Remember The Awesomeness of The 1980s Toy Line BATTLE BEASTS
The 1980s were a truly magical era for kids and sometimes I feel bad for those that didn’t have the opportunity to experience it. One of the things I loved about it most was the toys. To this day I reach for the nostalgia of the past by collecting action figures.
I have a lot of fond memories of playing with toys when I was a kid, and in 1987 Hasbro/Takara-developed an action figure line titled Battle Beasts, which was an awesome line of toys for kids at the time!
Battle Beasts was one of the most beloved toy lines of the time. Battle Beasts was filled with fierce warrior characters, and with their unique brightly painted futuristic battle armor-plated bodies, they captured the imaginations of children and inspired epic imagination-fueled battles on the playground and in the living rooms of families.
The two-inch scale figures each had a different animal, anthropomorphized and came in semi-random two-packs, advertising a sort of rock-paper-scissors game that could be played. One of the most popular attributes of the figures was the chest-mounted heat-activated 'rubsign', of the same type designed and patented by Hasbro for the Transformers line. Each rubsign revealed an icon for either fire, water, or wood element, in the form of a flame, waves, or a log.
Each Battle Beast was unique, with its own distinct personality, abilities, and weapon such as stylized axes, swords, or spears. The weapons could be matched to the correct figure by a stamped collector number that is also molded into the figure's back.
As for how the game worked, when the element was revealed Fire figures defeat Wood (fire burns wood), Water defeats Fire (dousing the flame), and Wood defeats Water (by floating on it). Each figure's icon was randomized. While the identity of the figure was visible through the packaging, the rubsign couldn’t be revealed unless you bought the figures. I remember I was also hoping for fire because fire was cool!
There were also vehicles and playsets that were a part of the toy line! Those included three small Battle Chariots, and three large Transport Stations. The included a jail cell for holding enemy Beasts, opening weapon and figure storage compartments, and multiple platform levels.
There were three waves of Battle Beasts figures, and in total there were 76 unique Battle Beasts. After they stopped being produced in the U.S., Japan continued production and added an additional 36 Laser Beasts to the line. These are also known as Shadow Beasts, and these figures included a plastic lens or 'orb' in the chest which magnified the image of an element on a transparency that received light from a hole in the figure's back.
There’s also a line of Battle Chargers which as rare. They are a Shadow Beast that also includes a unique sticker-decorated shield, and a pull-back, 3-wheeled platform that the Beast's feat can peg onto, with the shield placed at the front.
The Battle Beasts characters also had some great names that include Antic Anteater, Ardent Aardvark, Armored Armadillo, Bighorn Sheep, Black Panther, Blitzkrieg Bat, Bloodthirsty Bison, Blugeonly Bulldog, Bodacious Bovine, Crooked Crow,Crusty Crab, Danger Dog, Delta Chameleon, Deet Stalker, Dragon Raccoon, Ferociaou Tiger, Frenzied Flamingo, Gargantuan Gorilla, Gruesome Gator, Hare Razing Rabbit, Horney Toad, Jadded Jag, Kickback Kangaroo, and more.
Battle Beasts weren’t a huge hit during their run, but they have become a cult classic among modern '80s toy collectors. Do you remember Battle Beasts? Did you ever collect them?