Repeated numerous times on this site, here’s another great example of the real strength of the ninja — genericness! You didn’t need to pay licensing fees to any property owner, no actor likeness negotiated, no corporate branding to reinforce sales… … Continued
I just cannot get enough of illustrated and painted ninja art from 80s no-name ninja merch. Sometimes, well, lets be real… OFTEN… more time was spent on the package art than was on designing the crap under the blister card … Continued
Here’s some prime examples of 80s ninja craze merch lingering into the 1990s. Extreme sports were on the rise, the X-Games were on the horizon, but 80s-style ninja crap still sold in discount stores and blanket vendors outside subway terminals, so … Continued
Maker unknown. Sellers, long forgotten. Year — probably sometime in the 1980s. Logic… a mystery. Another fantastic, crap-tastic, relic from the days of blanket vendors outside subway stops, swapmeet junk toy booth and Chinatown gift shops. This head is actually … Continued
A recent score, this 7-inch generic from the 80s is a rare knock-off the famed action figure body from Mego — the company that defined the 8-inch scale in the 70s, giving us The World’s Greatest Superheroes, Planet of the Apes … Continued
I’ve said repeatedly here that the wild and unknown territory that is generic and bootleg figure collecting affords a lot more joy of discovery and amazing mutated finds than tracking down better known and licensed collectibles from the past. The … Continued
Little known fact – American Ninja is the only 80s boom film to have properly licensed mass-produced merchandise. These grocery store / pharmacy register tchotchkes were obviously for kids, despite being branded with the an R-rated film’s imagery. A “two-penny-toy” … Continued
One small… small… step above the generic 80’s rack figure would be this line of Remco and Norris Kommando compatible figures from the Lanard company. Dragon Force Ninja Dragonmaster figures came in at least three colors — black, white and red … Continued
This 5″ generic figure, re-cast from something in the Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos scale, is nothing to write home about, however the card it came on… …is absolutely off the chain! Love this illo and the savagely 80’s green star … Continued
They line the fronts of department stores, supermarkets and pharmacies to this day. Capsule-dispensing machines can cost upward of $2.00 nowadays for their near-worthless plastic junk, illustrated hologram stickers and granite-like gobstoppers half the size of a kid’s head, but during … Continued