HASBRO TRIBES (1990) UNPRODUCED ACTION FIGURE PROTOTYPE LOT.
Bidding has ended for this item.
Thank you for visiting our past auction results. If you have an identical (or similar) to this auction item, please call or contact us to discuss. We look forward to speaking with you.
Winning Bid:
$236.00
(Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Wednesday, March 20, 2024 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Wednesday, March 20, 2024 9:00:00 PM)
Item Description
During the 1980s, a boom of action figure lines exploded onto the market, often bolstered by an accompanying cartoon. Out of this animated assortment a few strong market dominators arose; He-Man and the Masters of the Universe being one of the strongest. Naturally other toy companies racked their collective brains trying to unseat Mattel's golden child, resulting in a vast array of interesting toys that performed to various degrees. One such attempt came during the late 1980s from Hasbro (maker of G.I. Joe and Transformers), an attempt to throw their hat into the realm of fantasy - Tribes.
The brainchild of toy inventors Jose Longoria and Ann Jasperson and Adam Kislevitz (of Kiscom design representatives), Tribes featured a mask-centric theme - with various characters either belonging to the Thunderbear, Firehawk, Wild Cat or the Evil Screaming Skull Tribes. It could be argued that with the primeval fantasy feel of the toyline in addition to the bulging muscles of the designs, Masters of the Universe had more than a passing influence. But by the time the Tribes brand was purchased by Hasbro and put into the early stages of design and development, He-Man's empire was in decline. The toy market had moved onto newer ideas and Hasbro's Tribes display at the 1990 Toy Fair failed to garner the attention needed to move on.
However, the Tribes line had gone as far as tooling prototype figures, animal mounts and an impressive tower playset, all of which were rediscovered in 2016 when Kiscom (now The Obb) sold its New Jersey office space and was in the process of clearing out storage. We are proud to offer these prototypes to the collecting world, offering a glimpse into what might have been.
Lot of four prototype action figure torsos from Hasbro's unproduced Tribes toyline. Torsos included figures' heads molded into torso; two have been removed to examine inner mechanisms of figures. Of the four, three include both arms. Figures are - Spine Tingler, Sky Shadow, Dark Hunter and Gator Driver. Dark Hunter does not feature the separate button of his Tribe's crest on his "Battle Belt." Figures have been cast in a variety of different color plastic and have not been painted. This allows more of the sculpted detail to come through as opposed to the prototypes that were painted for display at Toy Fair (see lots 1289-1304). Sky Shadow and Gator Driver are VG/Fine as they have had heads removed while rest are VF to Exc. Interesting lot showing the design that went into these unproduced figures.
Pictures (click images to zoom in)
Review your bid and press the Confirm Your Bid button below. Important: By confirming your bid, you are agreeing to purchase the item listed below if you are the winning bidder.
You haven't placed any bids.
