Once again, Marty Abrams used an existing toy and with a few minor changes, managed to include it into an entirely different line. From Batman Command Console to Star Trek Command Console with a wave of his hand.

Both playsets can be used with communicators ( walkie-talkies ) that are shown below. The Command Consoles have a special key that sends Morse Code, transmits voice and sound, features a flashing multicolored screen as well as a telescoping antenna.
Both playsets are quite common and will run you approximately $150.00 each on the secondary market. The carded Batcoders on the other hand will run you significantly more if you can find them.

Keep your eyes peeled for my next column which will continue our look in to the various packaging variations released by the Mego Corporation. MEGO JOKERMOBILE AND BATLAB! HOLY HAULERS!
Hey everybody!
I just got back from 8 sunny days in beautiful Cancun Mexico so my batteries are all charged up and I'm ready to go with another column. With the summer driving season upon us, I thought featuring a couple of cool Mego Bat vehicles was in order. We'll be featuring two in this column, the Mobile Batlab and Jokermobile.

Before we dive in, let me just say that these are two of my favorite vehicles. The attention to detail, vibrant colors and neat accessories simply make these a boat load of fun to display and play with. Speaking of accessories, the Joker Mobile comes complete with a "Squirting Flower" that kids could fill with water to blast away an enemy, an " exciting Rear End Boxing Glove Trap " along with a revolving platform for outside spying. The Mobile Batlab also offers a variety of accessories such as the "Secret Front End Foe Catcher", a rear winch with "Bat Grappling Hook" along with its own Revolving Bat Platform for Outside Spying.
The box art in my opinion is fabulous. Take a minute to really look it over.

Once you do you'll notice the Riddler driving the Jokermobile while Joker ( check out that evil grin ) is manning the squirting flower, up to no good as usual. Displaying both side by side will make any collection look terrific.

You're probably thinking, yeah, they're cool, but what are they going to cost me to get them in my collection? Well people, it might be time to crack open that piggy bank! While the Mego Corporation may have released a wide variety of affordable playsets and vehicles that are available on todays secondary market, these two continue to command big dollars. The sheer size of the box makes it difficult to find high grade specimens and when you do you're sure to pay. With both routinely fetching around $300.00 each, it is not uncommon for high grade mint in box specimens to reach $500.00 or more. My next column is really going to be fun when we take an in-depth look at more vehicles and playsets that are sure to delight. Until next time, remember, Mego Lives!

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MEGO PACKAGING VARIATIONS!

I had the pleasure of getting to know Marty Abrams back
at the Megocon2004 convention and since then I've been very impressed with his business sense. I'll never forget the way he swaggered in to the convention center full of confidence with his slick black leather jacket. He was in his element and he knew it yet at the same time so very humble and accomodating. To put it simply, Marty Abrams was a master at marketing. The way he alerted buyers to new product was ground breaking. His renting out New Yorks Waldorf Astoria, inviting over 1500 buyers, retailers, celebrities and actors to announce his new Wizard of Oz toy line led to over $20,000,000.00 in advanced orders. Not bad for a line he had no confidence in.

Even more so was his cost cutting ways, the way he watched where every penny went had a lot to do with his domination of Aisle 7 for just about a decade. Marty even went so far as to build his own factory in Hong Kong after getting tired of outsourcing. With frequent trips to the Orient, Marty was not afraid to get his hands dirty while he learned the ins and outs of the business. Always thinking he could do better than his competition, and much of the time doing just that, Marty came up with a lot of cost saving ideas. One such idea was to reuse existing molds and playsets in order to get more bang for his buck. Talk about stretching a dollar! He would constantly refreshen packaging in an effort to always keep things looking fresh on the shelves and remember people, this was back in the 1970's. Marty was writing the book as he went along which is still in use today. Some industry insiders even go so far as saying that Marty was part showman and part toy exec. I would agree whole heartedly. Add to this his being one of the first to utilize blister card packaging, regional warehousing ( the goal here was to get product to store shelves before his competition ) and what you have amounts to one very shrewd buisnessman not to mention sales in the tens of millions of dollars in the early to mid 70's.
Below are three such examples of his reusing of existing playsets.

Planet of the Apes Village playset

Worlds Greatest Superheroes Batcave playset

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COLLECTOR'S CORNER QUESTION AND ANSWER: JOE NAMATH!
QUESTION:
HELLO, I'M CURIOUS, WHAT DOES THE JOE NAMATH 12" BOXED SELL FOR? THANKS,
VINCE(LAS VEGAS)

ANSWER:
The Mego Corporation learned a valuable lesson from the poor selling Joe Namath doll. Shortly after the doll went in to production, then President Marty Abrams sat helplessly as he watched his star football player lay injured on the football field. Marty vowed never again to place all his eggs in to a property such as an athlete that could get injured and tank at retail.
As for prices, loose specimens command up to $100.00 on the secondary market while mint in boxed can go as high as $200.00 depending on condition. With a little patience, deals can be had.


Rob
Megocentral

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