This was brilliant as always. The music and the history makes you feel very nostalgic... 1/18 F-18 and F-16s are untouchable...costing *thousands* of dollars today. It's sad and depressing.
As a kid I remember the Toys R Us my dad would take me to had a whole aisle dedicated to GI Joe, and 21C. I was in awe, especially with the vehicles! On my 7th birthday, I remember my dad surprising me and taking me to Toys R Us and telling me to pick out one of the vehicles that I want. I was torn between the M41 Bulldog, the Tiger 1, and idk if they were 21C or Ultimate Soldier but there was a P51, a Blackhawk helicopter and an Apache. I couldn’t decide and took the M41 because I loved the tanks. I still have the Bulldog tank till this day and love it because it was from my dad
That's incredible, thank you for telling me this story. I'm a bit older and remember my dad buying me the first Nintendo system with fond affection. I don't know that there will ever be a time again like the early 2000s.
That aisle was the best. It doesn't seem like it exists anymore. I had a really cool Russian sniper who came with a Dragunov. It makes me sad they aren't around. I had so many Ultimate Soldier guys, as well as some GI JOE (Hasbro). I don't see those anymore either. I miss 2001.
Excellent video series. As a kid growing up in the 80s GI Joe was foundational along with Star Wars toys. They had the TV cartoon series out so you had to ask for them for Christmas. Then working with a buddy in the early 2000s I got back into military toys by collecting 1/18 first then 1/32 and 21st century was the shiz!!! Incredible detailing and realism. I scooped up all I could from the European wwii and Vietnam War era. Clearance was my middle name when I wasn't buying 2-3 figures per week. Their demise was quite a loss at the time. Thanks for sharing this video
Thank you for sharing! Yeah, everyone I've talked to has explained what a loss it was for 21st to go under. I started collecting in 2009, so I really missed the boat. We have ebay but everything is so expensive now.
You ought to talk to Rex Adams or Marcelo Fuentes. If you want to see some interesting bits, the Adams sold a bunch of their prototypes in the 2010s which a few OSWers got a hold of.
Fantastic work !! Awesome video. I remember Rex Adams posting on OSW back in the day. The 1/6 stuff was amazing, as a 12” Gijoe hadn’t been around in 30 years. I remember being so impressed with the weapons they were making with removable magazines. SWAT “Frank” was my first figure from 21st in Urban Camo. I remember not being thrilled with the first version of their action figure body, they listened to collectors and designed the Super Soldier body. It was a great upgrade, and rugged enough to stand up to a youngster playing with it. Only thing was it was larger and when you purchased carded uniform sets they didn’t fit, with those new long legs. They even designed a 1/6 Blackhawk and someone had the prototype in their shop. It was likely too expensive to produce, but that would have been awesome!!! The pictures I have seen of it, it looks pretty good. That’s action figure Royalty you were talking to there, they restarted it all. If I were rich I would have fronted the money for those gentlemen. Too bad they couldn’t latch on to some wealthy investors with an interest in the product. Everyone always wants such a big return on their investment, I would have just appreciated how cool the product was, and the skills of the craftsman. The challenge of getting it right, and then out to the market. Awesome, I sincerely hope the people behind 21st Century toys know how much their efforts are appreciated. Thanks again
Indeed. They sure were an amazing company. A 1/6 Blackhawk. That would have been something! It would have been over 9 feet long! Thank you for the very interesting comments!
Great video! I’ve recently been recollecting the 1/6 WW II era figures, if one is patient enough you can actually pick some of them up for not much more than they sold in the late 90s early 2000s. For a kid like me that grew up in the 60s and 70s when 12 inch Joes were the norm, it was amazing to see for the most part, authentic clothing and weapons on 12 inch tall figures both allied and axis. I remember the stink that some people threw concerning axis soldiers being available in toy stores, but I sure was happy to see them. Really hoping that the XD line might get picked up again sometime, I had some of the WW II tanks and stupidly sold them lol. Thanks again for a great vid of a company that did such a wonderful job in their time.
Thank you for your reply! Yes, they sure were an amazing company. I didn't know about tge stunk that was raised about axis figure s but that seems typical of the media and others. I loved the newer stuff, I really wish they were still around. I'm often on ebay hunting good deals on these too.
This is some great insight on the toy industry as a whole. Thank you. I also want to comment that GI Joe is a character and a toy, not necessarily a scale model. That's why Hasbro makes some of the decisions they do. I wish we still lived an the environment where we could have both realistic military toy like 21st and a more fantastical military toy like GI Joe in the same store. But it seems those days are gone.
Walmart sux. Glad they got self check out though so we get a 95% employee discount 😂. I gotta ring it up myself and do your job as a cashier?, well this Steak is going from $20 to a .95 cents apple in that case 😉
This was brilliant as always. The music and the history makes you feel very nostalgic...
1/18 F-18 and F-16s are untouchable...costing *thousands* of dollars today.
It's sad and depressing.
Right! I totally agree!
As a kid I remember the Toys R Us my dad would take me to had a whole aisle dedicated to GI Joe, and 21C. I was in awe, especially with the vehicles! On my 7th birthday, I remember my dad surprising me and taking me to Toys R Us and telling me to pick out one of the vehicles that I want. I was torn between the M41 Bulldog, the Tiger 1, and idk if they were 21C or Ultimate Soldier but there was a P51, a Blackhawk helicopter and an Apache. I couldn’t decide and took the M41 because I loved the tanks. I still have the Bulldog tank till this day and love it because it was from my dad
That's incredible, thank you for telling me this story. I'm a bit older and remember my dad buying me the first Nintendo system with fond affection. I don't know that there will ever be a time again like the early 2000s.
@@MysticsModels agreed!!
That aisle was the best. It doesn't seem like it exists anymore. I had a really cool Russian sniper who came with a Dragunov. It makes me sad they aren't around. I had so many Ultimate Soldier guys, as well as some GI JOE (Hasbro). I don't see those anymore either. I miss 2001.
@@MasterOfDarkness42069 it was a great year! We don't have much of v this stuff anymore.
Great video. I grew up in the 70s and longed for more realism and when I first saw 21C I couldn’t believe it. So sad to see them go.
I absolutely agree. They really showed what you could accomplish for 1/18 and 1/32 mass produced toys/models if you really put your mind to it.
Excellent video series. As a kid growing up in the 80s GI Joe was foundational along with Star Wars toys. They had the TV cartoon series out so you had to ask for them for Christmas. Then working with a buddy in the early 2000s I got back into military toys by collecting 1/18 first then 1/32 and 21st century was the shiz!!! Incredible detailing and realism. I scooped up all I could from the European wwii and Vietnam War era. Clearance was my middle name when I wasn't buying 2-3 figures per week. Their demise was quite a loss at the time. Thanks for sharing this video
Thank you for sharing! Yeah, everyone I've talked to has explained what a loss it was for 21st to go under. I started collecting in 2009, so I really missed the boat. We have ebay but everything is so expensive now.
I had so many of these as a kid, I remember after 9/11 the toy store refused to sell me a villains action figure and my mom had to talk them into it
OMG that's incredible! I have a couple videos on the company on my channel if you are interested. A most amazing product line!
You ought to talk to Rex Adams or Marcelo Fuentes. If you want to see some interesting bits, the Adams sold a bunch of their prototypes in the 2010s which a few OSWers got a hold of.
I'll check it out!
Fantastic work !! Awesome video. I remember Rex Adams posting on OSW back in the day. The 1/6 stuff was amazing, as a 12” Gijoe hadn’t been around in 30 years. I remember being so impressed with the weapons they were making with removable magazines. SWAT “Frank” was my first figure from 21st in Urban Camo. I remember not being thrilled with the first version of their action figure body, they listened to collectors and designed the Super Soldier body. It was a great upgrade, and rugged enough to stand up to a youngster playing with it. Only thing was it was larger and when you purchased carded uniform sets they didn’t fit, with those new long legs. They even designed a 1/6 Blackhawk and someone had the prototype in their shop. It was likely too expensive to produce, but that would have been awesome!!! The pictures I have seen of it, it looks pretty good. That’s action figure Royalty you were talking to there, they restarted it all. If I were rich I would have fronted the money for those gentlemen. Too bad they couldn’t latch on to some wealthy investors with an interest in the product. Everyone always wants such a big return on their investment, I would have just appreciated how cool the product was, and the skills of the craftsman. The challenge of getting it right, and then out to the market. Awesome, I sincerely hope the people behind 21st Century toys know how much their efforts are appreciated. Thanks again
Indeed. They sure were an amazing company. A 1/6 Blackhawk. That would have been something! It would have been over 9 feet long! Thank you for the very interesting comments!
Great video! I’ve recently been recollecting the 1/6 WW II era figures, if one is patient enough you can actually pick some of them up for not much more than they sold in the late 90s early 2000s. For a kid like me that grew up in the 60s and 70s when 12 inch Joes were the norm, it was amazing to see for the most part, authentic clothing and weapons on 12 inch tall figures both allied and axis. I remember the stink that some people threw concerning axis soldiers being available in toy stores, but I sure was happy to see them. Really hoping that the XD line might get picked up again sometime, I had some of the WW II tanks and stupidly sold them lol. Thanks again for a great vid of a company that did such a wonderful job in their time.
Thank you for your reply! Yes, they sure were an amazing company. I didn't know about tge stunk that was raised about axis figure s but that seems typical of the media and others. I loved the newer stuff, I really wish they were still around. I'm often on ebay hunting good deals on these too.
This is some great insight on the toy industry as a whole. Thank you. I also want to comment that GI Joe is a character and a toy, not necessarily a scale model. That's why Hasbro makes some of the decisions they do. I wish we still lived an the environment where we could have both realistic military toy like 21st and a more fantastical military toy like GI Joe in the same store. But it seems those days are gone.
I totally agree. I really miss the high quality lines. Thank you for the insights.
21st century was the best I still have a number of 1:32/1:18 aircraft and armored vehicles on display and the boxes as well🇺🇸
@@stanlee9946 Indeed, they sure were amazing!
I have a few vehicles and planes in my collection 😊
Very nice!
pretty sad, as they were pretty much the best.
a bad timing for me, as I never had a chance to buy any piece at all.
good show bro.
I know, neither did I!
Way awesome video
Thank you!
Walmart sux. Glad they got self check out though so we get a 95% employee discount 😂. I gotta ring it up myself and do your job as a cashier?, well this Steak is going from $20 to a .95 cents apple in that case 😉
Omg, totally!