Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Jabroniville]

THE FOUR SHADES OF AWESOME:
-Like a lot of things in Elena of Avalor, the Four Shades were teased VERY early. All the way back in Episode #27, it's mentioned that Ancient Maru was ultimately destroyed when their Royal Wizard cast a mighty spell to exile the Shadows of Darkness from the world- the spell's pulse was so huge that it came at the cost of the lives of everyone in Maru, including her. Then, as the show neared its Series Finale, we realized that Ash Delgado, searching for more power, was planning on unleashing them AGAIN. Ultimately, she finds the portal to the Spirit World, and casts the spell to unleash them- however, she and Elena are sucked into the Spirit World, and the Shadows meet up with a scattered, leaderless band of heroes.

Representing Chaos, Time, Lightning & Animals, they are renamed by Vuli (the Chaos Shade) "The Four Shades of Awesome" and given a rambunctious song- Esteban is rewarded for their "rescue" by them insisting they'll make him KING of Avalor, which is what he always wanted. They march on Avalor City and prove nearly unstoppable- the Lightning Shade is killed by Isabel, but the others are too fast to catch- it eventually requires a double-team to get rid of Vuli & Yolo, and Esteban is horrified at what's going on- Cahu ends up being our megavillain, defeated only thanks to Elena finally passing her "Final Test" before becoming Queen- forgiving Esteban for what he'd done.

[Jabroniville]

"My name is VULI- and I'm a bit UNRULY- I like creating CHAOS! My touch will make you wild and OH so cruelly!"

VULI THE CHAOS SHADE
Played by: Mark Hammill
Role: Last-Minute Superpowered Enemy, The Unruly One
PL 13 (141)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 8 (+8)
Expertise (Singing) 6 (+8)
Insight 4 (+4)
Intimidation 6 (+8)
Perception 10 (+10)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Improved Defenses, Improved Initiative 3, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle, Takedown 2, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Ageless Spirit" Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Speed 3 (15 mph) [3]

"The Touch of Chaos"
Affliction 14 (Fort; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Multiattack) (Flaws: Limited to Chaos & Destructive Actions) (14) -- [15]

• AE: Affliction 12 (Fort; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable) (Flaws: Limited to Chaos & Destructive Actions) (12)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
The Touch of Chaos +12 (+14 Affliction, DC 24)
Initiative +15

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Destruction)- The Four Shades simply like to cause mayhem.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 25 (141)

-Vuli is played with manic glee by Mark Hammill, not quite doing his "Joker Voice" but coming close- he is a manic, hyperactive villain who is mercurial and always ready to snap- his face changes color based off of his emotions, like appearing blue for sad and orange for angry. He gleefully changes the name of the band to the "Four Shades of AWESOMMMMMMMME!" and leads their song & dance number. He promises to reward Esteban with being made King of Avalor, and is central to the Shades' battle plan- it's clear he can cause the most mayhem of everyone, as his very touch controls the minds of people into random actions- they go berserk, attacking anyone else. Avalor City descends into a riot. Despite all the hype Ixlan gets, she is utterly unable to touch him- he effortlessly dodges all of her attacks and even mind-zaps HER, losing the gang their most powerful ally. Ultimately, it's a fantastic one-two punch that gets rid of him- Mateo enchants Gabe's sword with a paralysis spell, and Gabe does the GODDAMN LEAPING STAG, spin-jumping over Vuli and poking him with the sword-tip, freezing him! Mateo then sends both Yolo & Vuli back to the Spirit World via an exorcism spell.

-Vuli is a complete teamwrecker, able to turn dozens of people into rioters with a touch per round. Like most Status Affecters, this euros every time it’s done. He’s also a deft fighter, dodging even Ixlan’s attacks with ease.

[Jabroniville]

YOLO THE ANIMAL SHADE
Played by: Fred Armison
Role: Last-Minute Superpowered Enemy, Baleful Polymorpher
PL 11 (189)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 9 (+12)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 8 (+8)
Insight 4 (+4)
Intimidation 6 (+8)
Perception 10 (+10)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Ageless Spirit" Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Speed 3 (15 mph) [3]
Morph 2 (Animals) [10]
Shapeshifting 4 [32]
"Tail" Extra Limb [1]

"Blue Shapeshifting Flames" Affliction 12 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Transformed to Animal) (Extras: Ranged) [24]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Blue Flames +10 (+12 Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Destruction)- The Four Shades simply like to cause mayhem.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 71 / Defenses: 25 (189)

-Yolo looks a bit like a blue monkey, and his blue flames can transform others into animals. This manages to nearly tag Princess Valentina, but Prince Alonso sacrifices himself to save her, turning into a literal, actual ass in the process. Yolo is quickly defeated by Gabe when Mateo energizes his sword- this is the prelude to Vuli's battle, as he realizes how dangerous the weapon is and fights to avoid it.

[squirrelly-sama]

I mean, LOOK AT THAT FACE?! Could YOU not fake your love for your spouse just to keep her happy?

CARLA DELGADO
Played by: Myrna Velasco
Role: Smol Girl, Conniving Villain, Daddy's Little Villain
PL 6 (79)
STRENGTH -1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+2)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+4)
Expertise (Singing) 4 (+7)
Investigation 2 (+3)
Perception 3 (+4)
Sleight of Hand 6 (+10)
Stealth 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment (Tamborita), Evasion, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Tamborita Spells"
(All Have Flaws: Source- Tamborita)

"Anahun!" Snare 5 (10) -- [20]

• AE: "Boqato!" Affliction 6 (Strength; Hindered/Prone) (Feats: Knockback 2) (Extras: Ranged) (Flaws: Limited Degree) Linked to Blast 3 (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (11)
• AE: "Vetzi!" Affliction 6 (Strength; Hindered/Prone) (Feats: Knockback 2) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cone +1/2) (Flaws: Limited Degree) Linked to Damage 3 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cone +1/2) (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (5)
• AE: "Lévaluq!" Move Object 4 (4)
• AE: "Solaza!" Blast 4 (4)
• AE: "Clausanda!" Create 4 (Quirks: Can be Dispelled by Any Caster) (3)
• AE: "Cochimoc!" Sleep 5 (Extras: Multiattack) (10)
• AE: "Hualoa!" Speed 2 (Extras: Affects Others, Ranged) (Quirks: Bewilders Those Empowered) (3)
• AE: "Ecatuul!" Blast 4 (Extras: Cylinder) (8)
• AE: "Macaquentia!" Teleport 2 (Extras: Attack, Ranged, Affects Others Only +0) (Flaws: Limited to Clothing, Limited to Placing Them On Caster) (2)
• AE: "Cahuetzi Quicaniz!" Nullify Dark Magic Encasing Spells 4 (4)

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 17)
Solaza Blast +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Boqato Knockback +6 (+6 Ranged Affliction & +3 Damage, DC 16 & 18)
Vetzi Knockback +6 Area (+6 Affliction & +3 Damage, DC 16 & 18)
Anahun Snare +6 (+5 Ranged Affliction, DC 15)
Ecatuul Blast +4 Area (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +0, Fortitude +3, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Power)- Carla always wants to be made a Malvago (wizard).
Relationship (Ash- Mother)- Carla, unlike Victor, was happy to see Ash return, and gladly followed her. Her ridiculous excitement for her parents getting back together had them temporarily try and make it work for her benefit.
Relationship (Victor- Father)- Carla seems to squabble with her father frequently, but is shattered emotionally when Ash freezes him in stone, finally realizing that her mother is remorseless after all.

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 16 (79)

-Carla debuts soon after Victor does, and immediately won the love of the fans, first by being incredibly smol (parlance my fellow kids use to indicate someone who is cute in part because of how small they are) and then for being such a goof. Mimicking her father's "goatee stroke" with one of her own (even though she has no goatee) and then smiling at him for approval was fantastic and immediately made her a fan-favorite. She spent much of her time following her father around, usually grousing about stuff, but started getting a big role when she had to infiltrate the palace disguise as "Rita". Though she constantly failed to score the crown jewels (despite effortlessly seducing Mateo and successfully making Naomi look like a jealous rival), her discovery of Fiero's frozen statue in the courtyard set up an extra player in Shuriki's gang.

-Eventually, the pair are left alone after Shuriki is killed and they piss off their Jaquin allies- this leads to the next big arc when Ash- Carla's mother- returns. Carla is joyous at her parents' reuniting, and is clueless that they resent each other, but is left horrified when Ash shows her true colors, freezing Victor in stone and abandoning Carla when she refuses to just leave him there. Realizing how evil her mother really is, Carla submits to Elena's authority. The two later learn magic the honest way and join the Avalorans, but are a minor element in the plot from then on.

-Carla is quite similar to Victor, but less potent physically. It's stated by Ash that she is better at magic than Victor is, but no fights sem to reflect this- she does appear to be the only one to cast a Sleep spell, though- only affecting a pair of guards.

Ah very adorable indeed. Just a daddy's girl who happens to have a dad that's a villain, I'm sort of reminded Dr. Doof and his daughter if she wasn't as much of a rebellious teen, or that ProZD skit of the evil villain who's actually a great dad. It's always nice to see these sort of interesting dynamics that are often reserved for heroic or more good aligned characters being given to villainous characters, it really helps flesh them out and make them feel human and you sort of want to root for them. The good dad evil mom thing kinda plays into the fairy tale tropes you usually see in Disney pretty nicely, though usually the dad's dead by that point.

[Jabroniville]

HETZ THE WEATHER SHADE
Played by: Andy Garcia
Role: Last-Minute Superpowered Enemy, The Powerhouse
PL 10 (174)
STRENGTH 6 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 8 (+8)
Insight 4 (+4)
Intimidation 6 (+8)
Perception 10 (+10)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Ageless Spirit" Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Flight 3 (15 mph) [6]

"The Weather Shade"
Environment 4 (Impede Movement, Visibility) [8]

"Lightning Bolt" Blast 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Line +2) (40) -- [41]

• AE: Lightning Blast 12 (24)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Lightning Blast +8 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Lightning Bolt +10 Area (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +8, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Destruction)- The Four Shades simply like to cause mayhem.

Total: Abilities: 72 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 56 / Defenses: 19 (174)

-The strong, unemotional Hetz is the Weather Shade, and the powerhouse of the group- he controls the weather and shoots lightning, and is able to easily draw even with Ixlan. However, he is the most vulnerable of the group- Isabel's last big win in the series sees her lead the charge without Elena and stick a weather vane onto Hetz while he's raining lightning bolts from the sky- he proves vulnerable to his own attack, which booms down straight on top of him, attracted to the metal point of the vane like a makeshift lightning rod. There's an explosion of light, and then next we see Hetz in the Spirit World, glowing with the energy of a ghost- a twelve-year old girl KILLED HIM!

-Hetz throws out powerful Area Attacks and Blasts, and is the most durable of the Four Shades, but is their only PL 10 member.

[Jabroniville]

"Let's slow down time... so we can both SAVOR the moment..."
-Cahu, preparing to freeze Elena in stone forever.

CAHU THE TIME SHADE
Played by: Jenny Slate
Role: Last-Minute Superpowered Enemy, Time Controller
PL 12 (260)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 8 (+8)
Insight 4 (+4)
Intimidation 6 (+8)
Perception 10 (+10)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 2, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Ageless Spirit" Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Speed 3 (15 mph) [3]
Flight 5 (30 mph) [10]

"Savor the Moment" Affliction 10 (Speed/Athletics; Vulnerable & Dazed/Stunned & Defenseless/Paralyzed) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Reaction +3) [50]
"Sand of Time" Affliction 14 (Fort; Dazed & Impaired/Stunned & Unaware/Transformed Into Relief Sculpture) (Extras: Ranged, Continuous +3) [70]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Savor the Moment +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Sand of Time +10 (+14 Ranged Affliction, DC 24)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
Dodge +18 (DC 28), Parry +18 (DC 28), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Destruction)- The Four Shades simply like to cause mayhem.
Vulnerable (Hourglass)- Cahu's Hourglass keeps her in our world- if it's shattered, she will return to the Spirit World.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 135 / Defenses: 33 (260)

-Cahu was TERRIFYING. This tiny, purple floating girl, her extremely slow, calm, unnaturally-timed way of speaking was somehow ridiculously forboding- perhaps because she was in a team of loud braggarts with ostentacious powers, the one who didn't have to shout seemed to have the greatest power. And power she had- she was able to slow people's movements and then send out a single grain of sand from her floating hourglass- upon touching the target, it froze them into a relief sculpture. A brilliant visual trick, as what's more "Mayaincatec" that images of reliefs stuck to the sides of buildings? And what represents TIME better than an image frozen in stone for the rest of time?

-While Hetz, Vuli & Yolo wreck house in Avalor City, it's Cahu who floats alongside Esteban on the way to the Royal Palace- like most, she assures Esteban that he'll be made King... but ultimately reveals that he'll be a mere spectator to their destruction. Calling them all villains, Esteban shudders at the word ("I am not a... VILLAIN..."), but Cahu cuts right through him (perhaps seeing his own past)- "You're so desperate for respect that you will follow anyone who pretends to listen to you!" she says, revealing his critical flaw, and why he followed Shuriki, Ash, and finally the Four Shades- he wants power and respect so badly that he would let ANYONE lead him around so long as he felt listened to!

-Cahu is a serious, dangerous threat- she effortlessly avoids all of Elena's Scepter blasts, just slowing time and floating on by the "Blaze!" spell. It's a completely unfair, one-sided battle- she even taunts Elena that she'll slow time "So we can both... SAVOR the moment...". Her sand nearly hits the Crown Princess, but Esteban, finally realizing what his quest has cost him, and what he needs to do, sacrifices himself to save Elena. It seems to be a hopeless gesture, given how Cahu can just do it again, but this act of sacrifice is what allows Elena's "Emotion Magic" to unlock one final power- Forgiveness, in this case, unleashes a powerful blast that nullifies all of Cahu's transformations! The shocked Shade is stunned, but tries to fight back... only for Elena & Esteban to grab her Scepter together, firing out one more massive "Blaze!" spell, shattering Cahu's Hourglass, thus exiling her back to the Spirit World!

-Cahu is ultimately a PL 12 Afflicter... but can also slow people as an Aura effect, which is completely broken and should never be allowed on any character for reasons of fairness... except this is a brutally unfair character. So much so that an 11th hour superpower (thankfully teased repeatedly for like fifty episodes and given an "out" 20+ episodes before when Elena got new Emotion Magic) is required to de-power her. So Cahu can both slow people, and trap them in stone forever.

[Jabroniville]

And that does it for my Elena of Avalor builds! One of the more underrated shows out there- because it wasn't "meant for boys", drawn with bean-head animation, nor tried to latch on to the "representation/social politics" bandwagon, it was a very quiet hit that never quite managed a devout online fandom. Despite that, it's probably better for representation, morals, well-rounded characters and in-depth storytelling than ANY of those shows! It understood that characters didn't need to be perfect and were allowed to develop, and it's one of the more tightly plotted shows I've ever seen- busting out important lore in seemingly "filler" episodes.

Also... Face Characters!

[Jabroniville]

And more Face Characters!





This Elena actually spotted me from a parade float and shouted "You came back! It's so nice to see you again!" Somehow I am visually distinctive enough that I was recognized FROM A PARADE FLOAT twice over. When I met Tiana, she told me "you have a very recognizable face", to which I replied "Well, half of one anyways" and actually got her to spin around and laugh! We're married.

And videos!:

https://jabroniville.smugmug.com/Princesses/i-5hRMLq4/A (when I came back to see Elena again)
https://jabroniville.smugmug.com/Princesses/i-Mcp4xxZ/A
https://jabroniville.smugmug.com/Princesses/i-ZnNrx4z/A
https://jabroniville.smugmug.com/Princesses/i-jtMZxSh/A

[Jabroniville]

Oh yeah! Two more pics just to finalize the set. I forgot to pose these:

A look at just how huge the cast became. Every character in here is a named character from the show. Except Cinderella:



And the show's much-hoped-for Sofia cameo, right in the Series Finale:

[Jabroniville]

Okay, so I'm done indulging myself on this one (but still- WATCH THE SHOW, YOU GITS!), and the next one is probably going to draw a bit more reaction and interest, especially since we're out of Christmas by this point. It's time for a set I kind of just got the idea for last month- a way to write a lot of stuff about various shows & toylines I either know little about, or aren't worth their "own" set- Assorted Toys! Mostly from the '80s & '90s!

[Jabroniville]

ASSORTED TOYS:

-Okay, so this set is meant to be a little bit different, as for some reason I was just kind of inspired to take a look at a bunch of random toys! "Toy-Based" build-sets are not a rare thing for this thread at all, but I kind of looked over all the toy lines that don't really deliver full builds, but at least have SOMETHING interesting going on. So I asked on the Discord for some ideas on sets that'd be good for a "Template" build or two, thought of a bunch of my own. Oddly enough, the entire thing kind of started when I was looking at dumb stuff like Food Fighters and Barnyard Commandos and was like "Well those don't really need a FULL set, but...", and I realized the commentary would be as fun as actual building stuff, so here we are.

The following set will take a couple weeks, and largely be concerned with simple toylines that could be laid down with a single template for all the figures to follow. Others will simply be me writing notes on a few franchises that don't deserve builds, or were just too unknown to me to really do anything of value with a build. There's a LOT of lines like this- goofy ones that paled before the mighty G.I. Joe, Transformers, He-Man or whatever. Lines that were either popular but limited in scope (M.U.S.C.L.E.), short-lived or otherwise not that notable save for the toys (Centurions, Bionic Six), and more. Many were single-piece plastic figures inspired by the success of the single-colored M.U.S.C.L.E. figures- I already got to Monster In My Pocket figures, but the number of these is vast, including army men like GUTS! and the Trash Bag Bunch. Some are similar in scale, but were a bit more detailed and had movable limbs, like the Battle Beasts. Many just tried to shamelessly cash in on better franchises like a few Troll-based toys did.

Many of the toys had unique gimmicks- The Trash Bag Bunch presaged today's "Random Pack" figure craze by 30 years, the Glo Friends glowed in the dark, Popples could be rolled into a ball, Polly Pocket and Mighty Max had playsets you could easily carry in one hand, etc. Many came with full multi-media blitzes- about half of these had full cartoon series trotted out, and most featured coloring books, puzzles, clothing and assorted crap with the characters plastered on them. Some are famous, while others are very obscure.

The Origins of All This Crap:
-Most if this all stems back to the original Star Wars, which was not only a monster smash, but made George Lucas a multi-millionaire instantly when he kept much of the sales from the toys. Star Wars toys made BILLIONS for Kenner, failing to get the license killed MEGO, and companies everywhere noticed. Like, this was a LOT of money. And since businesses love nothing more than a bit of the old "I want some, too", they glomped right onto it and wanted some of that sweet cash.

However, it's one thing to say "I want the next Star Wars" and quite another to actually GET IT. You don't just come out with a movie and instantly make billions. You have to DO stuff right. And most of these toy companies, lacking the funding to produce movies and not knowing what the next big thing was going to be, had to glomp onto whatever they could. Typically that meant working with creative teams to produce something cool- focus groups were held, children were interviewed, etc. What most of these folks came to realize was that kids didn't just want cool toys- they wanted cool toys with a STORY attached. Kids didn't love "Spaceman with Blue Sword", they loved LUKE SKYWALKER. And so most of this "I want some, too" stuff came with stories and characters attached. Some were deliberately designed to be a big deal, while others were kinda stumbled into. And nobody really knew the "Trick"- GoBots and Transformers both used the "Let's take transforming robots from Japan and make a story out of them" but only one of them was beloved and the other is now a joke. PLENTY of these failed right out of the starting blocks, and those are just as much fun to talk about.

The ones that were major successes are of course still talked about today- most even had movies in their own time, some live action! Transformers hit big because the cartoon was amazing for the time, the characters were huge and awesome and had cool names, and the toys were top-tier. He-Man was huge because of the giant roided muscle-men and wild characters. G.I. Joe had the name value of the old toys, plus a great new cartoon with again, wild characters. The Ninja Turtles were a major smash beyond even THOSE, thanks to learning lessons from all the stuff that'd come earlier, a wild gimmick, '90s slang, and more. Generally speaking, you need to have an awesome gimmick right out of the way (G.I. Joe may be the only successful "Basic Army Men" one), a memorable cartoon, an epic theme song, and great toys.

Not all were boys' toys, of course- the Cabbage Patch Kids was as big as any of them and was just a bunch of dolls. And a TON of franchises sprung up out of American Greetings Corporation of all things, as the greeting card company released gimmick after gimmick.

Most of the toy companies were breathing down each others' necks- while Jem & The Holograms is talked about today as the ultimate '80s Girls line and often mentioned alongside the ones above, it died after three seasons and the doll line was killed by Mattel's Barbie out-competing it. Dino Riders easily had the most incredible toys of all the lines, but failed after only like 13 episodes and three lines of toys- the cartoon didn't spark the imagination, the characters were a bit dull, and the toys were expensive. Visionaries had better toys than almost anyone, but the hologram gimmick on the toys was too pricey. To be sure, there's a lot of lost classics out there.

A lot of talented people were put to work creating the shows, books, lore and designs that these lines contained- to be sure, it was "all to sell toys" and hardly some noble artistic endeavor most of the time, but as Christy Marx (G.I. Joe/Transformers writer hired on to do all the groundwork on Jem & the Holograms) stated, they were still people doing their best and putting out some hard work. Though sometimes you could detect the half-assedness and/or boredom with some of this trash, lol.

Me & The YMCA:
-So for a lot of these, I'll be mentioning the local "Y". This is largely because despite being an '80s kid, I was born in 1981 and was the oldest child, thus I missed out on a LOT of these on the ground floor. He-Man was already dying when I was becoming sentient and gaining real memories, and many of these toylines I only discovered years later. My jams as a kid were Transformers, Dino-Riders, Visionaries, G.I. Joe and Jem & The Holograms, but I definitely became a lot more familiar with the Post-TMNT generation of toys, most of which were TMNT wannabes (Street Sharks, The Toxic Crusaders, etc.). My familiarity with the other lines was fleeting... but at the "Y", I found a lot of the other figures in some form or another.

See, my mom had a running club out of the YMCA, and so I was often put in daycare for an hour or two along with my brother, I think. And there, they had a LOT of toys- it was basically just one big room for a bunch of kids to hang out in and play. And it was here where I'd end up finding "That green guy with all the holes in his armor" (Centurions) or "that guy whose body is a snake hologram" (Super Naturals), or "that G.I. Joe-sized figure who weighs as much as a goddamn brick" (Bionic Six). I also found a M.A.S.K. figure there (the motorcycle/helicopter).

THE TOYS:
* While this may not necessarily be all of the toys, this will include the lion's share. Mostly set up by gimmicks. Some are un-buildable (translation: any one with vehicles in a show I've never seen):

The "Army Guys":
* Usually figures based around either being army men, or being an unusual thing that sported weapons.

Army Ants (single-piece figures with attached weapons)
Barnyard Commandos (single-piece figures with complicated weapons)
Food Fighters (anthropomorphic food with weapons)
Eagle Force (G.I Joe knock-off)
Air Raiders (tiny figures but large-ish vehicles)

The Weird Cash-Ins:
* Toys meant to take advantage of another craze.

Battle Trolls- Troll dolls but as big, tough, ugly-looking characters for boys.
Stone Protectors- Troll/He-Man combination.
Troll Fighters- Same as above, but worse and foreign.
Golden Girl- Low-rent She-Ra wannabes.
The Toxic Crusaders- Ripping off the TMNT with "Gross-Out" gags and a horror movie franchise.

The "Wacky Gimmicks":
* Toys based pretty much entirely around a gimmick and little else. These by far outnumber everything else, as companies all wanted to hit on some "gimmick" but didn't know what would be popular so they'd just try EVERYTHING. Visionaries & Dino-Riders would be part of these. Technically so would any transforming robots franchise.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors (meant to sell the vehicles with interchangeable parts)
Super Naturals (take-off pieces revealing holograms)
Polly Pocket (tiny figures in makeup kit-sized playsets)
Mighty Max (the boy version of that)
Madballs (rubber balls with "gross-out" gimmick faces)
Boglins ("gross-out" rubber puppets)
Power Lords (a bunch of different sucky gimmicks in one line)
My Pet Monster (plush monster dolls with breakaway handcuffs)
The Popples (plush toys that could be folded into balls)
Sky Commanders (all about... guys on ziplines?)
Dinosaucers (dinosaurs flying saucers)
Glo Friends (glow in the dark single-piece figures or plush dolls)
The Bionic Six (die-cast metallic figures)
Centurions (guys with interchangeable vehicles and weapons that could be "plugged on")
Animax (animal/vehicle hybrids)

The M.U.S.C.L.E. Knock-Offs:
* The success of the imported M.U.S.C.L.E. figures led to a lot of single-piece toys with a similar concept, though they were mostly painted figures. Monster in My Pocket was one of these.

M.U.S.C.L.E. (based off of Japan's Kinnikuman)
The Trash Bag Bunch (mystery figures inside of dissolvable "trash bags")
Battle Beasts (Transformers spin-off with anthropomorphic animals)
GUTS! (army guy figurines)

The "American Greetings" Franchises:
* The greeting card company was oddly adept and making cute characters in their cards, then suddenly going "This needs to be a multimedia franchise". Care Bears was likely the most successful one.

Strawberry Shortcake
Rainbow Brite (which actually had lore and drama)
The Get Along Gang (Groupthink: The TV Series)
The Popples (stuffed animals that can be folded into balls)

The Others:

Wrinkles (plush dogs that inspired random figures)
Rubik's Cube (a sensational craze from a puzzle toy)

[Sidney369]

What about Dragon Flyz/Sky Dancers, the toys that ended up hurting kids?

[Jabroniville]

What about Dragon Flyz/Sky Dancers, the toys that ended up hurting kids?

LOL okay I didn't know about that, but I can guess how spinning toys would end up hurting people.

[catsi563]

One of the greatest things about that period was the openings. some of the greatest most catchy earworms ever produced

hell Bionic Six to this day has one of the best

[Jabroniville]

CABBAGE PATCH KIDS:
Created By: Xavier Roberts
Era: 1978-present

-The be-all and end-all of toy crazes (probably because they happened during the formative years of many people who talk about such things), the Cabbage Patch Kids hit big a little before my time, so I wasn't there on the ground floor of it. But this is the one I mostly hear referenced when I think of parents fistfighting each other in the stores for these things. They're so popular that a PARODY of them, the Garbage Pail Kids, is an icon of the 1980s.

These were cloth dolls designed to be one of a kind by Xavier Roberts, ripping off another craft artist's concept of "Doll Babies", right down to the birth certificate, adoption papers, and more. Calling them "The Little People" and changing just enough to get around copywrite, he sold his own dolls, becoming a huge craze. Coleco took over production and changed the name in 1981, and a story developed about babies born in cabbage patches who needed to be adopted out. Sales increased to ridiculous proportions and stories about rioting and fighting over the dolls broke out, leading to 3.2 million dolls shipping and the company cancelling advertising to focus entirely on keeping up with demand- records, books, clothing and more got the license as the line peaked in 1984.

I only remember having one, called "Kim", but I recall being kinda unimpressed and never paid much attention to it. By then, the craze had likely died down- sales climbed right through to 1986, but plummeted in 1988 right when the company paid Roberts way too much to renew the license, and Coleco went out of business! Yes, they went from making $800 million a year to dying in two years. BUSINESS. Hasbro took over the license, but the peak was gone and never returned. Mattel bought the license in 1994, Toys R Us did in 2001, and JAKKS Pacific did in 2011, nobody ever really making it work.