RetroBlasting investigates the original Rambo toy series from Coleco in 1986! SUBSCRIBE! / retroblasting Facebook: / retroblasting Twitter: / retroblasting #RetroBlasting #Rambo #ForceofFreedom
I owned the Rambo figure as a child, and I must say that it was, hands down, the finest action figure i ever owned. Granted, it had a few drawbacks (the M60 machine gun was not as detailed, Rambo's face didn't quite looked like Sly, arms not as articulated as other figures), but the RPG launcher, the knife, the belts, the scars, the jade stone choker... It was awesome, back then was pretty rare to find that level of detail in an action figure.
This was a very underrated toy line in my opinion. I remember liking the cartoon, and didn't notice the difference in how Rambo was portrayed until the previous video broke it down. I'm surprised that a company like Mattel hasn't released a limited edition line like they have done for He-Man and Ghostbusters.
I love how in depth you go with these reviews and show how the toy companies work with their molds, here I never knew Rambo and Sectaurs were basically from the same mold. Keep up the top notch work!
You guys are doing an outstanding job with these videos, you not only highlight the features and gimmicks, but also give special attention to the craftsmasnship and engineering the toymakers put into these toys. I always look forward to the next one!
***** I have to say I love how you combine nostalgia, plus critique and a bit of history into all of these videos. You should write a whole book about 1980s toys. Any chance for a Power Lords episode? I only ever owned one and forgot the name until I saw your playset video. Then, the weirdness, the odd colors and an aunt mistaking that one figure for a He-man toy one Christmas all came back to me. Thanks.
Why have I not found your channel sooner!? The memories. The nostalgia. Imma gonna have to take some time off work so I can watch your back catalog of videos. Thank you for great videos. I only had Rambo out of this collection but he came with SO MANY WEAPONS. Every video I have watched so far has had me saying "OH MY GOD I REMEMBER THAT" or "I had that". Keep up the great work. Thanks Again.
OldBoley Thanks so much for the kind words, OldB'! You're very welcome! Glad to meet you as well! Yeah, it's weird. We seem to be this hidden gem for a lot of people in the chaos of RU-vid. I wish more people knew about us as we've been around for three years, but hey, things have a way of working themselves out eventually.
The only Rambo figure I bought new was Nomad, because I'd read that an Arab-American group had lobbied Coleco to stop making it, citing it was an offensive stereotype. They claimed victory when Coleco agreed to make no more, but I think the line was on the way to being cancelled anyway. Still have that guy somewhere, mint in a shipping box.
I am certain I had Rambo and Trautman and I think the black ninja. Scale was always a problem for me-- I wanted them to interact with my G. I. Joe action figures. But at least they had a good military look and loads of realistic looking guns.
as a child I had the headquarters, chopper and a few of the figures. Didn't know they were Rambo toys at the time, to me they were just generic toys, but they were awesome.
As Crom is my witness, I don't remember seeing any Rambo toys down here. Joes EVERYWHERE, but no Rambos. I must say I'm impressed with the more realistic proportions on the Kat figure, and can just imagine how much plastic would get used (for her chest in particular) if the toy line was "reimagined" today. Just sayn'.
Great as usual Retroblasting! As an 80's kid this brings back so many memories, I remember telling a friend recently about how insane some of the Rambo ideas were. (insane in an awesome way). My favorite figure was Col. Trautman for sure but my favorite vehicle was the savage strike cycle. Thing had two friggin Uzi's as handlebars for crying out loud. I loved that thing.
Okay, that playset is absolutely sick. When I started watching that video, I thought for sure that bamboo cage was a custom diorama piece made as a background prop for the video. The crates full of machine guns were a nice touch as well.
I had Dr. Hyde, so pretty sure he was available in the states. And he was awesome. Smoked dome and a button you could depress to illuminate his disfigured face. He is still one of my favorite bad guys. Also, StarCom for the win. That toy line is grossly under appreciated.
that was SO cool! outstanding-looking toys... even though they're clunky and impractical, the smooth motion of those extendable/motorized helmets and Uzi-shields is absolutely awesome!
Love the Rambo toys, some of the best from the 80s IMO. Hey retroblasting love your channel , by any chance could do a segment on either centurions or visionaries. Keep up the good work guys . long live 80s toys
I had Rambo and Trautman as a kid. I made sure to get those two because I knew them from the movies (which I wasn't supposed to be watching). I'm surprised I didn't also pick up Warhawk and Havoc as they are clearly archetypes of Col. Podovsky and Sgt. Yushin from First Blood Part II. I remember wanting Turbo one Christmas though it didn't happen. At some point I eventually got that Dr. Hyde dude because he looked badass. That was it though--three figures were the extent of my Rambo collection. Never got as heavily into Force of Freedom as I did with G.I. Joe, but I regret that looking back now. Overall these were some neat toys, with a plethora of awesome accessories. I especially dig that S.A.V.A.G.E. playset... man!
Excellent review. Thank you for doing this. I was actually too old for this line when it came out but now that I have a grandson I am kind of living through his eyes so I can revisit things like this that I really couldn't when they were new. It's been fun collecting these but i find that Ebay sellers try to spike the price on the vehicles which is too much given they are not composed of much. Still a fun line and I am happy to have a resource like your video to get a solid overview. Great job.
I revisit this video from time to time and it's still entertaining in 2020 even tho I have the toys except a few rare ones but this was a really great 2 parter
Love this video, love the channel. I do miss this intro, but i understand growth, change and keeping things fresh! I was brought back to this by the new Hiya toys Rambo line. Great blast from the past!!
Huh! Those are some quality figures. I see they did their research. Trautman is packing a Death Machine--an M60, backpack and ammo can, hooked up a to the ammo chute for the Huey-mounted M60's.
Articulation issues aside, the Rambo figures were rather good. Had the basic John Rambo & Colonel Trautman. Too bad a Rambo/G. I. Joe crossover hadn't been considered.
Great video as always....loved the Han Solo inside joke... I remember this cartoon, but didn't know there were figures.....I found a Muffit toy from battlestar galatica whilst digging thru a box in my basement...it has inspired me to build a set of shelves with nothing but my childhood memories...I think one of these Rambo figures needs to go there...off to ebay!
YEEAA BUDDY the memories! My mother had bought my brother Rambo for his birthday with the Tri-Tracker Heat Seeking Missile Launcher! Later for my birthday she had gotten me that Savage Strike Cycle and Colonel Trautman. That Cycle was freaking awesome. It had a Gatling gun compartment in the back. Just like in the box art the engine sections did fold down with missiles in them. Then the handle bars were uzis....pure awesomeness. How would the engine be able to run still? Great memories.
Wen i was a kid, here in mexico this toys were very expensive. Even thogh i could buy a Rambo figure. It made mi childhood awesome...great second part...
Oh wow... I used to have the Shadowbat from Starcom as a kid But I never knew what it was called or what it was from because it was a second hand gift from the friend of a friends parent. And all these years I had no idea how to even begin searching for it. Thank you very much for giving me this info, off to ebay I go
Those figures do look interesting. I used to have really crappy Rambo figure I had my Parents buy me at our local Winn-Dixie, in a package that said "Action Figure"...great name huh? Looking back, I do say that a lot, it was a sucky figure, the head turned algae green for some reason, and I think I broke his signature weapon. But I was a Kid back then so...you know.
Please review Starcomm, you guys are AWESOME- I'd love to see a comprehensive and professional view of the toyline and marketing that only you guys can do.
I used to watch the show as a kid saturday mornings as a kid at like 6AM (i remember dragon warrior had a similar time slot) and remembered that it was really well put together. a more darker and heavier tone than most cartoons. Looking back, as I watched the episodes a year or two ago: I could see why it didn't catch on. Due to a lack of cohesiveness and clear motivations for both the protagonists as well as antagonists. Thanks for listening- you guys are the best!
Cool video guys. I'm glad the ninjas are popular. More people get to see my wife's paintings. :) (she did the cardbacks). Anyway, here's a video I did for the (I assume) unreleased Muscle Power Rambo! Muscle Power Rambo from Coleco If you do Starcom, I have a video up of the Spring 1988 product demo. Feel free to use that if it helps.
Superb review of the Coleco Rambo toys Mr.Michael. Unfortunately i only had black dragon and i lost him. But im helping my college buddy Stephen acquire Rambo toys.he had so far FOF Rambo, Trautman, Turbo,Chief,White Dragon, Warhawk, Havoc,Gripper & Black Dragon.he favors Rambo toys over Gijoe toys. He's looking for Kat and Snakebite plus X-Ray.
Nice finish to the review. I never got these figures but never realized how close they were to the A-Team figures, which I was into majorly. Actually is the A-Team on your to-do list? I remember they had both a GI Joe sized line and the Rambo sized line. I recall they had a collection of badguys/enemies. Now your playset video you guys mentioned the A-Team set, which I had no idea existed. But in one of my favorite episodes from S2 they actually showed a training base for the team,, so it might fit.
HOT DAMN! I still remember the night the pilot debuted. After watching this last night I had a thought, back in1985-86 GI Joe was on the verge of having Rocky Balboa join the ranks. In the Battle of the Order (A Marvel Comics Whos' Who) Rocky was list as a trainer for the Joes. The idea was he had an option to serve his country and tour and entertain the troops in expo bouts, or help train them. Yeah the Joes experts all their own Rocky was going to train them to fight wars an keep on coming. They actually developed a prototype, and artwork, but the deal fell apart due to licensing, but I always wondered if in part it was also due to the Rambo line. You guys said it yourselves about the likenesses. And I'm wondering how Hasbro would have liked competing w/ a similar charcter out there.
Back in the 80's here in the Philippines. People said when they watched cartoon. They say gees are you sure Rambo is the same as G.I JOE. I mean look in the bright side. In G.I JOE the sound affects are lasers. But on RAMBO cartoons the sound affects are guns and machine guns.
I had these toys as a kid, i remember i shot rambo's rpg missle at my hot wheels general lee while it was on a track and the string wrapped up in the wheel and it was tangled forever lol
Here in Brasil this toyline was kinda popular, recently i saw a Dr hyde figure sealed in card for about R$1500, i think thats more or less $200 or $400 i think.
+Federico Salerno you're talking about one of the rarest and most expensive figures in the line. I knew when making this video that Federico would be disappointed but I don't own that figure not did I say in this video that i own everything.
Haha sorry , i didnt understand this part when you say it un the vídeo... but I got Dr. Hyde here in Argentina dont came with the light system.... too sad
I only had one of these back then... The rambo with a white shirt. Although the toy is tall, i didnt liked the poor articulation so i went back collecting gi joe. Speaking of gi joe,... Are those 2 joe figures Footloose and Falcon!?!
I wonder if Michael’s fiancé is a fan of Rambo because of sly Stallone because she’s attracted to him, because Stallone is popular with a lot of women💁🏻♂🤔.
