michaelc
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 23, 2016 1:27:41 GMT -5
Posts: 110
|
Post by michaelc on Nov 21, 2017 19:55:40 GMT -5
"Interesting you mention that. I've long suspected that was the case at times, specifically with the green card Hasbros. Back in the late '90s into the '00s, I was trading volumes of wrestling tapes to someone in GER for green card Hasbros. It was like he had an endless supply! I figured he was reselling copies of the tapes, and using the proceeds to buy them at fair market value, but still...you'd think they would still be scarce. I had dozens upon dozens of green card figures go through my hands in those days like they were as common as Hulk #1. So considering the short run here in the US, I felt it possible they shipped whatever was manufactured to another country that would still certainly buy them up. Your story sounds like the exact same theory, just a different location.
Yep we got them here which I mentioned in my 2016 thread. The Green cards landed in Australia (not sure of the year 1996 maybe?) first at $5 each (Hasbros were normally $10) and then many more at $3 each. I would've bought about 120 of them - I would drive around and clean out the stores. I was trading them with a guy in upstate New York for the LJNS I couldn't get here. First trade was 3 123 kids for SD, Muraco and Elizabeth; and for people used to the immediacy of today's world - they took 5 months to arrive.
I traded many, many more with Big Jim for all the LJNS he could get (about 30 to add to my collection) and then for the first few series of Jakks. It was an absolute win/win and people, especially internationally - did a lot of trading back then including for tapes. All my Hasbros are in storage but there was a different international sticker on the back. I'd have to dig them out to have a look. We also got the Galoobs at $5 as well, a bit earlier than the Green Cards.
You can still find losse Green cards for sale at markets here and online, not common now, but in much greater numbers than you'd expect. Many kids had a full set for only $35 or $21 Aud at the time. Also I remember having Bombs and Borgas coming out of "..." (don't think you can swear on here?) with that stupid picture of Borga on the card!
|
|
drawingheat
Jobber
Joined on: May 9, 2015 19:51:15 GMT -5
Posts: 25
|
Post by drawingheat on Nov 22, 2017 21:42:07 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to actually shop at The Wrestling Ring store before they went exclusively to mail orders only. They had a very small shop in Ocean City, Maryland. I was very young but my dad told me the first time we went the guy didn’t even have a store he just had the MOC LJNs seating on the staircase of one of the boardwalk hotels. Once he actually had the store I can remember looking through all of the figures for the ones I didn’t have yet. I got both of the Hart Foundation there on single cards. Also got Elizabeth and Terry Funk on the same trip. Funk’s branding iron never even made it home. I lost it at the hotel. (I finally got a replacement one just a year or two ago at a flea market in a random box of toys)
Over the next few years I would get the rest of my LJNs through mail order. I got most of the ‘89 series for Christmas in 1989. The last ones I got were Haku and Rick Rude in April of 1990 for my birthday. The only LJN I never had as a kid was a black strap Andre. Apparently when my dad went to order me several as a gift my mom told him I didn’t need another Andre since I already had the other two. That Andre is still the only one missing from my collection.
|
|
michaelc
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 23, 2016 1:27:41 GMT -5
Posts: 110
|
Post by michaelc on Nov 23, 2017 4:56:25 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to actually shop at The Wrestling Ring store before they went exclusively to mail orders only. They had a very small shop in Ocean City, Maryland. I was very young but my dad told me the first time we went the guy didn’t even have a store he just had the MOC LJNs seating on the staircase of one of the boardwalk hotels. Once he actually had the store I can remember looking through all of the figures for the ones I didn’t have yet. I got both of the Hart Foundation there on single cards. Also got Elizabeth and Terry Funk on the same trip. Funk’s branding iron never even made it home. I lost it at the hotel. (I finally got a replacement one just a year or two ago at a flea market in a random box of toys) Over the next few years I would get the rest of my LJNs through mail order. I got most of the ‘89 series for Christmas in 1989. The last ones I got were Haku and Rick Rude in April of 1990 for my birthday. The only LJN I never had as a kid was a black strap Andre. Apparently when my dad went to order me several as a gift my mom told him I didn’t need another Andre since I already had the other two. That Andre is still the only one missing from my collection. Fantastic story! Thanks for sharing!
|
|
Kasper.ca
Superstar
Joined on: Apr 6, 2012 13:02:10 GMT -5
Posts: 764
|
Post by Kasper.ca on Nov 23, 2017 12:34:23 GMT -5
Grew up in a small town in BC, Canada.
We pretty much drove an hour to get our figures from either Kmart or Toys R Us.
I got figures for Birthdays and Christmas. I remember I was in the hospital at one point for something (not sure if injury or illness) but I do remember getting the Killer Bees in single MOC from my grandma.
As with most places, the managers were the big shelf warmers and always in stores.
One figure I definitely remember NOT ever getting for some reason, was the Macho Man figure. I had TONS of them but yet never got that one, which is odd... because he was one of my favorite wrestlers. We must not have gotten many of him or if we did, he was always sold out when I went to the stores
|
|
michaelc
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 23, 2016 1:27:41 GMT -5
Posts: 110
|
Post by michaelc on Nov 23, 2017 19:45:07 GMT -5
Keep the stories coming, they're great and really show what it was like to be a kid collecting the toys you wanted back then. One thing that is interesting is the role of grandparents in helping get the extra figure or two. The grands are certainly popping up in a few of your stories - and normally coming through with the good figures as well!
|
|
WWE Fig guy
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Dec 6, 2013 17:16:23 GMT -5
Posts: 264
|
Post by WWE Fig guy on Nov 23, 2017 20:30:23 GMT -5
Such a great thread! I was very young when ljns were main stream,the only memories of seeing them in stores was seeing a bunch of mean genes,refs,Vinny macs,and Jesse the bodies at a Sears outlet store.however I have many memories of the figures themselves.i think it was the Christmas of 86 I got hulk,piper,the ring that my uncle tied the ropes super tight, macho man, Captain Lou,bundy and Kirchner.but my all time favorite memory was of my Grandma,yes my Grandma! She had boughten me Tito and steamboat for a gift after I had a surgery on my hand when I was four.i remember her playing with steamboat,and placing grapes in his upper claw hand and flinging them across the kitchen! I remember laughing uncontrollably because it pissed off my mom..RIP GRAMS AND MOM...LOVE YOU FOREVER!
|
|
michaelc
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 23, 2016 1:27:41 GMT -5
Posts: 110
|
Post by michaelc on Nov 24, 2017 0:12:18 GMT -5
Such a great thread! I was very young when ljns were main stream,the only memories of seeing them in stores was seeing a bunch of mean genes,refs,Vinny macs,and Jesse the bodies at a Sears outlet store.however I have many memories of the figures themselves.i think it was the Christmas of 86 I got hulk,piper,the ring that my uncle tied the ropes super tight, macho man, Captain Lou,bundy and Kirchner.but my all time favorite memory was of my Grandma,yes my Grandma! She had boughten me Tito and steamboat for a gift after I had a surgery on my hand when I was four.i remember her playing with steamboat,and placing grapes in his upper claw hand and flinging them across the kitchen! I remember laughing uncontrollably because it pissed off my mom..RIP GRAMS AND MOM...LOVE YOU FOREVER! ...and it continues. So the Grandparents rule Mene Gene!!!
Love the bit about your gradma and the grapes!
What I have also noticed about the responses to this thread is the happiness that is coming through in your recollections. Not nostalgia - which can be a bit dangerous and skewed through an adult mind - but true happiness and connectedness with your families! I never expected that.
Please keep these stories coming guys it seems we are all enjoying them!
|
|
jdbuzz4044
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Jul 30, 2007 21:38:15 GMT -5
Posts: 195
|
Post by jdbuzz4044 on Nov 26, 2017 0:51:02 GMT -5
It was around 1992....I was in elementary school. I was very much into wrestling. I Hasbros and Galoobs had now taken over. I had a few LJNs I bought in stores when I was young. Hulk Hogan, Mene Gene, Big John Stud, the referee, Macho Man, and a few others. I was more concerned with Heman, Thundercats, and GI JOE when LJN was in its prime. After Wrestle Mania 7, I was hooked. I started picked up random LJNs at yard sales, and flea markets.
So it was early 1992 in a Shopping Mall outlet in Orlando Florida, we went to a Toy Store called. TOY LIQUIDATORS. Too my surprise they had rows, rows, and rows of Black card LJN figures. I was pumped....I started flipping through them trying to find my favorite wrestler, the Ultimate Warrior. They had Rick Rude, Haku, and A TON of black strap Andre the Giants. I also remember them having Brutus Beefcake on a black card. I was so mad that they didn't have the Ultimate Warrior, that I passed on picking up Rude, Andre and Haku. I was basically pouting like the usual 10 year old does. I'll never forget that. I was young, but I remember the store easily had 40 plus Andre Black Straps....and the rest were 50/50 Haku/Rick Rude. My dad tried to convince me to buy them...but I didn't listen. I instead picked up a 2 pack Starting Lineup Set of Johnny Bench/Pete Rose and a Yankee 2 pack ( I think it was Ruth/Gehrig). They also had some random figures from prior series. I distinctly remember Outback Jack and Jimmy V. I've seen numerous black card MOC figures on ebay over the years with the orange TOY LIQUIDATORS price tag $3.99 still attached....Man if I had a time machine.
|
|
Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai
Main Eventer
Promotional consideration paid for by the following
Joined on: Jul 25, 2005 17:12:49 GMT -5
Posts: 3,209
|
Post by Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai on Nov 27, 2017 0:36:33 GMT -5
I became a huge wrestling fan as a kid around 1984-85, corresponding with the whole Hogan-Piper-Mr. T-Cyndi Lauper era. So when LJNs came out, they immediately became pretty much the only toy I wanted.
I got Hulk Hogan for Christmas the winter the original five came out. Remember at the time, there was no internet, and therefore no fast/instant way of knowing when new waves came out, or if there even WAS another wave coming out. A lot of the time, I'd only become aware of a new series (or related LJN products) when I saw them in the store, and then looked at the card back to see what other wrestlers were in the latest series. This happened to me with the 2nd series. I spotted a peg of Roddy Piper figures at my local Ames and freaked out, because I didn't know it existed. Mom bought it for me.
That also happened with the series that had Ken Patera and Jake Roberts. Didn't know either guy was getting a figure until I saw it hanging on a peg in Toys R Us, and was lucky enough to be able to pick them up.
I remember we had difficulty finding the Sling 'Em Fling 'Em Ring in stores, so eventually my parents let me order it from the WWF Magazine catalog as a birthday gift. I checked the mail EVERY DAY waiting for that thing. Longest 4-to-6 weeks of my young life (no Amazon Prime or online ordering back then, either... mail orders took forever to arrive). Before that, I was making due with the AWA Remco ring & cage, which was way too small for LJNs, but better than nothing. (I had a decent-sized Remco collection too, but LJNs were my main deal.)
My local stores were always well stocked on the Bendies and Thumb Wrestlers. I went through a Bendies phase and actually collected enough of them that I cashed in on the proof-of-purchase deal for the WWF Championship Belt Buckle, which I wore proudly as a kid. Wish I still had the buckle, actually. No idea what became of it.
The tag team sets were easy to find, too, but only certain sets. I recall seeing Hogan & Hillbilly, Sheik & Volkoff, Valentine & Beefcake, and the occasional Killer Bees sets on shelves. Never once saw the Bulldogs, Strike Force or Hart Foundation in stores. Oddly, the only store I ever saw the giant-sized figures in was a small-town hardware store, which randomly had a Roddy Piper for sale.
Stretch Wrestlers were a disappointment. I got Paul Orndorff as a Christmas gift from a family member. AS SOON as I began playing with it, it broke open along one of the grooves and this powdery substance started leaking everywhere. It was almost immediately useless. In the next few months, I got a couple more (a replacement Orndorff and a Ricky Steamboat) but I was so nervous about breaking them that I barely ever took them out of the box.
|
|
yeetman13
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jul 5, 2011 1:02:32 GMT -5
Posts: 1,537
|
Post by yeetman13 on Nov 27, 2017 1:01:47 GMT -5
Being born in 1984, the year LJNs came out, you can say i got into it late...but i have a brother that was born in 1978 so we were right into it.
My first LJN memory is from Christmas 1987 when my parents got my brother the Hart Foundation 2 pack and Jimmy Hart and got me the British Bulldogs 2 pack and Capt. Lou Albano...after that i remember that I would always get at least one for my birthday and one for Christmas up until about 1991 (yes i know they stopped in 1989).... my brother wasnt getting them nearly as much as me and i remember that he ALWAYS got the heel figures.. in the end, we ended up having around 40 or so of the figures with the ring and the cage.. with myself having about double the amount that he had...the main stores here in Canada that we would go to go get LJN figures was the local Woolco and Consumers Distributing. There was no Toys r Us too close to us, and by the time the closest one opened, i believe it was already 1990-1991 and it was also about a 15 minute drive away...same with Zellers...there was no Zellers within 20 minutes so we never went there..
funny thing is tho, i was still playing with my LJNs long after Hasbros came out and even after Hasbros were finished in 1994. The only Hasbros I got as a kid seem to be from Series 1 and 2 only....maybe my parents didnt want to buy me any figured after 1991 lol...
|
|
michaelc
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 23, 2016 1:27:41 GMT -5
Posts: 110
|
Post by michaelc on Nov 27, 2017 20:23:27 GMT -5
It was around 1992....I was in elementary school. I was very much into wrestling. I Hasbros and Galoobs had now taken over. I had a few LJNs I bought in stores when I was young. Hulk Hogan, Mene Gene, Big John Stud, the referee, Macho Man, and a few others. I was more concerned with Heman, Thundercats, and GI JOE when LJN was in its prime. After Wrestle Mania 7, I was hooked. I started picked up random LJNs at yard sales, and flea markets. So it was early 1992 in a Shopping Mall outlet in Orlando Florida, we went to a Toy Store called. TOY LIQUIDATORS. Too my surprise they had rows, rows, and rows of Black card LJN figures. I was pumped....I started flipping through them trying to find my favorite wrestler, the Ultimate Warrior. They had Rick Rude, Haku, and A TON of black strap Andre the Giants. I also remember them having Brutus Beefcake on a black card. I was so mad that they didn't have the Ultimate Warrior, that I passed on picking up Rude, Andre and Haku. I was basically pouting like the usual 10 year old does. I'll never forget that. I was young, but I remember the store easily had 40 plus Andre Black Straps....and the rest were 50/50 Haku/Rick Rude. My dad tried to convince me to buy them...but I didn't listen. I instead picked up a 2 pack Starting Lineup Set of Johnny Bench/Pete Rose and a Yankee 2 pack ( I think it was Ruth/Gehrig). They also had some random figures from prior series. I distinctly remember Outback Jack and Jimmy V. I've seen numerous black card MOC figures on ebay over the years with the orange TOY LIQUIDATORS price tag $3.99 still attached....Man if I had a time machine. Thanks, another great story...and interesting to see that the discounted Black cards made it down to Florida rather than just up North as often thought. and yes the old time machine! Gonna' have to check images now to see that TOY LIQUIDATORS price tag.
|
|
michaelc
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 23, 2016 1:27:41 GMT -5
Posts: 110
|
Post by michaelc on Nov 27, 2017 20:25:23 GMT -5
Being born in 1984, the year LJNs came out, you can say i got into it late...but i have a brother that was born in 1978 so we were right into it. My first LJN memory is from Christmas 1987 when my parents got my brother the Hart Foundation 2 pack and Jimmy Hart and got me the British Bulldogs 2 pack and Capt. Lou Albano...after that i remember that I would always get at least one for my birthday and one for Christmas up until about 1991 (yes i know they stopped in 1989).... my brother wasnt getting them nearly as much as me and i remember that he ALWAYS got the heel figures.. in the end, we ended up having around 40 or so of the figures with the ring and the cage.. with myself having about double the amount that he had...the main stores here in Canada that we would go to go get LJN figures was the local Woolco and Consumers Distributing. There was no Toys r Us too close to us, and by the time the closest one opened, i believe it was already 1990-1991 and it was also about a 15 minute drive away...same with Zellers...there was no Zellers within 20 minutes so we never went there.. funny thing is tho, i was still playing with my LJNs long after Hasbros came out and even after Hasbros were finished in 1994. The only Hasbros I got as a kid seem to be from Series 1 and 2 only....maybe my parents didnt want to buy me any figured after 1991 lol... Good to hear from Canada and kids who had the actual tag teams sets! Hasbros seem to be the real retro go on this forum but there is nothing like the LJNs from the true "Golden Age" where wrestling was bigger than anything for many kids!
|
|
michaelc
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Mar 23, 2016 1:27:41 GMT -5
Posts: 110
|
Post by michaelc on Nov 27, 2017 20:30:33 GMT -5
I became a huge wrestling fan as a kid around 1984-85, corresponding with the whole Hogan-Piper-Mr. T-Cyndi Lauper era. So when LJNs came out, they immediately became pretty much the only toy I wanted. I got Hulk Hogan for Christmas the winter the original five came out. Remember at the time, there was no internet, and therefore no fast/instant way of knowing when new waves came out, or if there even WAS another wave coming out. A lot of the time, I'd only become aware of a new series (or related LJN products) when I saw them in the store, and then looked at the card back to see what other wrestlers were in the latest series. This happened to me with the 2nd series. I spotted a peg of Roddy Piper figures at my local Ames and freaked out, because I didn't know it existed. Mom bought it for me. That also happened with the series that had Ken Patera and Jake Roberts. Didn't know either guy was getting a figure until I saw it hanging on a peg in Toys R Us, and was lucky enough to be able to pick them up. I remember we had difficulty finding the Sling 'Em Fling 'Em Ring in stores, so eventually my parents let me order it from the WWF Magazine catalog as a birthday gift. I checked the mail EVERY DAY waiting for that thing. Longest 4-to-6 weeks of my young life (no Amazon Prime or online ordering back then, either... mail orders took forever to arrive). Before that, I was making due with the AWA Remco ring & cage, which was way too small for LJNs, but better than nothing. (I had a decent-sized Remco collection too, but LJNs were my main deal.) My local stores were always well stocked on the Bendies and Thumb Wrestlers. I went through a Bendies phase and actually collected enough of them that I cashed in on the proof-of-purchase deal for the WWF Championship Belt Buckle, which I wore proudly as a kid. Wish I still had the buckle, actually. No idea what became of it. The tag team sets were easy to find, too, but only certain sets. I recall seeing Hogan & Hillbilly, Sheik & Volkoff, Valentine & Beefcake, and the occasional Killer Bees sets on shelves. Never once saw the Bulldogs, Strike Force or Hart Foundation in stores. Oddly, the only store I ever saw the giant-sized figures in was a small-town hardware store, which randomly had a Roddy Piper for sale. Stretch Wrestlers were a disappointment. I got Paul Orndorff as a Christmas gift from a family member. AS SOON as I began playing with it, it broke open along one of the grooves and this powdery substance started leaking everywhere. It was almost immediately useless. In the next few months, I got a couple more (a replacement Orndorff and a Ricky Steamboat) but I was so nervous about breaking them that I barely ever took them out of the box. Fantastic detail Johnny Lawrence. Someone who cashed in the Bendy proofs, had the stretch's (but couldn't actually stretch them) and a true description of how time could move soooooooo slow for a kid!, when waiting for something. Bit different to now!
|
|
miscus555
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Feb 19, 2005 12:41:30 GMT -5
Posts: 166
|
Post by miscus555 on Jan 21, 2018 10:10:06 GMT -5
Great topic!
Jdbuzz, I'll just start that in NY, I went to the same Toy Liquidators store and bought they same Pete Rose/Johnny Bench starting lineup hahaha!
I want to say I collected LJN's with my little brother around 1985. We starting watching wrestling in 1984 so everyone was kinda waiting for some good toys of WWF stars. He got a couple for his birthday party that year like Hogan and Sheik and he completed more the first 5 that Xmas by getting the ring and Studd/Snuka. I guess he didn't get the 2nd wave that Xmas like JYD and Piper because my parents didn't run into them at stores because they were more elusive. I starting noticing my buddies had a good collection of these figures after that Xmas and I kinda wanted a JYD so I was more involved in getting some to go along with my brothers. I think my interest sparked more once they started making figures I liked. Remember my friend giving me Hillbilly for free because he got a single pack one and one in the hulk tag team pack. I remember wondering when they would make a Macho Man. We would get figures here and there that early spring 1986 when the Bundy wave came out and by then I was keeping up with my friend who had everyone released to that point. My pointed out though that spring in a LJN commercial that indeed Macho Man was coming out. They didn't highlight him but you could barely see him in a wide shot of all the figures in the ring. So I was excited. 1986 was definitely the prime of the WWF LJN collection as the last 2 quarters of the year pumped out a ton of wrestlers. They were really hard to find but we asked for all of them from Santa. My brother was kinda out at that point as he moved on to other things. By Xmas time 1986, we were pretty much all caught up from Hogan to Ricky Steamboat. I did already have Macho Man because I had him special ordered from JC penny's because I couldn't wait but that Xmas I asked for the rest Capt Lou, blassie, jimmy hart, heenan
Kirshner, Steele, bulldogs, tito, Jesse, etc
Got everyone except Heenan and bulldogs. They were just too hard to find. My friend got everyone that Xmas morning but also with a Xmas miracle, got Elizabeth, mean gene, and Fuji who nobody even knew was coming out. I think those 3 were found by his mother on Xmas eve at some random toy store. I couldn't believe it!
So 1987 was just the year of finding the remaining figures and new waves. I usually had to wait for holidays and birthday to get stuff that my allowance didn't provide for so I actually didn't get the bulldogs until sept 87. Muraco wave came out in March and summer was the Jake the Snake wave. My friend and I were also writing to LJN so we can get an early heads up on what figures they were going to release. We found out you couldn't really depend on the cardbacks. That Jake the snake wave also had a new cardback so we got to see some of the newer figures coming out. By sept 87, I got the bulldogs, hart foundation but was quickly shying away from getting others the round out the line. I wanted to spend money on other things since I was now in junior high and had new interests. So the harts where pretty much the last figures I got aside from a winter 1988 purchase of Kamala who I had to have. By spring 1988 it was over for me and my friend. We got into baseball cards. We took a trip to Canada in fall 1988 and although we marveled over all the ljn figures we haven't seen yet like bam bam, gang, strike force, slick because we haven't been to toy stores, we didn't buy a single figure. My friend almost bought the 2nd edition hogan that was on a strange black card because he felt it was special but didn't do it. We knew warrior was gonna be out soon and told ourselves if we saw him we'd get him because we liked him a lot but I don't think he was out yet. So that was it....I was a fun run for me and I did get warrior when I got older. I was gonna mail order him in early 90 and filled out the form but never mailed it. I remember seeing all the LJNs from time to time after I was collecting and looking at who the made but never had an urge to buy any. Never saw any black series that I can remember. Just remember some characters weren't easy to find in the mainstream stores And you had to look elsewhere. I kept my collection in mint shape once I noticed the paint came off quickly. I sold off all of my wrestlers in the late 90's for good prices because they were mint but kept all my favorites. Now my focus consists of the posters and bio cards.
I have a full set of artwork posters because I like them best and a full set of uncut bio cards. Just still looking for any type of "superstars '89" Macho Man bio card to finish my collection. I know a guy who has an uncut one who with trade it to my for a cut out one.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated
Thanks!
|
|