Vintage Mego: The Waltons
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2020
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Yeah, I'm doing the Waltons episode, even though I don't collect the toyline or enjoy the show itself, let's defend Mego's decision to make a Waltons toy line in 1975.
PS the Sunshine Family legit scared me as a kid.
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Развлечения
My mom, who was a big traditional doll collector (everything except Barbie, pretty much) bought the whole line, as well as the Wizard of Oz Megos.
I'm not surpirsed to hear that.
I saw this in the JCPenny's catalog back in the day, but I never saw these in stores. Once, in the late 70s I saw the truck at a temporary factory outlet store. They also had the giant lizard head Star Trek playset (which I got because back then I would buy anything with the name Star Trek on it).
Mission to Gamma 6!
You can use the walltons house play set for a texas chainsaw massacre one now.With the corpses of the waltons as victims.
I saw someone use it for Walking Dead once.
Or fight off a Planet of the Apes invasion of Walton's Mountain.
Ah, The Waltons. The show that meant I didn't get to watch Buck Rogers. Or at least, not until The Waltons was in reruns.
My mom was a fan of the show, but I never even knew these toys existed until now. Thanks for the video!
I didn’t know they existed, but I’m glad they do. It was a good show.
The car and the house looks really cool !
As a child, I got beat up several times at recess for having the Walton's playset. As a result in my teens I took up bodybuilding. I still have my original house & one mint in box. All the figures & some figures mint in box. I loved having Star Trek beam into this house. Kirk meet Edith Keeler there! Mrs. Walton became Nurse Chaple! In a recent move, my wife discovered my collection. "Are you f#*king kidding me, Waltons play house!" And punched me in the stomach!
I'll admit I'm skeptical of some elements of your story, but it made me smile just the same.
@@user-do2ev2hr7h It's all true. She wants me to sell my Walton Farm House, & I think I can get a lot of money?
@@user-do2ev2hr7h I was setting up a Star Trek diorama & got yelled at for taking up space.
If MEGO had packed in some weapons and given them all utility belts and capes it probably would have been a smash hit for them.
Action Waltons!
john boy with action grip and a cord you could pull and make him say, 'i'll goodnight you, banker!'
"The Grandfather" with Action Karate Chop!
Cool video. I never questioned why Mego did the Waltons. Just seemed like the thing to do at the time -- my cousins had loads of 'em.
Interesting!
Every Spider-Man fan needs Grandma Walton to stand in for Aunt May.
they do!
I've done that!
I was 6 in 1975 and never knew this line existed. We only had 1 channel until the late 1970s, and that was CBS, so I definitely watched The Waltons. I like that house, the truck and the unreleased horse. I can't even remember seeing them in the Wish Books that would come in the mail every holiday season. I definitely remember Happy Days though. Mego should have made Little House on the Prairie stuff.
It's weird that no toy company went for "Little House", it was very popular where I lived.
Goes immediately to ebay to find truck, finds minty boxed for 275.00USD + 30 post + 85 import charge, left before I'd even added it up lol
As I Child in 1976 The Waltons was a regular tv show on saturdays afternoon in Brazil, seeing this video now, I dont see a very interesting emotive for a toy line. Great Video.
thanks for watching!
These are cool! just found mary at a flea market for $10 and she is still in great shape and super posable too. Their posability shocked me for her age and it was the main reason I bought her. Now i have a 50 year old doll to chill on my antique shelf
Oh yeah, they made a great effort with the toys, great likeness and playability.
As a child of this era, I have to assume that most of the toys from The Waltons were indeed going to girls or doll collectors. I never knew another boy who had any of them. I remember seeing the Grandparents figures collecting dust on store shelves for years.
I don't think the grandpeople sold well.
The only figures I distinctly remember in Toys R Us stores were Mary Ellen and John Boy. The commercial for these was so freaky! They couldn't use the Waltons theme on the commercial so they have some bizarre song that I still remember every word to! Never saw the house in stores ever.
The old ToyFare magazine used to really have fun with these Waltons figures. I prefer Mad Monsters, Super Heroes and Apes myself 🤣
Ay, off my case toilet face!
My cousins had some of the Walton stuff mixed in with their other doll lines. I loved the pickup truck. It had a really neat charm. I also remember another line they had that seemed in line with the Walton’s. “Jodi, the Country Girl doll”. It had a spectacular General Store playset that was amazing for all the detailed stuff it had.
I've heard of that line.
I remember my friends discussing episodes of the Walton’s at recess. Not in our house. My Dad only watched sports, cop shows and westerns. So if they had wanted to talk Baretta? I was their man.
Please do the MEGO LOVE BOAT figures if you have them. I've always wanted them on my shelf and you're probably the only person in the world that wouldn't ask "Why?"
Yeah, I am struggling with that line.
@@BrickMantooth Don't struggle. Just make it exciting and new.
It's great when we understand the mind set of a toy corporation. They have to be logical and do things that are not exactly "super" or "glamorous" but it's a good business deal.
The Waltons were a popular series (I was a kid when that show was at it's peak) and mego were competing with the successful Sunshine family, which I actually loved and played with (yes, I really laughed at the part where you made them seem creepy.....lolololol).
Great review as always and PLEASE keep up the good work. Your posts are some of the very best on RUclips!
Thanks again.
Thank you so much for saying that, really appreciate it.
Lol, I admit, I've often made fun of the line myself, thinking it was a poor choice for a company known for it's boy's action adventure toy lines. But, I can appreciate the desire by Mego to diversify their offerings to appeal to different demographics, and if the licence for a hit family TV series was that cheap, why not give it a shot? And it's clear a lot of love went into it. It's the same thing that I love about Mego's Our Gang line. A pity that it wasn't successful enough to allow them to complete the family in at least a second wave. Oh, and my sister had and loved the Sunshine Family, as creepy as their eyes were. Lol!
I can't believe the Our Gang wasn't a hit, that show was everywhere when I was five.
I know! My sister and I watched the Little Rascals every day growing up, as often as Bugs Bunny and The Flintstones. They were a household name. Yet, for some reason retailers didn't order them and so they had poor distribution?!
My girl cousin had the Waltons, the Wizard of Oz and Dynamite dolls and we all had incredible adventures with the Planet of the Apes, Action Jackson and the DC Super Heroes that belonged to my boy cousin. Sometimes we'd pretend that they had crash landed in land of OZ, held prisoner by the Wizard then were attacked by the Apes and Klingons. WE loved all of our MEGOS equally!
I think things like this are typically what I like most. A superhero is cool, yes. But everyone does those! You'll only get one or two Waltons figures.
I get it.
one of these phrases do not belong, can you guess which one?
1) by your command.
2) may the force be with you.
3) hulk smash!
4) goodnight, john boy.
5) beam me up, scotty.
Easy,
Its number 5 as it was never actually said (Mandela effect)
When I lived i New Jersey I remember seeing the Waltons Mego figures, displayed with the Mego super heroes at a toy store around the corner from my home. I went there quite often and remember it being a time when toys with a rural theme were popular- the Sunshine Family (that never frightened me), the Honey Hill Bunch, and Jody. My sister still has them all in a bin full of Barbie dolls.
that's a good point about the rural theme, Holly Hobby would be another.
@@BrickMantooth My sister's old Holly Hobbie Colorforms set is on display with all my super hero Colorforms.
Strawberry Shortcake soon followed Holly Hobbie, and her merchandise was everywhere..
One toy company did show an interest in Little House on the Prairie. Knickerbocker made dolls of Laura and Carrie Ingalls. I always found that odd, considering how downbeat the show often was.
Every reference in this video to The Sunshine Family made me audibly howl... every. time!
😂😂😂 I had the "Sunshine family" & their home, but wasnt lucky enough to get "The Waltons" & their house. I loved The waltons & The rifleman, my favs!!! Good oh shows back then. I watch them everyday on Me TV😁... Btw that black truck was John Walton the fathers truck. John boy had a creamish white car.
Thanks for the info, I've never watched a whole episode of the show.
I had the pickup truck and Johnboy ,Grandpa and Grandma and his sister .
Great likenesses
Oh The Walton’s. Always a gentle place in my memory. Grandma loved this show. I want the truck now too. It’s cool. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
I got the grandmother figure to be Aunt Em for my Wizard of Oz collection when I was a kid. Can't remember I got the grandfather or dad for Uncle Henry...
smart move!
Well that was a “Revelation!” I Never Knew that a Walton Play Set Existed? I was a Bit Too Young For the Show but I Remember Loving theme Soundtrack? Never Did I Realise that this the was beginning of my Long Life Admiration and Collector of Jerry Goldsmith Soundtracks? Even Tiny Ones Can Be Cultured?! Fancy That!? That’s my Tale and Association with the Waltons!
Best
I didn't know Goldsmith did the theme tune, wow!
Brick Mantooth
Heya!
Yes and an American Cop Show Called Barnaby Jones- and I wasn’t even born then! I Loved the Use of the Omen Insert! Very Funny! Some Dolls do have that Damien Look! The Girl in the Add Really Needed Braces! So that’s Both of Us Learning Something on this Episode! Are you or have you Done a Mego Space 1999 Episode Yet?
Best
PS You Have! Yet Going to Watch Them Now!
I have been hoping you would cover these 'less cool' megos. I didnt know about these or the Oz range til I saw the Mego documentary on telly and as 'Knowledge is Power ' , I will be oddly satisfued if you do the Oz line too! Please? Even just for git and shiggles?!?
Yeah, I decided to talk about lines I don't collect somewhere in the middle of this journey, so expect one of more Oz videos in the near future.
I'm surprised that Meco didn't do a LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE toy line considering how popular that show was!
I guess after the Waltons, they decided it wasn't worth chasing.
I have never seen an episode of The Waltons, but I would straight up kill to get my hands on one of those Waltons house playsets.
I salute your choice and use of 'Ave Satani'.
Good ear.
@@BrickMantooth And it just occurred to me, Jerry Goldsmith composed the theme for The Waltons as well as The Omen so there's a good loop going on there.
Loved the vid - had no idea Mego did a Waltons line
mego always had nice playsets .
they did.
Neat line. I don’t remember this from the time but still kind of cool!
Great review of the line of products. Totally not in my field of view, but part of history non the less. I can honestly say I've never seen an episode of The Waltons, and I'm 50 and damn proud of it! 😂. Seriously though perfect review as usual.
I never watched it either, thanks for the kind words.
I like the Waltons figures
I love The Walton’s tv show!
It seems like you're not alone judging by the reaction to this video.
I was two when The Waltons went off the air in 1978 and never really saw it. I do remember my brother shouting "John-Boy or Jimmy?" when he thought my parents were holding him to the standard of a fictional character.
While I enjoyed the focus on this little appreciated line (I used 2 from a yard sale to be in need of rescuing continually), it took me decades to get the image of Sunshine Family out of my mind. Well, here we go again, lol (sigh)
You're welcome?
Remember when Fonzie figure became "Johnny Switchblade" with knives instead of thumbs on Saturday Night Live?
Oh yeah, they still play it every Christmas.
The house and truck would be a perfect night of the living dead play set!
I've seen it done and you're right.
That's a cool set!
agree!
They seem very similar to the Fisher Price adventure people in as much as there is an innocent charm to them because they are action figures that do not come with weapons or guns like G.I. Joe or enemy counterparts like the super heroes range, so I can see them being a very much 'parent approved' toy line. I didn't know they existed until this video, but if I did back in the day I think I most certainly would have collected them. If I ever come across any of them at a reasonable price then I would most definitely snap them up. Thanks for sharing. ;-)
chances are you'll find them at a reasonable price some day.
I was more of a Little House On The Prairie kid...you know, like Addams Family vs The Munsters or Jeannie vs Samatha.😉👍
Great video!
Yeah we were a "Little House" um...house as well. I never could choose with respect to the Addams/Munsters thing.
Brick Mantooth Nice! I was more of a Munster fan as a kid but appreciated the Addams Family as I got older. I still love both of them!
“Hulk smash Waltons”- mego hulk.
I known someone who used the House as the Avengers Mansion.
Brick Mantooth sweet.
Damn, we had the same idea!
@@BrickMantooth That's Cool! Was Conan on the Team?
I think it's neat, if there was ever a time to do this it would be then like you mentioned. I like the paired selling of characters you would want together. Car is cool and I like the more complete structure the doll house convention offers.
This is gold... I love the Amsco playsets, and in lieu of being able to the the Marvel one I've considered getting the Walton's one. I can see why Mego made the dolls; Walton's was #2 in '74 and #8 in '75 in ratings, and then slid out of the top ten. Mego got their product out just as the show was passing its peak. It was clean and family-oriented, and had a large 'young' cast. They probably knew the grandparents / parents of kids - particularly the stricter ones - would be completely happy buying Walton's themed toy products for their kids. I think their mistake might have been not putting out all the young cast members - specifically the girls.
You have a good point there, the line was 50% female but probably could have stood to have a set of younger people.
OMG, My lil sister had the Sunshine family stuff! Had to hide my Joes from them!
smart!
The Walton's were a guilty pleasure of mine, I enjoyed it but pretended I didn't 🤣🤣
Oh like me and Neil Diamond.
@@BrickMantooth guilty as charged 🤣👍
Grandma Walton with king fu grip!!
and fly away action!
now what kid would want to play with that Bible thumpiing Grandma Walton for? If Grandpa Walton came with a filed jug of the Recipe, than I can understand. Im sure the rest of the cast who played Jim Bob, Jason, Ben, Erin and Elizabeth were all disappointed they didnt make into doll form. I guess a future expanded set could have included the general store with a Mister Godsey doll as well as his pretentious wife, Cora and their daughter Amy.
I would think that the same little girls who, as noted, liked the Sunshine Family and other similar dolls of the time. If the line had continued, coming on the heels of both the Teen Titans and Our Gang lines, the tooling would have existed to produce the younger Walton kids. Making all the adult and young adult characters first was probably a way of saving money on the first wave since no new body types would have been required.
I think Mego banked on parents buying these for kids.
I don't know why, exactly, but I always wanted the house and truck for the Kent farm house (and that was well before the movie was released). I did end up with a Mary Ellen, somehow (I think I traded my cousin for it but can't be certain now) and had my mom sew-up a Mary Marvel costume for her (wish I still had her, other than the slippers she looked better than the recent re-Megos made of her).
that's a cool idea, Mary Ellen was the "go to" for female superheroes for years in the customs game.
Love the show.
It was huge!
I never understood what kid would want Waltons figures?!? Perhaps girls, and even some adults, but I didn't know any guys who had them nor wanted them. The same could be said for the Wizard of Oz and Our Gang/Little Rascals figures, I believe.
I understand the show was popular, but I still have trouble wrapping my head around kids wanting to recreate it using action figures.
It's not something they were expecting boys to do but I do believe they were trying to get girls interested in. This does fit in with a doll house play pattern.
there main competition was Jody from ideal, which produce a county store which was very detailed and many accessories , so it was best not to produce a general store for the waltons
I forgot all about Jody.
@@BrickMantooth Jody is 9 inch tall bendy and was to counter (IMO )mego's attempt on the Girls doll market .
Is it any wonder The Sunshine Family was terrifying when the bottom of the page they use the pattern that would later be made famous by The Shining. Maybe that design is just cursed.
Heh, that's the old Plaidstallions logo.
@@BrickMantooth well that does make more sense. It definitely adds to their creepy atmosphere though.
I'm really impressed with your channel. Love the videos. I have no idea how a G.I. Joe channel and a Mego channel might work together, but I would love to find a way.
Thanks, there is probably an angle in there somewhere, the RAH line was based on Mego's CHIPs figures...
I actually would've enjoyed a John Boy Action Figure as a kid. My mother literally watched this non stop
Yeah, that's a huge factor. My wife would go "oh barf" when it was on, so I took my example from her.
@@BrickMantooth I'm actually that way now, but when I visit my mom she still watches it. It's actually not terribly bad lol
This was back in the infancy of toys and selling and from a different different time but the Manson/ sun shine family rule lol
My sister might have had the figures. I have very vague memories of the show.
Eclipse by the sale it's cool how to see the ideas that they had back then and how far we've come and Fallen now still think the toys . . Were funnier and better more Imagination..😊
Talk Toys not people- I like that.
Yeah, It was inspired by certain collector groups i was in. I think their hobby was talking about others.
Neat Truck! If I had the choice between that and a Spider Buggy I would've chosen the Waltons' Truck, but I was told it was a girl's toy. Is that a Clydesdale? *Here Comes The king here comes the beer number one.*
It is a Clydesdale.
@@BrickMantooth XD XD XD XD!
@@BrickMantooth If only there were Krull Action Figures to ride the Clydesdales! They probably Glaive at the office! *RIMSHOT* *Wooka Wooka Wooka!* !
I have great idea for Custom Mego display with Waltons house as the house from 1960 Night of Living Dead and could some repainted as few characters from it.
Ok didn't know live in New Zealand but we wachted the tv show and yes we always said good night John boy and the rest lol 👍🏾
Yeah, it got into the pop culture lingo, it's still there.
I wonder how many kids had John boy team up with fonzie , the Lone Ranger and spider man now there would be a interesting version of the avengers . Also I’m pretty sure fonzie did have super powers . At least he did first time he met mork the alien .
Fonzie's powers were subtle but definitely there.
Generally worried about seeing those sunshine family those are scary
they legitimately scared me as a kid.
Born in '71, and from New Jersey, the Walton's, Little House, Gunsmoke, Green Acres, and a plethora of other boring shows never even offered a glimmer of interest. Not when Star Trek, Gilligan's Island, and the Brady Bunch were running syndicated. I now have an interest in doll houses, as I look at them everytime I go to Hobby Lobby. The idea of painting, staining, and assembling seems great; the only problem...incorrect scale. If only Mego could get the super hero (DC or Marvel), Lone Ranger, or dare I say, Star Wars or GI Joe 8" rights, it would do them a world of good. Priced right for a kids toy!
Mego will have 8" DC characters at select retailers this Christmas. There's hope yet.
@@BrickMantooth awesome! I was afraid FTC had an exclusivity clause. The FTC bodies are horrible compared to the new Mego bodies. Thanks!
Mego should’ve done S.W.A.T. Loved that show when I was a 5 yr old. I’d just get the World’s Greatest Super Heroes. back then.
LJN had SWAT and made 8" figures, a playset and even the van, they're high quality toys.
oh i always wanted a figure of will geer
The Waltons meet The Universal Monsters!!!!
And the Planet of the Apes!
I was honnestly interested in the Waltons play set as a kid . I wanted some regular folk to be menaged by my Joker and Penguin .
NO! I didn’t see you playing with your dolls again, SIR!
If only you knew how many times in the last 2 years since Mego returned that both my brother and sister have used that quote from Spaceballs on me. Lol!
Ha!
1/12 scale is my sweet spot.
I can't get into it, I'm a 1/9ther for life.
@@BrickMantooth I'm basically fascinated by anything miniature but prefer the 1/12
*Brick Mantooth* Could you do the Archie Figures? I wonder if *Toy Galaxy* would do them?
I'd happily take about the Marx Archie Figures sometime.
@@BrickMantooth Thanks! :)
Another reason the Walton dolls are easier to find in good condition, girls took better care of their stuff than boys did.
fair point.
No Wilford Brimley doll. Nuts.
diabeetus
That's right ,he was a semi regular.
I did not know that.
@@BrickMantooth his character was Homer Brimley usually we saw him around the store shooting pool.after I made this comment I saw that he died the first of this month at 85 of kidney failure.I made a mistake his character name was Horace not Homer.
i think the doll house is bad ass
It's a nice toy line in general but the house is great!
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
Interesting. Enjoyed that. 😀👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Goodnight John Boy!
Some parents thought you’d go to hell if you watched Star Trek or Planet of the Apes, so you got the Waltons. Wholesome family fun, right?
Seeing as it was the #2 program in 1973, it was an oasis of a simpler time for many, especially in the cynical early 1970s.
The Waltons is completely great. But the Lone Ranger was my favorite line from that era.
You mention Mego's desire to go after celebrity and TV properties. Did they also go after these gain more traction on the girls side of the aisle? While I had no interest in these as a kid, my sister had several and the farmhouse.
Absolutely, they were kicking butt in the action figure aisle but they tried for the girls' aisle, the games aisle, even the bike aisle!
They should have made an outhouse 💩
It could have been like the transporter.
Good night, John boy
indeed
It was great!
glad you dug it!
Fan or not, they could make nice civilians for super heroes scenarios :)
A lot of people turn them into superhero characters.
i was mildly interested in them as a kid. Never had any.
I have all Walton's doll's and fram house and store plus truck so lucky. me.
Worship and obey the Sunshine Family, infedels! Hey are the Alpha and the Omega! Obey!
They still scare me.
Not my thing during it's original run, hell I didn't even know they had a toy line. I am ,however, binging the series on Amazon Prime and it's pretty good.
I've never watched it but it sure was popular!
Any chance of a video on the original eagle force please?
Oh yeah, I'll get to them. I interviewed the creators years ago. Got oodles to say.
I remember them,as i had an older sister.Today ,i DO like that truck.The house,s front porch looks a lot like the Myers place ,so i could put my Neca Michel Myers out there ,scale looks o.k. I would say something rude about Gram ma Ester ,however ,shes still Way better lookin than Aunt May... Great post.i might just seek that truck.mabie...
They are Nice too..
they are!
@@BrickMantooth YESS!!
Why would anyone get offended over calling them dolls i am a pretty new mego guy and it is really a side hobby from Halloween masks but they are large characters with cloth clothes technically any action figure could be considered a doll if you take the definition of dolls one hundred percent word for word
I've met people triggered over them being called dolls, My roommate in college called them "Man-Dolls".
Brick Mantooth im not going to judge people on what they classify a toy as but at the very least mego are very doll like action figures
It makes sense to me that they would be a hit with German audiences. America is made up of a lot of German immigrants. I remember there was an episode of The Walton's where Pa Walton faced down an angry mob who were trying to lynch one of his neighbors who was a German immigrant. I guess it's kind of 1940s rural white social commentary or something like that. I wouldn't say I was a fan of the Walton's but I used to watch it when I was a kid. Definitely never bought a John Boy action figure though. The one thing I do remember very clearly about the show was the fact that they lived on Walton's mountain. I remember thinking how you would have to be kind of badass to have your own mountain that you lived on.
What kid would ask for the grandparents dolls?
lucky kids!