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http://gadgets.gunaxin.com/the-30-best- ... -80s/34730

Agree? Disagree? Let's hear your thoughts.

(May not be enough "OLD" people on here who messed with action figures to really respond!)

Where's the Dino-Riders?! Those action figures came with dinosaurs that you could pimp out with laser cannons and space armor!

Whoops, subject should be top 30...

I agree with their decisions for the most part. I'd have placed Transformers in the #1 spot instead of GI JOE, but #2 is pretty good too.

I think they missed some really good ones, like LAZER TAG (although I suppose you could say it wasn't a "toy") and Captain Power. The latter was cool since you could shoot at pre-recorded action on VHS tapes. You used infrared beams stemming from fighter craft (the action figures were placed in the cockpits) to shoot at flashing targets on the screen. If your ship got hit enough times, it'd auto-eject your figure.

Anyway, I remember playing with these toys...

M.U.S.C.L.E.
I 'd forgotten about these toys. My brother and I used to have them fight Silly Putty. This involved "consuming" these toys within the Silly Putty and making them break free.

Go-Bots
I had Leader-1 (shown on that list), Turbo, Cy-Kill and some giant creature called "Zod." Overall, these guys were considered "second string" to the Transformers.

C.O.P.S.
These were some of the best toys. The figures were fully articulated (you could even swivel the wrists!). I don't remember which figures I had, but I know I had a bunch. I also had many of the vehicles.

Bravestarr
I really didn't like the cartoon. The toys, however, were pretty awesome. Even better was this "life-sized" laser blaster based on the one Bravestarr uses in the show. It used infrared light and at the bottom of the blaster was a sensor. If your blaster got hit, it'd vibrate.

Battle Beasts
My brother loved these. These little guys took the "paper-rock-scissors" scheme to a new level by using fire, wood and water. Fire beat wood, wood beat water and water beat fire. They also had larger creatures that could transform into bases.

Super Powers (aka DC Heroes)
Very cool, but was mostly based off the pre-crisis incarnations.

M.A.S.K.
All I remember is a motorcycle that could transform into a helicopter. It was neat.

Visionaries
These were awesome figures. The cartoon wasn't so hot, but the premise was really neat. Each character could change into whatever the animal was on their chest. The animal was displayed through a hologram.

One time I put those holograms up to a halogen bulb and watched it fry. Why did I do that? Not sure, really. I was a destructive bastard -- still am.

Masters of the Universe
If you were a kid in the 80s, you played with He-Man toys. The figures had a "twist-action punch" and their heads were soft. You could squish the heads.

Mattel released many different versions of the same characters. I clearly remember one particular He-Man toy that showed "battle damage" on his chest armor. Skeletor had it too.

Voltron
The lion Voltron was the best (the vehicle-based one sucked). I was really angry where there was a recall on the metal Voltron due to lead paint. After that they only had an inferior plastic version available.

Star Wars
It's Star Wars! Do I really need to give a reason? I did manage to lose Vader's flimsy cape and Luke's lightsaber. I also had the Millennium Falcon.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I had so many TMNT toys (including the massive selection of vehicles) that I barely had enough room to house them. Weapons were easily to lose, which sucked.

ThunderCats
The toys themselves were cheaply made (paint would come off easily), but the ThunderCats Lair was awesome. Even better, I had the "life-sized" Sword of Omens.

Transformers
I loved Transformers more than any other toy. I had tons upon tons of these toys. In fact, I still have the G1 Power Master Optimus Prime from 1988. It's sitting on a shelf in our office right next to some computer games and strategy guides.

GI JOE
I couldn't keep the figures straight (too many versions to figure out), but I had a lot of them, including vehicles. In fact, we had so many of these toys, my brother and I played Wing Commander with them and made up our own stories.

I've never heard of over half those toys. The ones i do know have all been around way longer than the 80's, except for TMNT.... my nephew loved those back in the early nineties.

I always loved Transformers! And the Turtles too! Unfortunately being female I was never given such things, but I did play with befriended boys' action figures. That and Lego.

I used to play with my brother's Lincoln Logs (dating myself again ) .
Do they still make those?

As a kid, I used to be a Masters of the Universe fan. Had a whole bunch of those action figures laying around, much to my parents' delight... Not any more though, sold them more than 2 decades ago. Now i'm into more serious stuff, so i play Sierra games .

Going down the list...

MADEL MAN 2050 -
What the? I have never even heard of this? Has anyone? And it made it in the top 30? Not to say I am a savant at all toys 80's - but man, I was pretty much crazy about action figures in the 80s!

Crystar -
Actually used to have these figures, because they were advertised pretty viciously in Marvel Comics back in the day! I was a kid and fell for the hype! There wasn't much to them other than being pretty cool for being almost see through!

M.U.S.C.L.E.
I remember these... but really.... I am hard pressed to think that would make it in the top 30's!

MEGO SUPERHEROES -
I think I had a few of these; but I was more into Marvel's answer to these figures when they did the Secret Wars version.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors -
I remember these. I just don't remember owning any. Once again amazed that it's in the top 30...

GO BOTS -
Everyone who owned Transformers made fun of those who owned Go Bots - the "poor boy's" version of GO BOTS. I used to actually have both...

COPS -
Really? Cops? Of all the figures? Cops? I don't even REMEMBER this. This should be #30 if anything... this looks lame.

SHOGUN WARRIORS -
I am more than sure that Shogun Warriors pre-date the 80's?

Bravestarr -
I remember the show, never got the figures.

SHE-RA
Because I was such a huge HE-MAN fan I used to watch SHE-RA also... and as a result... yes I admit... even got the SHE-RA figures...

SILVERHAWKS -
Remember the show; don't think I ever got the figures.

Centurions -
Remember the show; don't think I got the figures.

ZOIDS -
Remember Zoids - I think they were mid to late 80s?

Battle Beasts -
Ah yes, Battle Beasts. Used to have these...

Sectaurs -
Same as Battle Beasts; used to have some of these... why I may never know.

Micronauts -
Used to love the Micronauts!

Super Powers -
I remember these; once again, preferred Marvel's version.

WWF Wrestlers -
I remember these; think I had like Hulk Hogan maybe...

M.A.S.K. -
I remember this and used to have an assortment of them!

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons -
I still have some of these...

StarCom -
Don't remember these...

Visionaries -
Used to have some; no idea why...

Masters of the Universe -
Had almost the whole collection at one time... Now I have recollected the majority of them. Wish I could have gotten Castle Greyskull...

Voltron -
Used to LOVE Voltron. Remember sharing this with my friends; I was always the blue lion.

STAR WARS -
Really? Do you even have to wonder if I had these?

Marvel Heroes -
Had a MESS - A MESS!!!! - of these. About 10 years ago I sold about 20 of them - out of the package - for over 120 dollars on ebay! I was shocked! I started the sale at 10 dollars! Now I still have the Starjammer ones as well as Adam-X.

TMNT -
Had these.

Thundercats -
Had some of these... I am REALLY surprised that Thundercats beat out HE-MAN on the list... and more so it beat out STAR WARS? WTF? REALLY?

Transformers -
Soundwave for life. How is this at #2? And not #1?

GI JOE -
Had tons of these! TONS!


So ... my thoughts...

The top three SHOULD have been somewhere like:

#1 Star Wars - they really defined figures!
#2 GI JOE - Because they could bend and had a ton of vehicles.
#3 Transformers - The whole concept is awesome!
#4 He-Man. Everyone had He-Man!

I had Lincoln Logs too. Well, I did before I lost most of the pieces.

Hey that reminds me! Why isn't Lego on the list? I remember them being very popular in the 80s and lots of kids played with those; many kids still do today.

I actually had a number of Star Wars figures. I loved those. I remember my mom having to remake the cape for Darth Vader out of some black felt after it ripped. My favourites were the three different Princess Leia figures I had, though.

The only other one I really had any more than fleeting exposure to was the She-Ra figures. One of my friends had them. I had the Golden Girl and Guardians of the Gemstones action figures, which were much nicer looking in my opinion, but they weren't very well known, so I guess they didn't make the list. However, they were a similar idea to She-Ra.

DeadPoolX wrote:I had Lincoln Logs too. Well, I did before I lost most of the pieces.

Hey that reminds me! Why isn't Lego on the list? I remember them being very popular in the 80s and lots of kids played with those; many kids still do today.

I think it's because it's more for action figures. Not sure if I'd classify LEGOS as action figures?