As we welcome the new year, I am very pleased to introduce the first ever guest review at AFB, in what is going to become a regular guest feature! My good friend Starman, or "Stars" as he calls himself, has been around the traps of various forums for a long time, and has now taken up residence at the AFB Forum as a regular contributor and moderator. Recently, he started a set of reviews of toy lines from the past which are in his personal collection. He's given these reviews the clever name of "Toys I Grew Up With", and it's been so popular it's claimed it's own little place on the forum! I felt these pieces were so interesting that they deserved a wider audience, and as such this new guest feature was born.
Stars' first "TIGUW" feature is based on the Blackstar toy line from the early 1980's. Make sure you click through to the link to the full pictorial review at the AFB Forum - Stars has an extensive collection with far too many pictures to post here! And now, over to our guest:
BIackstar! I love these things!!! The box art for the playsets and vehicles are beautiful!!
These figures were produced by Galoob from 1983 to 1985 and were released in three waves. Each "good guy" came with a Trobbit (the little pink guys) and the "bad guys" came with the greenish-yellow demon. Wave Two villains came with a rainbow of colors of that same demon, while Wave Three villains came with new demons in new molds.
Blackstar's dragon-steed Warlock also came in two different colors. The yellow one I'm showing here isn't mine. The one I own is solid green with a light patch running up his front. The green one also doesn't have a saddle, while the yellow one does.
What's weird is that although they are basically the same molds, the green one is smooth while the yellow one is scaled.
Starting from Wave Two, all of the figures had a flickering light-up gimmick. I've shown the Blackstar figure both with and without it. Eventually all of the Wave One figures were re-released with the flicker action except Mara.
Also of note is Klone, the Blue Elf. He came with removable arms and legs, which could be traded out and combined with a snap-on chest piece and tail, whereby he becomes Cloud Cat!
The photos in this article are just some of mine! Check out the "Toys I Grew Up With - BLACKSTAR!" thread at the AFB Forum for many, many more!
Enjoy!
Stars
(Andy's final note:) Feedback on this new feature is most welcome! Do check out all of Stars' amazing photos - it's a real treat!
Just as always, you can comment on this post to enter the AFB Comment of the Month Contest for January!
7 comments:
A very fun new feature, and a great way to start it! I remember these toys although i never had any of my own. Welcome Starman and I know you will make a great addition to the wonderful world that is AFB!
It's funny - I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, yet I can sing the Blackstar commercial music with total recall.
That is SO GREAT! I love it...
I remember the cartoon and these toys from years ago. Odd thing too i swear up and down i saw these for sale as a kid at all places in our local grocery store.
Loving the feature. Blackstar is too old for me to have any memory of sadly. I like the sidekick figures best.
Way to go Stars! Loving this stuff.
I could not recall when was the last time I saw this toys. I think it's really old but I guess it's very important since it has been part of your childhood memories.
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