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.

BraveStarr Retrospective

Posted on August 6, 2024August 6, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1980s Toys, Uncategorized, action figures, animated series, books, Bravestarr, comics, Movies, playsets, The 1980s, toys, Video Games

Travel through time with us to the 24th century in this Retrospective of the BraveStarr franchise. The space western franchise, BraveStarr, released through many forms of media from the mid to late 1980s. The franchise includes toys, comics, books, a television series, movie, and video game. BraveStarr stands to be unique in genre, mixing both […]

The Difference Between Zorro and The Lone Ranger

Posted on August 1, 2024August 1, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1970s Toys, 1980s Toys, Uncategorized, difference, Movies, television series, The 1900s, The 2000s, The Lone Ranger, toys, Zorro

In 1919, the superhero western character, Zorro, made an appearance. First, in a folktale and later in many movies, series, toys, and comics. Then, in 1933, The Lone Ranger first aired as a radio program but is most widely known for the television series with the same name. The Lone Ranger also told the story […]

Computer Warriors Retrospective

Posted on July 23, 2024July 31, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1980s Toys, 1990s Toys, Uncategorized, action figures, animated series, Computer Warriors, The 1980s, The 1990s, toys

In 1989, Mattel toy company released a transforming toy line representing the storyline of the Computer Warriors. These toys released from 1989 to 1990 when an animated pilot episode of the characters also released. The pilot episode unfortunately never picked up but later came out as just one 22 minute film on VHS. These toys […]

Top 10 Most Expensive Computer Warriors Toys

Posted on July 29, 2024July 31, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1980s Toys, 1990s Toys, Uncategorized, action figures, playsets, The 1980s, The 1990s, toys, transforming toys

With the trend of transforming toys in the 1980s and 90s, Mattel toy company released these Computer Warrior action figures and playsets. From 1989 to 1990, Mattel’s transforming virus and anti-virus toys hit store shelves. These toys preceded an animated pilot episode titled Computer Warriors: The Adventure Begins. Since the toys only released for 2 […]

Top 10 Most Expensive Captain Planet Toys

Posted on July 19, 2024July 31, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1990s Toys, Uncategorized, action figures, animated series, Captain Planet, playsets, The 1990s, toys

In 1990 the animated action environmentalist series, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, came out. This series lasted for six seasons and told the story of the Planeteers group and the superhero, Captain Planet. The story began with character Gaia sending out five powerful rings to chosen kids around the world, each representing an earthly element. […]

Top 10 Most Expensive Crystar Toys

Posted on July 17, 2024July 22, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1980s Toys, Uncategorized, comics, Crystar, figures, playsets, The 1980s, toys

Crystar, Crystal Warrior, a fantasy-based comic book series published by Marvel in the early 1980s began the inspiration for Crystar toys. These toys first debuted throughout stores in 1982 and captivated fans all over the world. The toys’ multiple crystal transformations and posable possibilities took the interest of many fans. The toy company, Remco, created […]

The Top 10 Starscream Transformers Toys

Posted on April 6, 2020July 19, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
Transformers, Transformers Fun, toys, Transformers

We have been exploring the top 10 Starscream toys released by Hasbro and Takara. So without further ado, the top 5 ranked Starscream toys.

The Top Ten Kenner ALIENS Toys: A Beloved Vintage Toy Line

Posted on April 21, 2021July 19, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
Pop Culture, ALIEN, Horror, toys

After the success of the Alien movie and the sequel Aliens, the ALIENS name became an unforeseen success and multi-media franchise. Seeing the wave of popularity, Kenner Products, an American toy production company, joined in on this success train by producing a line of toys based on the Alien movies. What made the Kenner ALIEN […]

Captain Planet Retrospective

Posted on July 18, 2024July 18, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1990s Toys, Uncategorized, action figures, animated series, Captain Planet, The 1990s, toys

The Captain Planet and the Planeteers animated action series released in 1990. The series broadcasted on TBS from September 15, 1990 to December 5, 1992. This series’ sequel, The New Adventures of Captain Planet, began airing the next year from September 11, 1993 to May 11, 1996. Since this long running popular series, toys, comics, […]

Top 10 Most Expensive Tron Collectibles

Posted on July 15, 2024July 15, 2024 by Chris Ingledue
1980s Toys, Uncategorized, collectibles, costumes, figures, The 1980s, The 2010s, toys, Tron

Jump into this Top 10 Expensive Tron Collectibles list with us. We will dive into the expansive technological world of Tron and look into the collectibles’ valuable history. The epic story of Tron first came out as a movie on July 9, 1982 distributed by Walt Disney. It sparked popularity being one of the first […]