Top Five Greatest Action Figure Lines of the 1980's

At first, many collectors balked at the idea of shrinking down the classic twelve-inch army figure from the 1960's, but kids took to the war against the terrorist organization Cobra and supported the line for over a decade into the 1990's. As the years went on, the number of figures released each year grew, and so did the vehicles. Toys like the U.S.S. Flagg and the Defiant Space Shuttle Complex were top-dollar items even when they were still available in toy stores. Because of the completeness of the line, many collectors look at G.I. Joe as the quintessential 1980's action figure toy line.

A muscle-bound barbarian with a pageboy haircut doesn't sound like the best idea for an action figure, but not only did He-Man find an audience with kids, the toy line Masters of the Universe sold millions of toys throughout the 1980's. With a wide variety of heroes and villains pushing the boundaries of high fantasy, a fleet of action-packed vehicles and accessories, and massive play sets, kids could recreate the epic struggle between good and evil with no problem. With such an expansive line, collectors have a challenge ahead of them worthy of He-Man himself!

Though Star Wars action figures began hitting toy stores in the late 1970's, they hit their stride in the 1980's with their toys based on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. They set the standard for vehicles and play sets that could go along with the small scale of the figures. The line struggled in its later years, but those last figures have become some of the most desirable figures today among collectors. Boxed vehicles and packaged figures are setting record prices on the collectible market, and with the prequel trilogy of recent years, the Star Wars following continues to be very strong.

Before Transformers came to the United States, famous characters like Optimus Prime and Megatron were simply changeable robots made by Takara in Japan. When they came to America, they were given individual personalities and a good versus evil storyline (not to mention popular comic book and cartoon series), and things were never the same. Dubbed "Generation 1" because of the number of incarnations that have come since the 1980's (including the ones from the most recent movie), collectors continue to love these robots. Because they came in all different sizes, collectors with different levels of expendable income can start collecting this truly unique action figure line.

Between Captain Action in the 1960's and Mego's World's Greatest Super Heroes in the 1970's, caped crusaders were no strangers in the form of action figures by the 1980's. But when you combine incredibly accurate and dynamic sculpting, attractive packaging, and the fact that iconic super heroes like the Green Lantern and Hawkman were being made for the first time, Kenner's Super Powers, based on characters from the DC Comics world, revolutionized how super hero action figures were approached. It also became one of the first lines to gain a strong following among collectors while it was still on toy shelves, setting a precedent for action figures that continues today.