In 1979, Kenner’s Alien action figure was the toy to get. Huge, and prohibitively expensive compared to a kid’s allowance, it depended on parental goodwill to purchase. And that was in short supply.

As toy industry lore has it, Kenner was so thrilled with their acquisition of the Star Wars license that their desire to land the next big thing led them to acquiring the rights for a new sci-fi film ...

The Toy: The ultimate mid-80s craze, as the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand fought the fabulously named Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem (VENOM) with the help of transforming vehicles. To give it a hint ...