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Post by Ruby Fusion on Dec 31, 2020 17:21:44 GMT -5
As you may - or may not - know my very first wrestling figures were bootlegs, more specifically bootlegs called "Wrestling Champs" of Big John Studd and Hulk Hogan. Attachment DeletedI received these from my parents in 1990 (I think; if memory serves right I had already seen WWF Hasbros on WWF Superstars), I was around 15 years old already... Anyway, after years searching, I finally got the appropriate ring for them this week; so about 30 years later: Attachment DeletedAs a bonus I got it dirt cheap; usually these go at $65 - $75, I got it MIB for $30! Oh, Happy 2021 everyone!!! |
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Post by figurecollector on Dec 31, 2020 20:55:14 GMT -5
Happy New Year! Great pick up too!
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,335
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Post by jason1980s on Jan 1, 2021 10:18:44 GMT -5
Very cool, I remember those guys well! What I loved about them is they were similar articulation like Hasbro but modeled after the LJNs. At the time I didn't have any LJNs so these were cool to have. I think I found them in late 1991 at a dollar store. I never knew they had a ring. I wonder if any store even sold it considering most store carrying the toys didn't have a large wrestling selection. When I got into collecting toys to keep on the cards, I seeing these even in mid 1990s like 1995 or 1996. I think they were on different card backs than the original release. Lastly, it struck me as odd they had they had the mask wrestler. He looked cool but seemed out of place. There were a few other guys from the first LJN series they could have made. I also wonder the time period in which they were made. It seems odd for the company to base something off of guys from a few years ago. But then again we had the Hasbro knock off (Diesel proto era) in the late 90s or early 2000s.
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Post by Ruby Fusion on Jan 1, 2021 11:10:49 GMT -5
Very cool, I remember those guys well! What I loved about them is they were similar articulation like Hasbro but modeled after the LJNs. At the time I didn't have any LJNs so these were cool to have. I think I found them in late 1991 at a dollar store. I never knew they had a ring. I wonder if any store even sold it considering most store carrying the toys didn't have a large wrestling selection. When I got into collecting toys to keep on the cards, I seeing these even in mid 1990s like 1995 or 1996. I think they were on different card backs than the original release. Lastly, it struck me as odd they had they had the mask wrestler. He looked cool but seemed out of place. There were a few other guys from the first LJN series they could have made. I also wonder the time period in which they were made. It seems odd for the company to base something off of guys from a few years ago. But then again we had the Hasbro knock off (Diesel proto era) in the late 90s or early 2000s. When I got them back then I only knew they weren't official figures. I liked the MOTU style. Much later I discovered these bootleggers copied the LJNs in a MOTU-style. They were lazy bootleggers as well; they copied the names from the knock-off line named Wrestler by Sungold. The knock-off line named Wrestler by Sungold were knock-offs of the Remco AWA figures: same articulation and those also had fabric vests, this line had two "masked" wrestlers one named Mask and the other named Mr. Unknown. In the Wrestling Champs line you had: Mark (Andre the Giant), A. Champ ("Superfly" Jimmy Snuka), CG (Hulk Hogan), Mask (the Iron Sheik), Brut (Big John Studd) and Mr. Unknown (I don't know why but he reminds me of the Missing Link, I see it as facepaint not as a mask). |
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jason1980s
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 30, 2009 14:58:56 GMT -5
Posts: 2,335
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Post by jason1980s on Jan 1, 2021 19:33:05 GMT -5
In the Wrestling Champs line you had: Mark (Andre the Giant), A. Champ ("Superfly" Jimmy Snuka), CG (Hulk Hogan), Mask (the Iron Sheik), Brut (Big John Studd) and Mr. Unknown (I don't know why but he reminds me of the Missing Link, I see it as facepaint not as a mask). I seem to remember those names. I was confused why Sheik would be known as Mask when they had the masked guy. But I see why you thought it was Missing Link. The coloring does resemble his facepaint. Given the timeline (1984/1985) it could very well have been based on Link. The company should have thought of some better names though, I thought these toys were awesome-again because I didn't have any LJNs at the time. |
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Post by Chicago on Jan 1, 2021 19:58:02 GMT -5
Ruby Fusion That’s an incredible deal! I’ve always wanted to see more pics of this ring. How does it compare to the LJN ring? It looks like a smaller scale version of it.
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Post by Ruby Fusion on Jan 2, 2021 6:10:10 GMT -5
Ruby Fusion That’s an incredible deal! I’ve always wanted to see more pics of this ring. How does it compare to the LJN ring? It looks like a smaller scale version of it. Mainly because I lack display space, the ring stays MIB for now. The ring is about 12" x 12" and definitely based on the LJN ring. From what I've seen in pictures on the web, the stickers are already applied and the ropes are already attached to the ringposts; blue ropes, white ropes, red ropes - so the opposite of the usual red, white, blue. |
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