Action Figures From The '80s

By Beau Briese

TREND Vintage TV superheroes are big sellers in toy stores again

HOW IT STARTED After prices on eBay rose for old models, toymakers created exact replicas

JUDGMENT CALL Even kids get bored with Pokemon after a while

Kids may not watch them on TV anymore, but vintage superheroes from the '80s, like Voltron, He-Man and the Transformers, are hot items in toy stores once again. They have been popular for years on eBay, where nostalgic adults buy boxed He-Man figures for $60 or a complete Optimus Prime, the truck leader of the Transformers' Autobot heroes, for upwards of $150--eight times its original value. Sooner or later the toymakers had to notice and start making the items again. Trendmaster's mini-replica of the robot Voltron ($29.99) has completely sold out since its release in 1999, and each of the first 12 Masters of the Universe--including He-Man, Man-at-Arms and the evil Skeletor ($10-$25 each)--has all but disappeared from the shelves of J.C. Penney and Toys "R" Us since Mattel re-released them. Demand in the U.S. for replicas of Transformers, among them the upstart Hot Rod ($45) and the diabolical pistol Megatron ($90-$110), has prompted importers to buy them off the shelves in Honshu and sell them to retail stores in U.S. malls. Takara, their maker, will be unleashing more in August, including Transformer F-15 Starscream and ambulance Ratchet. A new line of He-Man replicas is due to arrive in stores in October, and Hasbro is considering a direct U.S. release of Transformer replicas for next year. Who says superheroes don't live forever?

--By Beau Briese