Question: 80s toys vs 2000s toys

Has anyone else noticed that the 1980s toys were a lot cooler than the ones now? It it just me out of step? (Sorry, I'm going to be rambling all over the place in this because I'm very tired & can't sleep.) The old toys seem to be much more interesting and more worth collecting and (gasp) playing with.

Starwars toys in the 80s weren't as well sculpted and not as possable, but for some reason, I like them a lot more. I like the cloth and flimsy vinyl capes over the vacuum-formed stuff. OK it looks cheezy, but if you want your imperial guard to sit in a cockpit, you could bend his legs and make him fit. Seems like over 1/2 the figures can't be sat down now. While some of the vehicles have been rereleases of older ones, sometimes with modifications that make them better (like replacing the old light & sounds from the Falcon and X-Wing with electronics, but sometimes not (like removing the old light & sounds from the A-wing and Y-wing or changing the gun effect on the snowspeeder). Then there are the new release vehicles, which don't do anything for me. The T-16 Skyhopper, Outrider, and Prequel vehicles just don't seem to capture what made the original toys fun.

And it isn't just star wars.
Tranformers were also way better. 80s transformers were die-cast, stood up to abuse like nothing else, and actually looked like vehicles. That they could transform was unexpected and very cool. You could slam them together and usually not break them. Now they're plasticy looking crap that breaks very easily, doesn't stand up to play-wear, and usually doesn't look like much.

GIJoe. New figures just are horrible. They spent so much effort to make them "Not war toys" that the missed the point that these ARE war toys. The original 80s figures were military. Almost all of there equipment was based on actual stuff. Toward the end they started drifting away from that, then sales plumetted, and the line was discontinued for 10 years. When they started up, it was with rereleases of the old figures. Then they started doing resculpts and sucking. Most of the vehicles are also off the design boards of some fantasy land. The 1980s GIJoe headquarters was solid looking. The 2000s HQ looks like a bunch of ideas thown together in comittee without unified thought.

Starcom: obscure coleco line of toys, but very cool. No modern comparison.

MASK: Transforming vehicles. Very cool, nothing like it currently on the market.

WHat do other people think?

 

The vintage Royal guard is one of an elite few vintage figures which are better than their modern-day counterparts.

 

I like the new Star Wars toys a little better than the vintage stuff.

What I think has happened is that new toys are being made cheaper than than the toys that a lot of us grew up with. I think that they know kids have other stuff to play with (video games, DVD's) And in order to turn a profit they have to make new toy's a little cheaper. It's sad. I used to beat my toy's in to the ground when I was a kid.

 

For many of us, the 80s toys only have one thing that the newer toys can't match: nostalgia.

 

As great as the 70/80's lines were, the quality began to suffer with ROTJ. The POTF 80's line was the coolest, but was marketed very poorly.

So far, I think the ROTS line has been my favorite for SW figures and toys.

 

i agree with Koohii 100%. in fact, i've severely cut back my new toy purchases, and i spend as much time(and money) as possible on ebay. i've been picking up toys i dreamed about and never received back in the early 80's. it's a blast to open a box and find all those memories. i've also become pretty good with cleaning and repairing stuff that is pretty beat up. since i don't collect for profit, i don't worry about messing things up.

just today i got a box full of Blackstar figures in the mail, and last week i started collecting Power Lords and Crystar. all of these are things i wanted when i was little, but never got as much as star wars. my GI Joe collection has tripled since November. and my vintage star wars collection has become something better than i thought i'd ever actually have. 80's toys rule!

 

I agree that 80s toys, in general, are better than modern counterparts. One thing modern toys do have is more variety of figures, which does count in favour of the modern. However, the charm and overall construction of older toys is a winner in my books.

 

You're preaching to the choir here, my friend. The stuff out there at the mass retail level today is mostly pathetic. Nostalgia plays a part for sure, but I genuinely feel that toy lines were better in the 80's. GI Joe in particular stands out. Look at the articulation and detail in the figures. Plus, the vehicles and playsets were second to none. Best toy line in history IMO. Unlimited play value. Plus, 80's toys had another advantage over today's... the tie-in cartoon! A marketing ploy? Sure, but an entertaining one!

Same here! I've decided to stop buying PT related stuff and focus solely on the OT as far as new figures go, so that cuts my purchases of new figures in half. From now on, I want to focus on vintage stuff for the most part.

I have this crazy goal to re-assemble all the toys I had as a kid, so I have my work cut out for me. Star Wars (Of course), GI Joe, MOTU, MASK, Tranasformers. Plus, some more obscure stuff like Robo Force, those old AD&D figures. Factor in tie-in products like Lunchboxes and it's just a ton of stuff.

It's funny that you mention Blackstar. I had totally forgotten about it until I stumbled upon it last week. That of course led to Sectaurs, Starriors et. I didn't have any of those, but my best friend next-door did. He always seemed to be into the toys that other kids didn't have. He actually had 'Mega Force' toys!

 

To me the difference is that I am just not as schooled on the new movies and their characters. There's a hundred new aliens in the PT and a figure for each one, no matter how insignificant their part in the movies. I have no urge to learn these characters and even less of an urge to get their figures. I can under the necessity to actually come up with names for these characters due to the expansion of EU in books and comics, but it was so much easier in the 70's and 80's. Walrus Man and Hammerhead is so much simpler to deal with than some unpronouncable word filled with too many vowels and consanants in a row. Of course none of this goes to the quality of the figures themselves, but it's just the reason my figure-buying is fairly slow now, unless I just see something that particularly catches my fancy.

 

Exactly! It's amazing how many different lines of toys were available back then. I don't know about everyone else, but I certainly couldn't afford to keep up. Robo Force and Sectaurs has always been a favorite. I had forgotten about Starriors until just a few weeks ago. Anybody remember Mantech? Also Centurions, Inhumanoids, BraveStarr, Thundercats, Warlord, Visionaries, SuperNaturals, and all the TV tie-ins: A-team, Knight Rider, Fall Guy...everybody had an action figure. I've even got a helicopter from the TV show "Riptide." It was crazy! It was impossible to keep up, but the toys were a lot of fun.

 

I posted some of my toys up on eBay--only kid I'll ever have isn't interested in them, and they've been boxed up in the garage for years so...
Running out of space and I have bills to pay.

Holy Crud! A little Starcom fighter that sold for $8 is at $30! and there's still 3 days left! Granted, I took very good care of my toys, kept the boxes and everything, but WOW. I figured I'd be lucky to get $5.
Considering that I was lucky to get $1 per PotJ/PotJ SW figures, this is a pretty big surprize. (OK, 15 years old vs 5 is a big difference too).

WHEEEEEEE!

 

I never got into collecting action figs till I hit my 30s so there is no real comparison. However, in the one vintage Darth Vader figure I did collect from 1983, I'll admit there is an innocent nostalgia about it as someone else already mentioned.

The 80's figures, "if you played with them," you had to use your imagination more and you could destroy them and not worry about it. These days, the characters are so much more well designed and attractive, they're designed to be posed and displayed.

For that reason alone, I prefer the 2000s toys over the vintage line.

 

Using your imagination more with the older 80s toys is what gave those toys versatility and playability, I feel. Nowadays, the figures leave nothing to a childs imagination, therefore, they have limited playability, I feel. This is all a matter of opinion, I realise, however, for me, an all time winner of an action figure is the kenner Luke Skywalker in X-wing pilot outfit, from the vintage line - I would be just as excited to get one of those in its packaging, as I was all those years ago - that is one figure that cannot be improved, even if it was made more movie accurate. I still have that figure loose, and it has never ceased to amaze me!

If it came down to a choice between parting with my vintage figures and parting with my modern, I wouldn't hesitate to send the modern figures packing - however, my modern vehicles are fantastic and I think they are of a very high standard, modern or vintage.

 

YES..YES!
I'm the "Old Man" in our FF ( 34 ) and nobody but me really remembers how good the 80's were with toys. SW figures were just better made for one thing.My Four year old can rip a EPIII figure apart in about 3 sec , That's just not right for Hasbro to make them so cheap. I remember Indiana Jones , Mask , MOTU , Super Powers team ,G.I. Joe (My 2nd fav of all time) ,
SRGT ROCK ,TRON , O man were those good memories.

 

!!! And that's the truth!

I think there's a serious generation gap issue going on with this. I was born in 1974 and grew up with the rise of (SW) action figures. That was hot stuff in my childhood. But like others stated, kids of today have other toy interests and possibilities.

The 80s action figures generally aren't as detailed and certainly not as articulated as the latest action figures, but I remember using a potent gift when playing with them: imagination! Sure, when aiming a gun, your Stormtrooper looked like Frankenstein with his limbs stuck out in front of him, and he sure as hell never saw that Ewok coming from his right, but who cares? You just imagined, re-enacted, fantasized the whole thing!

But if you haven't experienced the vintage figures and vehicles when they were around, I don't think you can make an honest comparison. I think to many of the new generation, the vintage toys look like crap. Maybe they do, but each of the 97 figures stand firmly on their feet. Can't say that for my AotC Obi-Wan Jedi Starfighter pilot, my Saga ESB Vader, or my AotC Red Clone Trooper...

I have quite a few of the newer figs as well, like the Clone Commander. Excellent figure and yes, way better looking and posable than any vintage fig (minus the Royal Guard ). But I have those for collecting and displaying purposes.

 

I was five in 1985, so i like to think i was at the perfect age for eighties toys. (also had older brothers and we shared all the star wars figures)
I think the 80's toys were made more for playability, where as todays toys have "articulation, display, and collectors in mind"
And that alone is a reason why the eighties toys were better...My stormtroopers arm didnt fall off when i moved it...

Personally, i love my vintage star wars, and wouldnt trade em for the world. they are the ultimate action figure for me.
I do feel that as a collector, the articulation and detail of the newer 2000 figures makes them more attractive to the eye, but i dont "play" with them like i used to.
I feel the vehichles in the OT were more important then the Vehichles in the PT, there fore, it seemed ownign the Falcon or a tie fighter had much more "value to play" then a Droid Tri Fighter, that only appeared in 15 minutes of one film..

In general, beyond the star wars universe, i feel the toys of the 80s are far superior to what is offered today.
Although, this could simply be due to the fact that i am no longer connected to new cartoons on satruday morning, and there for have no bond with these new toys...

Basically, i would take my vintage Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, HE-MAN, Super Powers, Voltron, Gi-Joe and Smurfs, over just about anything they make today...

Nostalgic, absolutely!!

 

Of course the figures today certainly don't mean as much to me as they did in 1978 but it's impossible to argue that they aren't better figures, save for those rare few like the Royal Guard and Bib Fortuna.

 

that depends on how you define "better." the new toys have better likenesses, articulation, and detail. the old toys have better play value, in my opinion. the old toys are definitely built sturdier as well. as several people have mentioned, a kid would tear the new figures up in a heartbeat, but the vintage figures last a lifetime. so old and new both have their merits.

several people have mentioned GI Joe as well...I don't think the new ones even come close. the plastic is cheaper, and what's up with the tiny waists? all the guys look like they're wearing corsets or something. at the same time, there are a few really good new Joes, like that new Cover Girl.

 

Yeah, it's pretty hard to argue in favor of the 80's sculpts but the quality thing is a bigger issue with me.

Like a lot of people said, the new figures fall apart too easily. I keep most of my modern figures carded, but about a year ago I opened one of my 'Jabba's palace' Luke figures (OTC) and his arm popped off at the elbow the second I moved it. Same with the 'Bespin duel Luke' figure.

They also use cheaper plastic today. Hasbro essentially re-issued dozens of GI Joe's using their 80's molds in the last few years, but they looked terrible. The paint was bad and the plastic looked inferior.

Plus, there's just something about the symbiotic relationship between a toy and a cartoon that fleshes out it's universe and makes it seem real. Don't get me started on the sad state of today's kid's cartoons.

On the sculpt thing, I agree about the vintage Royal guard. He's always been a favorite of mine (I remember buying him on the day I saw 'ROTJ' for the first time). Some other vintage SW figures that hold up fairly well in that regard are 'Lando General & Skiff', 'Leia Boushh', 'Ree-Yees', 'Tie fighter pilot', '4-LOM', 'Cloud car pilot', 'AT-AT driver', '2-1B' and most of the Ewoks to name a few.

 

i agree with the toy-cartoon connection. a lot of people accused cartoons like transformer, he-man, GI joe, etc. of being "30 minute toy commercials." i however, think that those shows provided us kids with a wonderful education: we learned about complicated plot development, and more importantly about interesting characters. characters int he 80's were actually pretty deep...think about someone like "shipwreck" from GI Joe. we knew his personality. we knew his likes, dislikes, and overall motivation as a character. i could adapt that character into new settings with new conflicts, and i knew how he would react.

i teach high school literature, and i can't get kids to understand characters in a story at all. they're failing standardized tests right and left because they just aren't able to "get into the character's head." from my point of view, the 80's toy/cartoon or toy/movie tie-ins did us all a world of good. we were able to use our imaginations to adapt three dimensional fictional characters into our world. we developed an understanding of what motivates a character, and the ability to predict (with our imaginations) how they would face new challenges. today's cartoon, movie, and toy characters tend to be much more shallow, and the kids are suffering because of it.

sorry for the lecture. it's what i do!

 

I still laugh at the G.I.Joe cartoon putting Stormshadow against Spirit. Ninja master vs Native American would never work well for the Native American (no racial bias intended, but hand-to-hand combat was not one of the specialties listed on the character's bio-card). Unfortunately, since Snake Eyes couldn't speak, they needed to do something for dramatic dialog, so they switched characters. I also liked the Night Ravens getting into dog-fights with Conquest X-30s. (Snicker) The Old Zartan & family did that cool color-changing thing in sunlight. So did his swamp-skier. New one just has a couple silly face-masks. Another thing about the figure re-releases: not only was the plastic inferior quality, so were the washers/rubber bands. Some of my old figures (first wave) still have their original bands and are tight and solid. Within 3 years, most of the rerelease figures' bands broke & I had to replace them.

We had tons of toys and distractions in the 80s too, if you think about it. OK the atari 2600 is no match for playstation or gamecube, but other toy lines and activities were bountiful. I don't give that line much credit.

As for the new SW figures... I think they targeted the wrong audience from the get-go. They went after the collectors. Hasbro seems to have forgotten that toys are for kids. When kids start talking like 20-yo comic collectors, I see that as a problem. Heck, I couldn't have afforded the figures now. $5-10 per!?! I might have managed a couple for my birthday or christmas, and that's it. I don't view the modern figures as toys so much as partially articulated sculptures. And the articulation is inconsistent, which really bugs me. OK, the 70s/80s toys sometimes didn't have necks. the 2000s figures sometimes have elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles, and sometimes they don't. They made a super-articulated stormtrooper (and probablly a clone trooper too), but not of any of the other figures. You never know what you're going to get. What's the point of even sculpting legs onto Coruscant Amidala or the Royal guards? It's not like they can move them. I'd have been much happier if they'd done the line using a GIJoe design and been consistent about it. </rantign soap box>

 

It's really hard to compare the 80's toys with modern ones, which obviously cater to the adult crowd as much as kids. The new Star Wars toys are just incredible, and I think the POTF royal guard is by far superior to the old one. I love the solid one-piece gown, the arms, and the pike, but I'm biased because I hate cloth or vinyl capes. Some of the old ones, however, are hard to improve on because they were pretty good by the time of ROTJ (such as the Biker Scout, Weequay, Nikto, 8D8 and Admiral Ackbar).

I don't really like the Joe Sigma figures, but I did pick up Kamakura and the Ninja BAT, and will get Zartan and Jinx if they are made. Valor vs Venom was ok, but the original figs were best because of their artwork on the cards, and the detail of their filecards. I really like the new mail-order Joes because they "feel" like the old ones with their awesome artwork on the card. I am going to get Major Bludd, the Snow Serpent, Scrap-Iron and the Range Viper. I really hope this line continues. The comic 3-packs are also great, as we are getting to see some figures us 80's comics fans wanted (such as Kwinn and Tommy Arashikage in his Vietnam years - please God, give us Billy and the Soft Master!)

I was never a huge Transformers fan, so I can't really comment on the Beast Wars stuff, but I like the Commemorative/Anniversary sets. Card art and display is important to me!

The new Masters of the Universe line, IMHO, is how it should be done. They are just the original figures, but taken to a new level of sculpting and detail. They haven't butchered them, just made them better. It's nice to see some old classics being remade, such as The Micronauts, and I would love to see how the old Dungeons and Dragons LJN figures would look after a facelift.

I think we owe modern collecting to the re-launch of Star Wars figures in the mid 90's, and to McFarlane, who made affordable, awesome figures targeted at adults. These are magnificient times!

 

Vintage beats the new lines by a mile. The vintage stuff had that magic.

 

To me it all depneds. I like the older stuff for the nostalgic reason but the new stuff is also great. all depends on the day of the week I guess for me.

 

Something that's been brought up a lot is playability; that's really the issue. The vintage figures are so simple they're instantly 'playable', vintage Jedi Luke can be fighting Vader or fighting the Rancor, it just depends on what YOU make him do. It really is about imagination.

The "trouble", in a sense, with the modern line is the amount of scene-specific figures; Throne Room Jedi Luke can't fight the Rancor very well, he's specifically made to be fighting Vader on the Death Star, and even then he's only good for one specific action of the fight (smashing his lightsaber down).

The vintage line is great not just because of nostalgia but because they left a lot up to the child playing with the figure. However I -am- a huge fan of the modern line, as it has produced some of the best SW figures, vehicles, and playsets (really, playsets) ever. ROTS Pilot Obi-Wan is certainly the best Kenobi ever, he can do -anything- because of his simplicity. Yeah he's decked out with tremendous articulation (the reason new figures can be 'broken' easily), but he can fight Anakin, pilot his fighter, hold baby Luke, or just stand there with is hands on his hips saying "Let. Her. Go." Same with the latest Jedi Luke (the best since the vintage), Mustafar Padme, Bail Organa, or almost any Palpatine, the list certainly goes on.

The modern line -can- stand neck and neck with the vintage line, one just has to disregard the abundance of rather unneccesary scene-specific or force posed figures; there's at least -one- good simple modern figure for practically any character.

As for TransFormers, while the designs have carried on the post-movie tradition of futuristic vehicles, which is good or bad depending on your POV, the toys are actually -sturdier- in the sense that if you snap off an arm or leg it is designed to be snapped back into place. If you broke a G1 TransFormer you were pretty much screwed. It would be nice to have some metal back, but they got rid of that after the second year or so.