KISS Action Figures! The Most Played with Band in History!
The following was originally penned for inclusion in THE OFFICIAL KISS POSTER BOOK. With the release of the new LOVE GUN 12-inch action figures from Figures Toy Company, we thought it was the perfect time to share this fun unreleased piece.
Remember sitting in the floor when you where a kid and having The Rolling Stones duke it out with your Shogun Warriors Godzilla? Yeah, I didn't think so. That's because only one band has ever been cool enough to go up against the likes of Godzilla or G.I. Joe in the living room arena, and that band is KISS! Over the years, KISS has been immortalized as action figures and dolls more than any other band. From the original 12” Mego dolls to the McFarlane figures complete with rockets and whip tails to the recent STAR WARS-style figures from Bif Bang Pow!, KISS has been the band you can play with. Throughout the years, there have been many cool KISS toys, like View-Master reels, Colorforms, model kits, a board game, puzzles and so much more. But nothing seemed as awesome as having The Catman, The Demon, The Starchild and The Spaceman in your hands and actually playing with them. When the Mego KISS dolls were released in 1977, I absolutely had to have them. Two of my aunts made sure I got them. I still have them; they're actually the ones pictured in this article. I played with them and posed them. I built stages for them with boxes and tinfoil that I lit with a little disco ball. Sometimes, they would kick G.I. Joe's ass, sometimes they would be giants that Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker would try to take down. Whatever the scenario, they always won. After the reunion tour was underway, McFarlane Toys released numerous KISS figures. These weren't like the dolls of old, these were real action figures—some even came with weapons! It didn't stop there, you could get huge 24” dolls available at Spencer's that came in both LOVE GUN & DESTROYER era outfits. These monster-sized dolls developed by Art Asylum were like nothing anyone had ever seen. They were larger than life, just like KISS. Each one came on a display base that played a track from the KISS catalog. Later, the nostalgia of Mego came calling and the release of the Figures Toy Company's doll line. These looked like the Mego dolls we all grew up with but they took it a step further. They released both 8” and 12” versions featuring many eras of the band never before seen in toy form, such as DRESSED TO KILL and SONIC BOOM! So act like an adult and get in the floor and play with your toys! We all know that Ken or G.I. Joe would never get Barbie as long as Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter were involved.
Check out the new Mego style LOVE GUN FIGURES below:
