy. I always knew it would end like this. Me Toy by CoKreeate ...

Remember Colorforms Shrinky Dinks? You color them, stick them in the over to shrink ’em, and have decorated pieces of plastic that look like they were colored by a professional because your mistakes are so much smaller? Yeah, they were awesome. You can still get them, but you probably can’t get Pee-wee ones! ...

I’ve watched a lot of Rocky and Bullwinkle in my time, but I always sorta liked Boris and Natasha better and kept rooting for them to win. Same thing with Dudley and Snidely (and for my money, there is no greater villain name than Snidely Whiplash.) When I ran across these “non-toxic” Fun-Flex toys from … Continue reading Wham-O Rocky and Bullwinkle → ...

I have a strange attraction to Ugly Dolls. They are pretty simplistic stuffed animals, and they are widely ripped off, but i like the way the creator developed unique character templates that get reused. Last year there were the Universal Monster ones, which I loved. This year, DC Comics ones. The DC versions seemed a … Continue reading Weirdest ugly doll ever? → ...

Hasbro showed everybody’s favorite Space Knight some some love at SDCC with a show exclusive Rom the Space Knight…thing. I’ve never understood the fat bodied toy designs. Why make a cool toy into something squat and round? I’m glad Rom is getting some new action (and boy would I love a new comic!) but this … Continue reading SDCC 14: Rom the Space Knight → ...

Space 1999 is one of my favorite TV series. The premise is ludicrous – the moon forced out of orbit then zooming through the galaxy – but the ships are just so damn cool. And the writing was pretty good too. ...

What better way to get around like Pee-wee than on a Pee-wee scooter? Wait a second, I thought he had a bike… ...

A kid sized (by which I mean the size of a kid) Pee-wee and his favorite talking furniture. ...

PocketBots were some of my favorite little toys as a kid. I got them several years in a row as stocking stuffers. They joined the rebellion, of course, and helped the Micronauts and R2D2 fight the Empire. ...

Such a useless toy, but still kinda cool. This Flashy Flickers projector gun is up there with the SMDM projector, or Star Trek projection phaser. ...

How these two ever ended up as toys I will never understand. KISS, that one I sorta understand. But Captain & Tennille? ...

Marx made the best play sets. Didn’t matter your favorite toy genre – western, sci fi, underwater, or war – Marx made a set with a giant plastic center piece for you. This Navarone Giant Playset is one of my favorites, with the cannons, ladders, and two sets of army men in classic poses, you … Continue reading Navarone Giant Playset → ...

Came across this amazingly cool store display at the San Jose Toy Show. I am not generally a Matchbox enthusiast, but this is the kind of toy that could win me over. ...

Funny show. Amusing toy. But I didn’t want it as a kid and totally understand why as an adult. ...

I have never liked Western toys as much as Sci-Fi toys, largely due to the limitless potential of sci-fi and that the only western toys available in my youth were Lone Ranger related (which I did have.) But I have always loved westerns on tv and film. The Johnny West line was a bit before … Continue reading Janice West → ...

Found a site dedicated to diecast vehicles that has some pretty cool info, Suncoast Diecasters. If you’re into collecting 1/64th scale miniature vehicles, you should definitely check them out. ...

I love Pee-Wee. And his wacky Playhouse. And his Christmas Special. So I would kill to have this awesome playset and just stick it on a shelf to gaze upon while sitting in Chairy and contemplating the secret word of the day. ...

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was an okay movie that turned into a great tv show in the 60s. I think these toys must be from the show, but whichever one it is, they are so very cool. I will have to dig out that DVD tonight… ...

Spied this at the Video Game Museum exhibit at GDC. ...

Mego bet big on a lot of movie and tv franchises, PotA representing their most successful license. But they also did this awesome, and largely unsuccessful, James Bond Moonraker line of 12 inch dolls. Not shown is lady CIA spy Holly Goodhead. ...

What wasn’t made into a toy in the 70s/early 80s? I’m sure there are other ERTL Super Stars toys, but Rocky III and “The Bandit” make even the Love Boat toys seem kinda like good ideas. ...

One of Mego’s very odd licensing choices: Kiss. Sure they were huge. And awesome. And had an Army. But 12″ dolls? Im glad they did ’cause I love Kiss, but still… ...

Last year I met Oliver, creator/owner of Creatures of Delight, at NYCC and was blown away by the amazing foam latex critters he’s dreamed up. For NYCC this year there is a new line of limited edition critters called “Unusual Suspects” that is about as cool as it gets. If you want something unique for … Continue reading Creatures of Delight → ...

Thinking about a costume for next Halloween or a cosplay? Check out these upcoming limited edition GhostBusters toys from Mattel’s Epic Creations line of toys. Some of these, like the trap and the goggles, are already out, but the proton wand won’t see the light of day until December. ...

I always wanted GI Joe toys as a kid, but I was a bit too young to get them in their heyday. I’ve never collected them because of their price, but I would sure like to. ...

My favorite colorforms set as a kid. ...

Saw this today. The Kenner Girder and Panel set was one of my favorite toys as a kid. ...

Going to San Diego ComicCon? Love the classic sci-fi film Alien? Super7 will soon be releasing a line of Alien toys based on a discontinued set of Alien toys from 1979. I’ve been writing about these figures since last SDCC and am super excited about them. Last week, Super7 announced the new goodies they’ll have … Continue reading Super7 Alien ReAction SDCC Exclusives → ...

Atlantic was an Italian toy company that existed from 1966 to 1984, best known for their scale model soldiers. Although I enjoy a good plastic soldier as much as the next guy, it is their line of Galaxy Serie toys that I fell in love with. I’ve added Atlantic Galaxy Serie as a toy line … Continue reading Atlantic Toys Galaxy Serie → ...

I have loved Mel Birnkrant’s Outer Space Men since I was a kid. The Orbitron was featured in the header of this site for years, and is still the official mascot of BugEyedMonster. At SDCC the last few years, there have been some recreations of the Spacers that I’ve enjoyed, and I just landed a … Continue reading Outer Space Men → ...

My love affair with Mego started with the Star Trek figures and their little blue phasers and communicators, so I was very pleasantly surprised to discover these modern Mego ST:TNG figures. I realize they probably are old news, but I honestly don’t follow new toys much or at all, so discovering these in a booth … Continue reading NYCC: Megos? → ...

This site is mostly about old toys. Mostly. But I do post and link to new stuff with a retro connection (which is almost as good as a rainbow connection.) The Sea-Borg from MonsterPants definitely qualify. They remind me a lot of Illuminaries or Tomland’s 4″ Star Raiders. But don’t just take my word for … Continue reading NYCC: MonsterPants Sea-Borg → ...

If you don’t love Super 7 then there is something wrong with you. These guys are even more into toys and pop culture than I am. Back at SDCC I brought you some pictures of Super 7’s plans to release a line of 4 inch Alien figures based on toy molds developed at the time … Continue reading NYCC: Super7 → ...

Over the next few days I will post a series of updates from New York Comic-Con. Yeah, I know it was a few weeks ago, but there was no good Internet access there and I was busy. So you get it now… Want to see my comic related posts? Visit Conform and Obey, my writing … Continue reading NYCC updates → ...

Okay, I don’t usually point to ebay auctions, but this is one case where I think it’s worth sharing. Stretch Armstrong is a fabulous toy from the 70s. He stretches! He’s strong! and he had AWESOME enemies, like the titular Serpent, a Sears catalog exclusive. The super fine MIB specimen currently up on ebay was … Continue reading Stretch Armstrong Serpent on eBay! → ...

The old Colorforms Outer Space Men are some of my favorite toys of the late 60s, early 70s. For almost a decade Orbitron was the mascot here on BugEyedMonster. The OSMs have bees brought back, as you probably know. I posted some photos last year. But here are some shots of this year’s sdcc exclusives … Continue reading Outer Space Men → ...

San Francisco toy maker Super 7 has managed to track down the original molds for a line of 3 3/4 inch figures based on the original Alien film and will be releasing a new line of Alien toys ’13. More to come, but here are some quickie shots. ...

In un-borking the site I decided to add a few toys to the site. New with this update are: Buck Rogers – Star Searcher (a clone of the Micronauts Star Defender) and the Galactic Playset Timanic – Time Machine 3 ...

Been meaning to repost this for quite a while. Over on Micronauts Home World, there is a great article about Mego’s original plans for their Rocket Tubes toy. I won’t spoil it for you, but suffice it to say, if you’re a Micro junkie, it is a great read. I had a set of Rocket … Continue reading Micronauts Rocket Tubes Blueprints → ...

Saturday was San Jose Toy Show day. Time Tunnel Toys puts it on three times a year and a pretty good number of toy vendors, comic book people and other pop culture merchants show up. There’s always something interesting and this one was no exception. The event was held in a different part of the … Continue reading San Jose Toy Show → ...

  ComicCon 2011 was another great show. As always, there were TONS of toys for fans of pretty much, well, anything. There were a few though that really caught my eye. My hands down favorite was the re-release/re-creation of The Outer Space Men. You’ll note the red one, Orbitron, who is the unofficial mascot of … Continue reading Toys of ComicCon 2011 → ...

Went to the San Jose Super ToyShow today. I went partly to entertain my daughter and partly to browse for toys. The last few shows have been short on interesting finds so I didn’t have a lot of hope for this one. Just as we were leaving, though, I looked in a $1 bin and … Continue reading Tente Set → ...

Wow. I suck. But to be fair, I got a full time job in August, and there was all those holidays and I got a year older (reaching a depressing milestone, I might add.) In the intervening months I have developed a renewed fascination with all things ray gun. Especially 70’s ray guns with lights … Continue reading Holy batman’s buttons! 4 months = no update → ...

Do you remember Evel Knievel? I sure do. Loved his name. Had his stunt cycle too. But just ran across this item the other day at a toy show. Nice fellow selling it let me snap a picture. Quality is right up there with Action Jackson accessories, if not better. ...

The latest site update is the Star Wars Electronic Laser Battle game.   ...

Just posted a few items on ebay. A MISB Zoids, two JJ Arms figures (a page on him coming soon) some Mego-like War Heroes figures, and a bunch of the TH3 Project toys. You can see all of them here. ...

I had lunch with a very cool guy last week who was in town interviewing. We were chatting and it came up that I run this site. Which he was hugely surprised to learn, especially since he was a big fan of the site. We talked some more and he (rightfully) chastised me about not … Continue reading New Toy Page: TH3 Project → ...

This was a very cool find that I had never seen before. A Buck Rogers belt with some walkie talkies, a wrist watch, and other accessories. Not to mention a big Twikki figure. Not 100% sure what he does. Pair this up with the helmet accessory and you’re ready to take on Princess Ardalla! Check … Continue reading Buck Rogers Communicators → ...

This was a new find for me. I am a big fan of Zeroids generally, and have several, but have never encountered a Zeroid Alien. The Alien is unique among Zeroids. First, it explodes! Not literally of course, but in the manner of all wonderful 60s and 70s exploding toys – it falls apart. The … Continue reading Zeroid Alien → ...

For the toy loving executive who has everything, today I bring you a Batman executive desk set to inspire envy around the board room. Included is a Joker stapler, a Batman pencil sharpener, and a Batman calendar/card holder. I am currently working out of my garage or I would have bought it to impress my … Continue reading Batman Executive Set → ...

As a kid, I loved playsets. Dinosaur ones. Western ones. Exploding bridges. Playsets were just super cool. Military playsets were always my facorites though, because I could use my firecrackers from the 4th of July to “enhance” the experience. I didn’t have this playset but I am sure I would have loved it if I … Continue reading Invasion of Anzio Military Playset → ...

I have a shot of this on the Battlestar Galactica page, but I ran across an unopened one in excellent condition. I have always wanted Viper Launch Station, but they’re damn big. This one was also damn expensive. They wanted $200 for it. It is based on a plane launching toy and sends small vipers … Continue reading Battlestar Galactica Viper Launch Station → ...

This was another cool toy I found at the toy show in San Jose. I’ve seen the visible man before, but this was the first time I had seen the woman. ...

Last weekend I went to this twice annual toy show in San Jose. It used to be the Humdinger toy show I think. I missed out on buying a boxed 18″ alien for $250 while I went to get cash. I was hugely disappointed. But I saw some cool stuff. Here is a Buck Rogers … Continue reading Super Toy Show San Jose → ...

  Adam wrote in on a comment on the Micronauts Red Falcon page asking about RF clones. There are a lot of them out there. I am not as well versed in my RF clone lore as some, but I do have a few of them in my collection. Take a look at this one… … Continue reading Red Falcon Clones → ...

Someone left a post the other day asking me about Tente. If you don’t know what it is, you’re missing out. Tente was a Lego-like building system that was mainly available outside the US. I got mine while living in Colombia, SA.  Anyway, the system had very similar blocks to Legos and the kits were … Continue reading Tente not Lego → ...

Yeah! I finally got off my rear end and put up a new toy. The picture tells the story, the new addition to BEM is Shoot Out In Space, one of my all time favorite ray gun toys. Read on and take a peak at my not so terribly insightful scribblings on this classic Sci … Continue reading New page = shoot out in space! → ...

Just found a very cool Italian line of toys called TH3. Kinda magnemo-ish, but without the magnets. They are a sci-fi themed toy line with lite up stuff. I’ll eventually take pictures and post them, but a quick google search will probably reveal some pics for the curious. ...