Mego Corporation
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- For other uses, see Mego (disambiguation).
The Mego Corporation was a toy company that dominated the action figure toy market during most of the 1970s. The Mego Corporation was founded in the early 1950s by David Abrams and was mostly known prior to 1971 as a producer of dime store toys.
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[edit] Golden age
Starting in 1971, Mego began purchasing license rights to a variety of successful motion pictures, television programs, and comic books, and started producing lines for such works as Action Jackson, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, the Wizard of Oz, along with the rights to various superhero characters, which was their most successful line.
The secret of Mego's success was that their action figures were constructed with interchangeable heads. Generic bodies could be mass produced and different figures created by interposing different heads and costumes on them. Mego also constructed their figures primarily in an 8 inch scale - setting an industry standard in the 1970s.
Mego also created the Kresge style card (named for the Kresge store chain, for whom they were originally produced), now commonly referred to as the "Mego Bubble Card." This style of card placed the clear plastic bubble containing the action figure in the middle of the card.
[edit] Decline
In 1976, an executive with Mego rejected, without company approval, a deal to license toys for the upcoming motion picture Star Wars. This decision set Mego up for its eventual collapse, as the movie was a huge success and competitor Kenner Products sold huge amounts of Star Wars action figures.
- TV and Movie figures
Following Star Wars' great success, Mego embarked on a large campaign to purchase the manufacturing rights to any and all potentially successful motion picture and television shows, in hopes of finding a similar hot property. They produced figures for King Kong, Moonraker, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Black Hole, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Wonder Woman and The Dukes of Hazzard.
- Military figures
A small collection of military-themed action figures were also released in the early 1980s, called "Johnny Combat" in the US, they were also marketed in other countries under different names. Using the same 8 inch format, they were produced after the 12-inch G.I. Joe figures had lost their popularity and before the revival of the G.I. Joe line in 3-3/4" format. The 8-inch combat line was not a success, and knockoff figures were also released for companies like Woolworth's (or Woolco in Canada, where the line was known as "World War Two Heroes").[1]
- KISS figures
One of Mego's most successful action figure lines was devoted to the legendary rock 'n' roll band KISS. The 12 1/2-inch depictions of Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss and Gene Simmons (who had a specially molded head created to allow him to stick out his famous tongue) were initially released on August 10, 1978. The KISS Mego figures remain sought-after collectibles to this day.
Unfortunately for Mego, none of these were as successful as Kenner's Star Wars products, and in 1982 Mego filed for bankruptcy. By 1983 the Mego Corporation had ceased to exist.
[edit] Collectibles
Today, Mego action figures and playsets are highly-prized collectibles, with some fetching thousands of dollars on the open collectibles market.
[edit] Other uses
In recent years, Mego's 8-inch figures, particularly the superhero line, have found new life in Twisted ToyFare Theater, a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in Toyfare: The Toy Magazine. Toyfare staff pose and take photos depicting the figures in bizarre situations, with added dialogue bubbles. The series is well-known in comic book and collectors' circles for its distinctive, off-the-wall sense of humour. The strips (renamed, formerly "Twisted Mego Theatre") have even been printed separately in their own collection.
A Planet of the Apes figure can be spotted on the cover of Marilyn Manson's debut record Portrait of an American Family.
[edit] Legacy
In 2005, a company based in Cranston, Rhode Island began producing 8-inch figures influenced by the Mego formula, containing licensed, classic television characters packaged on Mego-style blister cards. Among the many included in the line: Married... with Children, Happy Days, The Munsters, The Brady Bunch, and legendary professional wrestler André the Giant.
Each year, Mego collectors have a convention in Wheeling West Virginia called *Mego Meet this occurs every June.
Mego Corporation is in no way related to Mego Inc.
[edit] Reference
- Mego Action Figure Toys, 3rd Edition (2001) by John Bonavita
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Mego Museum
- Mego Forum
- Action Figure Archive - Mego action figure guide, message boards and online store.
- Mego Crazy
- The Mego Store
