http://reviews.ebay.com/The-History-of-LJN-apos-s-WWF-Wrestling-Superstars-Part-II_W0QQugidZ10000000002147663The History of LJN's WWF Wrestling Superstars (Part II)
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Guide viewed: 11561 times Tags: WWF | LJN | Wrestling | Action Figures | WWEThank you for giving the second part of my guide to LJN's Wrestling Superstars collection a look. Be sure to take a glance at the first part of the guide, if you have not already. The first part concluded with Series 3, released in 1986. Part II covers the final three series and the fall-out of this great collection.
Attempting to outdo themselves, LJN upped the ante by including 17 figures in their four series. By this time, the company had run through the majority of the WWF’s bigger stars, which meant a lot more secondary stars from this point on. It also meant lower production numbers, which is why many of the figures from the final three series command bigger dollars today.
A pair of tag teams in the form of The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) and The Killer Bees (Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell) found their way into the fourth series, even though they were available in sets, too. From the “Where Are They Now?” files, we have Billy Jack Haynes, Ted Arcidi and Outback Jack. Late superstars like Hercules Hernandez, Adrian Adonis and Miss Elizabeth are also here. Adonis has the distinct honor of being the first LJN figure I purchased, by the way. It should also be noted that Elizabeth is the lone female figure from the line. This series also marked the only one to include figures that came with pets: Jake “The Snake” Roberts with a bendable version of Damien and Koko B. Ware with his sidekick, Frankie.
The variations kept rolling on, with Elizabeth coming in a gold or purple skirt and Mean Gene’s microphone either having the WWF logo or nothing at all on it. The Hart Foundation had three tight color variations: purple, deep purple and hot pink. The Killer Bees could also be found with tan skin or a pale tone.
1988 marked the fifth anniversary of the line, which was commemorated with a pair of all-new Hulk Hogan figures. Although identical in pose, one featured Hogan in all white, while the other had him sporting his classic yellow trunks and red Hulkamania shirt. Both were an upgrade over the all-too-friendly-looking Hogan included in the initial series. Today, these two are rare, with the red shirt variation being substantially tougher to find.
But there were plenty of new faces to be found, too. Demolition Ax, Bam Bam Bigelow, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Rick Martel, The One Man Gang, Ted Dibiase and others all made their debut. There was even a referee included to make sure there was a clean fight. And who could forget the inclusion of Vince McMahon in one of classic hideous suits, looking more muscular than the bulk of the wrestlers in the line?
Aside from the aforementioned Hogan figures, variations in the fifth series were slim. The referee was the most notable, coming in blue and white shirt editions.
As it turned out, the fifth series would be the final one distributed by LJN. The series was losing steam and the rights were sold off to a Canadian company called Grand Toys. The sixth and final series would only be available through mail order. In time, this final collection of figures would come be referred to as the Black Card Series, which referred to the black cards the figures came on, a stark contrast to the blue backers the rest of the line had been shipped on. Six new figures made up this final series: The Ultimate Warrior, Warlord, Big Boss Man, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Andre the Giant (with black strap), and Haku. It was a diverse and unique way to close out the line.
Because of their limited release, all six figures have become among the most highly-desired pieces of the collection. It is quite common to see them go for two or three times their book value on venues like eBay, even if they are not in prime condition.
A seventh series was apparently in the works, but things folded up before anything could ever come of it. For what it’s worth, the figures that were slated to be part of this series included: The Bushwhackers, Brother Love, Bad News Brown, The Barbarian and Demolition Smash.
There was also an LJN-like Sgt. Slaughter produced by Hasbro around this time. Despite not being part of the collection or even made by the same company, its size and resemblance to an LJN figure has allowed it to become a surrogate member of the Wrestling Superstars collection. Because it was a mail-in-only figure, it too fetches quite a bit on the secondary market.
Several figures from the fifth series were re-released on these black cards and hold significant value over their blue counterparts today. In fact, several of the figures from the line have popped up on these cards and the same holds true for their value. Being distributed by a Canadian company, the cards feature bi-lingual text. It’s not uncommon to find other figures on bi-lingual cards that also came on English-only cards. The value isn’t greatly affected by this, although the English-only cards tend to bring in a little more cash. Overall, LJN figures on their original card are in demand, especially if the card and bubble lack any damage, flaws that are quite common with the line.
Several tag team packs were released during the line’s run. All of these figures could be found on single cards, but the tag team packs brought the lure of championship belts and a tag team poster not found in the single releases. Tag team packs like The Hart Foundation, Killer Bees and Strike Force can snag several hundreds of dollars a piece, regardless of box condition.
In addition to this line, LJN also experimented with many off-shoot lines, none of which proved to be nearly as successful as this one. I will cover those lines more in-depth in a future guide.
LJN’s six-year run with this line was certainly impressive and left behind a collection of highly-desirable figures that are still sought after today. I hope this guide has help shed some light on this run; if it has, I would appreciate you indicating so at the bottom of this page. Dozens of LJN figures can be found in my eBay store, so be sure to give those a look. Be on the lookout for future guides, where I plan to delve further into this collection. Likely topics include the best and worst figures from the collection, knowing what’s rare and what isn’t, and as mentioned earlier, the several lines inspired by this one.
