Tonka's Mad Max Inspired Figure Line: Steel Monsters
Vložit
- čas přidán 22. 12. 2021
- Today we look at the time Tonka made their own Mad Max type action figure line called Steel Monsters in 1986 and 1987!
Missed the daily live streams? Check out the best of clips at: / thatjunkmanlive
Get Junkman Merch at www.JunkmanMerch.com
Support over CZcams: / thatjunkman
Patreona at: / thatjunkman
Buy T-shirts and more: www.JunkmanMerch.com
Follow the Junk:
Facebook Group: groups/612381969202986/
Twitter: / itsthatjunkman
Instagram: / thatjunkman
Email the Junk: Junkman@thatjunkman.com - Zábava
I got the half track truck for Christmas one year. Loved that thing! Still have it too. I used it with star wars figures and gi Joe's awesome truck
I had Destroyer and couple of friends had the other vehicles. They were great as Dredknok vehicles for the GI Joe range and we're tough as nails for play. Great to see some love being shown for such a underrated 80’s classic toy line 👍🏻
The Junkman and Steel Monsters, my two favorite things... thanks Santa
It is amazing to me that we never got a Mad Max cartoon and Kenner toy line in the 80s. They made a Rambo, police academy and Robocop carton and toy line. I think Mad Max would have worked even better as the base for both.
It may have been because George Miller was always famously very "anti hollywood" and anti commercialism.
I remember seeing these at K-mart way back in the day. I thought it was actually licensed Mad Max merchandise.
I don't remember these at all... and now I want to back in time to talk to my 7 year old self and tell me to ask for all of these for Christmas... these are pretty badass! I would have used them with my Star Wars and G.I. Joes... I had a blue Tonka Pick-up truck that had an open sunroof and I could fit two G. I. Joe figures in it, one driver and one passenger, and then I'd fill the bed of the truck up with other Joes ready to battle... then crash it into the Ewok Village which it what I used as the Star Wars figures home base... I was gloriously mixing genres and toy lines all the time.
There was a lot of post-apocalyptic stuff during the Eighties: movies, books, comics, board games... There had already been post-apocalyptic movies (e.g. Damnation Alley) before, but Mad Max really made the genre popular. Mad Max fans should check out The Ultimate Warrior (1975) with Yul Brynner. It's basically Mad Max meets Escape from New York. The mercenary played by Brynner is pretty similar to the Road Warrior.
After he made it big, Destro bought up every copy of Steelface so that no one would ever know about his secret adult film career
@That Junkman Definitely, one of the top underappreciated toy lines in history. And I couldn't help but notice that the character ''Metal Face'' was a pastiche of the character "The Humungus" played by (Kjell Nilsson) form (The Road Warrior AKA Mad Max 2). And the character ''Punk'' was a pastiche of the character "Wez". Who was played by legendary Australian character actor (Vernon Wells), also form (The Road Warrior). The other ''Marauder and Survivor'' characters were more or less generic.
We used to ride down our street in the Tonka Dump Truck. We also called My Grandma Tonka because she was indestructible just like the toys. I never knew there was a Mad Max inspired toy line.
I am watching the Mad Max trilogy now for the first time and I had to look for these toys that my brother and I had. We were so young at the time. I wasn’t sure if they were licensed. His son probably has some of them now. Thanks for the video
Remember the 8-10 inch action figure with a blue cowboy hat, tan coveralls and blue sunglasses, called Big Duke from Tonka! He had red hair! Came with a big Jeep! I still have that figure!!
I remember seeing these once at a Sam’s store! I saved up my money for masher and the next time I went they were all gone. So glad you did a video on these. I didn’t remember their name.
YES!
I was wondering if you had made a video for this! :)
I had the half-track Destroyer dump truck with the bald guy. :)
I remember getting it for Christmas in 1989.
I lost the figure as a little kid, but I ordered one a few years ago.
I was reintrduced and really got interested in the line, and watched as many of the commercials I could find on YT.
I have the main badguy, Talon, Halftrak, and a minty Halftrak who's resting comfortably right next to two minty JOES, Lady Jaye and "Hardball" in my ESB case. :)
I still have the tracks and turrets to the truck.
I'd like to get Wheel Boss and Metal Face and that's all I'll get of the figures.
I really want The Bomber, it looks like alot of fun. :)
Thanks so much for the video
Very interesting! I never knew about these.
I was a HUGE "Road Warrior" fan, but I was up in my teens by the time this line came out. If it had came out a few years earlier, I probably would have bought some.
Im really hoping they make a comeback. Hasbro should own the rights to them. To see these figures at 6in scale would be awsome!
Bloody hell, I had some of these ,totally forgot about them until this video,
I had a black and gold Tonka jeep that my action man could fit in, now that was a toy that could handle the abuse ,excellent toy.
I was 8 this toy line came out, how the hell did I miss this one?! .. very cool. as usual great video. Darin.
I had the executioner bomber. Great quality toy. Manual transmission and lot of torque. Solid well built toy.
What a cool line! If I was a kid at the time, I would have loved playing with them.
I found out about these when Mad Max Fury Road came out.I figured someone somewhere made a Mel Gibson Mad Max and his car in 3.75” scale.But surprisingly no..But I did find these..The trucks seem pretty cool!
Cool, thanks for the info. Steel Monsters from Tonka, I didn't know about but Tonka was a good brand. Interesting figures and vehicles.
I remember going to KB Toys at my local mall and seeing these. Probably in 1987. I was looking for any available Star Wars 3.75" product . Wasn't much left, I picked up some Droids and Ewoks line figures and a side gunner ship. Back to the Tonka Steel Monsters, I had wished in later years that I bought the figure packs. They would make cool additions to Jabbas goons.
That's hilarious! I've literally been looking at these on ebay cause I just learned the name. Me and my bro had them and used them with our gijoes.
Love the video jm! Growing up in the 80s I just always assumed these were mad max toys. It wasn’t until a year it so ago I learned they were steel monsters!
I Remember my cousin had some of these, and the Masher truck looks like the vehicle Ernie Hudson drives in the movie "Spacehunter"
Merry Xmas Junkman and whole Junk family
I still have Wheelboss, use him as a Jedi with my Kenner Star Wars figures. I saw all the figures at a 99 cent store back when it came out and passed. Seeing what they go for now though I should have bought them then!!
Man I don't think I ever saw these. How? Don't know. Totally would have gotten some. They look awesome!
Those look fierce merry Christmas
if you're gonna be a pants hero, you might as well be a camo-wearing pants hero.
Oh my God.
I need this!
I remember seeing these in a Pay N Save department store. I'd forgotten they actually had a line of action figures and not just trucks. 1986 had so many toy lines aiming for the same group of kids.
Holy crap, I had that Talon guy! I never knew what he was supposed to be from, he just hung out with my Centurions.
Never see these in the U.K. If I did I would have wanted them. Quality!
You never fail to have interesting stuff junkman!
I remember those, Masher was the coolest. Still wouldn't have traded my Tonka trucks I had in the 70s for them though.
Steel Monsters were great!!! I had a few of them. Plus they made cool dreadnok vehicles. Lol
Metal!
In my own recent research, I've been digging up info on Tonka Play People, which I'm sure this evolved from. The only one I still had was a racer guy I called Sidekick Carl. I found a lady from the line, only she was a third again his size.. I'm still writing a saga of their adventures.
I still have the Tonka crane that was behind that guy in the news story. :)
I have never heard of this toy line before. However, I think those vehicles look great, even today as an adult I want them.
Merry Christmas junkman from Leeds ENNNNNGLANNNND
I had the mud dog truck and I remember that it came with a grey motorcycle. The vehicles were cool because they were made of metal. I would like to have the destroyer half track. I would load it up with dreadnoks
I have Metal Face. Stol him from the store when I was 11. Don't know what happened to it. Decided to buy him from ebay last year and found a figure that had never been played with. Neet Lord Humongous like figure.
I still have the Destroyer truck in my basement sitting on a shelf.
Wanted these so bad as a kid!
Merry Christmas Junkman! 🎄🎅🤶
I had some of these. Completely forgot about them.
Holy crap I remember this. I had the dump truck. Somehow I forgot about it.
I wanted the road paver so bad as a kid!
I would have loved those vehicles. Hmmm curious if they can be found online. Man they look awesome. Well you answered my question lol.
I had no idea these existed let alone Tonka truck
I own all the figures and have all but 3 of the Monsters,( which i think do not exist lol ). But i have 2 versions of the mini pack with the semi truck. the trailer has either slits like a cattle car or just a solid trailer
I don’t remember this toy line at all. It looks well thought out and Tonka was notorious for quality trucks. I am surprised it didn’t make a bigger splash.
I'm thinking that MASK was already released. Transformers was also as they say in full swing.
I remember back in the day seeing these toys at a local Matco in MO, and wanting them sooo bad. Got a solid NO!!!. But It didn't take long before they were off the shelves anyways. It's all just weird flash backs with that store and the toy isle these days....rock creatures and Stomper Trucks lol
These were awesome, I had Destroyer
I've been looking for what these were called since 1988.
I remember this line may have to look for one or too
Believe it or not I had every one of those toys. I went through a massive mad Max phase.... It was the closest thing I could get action figure wise to mad Max..... I went through this post-apocalyptic phase that included steel monsters and Starriors...... Did you ever do a video on those guys (Starriors)?
You are digging deep. Never knew about this line. Were the vehicles electronic? Definitely inspired by Mad Max.
no they were not
At least one of the vehicles had to be electronic, it's shown in the commercial moving forward. "Batteries not included".
I had Wheel Boss and the Enforcer. This was really cool line of toys. Too bad it didn't last long.
You had two switched: Retread was a Marauder and Tygress was a Survivor
The Bomber came with Punk or Metalface.
I only had and I still have the one good guy Wheel Boss figure.
I remember this, but was too old at this point.
The badest of the bad guys in the 80’s all had metal faces….destro,cobra commander metal face, and the guy on the cover of that one quiet riot album
this line was kinda hard to find in the 80s since it was in a separate aisle from the action figures so i would always forget to check for them. i think if they had put it in the same aisle instead of with the hotwheels and other cars then it would have sold better.
I hit my step sister with a metal Tonka truck once. I can't figure out why I wasn't allowed to have Tonka toys anymore
I remember seeing these in K mart thought they were cool, but never had any since I was knee deep in GI JOE Transformers and He Man already.
I remember seeing these toys in store as a kid. I was heavily into GI Joe at the time so I hadn't considered picking these up. I always thought the vehicles were cool though.
I never heard of this line. The vehicles would have been great with any 3.75 line.
I remember seeing them at Lionel Play world...or does anyone remember that store?
Can you show more pics of the semi
Never new what these were just figured it was a Max knockoff. I see Masher alot at toyshows and flee markets but never really remember seeing any of the others. They are cool looking though.
Though those were steel warrior's
Immortan Destro.