Toys

Simple as it was, SLIME was perhaps my favorite of all Masters of the Universe toys. The neon green pseudosnot taught me that toy slime wasn’t just what it literally was, but also whatever we imagined it to be. In Masters of the Universe lore, Hordak uses Slime to turn randos into zombie

The arrival of a new holiday season means more ancient toy catalog reviews on Dino Drac. Yay! Shown above is the 1994 edition of Toys “R” Us’s Big Toy Book. By then, the Big Toy Book was far and away the most important holiday catalog out there, taking the top spot from the Sears Wis

The original My Pet Monster doll was awesome in a once-in-a-lifetime way. He was just so big, so unique and so toothy! If you’re looking to buy back a piece of your childhood, that doll is one of the few ‘80s toys that really lives up to its legend. In fact, My Pet Monster was

Get set for a special Halloween edition of Five Random Action Figures! This time, we’ll be dealing exclusively with MONSTERS… like creatures with pumpkins for heads, and also creatures just named Pumpkinhead. Samhain Retro-Action Real Ghostbusters (2011) Samhain was one of the “b

Remember the opening scene of 1988’s Child’s Play? Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) chases serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) into a toy store. Nearing death, Ray uses a voodoo spell to transfer his soul into a doll, signaling the start of a cheeky slasher series that’

Welcome to the latest edition of Five Random Action Figures. I hope you appreciate the seasonally-appropriate setting in these photos. You owe me 10 ounces of sweat and 12 ounces of bug spray. King Sphinx Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993) King Sphinx is an interesting cat. If you’re li

By the end of this article, I’ll have reviewed 200 action figures on Dino Drac. That’s a big deal, guys. It’s why I’m typing this with one hand and eating a whole Carvel cake with the other. Five Random Action Figures has been the site’s most dependable series, and for as long a

A few weeks ago, I bought this: It’s a bag of assorted action figure accessories, plus a few broken figures. I found it at a toy & collectible shop that had a little bit of everything, from vintage Masters of the Universe figures to cartoon-themed lunch boxes. In stores like that, I

Welcome to the 39th edition of Five Random Action Figures. Just one more to go before I’ll have reviewed 200 different figures in this series, which I’ll of course use as an excuse to buy fancy old toys that aren’t already collecting dust in the unsightly bins stacked exactly four fe

Welcome to spring, worst of the seasons. May it charm you by being full of pollen and hot enough for bugs. But the season isn’t all bad. If nothing else, it gave me an excuse to scan several pages from this 1995 Toys “R” Us Spring Catalog, which was so generously donated by my pal,

From baker’s twine to pizza box tents, some of the best toys were never meant to be toys. My all-time favorite example? L’eggs pantyhose eggs, baby. Back in the ’80s, L’eggs stuffed bargain-priced pantyhose into plastic eggs. Some were clear, others white or black, and some eve

Get set for the 38th edition of Five Random Action Figures, starring robot bugs and alien elephants and Ted “Theodore” Logan. We’re gonna have a time. Storm w/ Power Glow Action The Uncanny X-Men (1993) If I have it right, this was the second of three distinct Storm figures to use th

I normally only cover vintage toys on Five Random Action Figures, but this time, let’s try something different. Below are five figures that are still in stores, proving that new stuff can be just as awesome as old stuff, and less grimy to boot. Macho Michelangelo! Teenage Mutant Ninja Su

Welcome to the 36th edition of Five Random Action Figures, featuring alien brains and bounty hunters and Henry Silva. We’re gonna have a time. Boba Fett Star Wars (1979) Arguably the coolest figure in the entire Star Wars collection, Boba Fett looks like a stormtrooper mixed with a carn

I wanted to get one more catalog review done before Christmas, and I think we’re ending with a doozy. (And also a DaZoo, but that joke won’t become funny until you’re a thousand words in.) Behold, the 1986 Sears Wish Book! This was a big one, guys. Action figures as a concept were a

Welcome to a special holiday edition of Five Random Action Figures. For maximum effect, you gotta drink eggnog and wear footie pajamas while reading this. This time, I’m limiting myself only to figures that I personally got for Christmas back in the ‘80s. Two were already in my collec

Let’s dig up more highlights from the 1989 Sears Wish Book. I’ve already plucked a dozen of the catalog’s best items for an older Dino Drac article, but it seemed silly to waste the rest of it. After all, Sears Wish Books have more pages than most novels, and beyond the 8-12 items th

Sit. Make a cup of coffee. Wrap yourself one of those $10 throw blankets, because I know they’re your vice. This one’s gonna take a while. Below are nine finds from the 1993 JCPenney Christmas catalog, a 600+ page behemoth filled with toys and video games and lime green lingerie. I wou

Since we’re in the thick of Dino Drac’s 2016 holiday celebration, I’m adding a special theme to this edition of Five Random Action Figures. In this batch, every figure has something to do with ice or snow. This despite the fact that it still won’t be winter even a month from now. R

Ahhh, can you feel it? That crisp morning chill! Those extra thick retail catalogs! This divisive election that threatens to split the world in half like a coconut! Yes indeed, CHRISTMAS is in the air! Okay, maybe it’s a little early, but I’ll tell you this: As a kid, it was always at

I did it. I took the plunge. I am now the proud owner of a vintage My Pet Monster doll, complete with break-apart handcuffs. He’s two feet of adorable terror, with stoner eyes, shark teeth and an alien dick nose. I love him. I’ve hugged him. Released by American Greetings in 1986, My P

I wanted to do another edition of Five Random Action Figures before Halloween, lest I waste the excuse to take pictures of plastic monsters out in the freezing rain. So here we are, hours later, with me sneezing and my phone’s touchscreen on the fritz. I suffer for you. Rancor Monster St

Shrinky Dinks were invented in the early ‘70s, but it wasn’t until the ‘80s that their popularity exploded. That’s when the color-and-bake sheets of polystyrene plastic caught the attention of major toy companies, leading to dedicated Shrinky Dinks sets for He-Man, Rainbow Brite an

Here are more of my favorite spooky action figures from the ‘80s and ‘90s, photographed in a moldy forest: Shish Kebab Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (1989) By far the best figure from Kenner’s Beetlejuice collection, Shish Kebab Beetlejuice also wins the award for weirdest. His “scary sk

Certain Dino Drac features take a break during the Halloween Countdown, but not Five Random Action Figures. I know where my bread is buttered. But since we are in the spooky season, any editions published between now and Halloween will feature scary monsters exclusively. That’s partly to