Under The Tree: 2012 Hot Wheels Monster Jam Series w/ Topps Trading Card

Hot Wheels began to make their Monster Jam series of trucks in 2000. This partnership between Hot Wheels and Monster Jam lasted 18 years and concluded in 2018.

The 2012 set in my opinion is the most interesting. (80) monster trucks make-up the set. (7) subsets cover the (80) monster truck set – 1st Editions, Hot Wheels Originals, Edge Glow, Spectraflames, Monster Jam World Finals Deco, Mud Trucks, and Standard. The “Standard” designation does not appear on any of the packaging like the others do. Its just the name given to those trucks which do not fit in any of the other categories.

2012 was the 30th anniversary of Grave Digger. The packaging for each monster truck contains a special 30th anniversary logo celebrating this achievement.

Packaged with each monster truck is a Topps trading card. The card matches the monster truck it is packaged with.

Under The Tree: William “The Fridge” Perry G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

Apparently when William “The Fridge” Perry wasn’t scoring touchdowns in the Super Bowl he was a Physical Training Instructor for G.I. Joe.

That’s correct. Legendary Chicago Bears Super Bowl Champion William “The Fridge” Perry was made into a G.I. Joe action figure in 1986. This was only the second time an actual living person was incorporated into this specific toy line. Wrestling fans might remember that Sgt. Slaughter was the first.

You simply couldn’t visit your local toy store to purchase this figure. Hasbro only made it available through a mail-in offer. Specially marked G.I. Joe figures contained a “Fridge” Proof Of Purchase Certificate. Collecting (5) of these certificates would entitle you to a free William “The Fridge” Perry G.I. Joe action figure.

Hasbro began this promotion in 1986. But the figures didn’t start shipping until 1987. You could redeem your certificates from 1986 all the way to 1989.

When your figure arrived it came in a small package. Along with the figure is his football on a chain weapon and bio card.

The quality control on the figure’s paint job could have been better. Its common to find figures where the colors on his wrist bands are reversed. Every possible paint combination known to man can be found on the wrist bands. Sometimes they go blue/orange on one hand, and on the other hand orange/blue. Variation fans can go nuts!

Another variation that exists is where his belt buckle has a silver G.I. Joe logo printed on it versus the standard red one.

Under The Tree: 1994 Playmates TMNT Sewer Sports All-Stars – Slam Dunkin’ Don

Playmates issued their first line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures in 1988. That initial release consisted of the four turtles, Splinter, April, Shredder, Rocksteady, Bebop, and a Foot Soldier.

As TMNT mania grew, so did the toy line. Action figures began to take on various shapes, sizes, and themes. In 1991 Playmates introduced the Sewer Sports All-Stars sub-line of figures. Six figures made-up this sub-line – Slam Dunkin’ Don (basketball), Shell Slammin’ Mike (wrestling), Grand Slammin’ Raph (baseball), Shell Kickin’ Raph (soccer), Slap Shot Leo (hockey), and T.D. Tossin’ Leo (football).

Slam Dunkin’ Don has always received more attention. Mainly due to the fact he is wearing a jersey with the #23 on it. Everyone instantly connects that to Michael Jordan.

Over the years it was common for Playmates to reissue their figures. Subtle changes would be made from year to year. The Slam Dunkin’ Don from 1994 is considered a holy grail to many TMNT collectors. What makes this version so special? Its the color of his basketball jersey. For some reason the Slam Dunkin’ Don released by Playmates in 1994 is wearing a white jersey. Every release prior to and after 1994 has him wearing a red jersey. An unopened Slam Dunkin’ Don from 1994 can be worth thousands if in nice condition.

What’s in the package? Of course you receive the figure which features “amazing spring powered hoop shootin’ action”. Accessories include a turtle ball and garbage can rim.

The inclusion of a trading card is also a nice bonus.

Under The Tree: O.J. Simpson “The Juice” Shindana Toys Super Pro Action Figure

Looks like Barbie has a new neighbor. I think Ken might have some competition. That white Bronco would look nice parked in front of Barbie’s Dream House.

Shindana Toys (a division of Operation Bootstrap Inc.) released the O.J. Simpson “The Juice” Super Pro Action Figure in 1975.

Fully licensed by O.J. Simpson Enterprises, Inc., this action figure was at the time the only one on the market that featured the likeness of All-American running-back O.J. Simpson.

Measuring 9.5″ tall this action figure features a fully-jointed vinyl body. Accessories include helmet, shoulder pads, jersey, pants, two-toned football shoes, striped socks, and football.

In addition to the standalone action figure, Shindana Toys also made an O.J. Simpson “The Juice” Super Pro Set. The set comes with a football suit, football helmet, pads, shoes and football, running suit, sweat socks, tennis shoes, tank top, shorts, boat with oars, 3 hurdles, weight set with stands, tennis racket with frame and ball.

A variant of the Super Pro Set exists. Some of the O.J. Simpson sets were packaged with a red running suit and white tank top/shorts that have the letters “D J” on them. Shindana Toys made a similar action figure of Dr. J.

Many toy companies substitute unused clothes for the original clothes when the figures are at the end of their run. Shindana Toys sold more O.J. Simpson figures than Dr. J figures.

In this case, it looks like Shindana Toys made a decision to substitute Dr. J clothes because it appears they made variant O.J. Simpson decals by removing the “r.” from the Dr. J decals making it appear to be “O J” but its really “D J”. I guess they hoped nobody would notice. If you look fast enough that “D” looks like an “O”.

Under The Tree: Base Wars: Cyber Stadium Series

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Welcome back to the Under The Tree series of blog posts. These holiday season write-ups pop-up each week during the month of December. Each post highlights an old sports-related toy that probably was hiding under the Christmas tree at one point in time.

This year we will start off with Base Wars: Cyber Stadium Series for the NES.

Released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1991, Base Wars: Cyber Stadium Series is a baseball game that takes place in the 24th Century. Human ballplayers have been replaced with robots. Why? Because humans began demanding too much money ($23.4 billion per year for a .250 hitter). Team owners rebelled and replaced them with mighty programmable machines built for combat.

Cyborg, tank, flybot, and motorcycle are the four types of robots that you can play.

All of the normal elements of a baseball game are here – pitching, hitting, fielding, and base running. You’ll also find one-on-one battle royales for base possession using laser swords, fire guns, and various forms of ammunition. Having the most runs after nine innings guarantees a win. A win can also happen if you destroy three of the other opponents robots.

The more you win the more money you will make. You can then use that money to repair and upgrade your robots with all sorts of toys such as hyper engines, ultra shoulders, and iron gloves. All of these fun items will give you an unfair advantage over the opposing team.

Under The Tree: 1982 Corgi Baseball Trading Cars

Precision Made. Check. Moving Parts. Check. Safety Tested. Check. One Year Money Back Warranty. Check. Non-Toxic Paints. Hang on just a second. I don’t know about you. But I prefer my toys to have a certain amount of lead in them. They just don’t taste the same.

Corgi made die-cast toy vehicles for decades. From Batman to James Bond. There is an entire collectors market for them.

Released in 1982, Corgi introduced their line of Baseball Trading Cars. (26) MLB cars make up the set. The body of a Ford Mustang Cobra was used for each car. Cars have the team name on the roof, and team logo on the hood.

In 1983 collectors saw another set of (26) Baseball Trading Cars. This time the body of a Pontiac Firebird was used. A poster offer also came with the 1983 line of cars. Corgi even made a Baseball Trading Cars carrying case to protect your cars once they were removed from their package.

Under The Tree: The Willie Mays “Say Hey” Skateboard

Ok. This has to be a long lost relic from an alternative timeline and/or parallel universe. A place in time and space where instead of a baseball bat Willie Mays decided to pick up a skateboard. Imagine seeing Willie Mays at the skate park doing an Ollie, Hill bomb, and Benihana.

Union Surfer released The Willie Mays “Say Hey” Skateboard in the late 1950’s to early 1960’s. The “SF” logo pictured on his hat can date it no earlier than 1958 which is when the team relocated from New York to San Francisco.

Made of sturdy wood, this skateboard actually came in two different versions.

The most common version you will find has the graphics printed vertically, and measures 5″ x 23″.

A harder to find version has the graphics printed horizontally, and is a bit larger measuring 6.5″ x 28.75″.

Under The Tree: 1992 JusToys NFL Quarterback Club Bend-Ems

It might be easier to list the properties JusToys didn’t make bendable action figures for throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s. The list is quite extensive – WWF, WCW, Marvel, Star Wars, Lassie, Free Willy, Universal Monsters, Disney, etc… Doing a quick eBay search will take you down nostalgia lane.

NFL fans got to see four of the most popular quarterbacks in 1992 receive the “Bend-Ems” treatment – Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, John Elway, and Randall Cunningham.

Figures could be purchased in two different ways. Individually or in a gift set.

JusToys Bend-Ems were relatively inexpensive when they were originally released, and for the most part still remain cheap today. Although there are a few exceptions.

Bendable wire and rubber are the only two components to this toy line. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. Football collectors can easily add them to their collection without difficulty.

They all look like they were hit with Joker’s laughing gas.

Under The Tree: Ninja Golf

If Hollywood ever decides to turn this game into a movie I will be first in line to see it. Because it will break all box office records. This could be the big break Clint Eastwood has been waiting for.

Developed by BlueSky Software for the Atari 7800, Ninja Golf combines a traditional golf game with side-scrolling beat’em up gameplay.

Simply aim your ball and shoot it towards the green. Upon running towards your ball you will encounter various enemies along the way. These enemies include other ninjas, gophers, birds, giant mutant frogs, sharks, snakes, and a whole lot more.

Ninja Golf is one of the last games Atari released before dropping support for the 7800 system in 1990-91.

If you’re a retro game fan looking to play something that has a lot of depth, this isn’t the game for you. The gameplay is very repetitive. The box art gets an A+ though.

Video game collecting has exploded in popularity over the years. It makes me wish I had held on to some of mine. A sealed copy of Ninja Golf can reach into the hundreds of dollars.

Under The Tree: 1999 Racing Champions MLBPA Superstar Yo-Yos Series 1

Happy Holidays! Time to look back and remember some of those favorite sports related toys you received as a kid.

When I was in middle school there was a major yo-yo fad. Where it got started and how it began still remains a mystery. All I remember one day is that yo-yos began to popup everywhere. It wouldn’t surprise me if some teachers still have those confiscated yo-yos at the bottom of their desk drawer.

In 1999 Racing Champions (yes I said Racing Champions) known specifically for their die-cast race cars issued a set of MLBPA licensed yo-yos.

The set consists of (10) player yo-yos:

• Kevin Brown #1
• Ken Griffey Jr. #2
• Tony Gwynn #3
• Derek Jeter #4
• Greg Maddux #5
• Mark McGwire #6
• Mike Piazza #7
• Cal Ripken Jr. #8
• Ivan Rodriguez #9
• Sammy Sosa #10

Another set of baseball yo-yos was issued by Racing Champions. This set consists of the same (10) players. The images differ from Series 1, and use holographic foil. Instead of a solid color the yo-yo itself is transparent with glitter.

I believe Racing Champions even had some specially made yo-yos for the National Sports Collectors Convention. You rarely see these.

The Racing Champions brand is still around today. It is currently owned by the Round 2 Corp. They make models, die-cast cars, slot cars, and model train accessories.