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Having moved four times in the past six years, to say nothing of the trading and misplacing that kids engage in with their toys, I have a few “orphan” figures that recently turned up as I packed for my latest move. The first of these is Twiki (right), from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The 1979 updating of Buck Rogers catered to the younger audience with this diminutive robot, and thus Meco’s line of action figures included Twiki (with Dr. Theopolis represented by a flimsy sticker which is in surprisingly good shape on this figure). Other characters in the Buck Rogers line included Buck, Colonel Wilma Deering, Princess Ardala, Killer Kane, Emperor Draco and Tiger Man.

Unless you were personally besieged on the planet Naboo on May 3, 1999, you know where everyone went at midnight. They went to department stores and toy stores across America to try to pick these puppies up.

Waves one through three were released simultaneously, and huge numbers of the toys were produced. Collectors who bemoaned the fact that they hadn’t kept their original Star Wars figures in the original packing in the 1970s now bought about half a dozen of each - unless, of course, they were attempting to clean out one of the more conscientious retailers who limited quantities out of fairness. Scalpers abounded during the first few weeks, with Darth Maul prized particularly because the figure was initially shortpacked. Poor Jar Jar, on the other hand, warmed the pegs in many a store for quite a long time, with the character already suffering from a premature fan backlash. (Click here to see the rest of the article plus pictures.)

With the success of the first wave of Playmates’ Star Trek: The Next Generation action figures, the question became: what next?

For the most part, the answer was repetition. Just do what you did before, and everything will be fine.

The same Enterprise crew members released in the first wave once again formed the backbone of the new selection of characters, only this time in the season one and two spandex uniforms. (Click here to see the rest of the article plus pictures.)