What item is more desirable for the vintage action figure collector than the unreleased prototype from their favourite toy-line? What could they have been? How would they affect the line? Would they have been peg warmers? I'm not sure why these figures weren't released for any of them, and we're not going to get into the whys of why they weren't released today; maybe we'll do that another day.
So, let's take a look at some action figure designs from famous toy lines from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as some lines that never made it past the prototype stage.
Note these are not ranked in any particular order
#1. Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters playset Egon's Lab
Original description for this playset:
"With the new EGON’S LAB, kids can fully analyze and store all sorts of ghosts! First, examine a captured ghost with the three probes. Next, smash him into the containment unit! Look out, though, the captured ghosts can haunt the equipment and cause THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS Heroes to rise into the air! Comes with companion ghost."
#2. Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters Backpack Heroes was shown in a issue of TOyfare magazine
Description from Hot! Hot! Hot! Toy Fair 1991 (toy dealer catalogue): "Even the equipment for The Real Ghostbusters isn't safe from ghosts! Each Backpack Hero comes with a companion ghost which can be captured and placed into the figure's "containment unit" backpack. Watch out! You can make the captured ghost rise out of the pack and grab and scare the hero! Only another of The Real Ghostbusters can help by ejecting the ghost out of the pack! Ghosts can also be placed on the end of the weapon and fired off
#3. Mattel New Adventures of He-man
Darius and Mara
Darius figures appears in Mattel's 1989 toy catalogue in Europe but was never put into mass production and Mara is known to only exist in and painted and unpainted protype
#5. The Dark Crystal ( 1982) Action figures from Aviva Toy Company, the set would have included 9 figures. Jen, Kira, a Happy pod peasant, a slave pod peasant, Aughra, and Skeksis, Landstrider, Mystic, and Garthhim, it is worth noting the 1st 6 would have included accessories and a different piece of the Dark Crystal.
#6. Mattel Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future Dread Trooper and Dread Commander
Dread Trooper and Commander were feature in the 1988 Mattel sales catalogue and shows the 2 figures as pictured below, but these un produced figures seem to have a certain amount of mystery around them as a few collectors have carded and loose examples of these figures, which started surfacing in 2007-14. Some suggest these were either a very limited run or final/prototype sales copies used by Mattel or only sold in Europe.
Part 2 coming next week, stay tuned