Friday, January 29, 2010

The most realistic lineups for BCA in the year 2000?

If you were a BCA fan clinging to the last strands of hope for more series to be released in early January 2000, than I'm sure you remember this news.

I was browsing the Internet Archive several days ago and stumbled upon this tidbit of reporting (remember when everyone and their mother was a figure news reporter?) that gave an insight into what Jakks Pacific might have made had the BCA line not been discontinued.

This news was never confirmed by anyone with Jakks, but I feel that it is worth sharing because it is the most realistic lineups that I've seen from the dying days of Bone Crunching Action.

    WWF Superstars Series 10:

  • Big Show - with a brand new mold in wrestling attire.

  • The Godfather - with green vest and pants.

  • Chris Jericho - debut BCA figure, with new head (obviously) and Fully Loaded Series 2 The Rock torso.

  • British Bulldog - with old head and 2 Tuff Series 3 Stone Cold Steve Austin torso.

  • Triple H - Signature Series 6 figure without signature.

  • The Undertaker - Signature Series 6 figure without signature.

  • Also, it's possible that a repaint of Kane could have been substituted for one of these (similar to Superstars Series 8 with B.A. Billy Gunn).


  • WWF 2 Tuff Series 6 2-packs

  • The Hardy Boys - debut BCA figures, no added information.

  • Edge and Christian - no added information.

  • Vince McMahon vs. Triple H - no added information.

  • Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman - no added information.


  • WWF Metal Series (singles figures with accessories)

  • Gillberg - debut BCA figure, no added information.

  • Headbanger Mosh - no added information.

  • Headbanger Thrasher - no added information.

  • The Blue Meanie - debut BCA figure, no added information.

  • Meat - debut BCA figure, no added information.

  • Brian Christopher - no added information.


  • WWF Fatal Four-Way 4-Pack (boxed set)

  • Triple H - Signature Series 6 repaint in black attire, comes with sledgehammer accessory.

  • Big Show - street gear/debut BCA figure repaint with new shirt design, comes with steel chair accessory.

  • The Rock - 2 Tuff Series 5 repaint with new shirt design, comes with lead pipe accessory.

  • Stone Cold Steve Austin - 2 Tuff Series 5 re-release, comes with removable t-shirt and bucket accessories.


  • WWF Come Get Some 4-Pack (boxed set with removable clothing and Women's title)

  • Tori - debut BCA figure, no added information.

  • Ivory - debut BCA figure, no added information.

  • Debra - no added information.

  • Jacqueline - no added information.


  • WWF Bloodbath 3-Pack (boxed set)

  • Edge - comes with candle accessory.

  • Christian - comes with candle accessory.

  • Gangrel - comes with goblet accessory.

Also, it was rumored that the first series of the Titan Tron Live line would be made into Maximum Sweat figures as a sort-of crossover series.

However, it's probably for the better that there was not any additional Maximum Sweat series in stores.

My thoughts on the rumored sets would read as follows:

Superstars 10: The Big Show in wrestling attire would have been phenomenal, and I would have loved to see what Jakks had to offer. The same goes for a much-needed Godfather repaint (which should've come with the DTA Tour Series 3 figure).

I think Jericho would have been postponed for Series 11 and Kane would have filled the void, but he was undoubtedly the most popular wrestler yet to be released as a Jakks Pacific figure (along with the Hardys) in late 1999.

The Bulldog is such an easy fix-up that I'm sure many have perfected since then, but I think Jakks should have gone through with this one, too. Not much needs to be said about HHH and 'Taker, but both were really good figures in Signature Series 6 and it wouldn't have surprised me if they showed up in Superstars Series 10.

2 Tuff Series 6: I would expect to see the Hardys in Double Slam Series 4 attire if they were to be released in Series 6, but these figures would've been incredibly hard to find in stores.

The other three sets would likely have been a mix of slight repaints, figures in street gear, and/or straight re-releases. Nothing too surprising, but the DTA Tour Series 2 Steve Blackman could have fit well here as a re-release.

Metal Series: I'm skeptical of the line-up of this series, mainly because Jakks only attempted to make one of the three debut figures later on (Meat, but it was scrapped from the TTL Back Alley Street Fight series) and it almost seems too good to be true. Sure, repaints of the Headbangers and BC is reasonable, but there isn't much star power to this series and it might have struggled to sell as a result.

Either way, though, I would have been a happy camper with another Shotgun Saturday Night-esque series with weapons.

Boxed sets: First off, I don't know if the Women's title was meant to be a kids size or figure size, but I hope it was meant for the figures. I've heard rumors of other boxed sets featuring new BCA belts, but Come Get Some sounds like the cream of the crop.

Tori and Ivory were eventually made as excellent TTL figures, but the BCA line wouldn't have been too difficult to make happen either. Just imagine the same Sable torso used over and over again with heads that don't really resemble the new female wrestlers.

The Bloodbath set is certainly plausible, as is the Fatal Four-Way pack with yet another random assortment of main eventer repaints (something which Jakks did frequently in 1999). Of course, since I appreciate most of the BCA product, repaints would have been fine by me, and Jakks always delivered with alternate attires in those days.

So, while there is no evidence that any of the series mentioned were ever planned for a release, it is fun to look back on what might have been if Jakks had prolonged the life of our beloved BCA line.

Oh, and in true reporter fashion, all credit goes to Extreme4:20 and Flash Gordon (wherever they may be now) for the rumors shared long ago, and Hitman of The Smackdown Figure Hotel website for posting said rumors.

I couldn't have accessed this without you.

Monday, January 18, 2010

The Unreal Story of...Bone Crunching Action?

Well, not quite.

But it is "The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling", and Jakks' BCA figures are showcased to represent the widespread popularity of professional wrestling in the late 1990s, especially in the marketing sector.

Skip to the 9:04 to 9:15 mark of the video below to see footage of:
  • The Tag Team Series 1 Legion of Doom figures loose, and a demonstration of what BCA is all about.


  • Steve Austin setting up his own Signature Series 1 figure opposite the Ringside Collection Series 1 Vince McMahon figure in the Raw is War Monster Ring, and the cheesy dialogue, consisting of sound clips, that follows.


  • The Special Edition Triple Threat 3-Pack displayed both MIB and loose with the first ever Jakks Pacific chair accessories. Just the thought of these three being in a Triple Threat match together makes me want to smash a steel chair over my head repeatedly.



Also, see if you can spot the two differences in the Raw is War Monster Ring from the actual version that was released in 1997 (hint: skip to 9:09 for a clear view).

I think Vince McMahon said it best shortly after the 9:15 mark when he said chronology has nothing to do with buying into the WWF's product.

"If you think young, act young, you know, then it appeals to you," he said.

Preach on, Vinnie Mac.

Friday, January 15, 2010

LVJR - Superstars Series 2 Ultimate Warrior x2

For the sixth installment of my "Latest Vintage Jakks Receivings" posts, I'm here again to share MOC pics of a very recent BCA purchase of mine.

I bought both of these MOC Superstars Series 2 Ultimate Warrior figures from an eBay seller for a little over $14 shipped.

I figured about $7 each wasn't too bad for the Warrior Warrior tandem.


What with it being the second series produced by Jakks Pacific in the latter half of 1996, Superstars Series 2 was also Jakks' figure debut of the Ultimate Warrior.

An all-new torso mold was introduced for Warrior, to commemorate his return to the WWF at WrestleMania XII in a squash match victory against Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

And like his ring entrance, the Ultimate Warrior was gone in a flash after contract disputes with owner Vince McMahon in the summer of 1996.

However, Jakks was able to crank out two versions of Warrior from his second run in the WWF, the one shown here and another in green and yellow attire from the Survivor Series 1996 boxed set (Jakks' first ever boxed set, by the way).

This one has just a tad more detail to it, hence why WrestlingFigs.com forum members selected it as their favorite of the two.

If one were to compare it to the actual attire worn at WMXII, it stands no chance and does the job like, well, HHH did in their match.

Real life Warrior wore an incredible coat to the ring that night, and the closest thing to replicating that in figure form was Jakks' later Classic Superstars Series 12 figure (which also had a variant facing backward in the packaging).

Not to mention, this figure has a much simpler face paint and attire/gear pattern than does the prototype shown on the back of the carding (which is a greater likeness of Warrior's WMXII appearance).


I actually prefer the hair color of the final product, although neither truly captures the blonde-ish brown shade of Warrior's hair at the time.

The arm tassles are right on the money, but everything below the waist, and specifically the Warrior logos all over his body, is way off.

The logo on the back of his trunks needs to be large and centered, not small and off to the side. Also, the knee pads have no orange back side and the boot tassles are painted plain white, devoid of any necessary red.

Did I mention the detail is severely lacking?

Besides all of that, it is still a decent figure, believe it or not.

Jakks Pacific could have done a lot worse, and there's something special about this figure that is hard to describe. I remember the joy of playing with this figure as a kid and how loose the parts were on mine.

I finally bought it again a few years back on eBay from a Canadian seller, but it was loose and in mint condition.

Now, I've got one, or maybe both, to open all for myself.

My take: No official rating just yet from me, so I'll give my own personal take on this figure. It's good, not great, and I would have a hard time choosing many other BCA figures over this as a favorite of mine. This is a definite buy for any classic wrestling fan or new collector of the BCA line.


As evidenced by the price that someone before me paid for it (ouch!), it's hard to tell how valuable Warrior's debut Jakks figure will be five, ten, fifteen years from now. So, consider that if you will, but don't let it slip by if it can be had for less than $10 MOC.

Fun fact: Owen Hart's debut Jakks figure from Series 2 used a torso mold suspiciously similar to that which might have been used for the 1-2-3 Kid if he hadn't left the WWF for WCW in 1996. Rumors persist that the Kid was scheduled to be in Series 1, but was replaced by Goldust when he switched companies.

I don't know if we'll ever find out the truth, but the Kid certainly didn't have to wait long - just five series later, his re-birth in the WWF as X-Pac in the spring of 1998 was a success and warranted a Jakks Pacific figure as a part of Superstars Series 7.

And so it goes...

Until next time, thanks for looking and have a nice day!