Back in the 1990s, the war between Nintendo and Sega was in full gear; however, another company had made its way to the pockets of nearly every child, Tiger Electronics. Even if someone did not own a Tiger Electronic handheld, they knew about the company. The handheld units filled the shelves of every toy aisle. […]
Wheeljack’s Lab – Vintage Toy Blog
Follow this blog for the new, the unusual, the rare and cool Generation 1 G1 Transformers toys. Reviews, news, toy resources, galleries, unboxing, opinions and personal reflections on vintage toys.
The Top Ten Characters from Gargoyles, The Hit Disney Afternoon Cartoon
In 1994, Disney took risks when they introduced the world to their new, darker cartoon series, Gargoyles, to the Disney Afternoon. Before this cartoon, Disney kept their cartoons to a light tone, friendly to all ages. While Gargoyles is not the darkest and most adult-themed cartoon that modern viewers can find, it helped changed the […]
The Top Ten Kenner’s Gargoyles Toys from the Disney Afternoon Cartoon
Even before Gargoyles debuted on the Disney Afternoon programming block, Greg Weisman, the main creator of Gargoyles, and Kenner began talks for a new toy line. Both saw the potential for a successful series of toys from the concepts of the series. However, Kenner expressed concerns about the lack of vehicles present in the cartoon […]
Retrospective on Gargoyles: Disney’s Defenders of the Night
Beginning in 1990, Disney gave their cartoons a home on network television with the Disney Afternoon, a two-hour block dedicated to their cartoon series. Originally, the Disney afternoon featured the first cartoons that Disney successfully created for television, including Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers and DuckTales. With the addition of new hit cartoons like Darkwing […]
The Top Ten Toys from Hot Wheels’ Incredible Crash Dummies Toy Line
After Mattel acquired Tyco in 1998, they also absorbed all of Tyco’s brands. Thus, the Incredible Crash Dummies became a part of Mattel’s catalog. However, they did not rush out to create a new toy line for the crash dummies. Not only did the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration end their PSA campaign around that […]
The Top Ten Incredible Crash Dummies Toys
In 1991, Tyco joined forces with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to turn their successful PSA campaign into the Incredible Crash Dummies toys. Beginning in 1985, the NHTSA began running PSAs to encourage people to buckle up while riding in cars. These PSAs starred two crash test dummies, Vince and Larry. They also featured […]
Retrospective on The Incredible Crash Dummies
Pop culture icons have appeared from the strangest of sources, as in the case of the Incredible Crash Dummies. Back in the 1980s, no one would have predicted that children would want to play with a group of crash test dummies. While these dummies had taken on a doll-like humanoid appearance, few people thought of […]
The 10 Most Unusual Monsters from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Beyond the colorful spandex sets that the Rangers wore, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made waves with its set of quirky and unusual monsters. In the first three seasons, either Rita Repulsa or Lord Zedd, or both, summoned these creatures into battle. However, on a few rare exceptions, their minions released these beasts. Each of […]
The Top Ten Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Toys
Before 1993, few in the United States knew of the Super Sentai shows that had been going strong in Japan for decades. However, one man made it his mission to bring the team of colorfully spandex-clad martial-arts-based superheroes to America. Haim Saban originally fell in love with the Super Sentai while he was on a […]
Retrospective on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Believe it or not, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is nearing its 30th anniversary since it debuted on American screens in 1993. However, its main source material and influence, Super Sentai, is even older. Super Sentai came onto the scene in 1975. However, over the first dozen series did not become part of the Power Rangers […]