Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

MEGO Meet 2019: Video and Pictures

The PopCulteer
June 21, 2019

Less than a week ago your PopCulteer was in Columbus for part of MEGO Meet, the annual gathering of fans of the MEGO Toy Company, who ruled the roost in the toy world back in the mid-1970s. This was my first time attending MEGO Meet since they left Wheeling five years ago, and even though I had to split the weekend between MEGO Meet in Columbus and The Marx Toy Show in Wheeling, it was an incredibly fun time.

I was only there for one day, but it was still pretty overwhelming, and I wish I’d had the energy to hang out and visit more with my fellow collectors, some of whom I hadn’t seen for five years. I did get to meet MEGO’s founder and proud papa, Marty Abrams (right, with yours truly) but I didn’t get to talk at length with him.

Of course, the PopCult cameras were rolling, and we have this fast-paced video to give you a taste of the fun on display. You may notice that while I promise glimpses of the panels, there are only a few seconds of them here. The reasons for that are two-fold: First, I ad-libbed the intros for this clip and for the Marx Toy Show clip in one take, before shooting any other video; second, I only made it to a couple of panels, one of which I will probably post in full in a week or so (the Cast A Way Toys panel) and the other, the Marty Abrams presents MEGO panel, was recorded by other folks, and can already be seen online.

Still, this should give you pretty good idea of how the show went…

Last year, the first year that MEGO Meet was in Columbus, MEGO founder Marty Abrams announced that MEGO was coming back to stores, beginning with a six-month exclusive deal with Target. This year, with the new MEGO toys showing up in more and more retailers every day, MEGO unveiled a load of new product. Photos of the new items were not allowed because the items are not all approved by the licensors, but we do have some intel for you. After this photo of how swamped Marty and his crew were at the Q&A session (which had to be moved into a large hallway because the conference room was too small).

 

At the convention, after the cameras were all turned off following Marty Abrams’ Q&A session, we learned the following: MEGO will be producing 8″ figures based on Lord of the Rings and Rocky. Fans got to see prototypes of the full Aragon figure, and headsculpts for Legolas, Ivan Drago, Apollo Creed and a “battle damaged” Rocky Balboa (you can see the regular Rocky at right); New Body designs for the 8″ figures are on the way, and are a vast improvement over the original figures, with 20 points of articulation, and no rubber bands holding them together; Those bodies will likely debut with the limited-license 8″ DC Comics figures which are coming as a shared exclusive from three (or four) specialty retailers. Boxed prototypes were shown that included Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the John Stewart Green Lantern; A headsculpt was shown for an 8: Stan Lee figure; We finally got to see Catman and Space Ace from KISS, who are due out later this year; A headsculpt was shown for the Kannamit, from The Twilight Zone, tipping us off to anothe rnew license; Headscultps were also shown for a 14″ Frankenstein as well as Locutus of Borg from Star Trek; A prototype 14″ Gorn from Star Trek was was also shown, as were 8″ headsculpts for Picard and Data, from Star Trek: The Next Generation; A full figure prototype for The Headless Horseman was shown as an addition to the very popular 8″ Horror line.

Thanks, once again, to Brian Heiler of The MEGO Museum, who not only organized the convention, but also verified my notes on the upcoming figures with his coverage. The MEGO Museum is the place to go for the best up-to-date info on all things MEGO.

Brian also reports that, immediately following MEGO Meet, MEGO’s wholesaler, License 2 Play, began taking orders for the next wave of figures, due to be released in mid-August. Collectors can look forward to a new Horror wave that will include: 8″- It Pennywise the Clown; 8″ Freddy Kruger- Nightmare on Elm Street; 8″ Headless Horseman; 8″ Phantom of the Opera; and 8″ Egyptian Mummy.

In the Star Trek Line, we’ll get the following figures from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: 8″ Star Trek 2– Admiral Kirk; 8″ Star Trek 2– Captain Spock; and 8″ Star Trek 2– Khan.

The Movies Assortment debuts with the 8″- Rocky Balboa, and 8″ Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) and 8″ Legolas (Lord of the Rings). The Music series continues with the 8″ Elvis (Black Leather), plus the highly-anticipated 8″ KISS Catman (Love Gun) and 8″ KISS Spaceman (Love Gun).

The 14″ assortment will offer up Shazam, Black Adam, Frankenstein and the Bela Lugosi Dracula.

Now, with that news out of the way, let’s look at a few photos from the show…

The rain detered most entries in the car show, but this Joker Van was not put off by the blustery weather.

 

New ways to play with Action Jackson.

 

Some of the customs up for auction including figures based on Green Hornet, Marvel Comics, The Hatbox Ghost and Blazing Saddles.

 

Unofficial winner of “Most Disturbing Custom” was “Penguin’s Sexy Day Off”

 

Bettie Page, coming soon from Cast A Way Toys.

 

If you’re going to cosplay, go all in like this guy.

 

This table was enough to make you break out into an “I Want” song.

 

Custom figures for as far as the eye could see…

 

We wrap up with your PopCulteer’s personal haul from MEGO Meet.

With that, we also wrap up this week’s PopCulteer. Check back later today for an extra update, and all weekend for our regular features.

1 Comment

  1. Thomas Wheeler

    Could’ve lived without the Penguin image, but as for the rest of it… oh — my — word!

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