Thanks to following the #micronauts tag on Instagram, I have been able to learn even more about my favorite childhood toy. I still have a handful of the Micronauts I owned as a kid, which I’ve shared in a previous post. There were my absolute favorite toys, the heart of my imaginary universe play set.
Now, before we get too far into this, I’d like to say, upfront, that I can’t remember where I found a lot of these photos. Most are screen grabs from my phone, and I apologize to any of the original owners. I would have kept better track of them, but I only just now though of writing this post. I would love to correctly attribute them, happy to do it, etc. I think they are too good to keep to myself. Okay. Onward!
Here’s something new to me. You probably knew there was a Micronauts board game, but I didn’t! Look how much fun that kid on the box is having!
I’ve also found lots of variations that I didn’t know existed. Some things I’ve seen are 3D printed mods, and some were just never available where I grew up. We had Baron Karza and the Force Commander. But I never saw a Green Baron, King Atlas, or the Red Falcon.
The Mego corporation launched the Micronauts in the United States in 1977. Most of the figures were highly articulated and posable, which made them superior to the stuff, limited Star Wars figures. They were also “interchangeable,” where one could mix and match parts from different Micronaut toys, and effectively make new ones.
G.I. Joe was the first official action figure, released by Hasbro in 1964, inspired by the success of Mattel’s Barbie dolls. Hasbro then licensed their toys/ideas to companies in Palitoy in England and Takara in Japan. Regionalization, as it’s called, the where something successful is licensed and simply repackaged for a different market.
The Takara corporation had created The Micromen in Japan.
Here are some cool YouTubes on the Micronauts. I remember this commercial. AcroRay on YouTube write:
Mego invested substantial advertising dollars into the Micronauts, and had well over a dozen television commercials produced for the line by DuRona Productions…
AcroRay. See video below.
The Series 1 aliens:
Here are links to some of the folks I’ve learned from. ToyGalaxy at Patreon, and their Instagram account.