Checklist – Thundercats – LJN 80s

Toymaker LJN was responsible for bringing to market the first collection of collectible action figures of the Thundecats. Over 3 years they released a total of 36 figures and numerous vehicles, playsets and accessories based on the animated series.

These figures stood out for being somewhat larger than what the children of that time were used to, surpassing in size the super-popular figures of Masters of the Universe. In its day, the series was quite successful in the United States, Latin America and Europe, and several toy companies in these countries obtained the distribution rights for the figures, using the same molds as LJN.

In this checklist we will review all the pieces that make up this collection of figures.

Series 1 (1985):

Just as the first season of the animated series was released, the first Thundercats action figures hit toy stores around the world. With these first eight figures, children could enjoy four of the series’ main characters, as well as four villains.

Series 2 (1986):

Following the success of both the animated series and the first wave of figures the previous year, LJN released a new wave of figures featuring new characters, as well as a re-release of the figures from the first wave. This year also saw the launch of the “FREE Mumm-Ra” promotion, where buyers of the figures could send proof of purchase to LJN and, in exchange, receive a free Mumm-Ra mummy figure in the mail.

Companions

At this point, LJN decided to release a sub-line of figures within the action figure collection of the Thundercats, this wave was called Companions and contained figures of characters smaller in size than the rest. Many of these characters had been released in figurine form as an accessory in the first wave figures “Series 1“, but with this re-release they were relaunched with much more detailed and articulated sculpts. Also added were 3 robotic bear members of the Berbils tribe, (a sort of copy of the Ewoks from Star Wars).

Berserkers

We continue in the year 1986, LJN decided to release 4 figures of a group called the Berserkers a kind of intergalactic pirates featured in the series. These figures have a bit of controversy, as the sculpts don’t look too much like the characters in the series, plus they are a bit disproportionate, let’s just leave it at that they are not fan-favorite figures. Even so, they are part of the collection.

Series 3 (1987)

1987 was the final year for the Thundercats action figure line; the franchise gradually lost momentum as the series’ viewership declined. Here we come to the final wave of figures; as is often the case, these figures are the most sought-after and highly valued today, since they didn’t sell as well at the time as those from previous waves.

Vehicles, Playsets and Accessories:

Like any self-respecting figure collection, the Thundercats was not only made up of figures, Vehicles, Playsets and accessories were also sold to complete the gaming experience:

There is still more:

In addition to all the figures, playsets, vehicles and accessories, a couple of giant creatures to fight the Thundercats and a couple of somewhat special packs that included figures with accessories.

It’s over, for the moment…

This concludes the checklist of all the pieces in the Thundecats, a wonderful collection that transports us straight back to the 80’s, even though this collection ends here, fans of the franchise were able to continue enjoying more series, comics and action figure collections. Years after the end of the 80’s series (and its collection of figures) more came out, but that’s a topic for another post 😉