80's vs 90's vs 2000's

[ludevig]

Being born in 1977 i dont remember much about figures from the 70's but i remember the 80's, 90's and 2000's and the figures that came out.
The 80's had some amazing figure lines that came out but they really paved the way for what i consider the best decade for figures which was the 90's. The last 9 years has seen figures come out with much more detail and articulation but personally i view the figures from the 90's as the absolute best. Not as much articulation but the fun factor was there. Not knocking the ones from the 80's as there was an incredible amount of lines i bought (Star Wars, MOTU, Visionaries, MASK, Dino Riders, Starcom, Thundercats, Ghostbusters etc)
The 90's had other lines i loved like WCW Galoobs, Last Action Hero, Demolition Man, James Bond Jr, Super Mario Bros Movie, New Adventures of He-Man (i know they came out in 89 but in 90 they really took off for me)
The late 90's had some awesome figures too but the new millenium went for more detail and articulation but the selection has dropped compared to years gone by.

What era or decade is your own persoanl favourite for figures and why?

[madmartigan37]

I would have to go with the 1980's they had the most original ideas and the figures were not overdone, almost all had a gimmic of some kind but it was well implemented (for the most part), I found the 1990's almost every line had a missle launching feature or something that generally made the lines and especially the vehicles look like crap. There are some examples such as Playmates Star Trek, TMNT, ect) but I still prefer the 1980's figures.

[gort]

For me it has to be the 70's. That's when everything took off; the first 3 3/4" figures, transforming robots, TV, Movie and Comic Book tie-ins and the Star Wars explosion.

There was just so much innovation in the 70's that shaped the action figure world as we know it.

[kylefromdirtnapp]

Well, strictly for the nostalgia, I have to go with 80's. 00's have too much articulation and detail for me. The 25th Joes are crap for the most part (IMO). I think what ruined it for me was Neca and MacFartlane. I swear, they have a big machine that you upload a photo to, and it poops out a figure. And they aren't really figs a lot of the time. More like statues. Maybe the 90's did have the best figs. Not over-done, but the right amount of articulation and detail, without going overboard. Lines like Mummies Alive and Skeleton Warriors are very cool to me.

[beckley]

Apr 11, 2009 11:50:43 GMT -6 kylefromdirtnapp said:

Well, strictly for the nostalgia, I have to go with 80's. 00's have too much articulation and detail for me. The 25th Joes are crap for the most part (IMO). I think what ruined it for me was Neca and MacFartlane. I swear, they have a big machine that you upload a photo to, and it poops out a figure. And they aren't really figs a lot of the time. More like statues. Maybe the 90's did have the best figs. Not over-done, but the right amount of articulation and detail, without going overboard. Lines like Mummies Alive and Skeleton Warriors are very cool to me.

I agree. A good example is the new Battlestar Galactica figures, they're just big statues! If they were 3 3/4 size they could make ships and playsets for them. McFarlane put out some good stuff, I loved the Movie Maniacs, but action figures should be 3 3/4 (unless we're talkin MOTU)

[ludevig]

Thats why i loved the 90's ones as they had the perfect combo of detail, articulation and accesories. A lot of the newer figures look like Statues and the articulation is limited because they are in a specific pose.
The 70's was innovative but was the early days of figuresfrom multiple companies coming out. The 80's was amazing and released so many new things with spring loaded arms, legs, wasits etc but my favourite aspects of the 80's toys was something you hardly ever see anymore. Starcom had MAGNET activated features which i beleive was the only toy line that had it and Visionaries and Supernaturals had those holograms on them that always looked really cool. You never see Holograms or Magnets on figures much anymore. There are some with magnets but it is more in the joints Magnetix i think they are called but Starcom's Magnets actually caused the vehicles to transform unlike MASK and Transformers where you did it by hand. Very unique and so different to what other lines were doing.
Still the 90's had really fun figures and that is the era where i had to make "The Decision". Do i stop playing and collecting toys as i was in my early teens or do i still go for it as they bring me happiness. I think everyone has had to make "The Decision" at a certain age. Your friends understand but they can use it against you (many of mine did) as they see toy collecting as childish and immature. A lot of those friends were going out, getting drunk and trying to get laid with anyone of the opposite sex. At that time i would rather be in my room and having battles with my toys than making an arse of myself like so many of them did.
So for me the 90's was the decade where i made the choice to never stop in my love of figures and collecting them. I love opening the closet and seeing a big plastic tub full of figures than opening it and seeing a vacuum or other household item, it just puts a smile on my face.

[10incher]

80s are my favorites of course, but I have been on an early 1990s figure line kick lately. Many like Bucky O'hare, Zen the Intergalactic Ninja, Highlander TAS & Toxic Crusaders are smaller lines that are very affordable to collect and really have some great figures. They also still retain their feel of being a real toy over some of the later 90slines that started with Spawn being more statue like.

[spockoda]

My favorite toy decade would be the 80's from different standpoints. Almost everything I loved back then had at least a decent toy aisle showing, with so many cool lines that have been brought back in later decades. The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of a good Marvel comic characters line. DC had Super Powers which wasn't a totally comphrensive line but kicked the Secret Wars' butt in overall quality in my opinion. Also, it had alot of wonderfully weird or different lines, mostly referring to fantasy lines like Crystar,Dragonriders Of The Styx, etc. Also the nostalgia factor plays a hand since I was born in the early 70's most of the toys I am old enough to remember came out then. I started collecting as an adult in 1994 so I do have some fond memories of going to KBs when they were still around and collecting those closeout lines that may have lasted for a series or two of figures. In this decade I enjoy the 25th Anniversary GI Joe collection and I still buy Star Wars figures based on the original trilogy and DST Star Trek.

[3 3/4"collector]

for me definately the 80s, but the late 70s early 80s mores specifically. i noly collect 3 3/4 figures and that was the time. and it really makes me happy to see other people in here saying they think the new figures are over articulated. i like the nice looking new lines coming out these days but they are often so frail and overdone. and it seems everywhere i go i just see collectors complaining all the time that stuff isnt articulated enough.

those 80s figures just seemed so much more fun to me.

[kylefromdirtnapp]

Should've done a poll. Is it too late to add one?

[spockoda]

Apr 19, 2009 5:47:21 GMT -6 3 3/4"collector said:

for me definately the 80s, but the late 70s early 80s mores specifically. i noly collect 3 3/4 figures and that was the time. and it really makes me happy to see other people in here saying they think the new figures are over articulated. i like the nice looking new lines coming out these days but they are often so frail and overdone. and it seems everywhere i go i just see collectors complaining all the time that stuff isnt articulated enough.

those 80s figures just seemed so much more fun to me.

When I think of frail and overdone figures, McFarlane's automatically comes to mind. I have bought a few products of his and something normally breaks in about two minutes out of the package. Hasbro's at least aren't that frail. Overdone? I guess that's a matter of opinion. Some have said the new Joes are detailed too much. Well, I would take the 25th Anniversary Joes over the Valor Vs. Venom-era Joes in a heartbeat. I do agree that the 80's lines overall seemed to be more "fun", which is something that does seem to be lacking. I think part of that is that now everybody is over-conscious of what something "might be worth" down the road. It seems like anytime something becomes just about money, it loses some of its "fun" factor.

[da18thcustomizer]

It really depends upon what you do with your toys IMO....
I interact with my toys when i have a chance to so articulation is critical for me. Thats why the 80's GI Joe line eventually reigned supreme in my toy world as a kid.

The 00's have had some very fair offerings & IMO the are the superior action figure decade simply due to the improved articulation and toy making technology but ive grown EXTREMELY irritated with the lack of originality. Thats where the 80's comes in as a very close second if not a virtual tie. The variety of toy lines in the 80's was AWESOME. Even if i wasnt a fan of the Thundercats toys for example (huge bricks lol) the property itself was original. There arent many properties from this decade that stand out in my mind ( a few im sure if i think about it) that havent been on the shelf for the last 20 years.

2000's - because the toys are becoming what we imagined they were in our minds as kids.

[10incher]

Apr 19, 2009 11:30:03 GMT -6 kylefromdirtnapp said:

Should've done a poll. Is it too late to add one?

Yeah, I think so

[BoogDoc7]

I think the 80s stands out for its originality, and building on what was created in the 60s and 70s, and was the last great decade before the real takeover of video games.

[blockbuster]

the late 60's, the 70's & the 80's are a perect example of evolotion.
they made the figures that started it all!
i have a huge love of the 80's figures/toys.
i collect / have collected mostly 90s
but i cant say what line is better .. no i cannot .. that would be like comparing Kirk to Picard (equally great on differaint levels)

but i can say most of my faves came out in the early to mid 90s.

Apr 10, 2009 23:17:38 GMT -6 madmartigan37 said:

... I found the 1990's almost every line had a missle launching feature or something that generally made the lines and especially the vehicles look like crap. There are some examples such as Playmates Star Trek...

wow .. i must have collected a diff playmates line .. because i didnt notice any missle launching crap .. it was just figures with the same only diff color accessories.

[comics2figures]

Hmm, i'de say the 90's, love the Marvel and DC figures from these times. And not to forget lines like Ludevig allready mentioned.

[batmanscowl]

Some of the greatest toylines came out in the 80's and that's why that decade wins hands down for me.

[captmiloman]

I was born in the 60's, so I'll have to go with the 70's. GI Joe, WGSH's, Micronauts, Ideal's Evel Knievel, CB McHaul, Space:1999, Star Wars, Big Jim, Six Million Dollar Man, Kenner's Turbo Tower Of Power(still hoping to get Bionic Bigfoot & Jamie Sommers), Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, Star Trek, The Black Hole, Heroes In Action, Adventure People, The Fighting Furies, Starsky & Hutch, Planet Of the Apes, Action Jackson, Pulsar, SWAT, Rookies. I even thought The Bionic Woman, Ideal's Daring Derry, the Charlie's Angels lines were cool. Early 80's had a few good lines such as Mego's Dukes Of Hazzard & CHIPS. The short lived M*A*S*H line looked great as well. If only Mego were able to get their planned Greatest American Hero line into mass production. I'd give my right eye to get a hold of the 8" prototypes & the 3 3/4" Ralph Hinkley & Bill Maxwell with the convertable VW Bug(unfortunately no Pam Davidson in that set).

[drbo]

Kids of todays will find the 2000's toys to be the best, just like me who find the 1980's are the finest they're is: Masters of the Universe, Empire Strike Back (and Star Wars in general), Dungeon and Dragons, RAMBO, GUTS, Dick Tracy...

But like 10Incher, I (re)discovered a lot of early 1990's line that came out in the time frame were I stopped playing toys that are pretty sweet:, Terminator 2, Toxic Crusaders, Jurassic Park...

As for the "adult" line, I cannot shun my fun toward the 1990's and 200's that created plastic replica of all my favorite horror and plastic movie icons like Jason Voorhees and the others!

And I often refrain myself to start collecting 12" Marx figure like Johnny West and CO, ado I have some reissue of these line and many 6" army men, cavemen and all.

[theanimatedseries]

I was born in 1984 and I think the the 90's had countless incredible lines, the 2000's hit many new high-points, but the 80's were the paramount decade for action figures. Like many have said, it wasn't about articulation or detail, but character and playability. What's missing even more from modern lines that the 80's delivered in abundance was the complete vastness of the universes you could create from any given set. Today, you can buy Spider-Man, a couple of his enemies and a couple thousand different versions of Spider-Man again. In the 80's, there tended to be so much more available. It was a ridiculous wonderland you could build out of heroes, villians, characters that aren't quite heroes or villians, characters that aren't even action heroes in any capacity but helped expand your stories and play factor, land, air and sea vehicles for both sides, multiple battlestations, headquarters and other playsets. And more than enough heavy-hitters like Transformers, G.I. Joe, MotU, Silverhawks, Thunder-Cats, Dino-Riders, a lot of properties that are still trying to be cashed in today.

The 90's had the amazingly expansive Ninja Turtles, Jurassic Park, MARVEL Heroes, innovative Exo-Squad and the great Spider-Man TAS figure with the swivel chest joint Toy Biz would later take too far, and many more. I loved the first couple waves of McFarlane but later contributed them to the disintigration of action figures in the late '90s. The '00s had some of the greatest lines ever also, including the first several Marvel Legends and Toy Biz's WCW series, and I did collect the crap out of them well into my way-too-old-to-be-doing-so days. Still, in the end when I think of action-figures, I think of the oldschool long aisles at TRU that stretched forever with rows and rows of imaginative figures, vehicles, playsets, accessory packs and the personality of the 1980's lines.

Also, back then companies other than Hasbro existed.

[fishandchips]

I personally think there are gems in every decade. I love all those 1950s and 60s windups and tin toys too. What about Marx figures and playsets? I think those are awesome!