First published by TSR in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons will turn 50 this year. The popular LJN action figures of the ’80s aren’t quite as old, but to celebrate the game’s big golden anniversary, NECA‘s got some action figure goodness in store. The company already released several figures that upgrade the original LJN designs to modern levels; now, they’re going to make variants in vintage toy colors, on retro-style blister cards.
Paladin, Paladin, Where Are You?
Strongheart, the human knight, will be first. Rather than having the more weathered “Ultimate” paint scheme, he’s bright blue and silver, like the original. The cape is a piece of cloth rather than a stitched, wired modern piece of toy engineering, and his weapons are limited to a sword, sheath, and dagger. The packaging is the strong point here, with vintage art that evokes the game and gamebook designs. He’ll also be $5 cheaper than the previous release, at $29.99 rather than $34.99.
Looking at the back of the card, it appears that Warduke, Zarak, and Elkhorn will also get the LJN toy-colors treatment. That leaves the battle even, with a full-sized fighter and smaller warrior on both the good and evil sides. A Fortress of Fangs may be too much to hope for, but NECA’s done some crazy-big items before. As a bonus, since these are in the 7-inch scale, they should play well with Super7’s D&D figures based on the ’80s cartoon series.
Side note: Notice on the back card art, how “good” and “evil” are in scare quotes? It’s all relative, depending on whom you play as and who has the moral high ground. You make an interesting point, D&D.
The more modern, grittier Strongheart is available now. The toy-colors version should arrive in March. Take a look at the official images, and decide if you like him better or just as much.
