Collector’s Corner #2 With Matthew Barnes
Collector’s Corner #2
With Matthew Barnes
Where it all Began
The first wrestling figures launched anywhere in the Western world were the WWF’s LJN range, running from1984 to 1989, and paved the way for everything that came after (though it’s important to acknowledge that some figures had been produced many years earlier in Japan). Canonically a precursor to the company’s later Hasbro figures, this initial run had far more in common with WCW’s that followed a year after the line closed. Whereas WWF’s partnership with Hasbro reimagined – and to some extent revolutionised – the field, the AWA’s Remco line filled the linear gap, with musclebound figures owing a huge debt to the Masters of the Universe. We’ll get to the AWA, Hasbro and Galoob figures in future editions, but acknowledging the timeline is important in understanding how the LJN’s Wrestling Superstars figures swept in and out of fashion in relatively short order, and why they are less beloved by collectors in the 2020s than their later counterparts (though the scarcity or high quality figures has caused the line to be significantly more expensive than other figures in future lines).
We all know that the WWF from the early 1980s onwards was a juggernaut, crashing headlong in the cable, pay per view, home video and action figure markets in short order following the first WrestleMania, commercialising the industry like never before, in ways that many promoters could never have imagined. What’s perhaps less obvious in retrospect was just how risky many of these ventures were. It’s common knowledge that WrestleMania 1 was boom or bust for Vince McMahon – failure would, quite literally, have bankrupted him – but moving away from grizzled, older wrestling audiences to a shiny, aesthetically-pleasing product aimed at families, and young families in particular, was a significant gamble.
Indeed, such was the risk that nobody wanted to produce an action figure line for the WWF. Or, at least, nobody but LJN (who also turned out to be a later partner in some video games of the next era). At 8 inches tall, these figures were larger than most other toys of the era, and remain the biggest figures produced as a single line (WWF, WCW and the renamed-WWE all went on to produce some HUGE individual figures, including Warrior, Hogan and Kevin Nash, amongst others, but these were more set-pieces than figures designed to replace those already in production).
What they lacked in articulation, LJN more than made up for in the sheer breadth of the range. Across the lifespan of the WWF Superstars line, six separate series of figures were produced, plus a line of tag teams, and these figures are a beautiful snapshot of their era. Whereas the later Hasbro range had some dubious choices of their own (Skinner, for example), WWF, in partnership with LJN, went to some lengths to capture all the major stars of the era. Just look at the list of figures in series one – Hulk Hogan (with championship belt), The Iron Sheik, Big John Studd, Andre the Giant, Hillbilly Jim, Jimmy Snuka, Nikolai Volkoff, JYD and Roddy Piper. By any measure, that is an incredible list.
Subsequent lines, alongside a multitude of Hulk Hogan variants, including a who’s who of the era; a range of 84 individual figures and seven tag-terms (making for 98 figures, plus two giant figures taking the total to an even 100, though the last series included 13 re-releases), and a ring (which could be added to with the separate steel cage accessory pack) Later figures included some bendies, too. The series also launched the stingy practice of selling rings without figures, a trend which largely remains to this day (though was beautifully eschewed by Remco).
Other figures produced in the LJN line are too many to list – but to give you a sense of who was included, some highlights included Bruno Sammartino, The British Bulldogs, Special Delivery Jones (in two variants), Terry Funk, Adrian Adonis, Ken Patera, Harley Race, King Kong Bundy… the list goes on and on, as also featured numerous managers and referees that were all disappointedly absent in the Hasbro range. It’s impossible to overstate how vast the range was.
These figures were aesthetically-pleasing, too. Whilst not a patch on the photo-realistic figures of our modern era, every character is instantly recognisable, and the colours were bright and vibrant enough to compete with the explosion of other toys on the shelves in the early eighties.
Whilst LJN didn’t achieve the juggernaut-like success for the WWF that the Hasbro partnership did just a few years later, the endeavour established figures as a key part of the pro wrestling landscape and showed that good money can be made in the toy market, laying the groundwork for all that came after. Whilst most classic wrestling figures collected by modern fans are limited to the Hasbro and Galoob lines, a quick glance at eBay shows the scarcity of quality LJN figures, and this is reflected in the high ticket prices.
Many reasons exist that may account for the LJN figures lacking the appeal of their successors. The era, for example, predated the worldwide explosion of the WWE, meaning that the figures were largely produced and sold only in the USA. There’s also the inflexibility of the figures, which was less of an issue with WCW’s Galoob line, which whilst also static was relative to the size of the super-over Hasbro figures, meaning fans of the era could play with them together. These two factors combined mean that the small variety of LJN figures on the Australian market are worth hundreds of dollars, even loose, and that prices out many collectors. The scarcity means that you are unlikely to see boxes of LJN figures at collectors’ fairs.
It’s a vicious cycle that means the range is at best, unloved, but in many cases even unknown, so you’ve probably never seen a Corporal Kirschner figure, much less owned one – and, if you’ve read this and now want one, there’s never been a better time to sell a kidney or remortgage your house.
