Comments on: LJN Dungeons & Dragons

By: PANACEACREATIONS

PANACEACREATIONS — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:26:10 +0000

Touching base to let you know that I worked for LJN toys and acquired many hard cast prototypes while there. If you are interested in AD&D prototypes some never manufactured such as Valkeer and Pulvreye shield shooter, & first version of Zarak. Feel free to contack me and possibly we can work a deal.
Thanks and by for now

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:17:31 +0000

Oh by the way Zarak is the greatest action figure of all time, everyone should own him, he has just about the coolest look, I mean bright green face with red spots, blue hoodie, black leather with red trim and not to mention short legs which lower his centre of gravity and make him impossible to beat, hail to the king; Zarak!

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:12:15 +0000

AD&D are the best figures ever! I have many of them but still can’t find Mercion but as a female figure I can’t imagine her being prized by little boys. She must be the rarest AD&D figure, a lot like the GIjoe Nurse produced way back, she goes for mega bucks.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 06:04:59 +0000

@Eric LeFeber: Did you know that a European company made PVCs of all the characters from the AD&D animated series? If not, then you really need to do some internet searching for those. I know that Buffalo Road PVCs used to keep some in stock, but haven’t searched them in years (and I mean back in the Toy Fare magazine days!). Good luck and best wishes to you and your son.

By: Eric LeFeber

Eric LeFeber — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:26:33 +0000

Loving watching these again with my son. Now we’re on the hunt for look-alike mini figures. Anyone have any ideas?

By: Cmdrkoenig67

Cmdrkoenig67 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:17:21 +0000

BTW…The LJN toy line came out almost 2 years before the cartoon series started.

By: Samuel Mikuletic-Hicks

Samuel Mikuletic-Hicks — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:00:29 +0000

But now I have the cartoon of Dungeons and Dragons on DVD. Hah! I win in that way at least!

By: Samuel Mikuletic-Hicks

Samuel Mikuletic-Hicks — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 22:59:21 +0000

Let’s see, I had Ogre King, the lil’ Dwarf Elkhorn, the FOrtress of Fangs, and I think I had Grimsword (I seem to have a thing for lizards). TOP quality stuff for us as kids. Now I wish I’da kept ‘em. All of them went down the drain–er, in the trash or sold to a friend across the street who had a job–along with my G. I. Joes, Transformers, Centurions: Power Xtreme. Ah well, I guess its the memories that we keep that last, yes?

By: Cmdrkoenig67

Cmdrkoenig67 — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 05:27:27 +0000

Hey Cantina Dan,

I love these figures and I have most of them still from when I was a kid. To answer you question about the action figure characters who appeared in the D&D cartoon (if you still don’t know)…You were right about Warduke, Strongheart and Kelek…The Young Male Titan made an appearance as a human-sized disguise of Venger’s and Zarak made an appearance in the second season’s title sequence.

By: WhiteVeils

WhiteVeils — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:45:55 +0000

Just a heads up:

Found this page of Modded main characters from the cartoon:

http://www.toyarchive.com/Dungeons&Dragons/CBSCartoon/ActionFigureCustom1.html

And this one…
http://geek-orthodox.blogspot.com/2009/03/dungeons-dragons-animated-series-custom.html

By: Newton Gimmick

Newton Gimmick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:01:37 +0000

I had the Fortress of Fangs playset and it’s easily one of the best playsets EVER made for any line.

By: CantinaDan

CantinaDan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:20:04 +0000

Good peepers! Based on which MOTU figures I had as a kid and the fact that I’m seeing some green stuff in there my guess is its Tri-Klops in the Talon. Yes, Ewok Village is covered by the ad image and that is a Biker Scout on a Speeder Bike on top. In the lower right corner you can see just a piece of Jabba’s dais. Dang, that was quite a year!

By: Lt. Clutch

Lt. Clutch — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:41:43 +0000

I’ve browsed through those ML customs on eBay and they are beautifully done, some real works of love there. But yeah, there’s something special about the classic line itself. I just noticed from your Christmas pic that you received Point Dread the same year as I? Who’s piloting the Talon Fighter? And is that the Ewok Village as well? I can see a Biker Scout hovering over and the ROJ logo peeking out above the LJN toy ad. Great memories, man!

By: H-Balm

H-Balm — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:30:10 +0000

Thanks for the history lesson.

My only experience was on Saturday mornings. I liked the show, but never got into any toys.

Some creative creatures.

By: Cantina-Dan

Cantina-Dan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:01:46 +0000

Well, consider me jealous: out of series 2 I really would love to own Hawkler. And, you’re right, that Cave Fisher wind up is probably the rarest AD&D item known to exist.

The 4H would do a great job with this line although for some reason I’m kind’uv OK with it not being revisited. If you search eBay there are lots of nice custom AD&D characters done Marvel Legends style.

By: Cantina-Dan

Cantina-Dan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:57:32 +0000

Yup, Warduke was one of the characters to appear on the show. I do not own the DVDs yet so other than Strongheart and Kelek (I think) I don’t know if any others had cameos. If anyone knows please post. And yes again: there was a series of PVC mini figures of the cast overseas!
http://www.toyarchive.com/Dungeons&Dragons/DungeonsDragonsPortugalPVC.html

By: Lt. Clutch

Lt. Clutch — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:45:03 +0000

This is one of THE best lines produced in the 80′s – or ever! I remember the animation for the commercials as if it were yesterday. I was never a gamer (I ordered a TSR catalog and it took so long to arrive that my family mailed it from Anaheim to Miami because we had moved by then!) but the figures were outstanding. Finely detailed, with unique weapons and beautiful package art. I never dug the cartoon at all because it had nothing to do with the figures and these guys merited a comic book tie-in like Crystar at the very least.

My cousin collected them and kept trying for me to trade him my Northlord for some crappy cardboard weapons he had made up. I never saw the second series until we moved again (to Chicago) and they were gone from the shelves soon after. Never bought any of the bendies or PVCs. I agree that those toys didn’t fit in with the rest of the line. I did get the Cave Fisher wind-up on clearance back in ’89 or so, but that’s long gone now. (And worth a lot of dough!)

Years later, I managed to obtain most of the figures from both series. I have nearly all of the Battle-Matics including Bowmarc, Grimsword, Deeth, Zorak, Drex, and the elusive Hawkler. Still looking for Peralay and the Battle Masters. Warduke is by far my favorite character. There was a back story written for the guy in the gaming community some time back. The 4H would have a field day reviving this awesome line.

By: chad

chad — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:32:57 +0000

i remeber the line i also had war duke . who was one of those who appeared on the cartoon. and now a days the line is so forgotten and pieces like Tiemat are considered the rarest of the whole line. plus there was rumor that figures of the kids from the cartoon were made as an over seas ship ment. liked the cartoon better.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:32:34 +0000

Great article and pics, Dan! I remember the line, but only ever got Warduke for myself, just because I thought he was such a cool looking figure. And I loved the fact that the sizes were all over the place, definitely an aspect that I came to appreciate as the years went on.

By: xrmc20

xrmc20 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:44:51 +0000

I remember loving that cartoon, but somehow I avoided the toys completely. I don’t remember them at all.

By: kevfett

kevfett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:35:47 +0000

This was one of my favorite toy lines when I was little. The character selection was cool. I loved the weapons and accessories and yes, the Fortress of fangs was the coolest playset…ever. The packaging for he carded characters is very sharp too.

I had half of the second series but I could never find Bowmarc, Hawkler, Deeth or Grimsword.

I agree with Jeff about the odd lack of a current toy line. Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast and D & D 4th Edition seems to sell pretty. Can you imagine how cool a Dragonborn Paladin would be? I’d settle for a D & D line in the same style as Galactic Heroes/Superhero Squad. Make a game of it to introduce younger kids to the concept.

By: JuliusMarx

JuliusMarx — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:51:33 +0000

This really is an under appreciated line. I had most of the first series and I think all of the monsters and steeds… and the Fortress of Fangs. That may have been the BEST playset I eveer owned as a kid. I loved the larger figures and their removable helmets. I don’t have any of them any more I’m sad to say.

By: Jeff Cope

Jeff Cope — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:14:27 +0000

I don’t get why there isn’t a comprehensive D&D line now (3-3/4″, of course).

I mean, Hasbro frikkin’ owns WOTC (makers of the RPG) for cryin’ out loud!

By: Brainlock

Brainlock — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:41:02 +0000

I got Destrier for Xma$, I think.

That’s it, nothing else from this line.
My parents suck.

By: CantinaDan

CantinaDan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:45:25 +0000

You know, as a kid I really liked the separation. I liked that the toy line wasn’t kid-ified to conform to the the cartoon. Not to say that I wouldn’t now like to have figures of Hank the Ranger, Diana the Acrobat, Eric the Cavalier, Shiela the Thief, Bobby the Barbarian (w/Uni), and Presto the Magician! And a 2 pack of Venger and Dungeon Master. (Wasn’t Venger DM’s son?)

By: Elvis8Batman

Elvis8Batman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:26:55 +0000

I had a couple of these figures and agree they were nice, but I was always bugged that they never made the kids from the show. I think if someone were to do a new line for D&D I’d like it to be based on the cartoon this time round.

By: Mario

Mario — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:19:52 +0000

I’m with you, straight up!

I was given my first ones (Bronze Dragon, Strongheart & Nightmare & Warduke) on Christmas day, 1983. Just like you, it turns out, & I consider them to be some of the best action figures ever produced. Certainly the best LJN’s ever made, as far as I’m concerned, & they definitely rank in my personal top ten of ’80′s action figure lines.

I’m glad you brought these up, as they truly deserve to be spotlighted. Good job!