Misc – Page 13 – Dale's Toys

Ultimate Marty McFly ‘2015’

Recommended music: Alan Silvestri – Hoverboard Chase

We’re still hovering around 2015 this #WhateverWednesday, and taking a look at another NECA Back to the Future Marty McFly!

For Back to the Future Part II, we find a teenage Marty transported 30 years into the future via Doc Brown’s flying DeLorean because (according to Doc):

“No no no no no, Marty, both you and Jennifer turn out fine. It’s your kids, Marty, something has gotta be done about your kids.”

Doc informs Marty that his son (Marty Jr.) is destined to be arrested for his involvement in a robbery in connection with Biff’s grandson, Griff. This one moment sets off a chain reaction that will eventually destroy the McFly family. Marty is given his son’s exact outfit (who is identical, of course) to take his place and refuse Griff’s nefarious offer.

This ‘2015’ version of Marty isn’t as great of a likeness of Michael J. Fox, as the previous figure releases, but he does come dressed in his futuristic fashion. Granted, the sneakers and jacket sleeves don’t really power up, but the pockets are accurately inside. The figure includes an extra head (sans shiny hat) and an extra hand for gripping (Pepsi, I guess), a bottle of futuristic Pepsi with a delivery tube to hold the Pepsi, and a Hoverboard with a stand (not sponsored by Pepsi).

We’re just four weeks away from the 40th anniversary of Back to the Future! I figure it’s worth jumping in the DeLorean to revisit some great toys from the film.

#BTTF40
#BackToTheFuture40
#ToyPhotography

Floyd Pepper

Recommended music: The Muppet Show Episode 209: Floyd Pepper – “New York State of Mind”

Finally, this #SomethingElseSunday, we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! From the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s Sgt. Floyd Pepper!

The bass player of the Electric Mayhem, Floyd first appeared in the second Muppet Show pilot “The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence” back in March of 1975. Besides his role in The Electric Mayhem house band, he was involved in humorous sketches in each of the five seasons of The Muppet Show and appeared in 85 of the 120 episodes.

Floyd’s last name and the overall look of his typical costume are a direct reference to the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album by the Beatles. Puppeteer Jerry Nelson said of Floyd: ““I always thought of Floyd as a character who had probably been a beatnik first, and then — just like real life — probably been a beatnik, and then he was into jazz and poetry, and then he probably went along with the chase into rock and roll, because he needed a job.”

In the Palisades Muppet toy line, Floyd appeared in wave 2, just after Dr. Teeth to add to the Electric Mayhem lineup. The standard version seen here came with a red shirt and red bass guitar, while the variant came with a blue shirt and white bass. Both versions came with a stand and cord to connect the guitar to an included amp. With Floyd’s puppeteer using their right hand to perform the body, he is naturally left-handed, which means it was pretty tricky to get him to hold his (now somewhat oversized) guitar like this, as I usually have him posed righty. 😄

#TheMuppets70
#ToyPhotography

From the Archives: “Ready To Believe You” Ray Stantz

Recommended music: Aerosmith – Toys In The Attic

On this #SomethingElseSunday from the archives, we’re ready to believe you with the Mattel “Matty Collector” Egon Spengler!

“Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?”

This month marks the 41st anniversary of the original Ghostbusters film first hitting theaters, and 36 years of Ghostbusters II. This “Ready To Believe You” Egon figure reuses the previous Harold Ramis head sculpt (though the detail seems a bit “softer” if that makes sense), but it is also nice to see this character get a figure, also not in a jumpsuit.

#Ghostbusters
#actionfigurephotography

From the Archives: Willow The Arcade Game

Recommended music: James Horner – Willow the Sorcerer

Today from the archives, we’re still celebrating the Magic of Willow with the Willow arcade game!

One final Willow post by a Willow fan in his Willow shirt playing the Willow arcade game.

Despite the Willow film underperforming at the crowded summer 1988 box office, video game publisher Capcom was looking to develop games based on established characters from other media and rolled out this game more than a year after the film’s release.

Debuting in June of 1989 in Japan, and September in North America, the game actually beat Capcom’s Willow game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System to market, which didn’t come out until around the Christmas season 1989. While the NES release was more a role-playing game in the style of Legend of Zelda, the arcade game is a fun, but very difficult platform game, more in the vein of Capcom’s even more challenging Ghosts n’ Goblins.

Thankfully, despite the game’s difficulty, I’ve been able to play all the way through this game many times, and replaced the marquee a couple years ago to reflect the actual game I’m playing at the time. Granted, playing in the home arcade, I was also able to make frequent use of a rewind button, a luxury not present for arcade gamers in 1989.😄

The Willow film turned 37 years old this month! I figure that’s enough Willow content for this month. Maybe some of the additions to my Willow collection from the past few years will appear here at some point. Happy 37 years to the Magic of Willow!

From the Archives: Willow 1989 Calendar

Recommended music: James Horner – Bavmorda’s Spell Is Cast

Today from the archives, we’re still celebrating the Magic of Willow with this Willow calendar!

As this series wraps, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate piece of Willow memorabilia to finish with than this Willow 1989 wall calendar. It features a dozen stock photos (most of these are pretty common) from the film in a large glossy format to remind you of the magic of Willow all year long. Thankfully, I’ve held on to this one for a few years now, and it was useful in 2023, which repeated the same calendar as 2017, 2006, 1995, 1989, etc. 😁

The Willow film turned 37 years old this month! I figure there’ll be a new Willow item from my collection to share here for the rest of the month. Happy 37 years to the Magic of Willow!

Ultimate Doc Brown ‘2015’

Recommended music: Alan Silvestri – Main Title

We’re flying into 2015 this #WhateverWednesday, and today we’re taking a look at another NECA Back to the Future Doc Brown!

For Back to the Future Part II, we see Doc transport Marty and Jennifer from 1985 to 2015 in the Delorean, which no longer requires plutonium and has been updated to be capable of flight. When Jennifer starts asking Doc too many questions about her future, he uses a sleep-inducing device to knock her out and then slowly reveals the next part of the plot to Marty.

This ‘2015’ version of Doc still features another solid likeness of Christopher Lloyd decked out in his futuristic duds, including two watches and a transparent necktie. The figure comes with three head options: this shocked face, a smiling face, and one with sunglasses of the future (seen on the film poster).

The figure also comes with some great accessories, including a case of emergency cash from different years, his electronic binoculars, extra hands, and a 1/12 scale copy of USA Today from the next day featuring Marty McFly Jr.

We’re just five weeks away from the 40th anniversary of Back to the Future! I figure it’s worth jumping in the Delorean to revisit some great toys from the film.

#BTTF40
#BackToTheFuture40

From the Archives: Willow Japanese Movie Program

Recommended music: James Horner – Tir Asleen

Also, today from the archives, let’s celebrate the Magic of Willow with this Willow Japanese Movie Program!

Japanese movie programs or souvenir pamphlets are only sold in Japanese theaters during a film’s initial run. They are frequently a good source of thorough information and images, varying in content from the standard publicity materials found in most countries. The programs have come in a few different dimensions over the years, with 8×11 inches being the most common (all of mine are this size). The souvenirs have been made since at least the 1930s (the earliest example I found being All Quiet On The Western Front, which was released in Japan on October 24th 1930) and continue all the way up to this past summer’s major film releases. Update: I also found a 12-page Japanese booklet for Metropolis that was sold at auction a couple of years ago. The film debuted in Japan in April 1929.😲

This Willow Japanese Movie Program features 28 pages of artwork and stock photos, some of which appear to be rarer compared to images used in multiple books, magazines, posters, or sticker cards. The back cover is an ad for a VCR with both Yoda and George Lucas (perhaps I’ll share more of this collection in 2023). Lucas recorded a half dozen Japanese commercials for Panasonic between 1987 and 1988, with the George Lucas Super Live Adventure stage show touring the country about five years later.

The Willow film turned 37 years old this month! I figure there’ll be a new Willow item from my collection to share here for the rest of the month. Happy 37 years to the Magic of Willow!