Planet of the Apes. It’s pretty tough to find people who aren’t either completely obsessed with or mildly interested in the Earth takeover story. Well, MEGO knew that and so did everybody else who didn’t have any licensing rights, but did have stockrooms of plastics and fabrics.

These knockoff and bootleg MEGO figures make the heart go pitter-pat. Their dazzling audacious looks have charms unspeakable. Enjoy the copies of the copies. The folks at WorldMEGO can’t stop staring at the whacked out primates. And the terrific people of MEGOMuseum never miss an Ape.

You can find great writing about the AHI, Astro Ape, Bootleg Ledy/CIPSA and Tong figures at MEGOMuseum, MEGOLike and PlaidStallions. Send us a photo to post of your Ape parade and we’ll link arms.

Above photo (L to R): AHI, CIPSA Bootleg, Astro Ape x2, AHI, Astro Ape, CIPSA Bootleg

Choose your weapon, sir

Urko's shirt from the Mexican bootleg of CIPSA on a Lili Ledy bootleg body

Corinthian Leather at its finest. Not too many of these have surfaced.

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BIG THANKS to MEGOhead, Paul Stevens for providing the next four photos. After comparing the Astro Apes with their MEGO inspirations, you can see his Astro Ape lineups. You have some fine taste there, friend!

Separated at Birth!-- courtesy of Paul Stevens

Team Ape! -- courtesy of Paul Stevens

Family Photos-- courtesy of Paul Stevens

Best shoe store ever-- courtesy of Paul Stevens

The year 2011 brought many great toy lovers together in Mexico City for a monthly series of collecting and enjoying a wide range of muñecas y juguetes. Please enjoy the photos below. Thank you oh you wonderful El Garfio for providing the pixels.

Enjoy!

P.S. The MUJAM Museo del Juguete Antiguo México shows continue. Find out more.

Bye for now! We shall see you again soon!

Ensueño Toys of Mexico in the 1970s brought some of the best toys for the WorldMEGO lovers to enjoy for decades. In this video clip of a promotional event starring the great Chavelo with his man-child persona, you will witness MEGO’s 2-XL Robot in Spanish, the MEGO SpiderTrax vehicle for Hombre de Araña and Rodrigo easily answer 2-XL’s question about Fernando Valenzuela. This is a really great moment for those who followed Dodgers baseball 30 years ago.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKAdlVOqQg

The 8-track tape in 2-XL was customized for this promotional event. Listen and you will hear 2-XL call Chavelo by name. And just listen to 2-XL sing! WOW!

The beautiful SpiderTrax shown here belongs to the Super Collector Brian Heiler of Plaidstallions, ForeignMEGO and MEGOMuseum fame. Thanks for allowing us to use these photos, man. Simply gorgeous!

We are back with another important piece of MEGO history from the Ensueño promotional television specials. Elastico Hulk! And for good measure, Elastico Plasticman! Both boxed. Both impossible to find. Both awe-inspiring.

The Superman and Batman Flyaways are certainly worth an important mention too. Man, those kids did really well that day. And as much as we enjoy the Comic Book Superheroes, if someone found boxed Ensueño Korinas and MagnaDoodles, we would do some cartwheels in celebration. So start looking!

Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FdyMxUvrHQ

Everybody has a Mr. Mxyzptlk in a Lili Ledy box, and even though the USA versions of Mxy outnumber the Mexican Mxys by at least a factor of 10, the Ledy is still considered plentiful. Boxes of any other Lili Ledy WGSH character are mind-bogglingly scarce, and some have yet to be found, or may never be found.

So it is with great pride and enthusiasm that we bring you exclusive photos of a never-before-seen Lili Ledy box for the one and only Super Pillo Peleador Acertijo, or Fist Fighting Riddler! On the back of the box flap, you can see the entire line of all six Super Pillos Peleadores. Did we say six? Yes. Six, though nobody has yet unearthed the Guason (Joker). However, this is awesome proof that Lili Ledy fully intended to produce him. The 1977 Lili Ledy catalog with photos of USA MEGOs instead of Ledys shows Joker as part of the lineup (though he does not have a model number, and the other five do). Until now, that one catalog is all we have had as evidence for a Mexican Fist Fighting Joker. So, the myth of Guason grows.

Jesus Magaña, the wonderful and friendly wrestling bounty hunter, is the Toy Collector Supreme who owns this prized piece of Mexican cardboard. Way to go, man! You are envied by everyone who sees this photo.

Just allow that to soak in for a moment. One. Known. Box. And yes, the original owner artfully cut it to make a display. But we’re not complaining. We are beyond happy with what we have to share here. This is MOMENTOUS! HISTORICAL!

Now, can everybody say “Purple Rubbery Accessory Belt?” Very good.

Check out that awesome chin-thwapping art! Con Puños de Pelea! (with Fighting Fists!) If you know the source of the art, drop us a line and we'll credit you for helping us out.

And finally a group shot which demonstrates two things: 1) the Ledy Fist Fighters are an impressive line to collect; and 2) even someone who lives in Mexico finds it really tough to complete an all original set of Super Pillos Peleadores.

I'm sure Mr. Magaña would love some help finishing his set. Send us a message if you can help him. Meanwhile, just stare and dream. And then hunt.

Spotted by toy extraordinaire, Brian Heiler, of PlaidStallions.com fame, here is a comparison of USA Fist Fighter Robin art and Mexico Fist Fighter Green Arrow art:

Comic art and box art genius, “The Toyroom,” made some interesting observations after checking out this page. He wrote: “I find it interesting that Riddler is paired with Halcon, simply because there are only two villains in the lot, if we include Joker (Guason). So were all of the heroes punching Riddler or Joker? Or if Joker was never produced beyond prototype maybe they’re all punching just the Riddler?” Great question! Funny to consider!

Check out these comparisons:

Guason art is fabulous! He has a pet porcupine perched upon his shoulder. Check out the Halcon Batman switcheroo!

We sure do hope to find out what the other four (possibly five) Lili Ledy Fist Fighter boxes featured, since this one has been such a KNOCKOUT discovery.

This television special aired a handful of times and served to promote the Ensueño Muñecas y Juguetes toy lines. (Does anyone do anything close to this nowadays?) Kids would participate by competing in low pressure head-to-head match-ups in how they best use the toys they had a chance to try out. All the winners took home Ensueño toys as prizes. And to top if off, Chavelo hosted the proceedings with his fun-loving brand of celebrity. He was HUUUUGE in Mexico at the time.

While there is a lot to see, from the girl dolls to 2-XL and on to MagnaDoodle and Computerized Vehicles (Batrax, Spidertrax, Corvetto Computerizado), you will likely flip your skull when you check out three Mexican Elastics: Superman, Batman and Plasticman. Two of them are in boxes and one gets a nice stretch from Ileana, who was the big winner in the talking doll competition . . . which, by the way, was really quite funny!

For now, enjoy Christmastime in April. Feliz Navidad!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G5XTMxEOA0

Look at the wall! Boxed Elastic Superman, Batman and Hulk! Did you hear what I said?

Elastic Hulk from Mexico! Of course, there’s also a Flying Batman, too!

And if I ever find those talking dolls that are also on the wall, I’ll make some movies of me playing house.

We flipped when these photos made their way to us. Mexico’s toy historians know how to have a good time and remain active in their field. The Antique Toy Museum of Mexico (El Museo del Juguete Antiguo México) organizes shows and exhibits to feature some of the best heritage toy collections. Last year, Luis Felipe Portillo put on display his monumental Lili Ledy GI Joe collection (Aventureros de Accion) and it always boggles the mind.

Whether inside a Banksy & quirky graffiti’d street art warehouse or outside meandering through the plaza in an open air knick-knack market, there is no doubt that Mexico is the place to be for folks who read this blog. Pack your bags!

If you ever sold me some 80s toys, they might just be right here.

I'd like my coffee table to look like this. . . .more often, that is.

I want some video of people getting this section ready. Holy Wow!

Bansky goes well with Smurfs.

Everything is better with wrestling!

You'll definitely find something for your kitchen wall here.

And that’s all for now. We will get more photographs of all the fun we are not having.

Stay tuned for news about a WorldMEGO pilgrimage to the Golden Land — México.

These bootleg toys really capture the imagination. Their titles are exactly what you’d expect from a knockoff. It’s interesting that the re-casted MEGO heads fit perfectly into the head holes in the windup robots. I’m curious about the original robot design and what the original toy might have been before someone thought to steal a few heads from the Hong Kong factory . . . grab some plastic, some tools and start making toys! Surely seems innocent enough. Just look how they raise their sorta Wondergirl gloved arms with “Whoopee!” in their eyes.

Between the two sets, “Bionic Man” and “Space Visitor,” one might argue there to be a total of six characters. Superman and Batman are easy to spot. Casshan has the white face with black stripe on top and the yellow pointed wraparound boomerang. Groizer X is the one with the red, green and blue face. On the back of the packaging, there are pictures of the remaining two characters that we don’t have yet. The one with the blue nose stripe appears to be Ultraman and the other looks like an early Transformer, though he is probably Marveller from Japanese Spiderman. “GP-7! Spidercar!” But seriously, if you know who they are, please leave us a comment.

(Thanks to http://toyboxdx.com/ for the help!)

Please send along any ideas or theories about how these abominations came into being (don’t worry, we love them). They are wonderful little vintage oddities from the underbelly of the 1970s toy market. And yes, the windup roller motor does indeed work. These guys JAM across the floor!

We had the great opportunity to discuss the old days with some of the original creators of the Mexican toy company, Ensueño Muñecas y Juguetes (Dolls and Toys). They were in direct competition with Lili Ledy, EXIN, Plastimarx and CIPSA for the children’s toy market in the 1970s, and obtained a few licenses from MEGO for distribution of toys in Mexico. Ensueño means “Beautiful Dream” and that passion came through every word we heard from these wonderful people.

After developing the name for their company, and fooling around with the look of the letters, as graphic artists do, the idea of the caterpillar emerged. They were experienced in comic book art and also picked up work with Hanna Barbera to supplement the toy income. The caterpillar was formed by using all lower-case letters and adding some details. In the television commercials, the caterpillar Ensueño logo even comes to life and crawls across the screen.

Of all the boxes for the six different Voladores Articulados (Vuela de Verdad means “They truly fly”), the Superman box we looked at together held a lot of importance. One of the attendees was the box artist and had not seen an example of it since the mid-1980s, when the lucky neighborhood kids received their Ensueño overstock as holiday gifts. It was a stroke of graphic genius to use the box packaging as the telephone booth. That doubled the play value of the toy.

The work involved in making Ensueño Toys a successful business meant that the creators were always making everything. They worked in the design room and on the production line. They filmed, edited, looped, directed, produced and distributed their own television commercials. Kids in the area would star in them. Hair dryers were used to create wind effects. It was a labor of love from start to finish and through pure ingenuity they managed every aspect of the business.

Three sealed Ensueño figures in my arms and standing with a mastermind. What an honor!

With the camera rolling, fresh food and watermelon juice at the ready, we talked about CIPSA Apes, Ensueño Elastics, Lili Ledy Heroes, and all of the USA companies and top executives trying to get into the Mexican market. MEGO, Mattel and Kenner had their hands full with the various lines they pushed through different companies in Mexico. But over and over again, we heard that American businessmen really didn’t stand a chance to make it big down in Mexico without the support and assistance of the locals. We also discussed the impact of NAFTA, and how that brought along the end of their ability to compete and make a living in toys. Eventually, TYCO bought Ensueño and things changed forever.

These Lili Ledy Superheroes are small and you have to make them move by yourself. That was not what kids wanted back then, according to folks at Ensueño. And maybe they were right. Kids today still want big motorized toys.

Resources were often scarce during some of the heavy toy-making seasons, due to shortages from importers. This led to looting by other toy companies. Packaging cardboard was frequently stolen from factories, and that forced creative marketing solutions, such as showroom buying and television game show giveaways. We have an hour long television special hosted and sponsored by Ensueño and it is amazing to see so many boxed Elastic Heroes in one place. It will be available for viewing soon.

Ensueño Muñecas y Juguetes, we love you!

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the post office today. I saw this dude who I recognized from down at the tianguis, and before I could decide if I wanted to say hello, he activated a de-molecular-izing sub-sonic telepathic ray gun. The effects were instant and all I can recall is that my feet left the ground, a passing breeze picked up and then I was home with three boxed Lili Ledy Super Heroes on the shelf.

Robin 750 703

It’s a true story.

So, their gloves have still not been found, but that’s no surprise to anybody who has tried to find them. I’ve seen more capes than gloves in my time. It’s just par for the course with the MEGOs from places that have a history of fewer collector circles than the USA. But you didn’t start your Ledy collection because you were looking for something easy to do. Right?

Batman 750 702

Boxes for the Lili Ledy Heroes are scarcer than their gloves, perhaps. Except for the Mr. Mxyzpltk boxed figure who showed up in a large find within the past 15 years along with CIPSA Planet of the Apes MEGO toys down in good ‘ol Mexico, land of golden muñecas y juguetes.

Superman 750 710

The three boxed figures (Batman, Robin, Superman) pictured above share a fine condition that suggests they have been together for a few decades. They are 100% Original figures and the only non-Mxy Ledy boxes I’ve seen for sale in as long as I’ve collected them. If you would like to share photos of anything that we don’t yet have pictured here, please contact us.

Mr. Mxyzpltk 900 623

The great surprise — the three latest boxes all have the original tienda stickers with numerical markings that our crack team of numerologists is busy working on understanding and placing in context of the great history of Lili Ledy in the 1970s. If you have scans of catalog pages or salesman sheets, or just want to lend your voice to this project, please drop us a line in a comment box or via email or Twitter. Thanks for caring about our quest.

Pictures of stickers available on this website read as follows (x=unreadable number):

• Captain America “63 11 6x” (worn)
• Spiderman “C. 63x 922″ (worn)
• Batman “C. C. 750 702″
• Batman “C. C. xxx xxx” (torn)
• Robin “C. C. 750 703″
• Superman “C. C. 750 710″
• Robin “8xx xxx” (torn)
• Mr. Mxyzpltk “C. C. 900 623″
• Shazam “95 11 06″
• Aquaman “(completely worn)”