[SmokeBellew]

You know, I was thinking about what made some of the toy lines of the 70s and 80s truly special, besides just being the things we grew up with and heavily influenced by nostalgia. I think it was the detail. The little things that showed someone gave a shit. A perfect example is Kenner's Super Powers line vs. McFarlane's current Super Powers line. McFarlane's feels like a definite downgrade. And it isn't just the lack of "power features", it's something more intrinsic to the toy itself. Case in point, if you look at the soles of the original Kenner Flash's feet, you'll find tread there. To my knowledge, it's the only figure in the line to get a sculpted detail on the bottom of the feet. Because, you know, he's a runner and needs traction. I noticed that shit as a kid, and I thought it was awesome. McFarlane's Flash has no tread. Why? Because they didn't have to, and they don't care. That's just a seemingly insignificant example, but little things like that add up to make it something special, and they're what separate a "classic" toy line from all the also-rans.

[AWOL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkLordMordred

I hate anime and I even liked the original Cowboy Bebop show.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffDes

Cowboy Bebop has always been the anime for people who loathe anime.

The jazz musical-score, the storytelling, and the English-dub are all executed beautifully.

[CombinedArms]

Quote:

Originally Posted by txbart

I enjoyed Cowboy Bebop & Death Note, Of course I went in oblivious to the source materials.

My answer to the question, MASK & Starcom. Kenner?s Mega Force. Maybe some reproductions of Fisher-Price Adventure People.

I really enjoyed the Netflix Cowboy Bebop, also. I've never seen any Death Note.

STARCOM was my vote on the first page. MASK would be great, too, but only at the original scale because the vehicles are the focus.

I can't believe that I forgot about MegaForce! I have a shoebox full of that stuff in my basement right now and my son really enjoys playing with it.

[CombinedArms]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Z

Bionic Six. But give the figures swivel-arm grip and no die-cast metal parts that the paint scrapes off too easily.

I had a few of the figures, but they never really wowed me. The show opening visuals and theme song was great, though.

[CombinedArms]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford

Bravestarr, and The Galaxy Rangers. Because you can't get enough of space cowboys.

I LOVED the Galaxy Rangers cartoon as a kid. Did they ever make a toy line for it?

[CombinedArms]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthBrett

M.A.S.K. for me all the way. But only if it is the same scale as before. It won't work if the figures are 4" or bigger, the line only worked because the figures were like 2" so the playsets and vehicles could be big, but not overly gigantic and expensive. A 4" MASK line would never work.

This, all day!

[CombinedArms]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemesis*Prime

Quote:

Originally Posted by captain mal

Robotech. The first series - with Rick Hunter and Roy Foker.

edit - ironic that I posted this right after that previous post... I didn't even see that first.

Seriously though - how has this not been made into a high-budget live action series yet? Didn't even Tobey McQuire buy the rights at one point? Make it already!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griff

Gods no! I would never want this made today. Can you imagine all the shitty fucking changes theyd make? Anime NEVER translates well to live action. The only gripe i had with robotech, even as a kid, is they killed roy instead of rick i HATED rick. Roy was the shit!

Robotech is in the pantheon of greatest toy lines and greatest cartoons for me. It had actual storytelling and character growth, compared to every other cartoon on TV at the time, and introduced me to anime. The toys are still some of my childhood favorites. (I have my original Max Sterling SD Veritech sitting right next to me now.)

All the legal nonsense between Harmony Gold and Studio Nue/Big West kept Robotech from ever really continuing in the US after the first run in the mid-80s. You can find some really interesting videos about the shenanigans on Youtube. See Toy Galaxy/Secret Galaxy or Retroblasting. (Yeah, Michael French has become an annoying SOB, but his Robotech videos are good and were made before he went off the deep end.)

The Macross saga has never really ended in Japan. They've made something like 5 follow-on series over the years. (Marcoss Plus is great!)

Tobey Maguire did indeed buy the movie rights a while ago, but it didn't go anywhere. Then I think Sony had them at one point, maybe. I agree that a live-action Robotech movie is a bad idea but a series could work today. However, I doubt that any production company could actually get it done for show business reasons, not creative reasons.

[Cobra Agent 66]

A year or so ago I would have said LJN's D&D line, but NECA's been picking it up with the huge, detailed figures (still hoping they do an authentic Retro line so I don't have to spend 400 dollars on a carded Grimsword).

So I'll change my answer to Spiral Zone. Incredible cartoon, very dark and adult for it's time. The figures weren't great (big Tonka figures with soft goods, felt too much like Barbie dolls) and too big for a good vehicle line. I never bought any of them, but loved the show. Problem was, it came on right when my bus came, so I only saw the first 10 minutes of every episode lol.

[SpottedEagleSvn]

I'd be in for Gatchaman/G-Force/Battle of the Planets toys, but it might be too niche. Looks like BBTS has a nice looking Gatchaman Ken up for preorder, but $120 a figure is out of my league.

+1 for Robotech, that show blew my mind as a kid.

[Long Shot]

All of them! Especially The Snorks!