Obscure 80s Action Figures You Forgot You Loved

Even as video games took hold of our homes in the 1980s, kids still spent hours upon hours playing with our toys … inside and out! And maybe the most popular of all playthings during the entire loud decade were our action figures. But, while everyone remembers the stars of the Star Wars universe and the boss G.I. Joe figures, there were plenty of less memorable figures that were every bit as much fun to play with. So the question is — how many of these obscure 80s action figures do YOU remember?

M.A.S.K.

The M.A.S.K. figure line was a really obscure line of figures from the 80s with a toyline, TV series and comic book starring Matt Trakker as he fights against VENOM — an organization bent on world domination using vehicles that are also robots! There were plenty of cool features to these toys like they had other drivers for you to swap in when one got captured or destroyed, plus there’s always more than one way to play out your battles thanks to all the different vehicles available (and yes, kids could control them!).

Go-Bots

The Go-Bots figure line from the 80s was obscure to many kids, but they were popular enough for Tonka to keep making them into the 1990s. These little robots had a cool feature where you could take out one of their parts and combine it with another robot’s part to make your own custom gobot! The downside is that if you didn’t get two or more figures in a pack then you couldn’t build anything at all.

Sectaurs

Sectaurs was an obscure toyline released by Coleco in 1985. It featured small action figures that came in insect form (they’d transform into human size) who would battle each other either as good guys against bad bugs or as different tribes fighting over the magical power of the hexagon. The collectibility and obscure nature of this toyline makes it a great find for collectors who are willing to search through all those dusty boxes in their attic!

Bravestarr

Bravestarr was a popular animated TV series that originally aired in 1987. The TV show was about a lawman from another planet who arrived on Earth to protect the “Barrens” and its inhabitants which included humanoid animal hybrids called New Texas Rangers, other non-humanoid animals like insects or reptiles, as well as normal humans living there.

The show had many obscure action figures of the main characters (Bravestarr himself, Marshall BraveStarr), villains (Rancor Roo) and allies (Duke). All these obscure toys were made by Kenner Toys Inc., the same company behind some big names such as G.I Joe, Batman and Star Wars! These 80s cheesy toys are sure to bring back memories for those who once had them and even for those who never got the chance to have one.

Marvel Superheroes

The obscure and short-lived Marvel Superheroes line by Spidey toys was worth a mention. The figures included Spiderman, Hulk, Wolverine and Dr Doom to name just a few. This toyline probably remains obscure because it came out in 1986 when the then popular TMNTs were all over TV screens everywhere!

WWF Wrestlers

WWF Wrestlers was another obscure toyline released by Spidey toys in 1987. With 12 figures made, Hulk Hogan and “Hollywood’s bad boy” Rowdy Roddy Piper were the most popular ones.

SilverHawks

SilverHawks is a little obscure toyline that was made by Kenner. It’s about five heroes from space who have to protect their world of Quasar against evil forces. A mix between the Thundercats and Star Wars, it featured one-time action figures such as Lightyear, Jetstream , Sprocket and Steelwill!

Battle Beasts

Battle Beasts was a toyline that had monsters from outer space fighting each other. It’s obscure because it came out in the late 1980s, but was also really cool!

The Saga of Crystar

The Saga of Crystar action figures were released in 1983 and M.A.R.K.-2023 followed a year later, both by Tonka toys. They came with weapons like knives, swords or crossbows and they each had their own spells or abilities that the other didn’t have!

(affiliate links)