AWA With The Faeries...

Eyuggh, what's this all over my hands? Oh... it's just time. Well if I've gotten that on my hands, I guess updating the blog can be justified.

I promised myself this post would involve at least one action-figure. As per usual, selected random as.

It's hard not to deviate - with a spontaneous recent round trip to New Zealand's North and South Islands, back to Queensland, and with ventures into marshland and native parks, it's been a mildly hectic month. Mildly hectic? Whatever.
I'm back in Eversummerland however, so I'll do what I intended in putting up a post on the plastic frontier.

I dig around op-shops from time to time, but I can't help thinking the face of thrift-shop hunting has changed in the last few years. Guess this depends on what you're panning for, but when I see trousers that retail new for $29 going for $60 in the charity store, well I get a little grizzly.

So I was stoked when I saw a pair of little black legs that hail from a better era in toy making poking through the endless rainbow mountain of contaminated toddler toys and McDonalds figures (damn you Kung Fu Panda! yer everywhere).


I'll buy that for halfa dollar

I didn't know who it was until fully exhumed, only had legs to go by... so was pretty happy on revealing the regal head of one half of The Road Warriors. Courtesy of Remco, 1985.
I never intend to cover a whole figure line on here... ever, so if you need more info on AWA Wrestlers click the greatest gosh darn link you're likely to find today -

http://www.action-figures.ca/

Done? Good, I'm proud. To be honest I'm not much for wrestling since, ooh 1992 or so. WWF to be precise. I don't think AWA was even screened in New Zealand, but when WWF hit it was met with fevered enthusiasm by every man-child around. Suddenly Hulk Hogan was every boy's secret father, the Ultimate Warrior was, well THE Ultimate Warrior, school corridors were ringing to the tune of bullies 'clotheslining' dweebs, older brothers were now suplex and DDT machines, and putting a friend into Jake the Snake's Sleeper Hold was simply the new "hello".

WWF trading cards were quickly banned from my school, and children would enter into lengthy negotiations with parents mid-week to ensure they could stay up past 9pm on Saturday to watch the televised destruction.

Originally Hawk here would have come with, like a cloth tunic, booties and a belt (or some such) AWA Wrestlers generally did, but I'm content with my 'nude' version. Seeing as i don't collec' wrestler toys, I'll soon get Hawk sporting a weapon, and once I tack a generic helmet on him he'll make good army fodder for going up against Remco's Conan.
(Remco's fantasy lines and wrestler lines generally share the same body type)

Actually Road Warrior's Hawk here provided more food for thought than I'd anticipated. Specifically, he was a real person. I  stopped to consider it, and basically very few of my action figures are. Steve Irwin, MC Hammer... think that's it.
Hawk, I discovered after a little research, like too many wrestlers, passed over at a young age (46 years). Heart failure in 2003 if memory serves correctly. So y'know, I gotta' respect the guy for jumping around like a psychopathic rockstar maniac. I get a cool figure for his efforts.

Let's face it, pop wrestlers get bagged a little by the bulk of society. They don't always get sufficient credit as athletes or actors, although they maintain a rather precarious balance between the two. Part stunt person, part long-term-health-sacrificing gladiator. Hey, if you look up a little info on our recently departed Macho Man then, uh, musician can be added to the mix of wrestler's talents. C'mon, who else is gonna' release a rap song to honour the death of Mr. Perfect?

So yah, thanks Michael 'Hawk' Hegstrand man, you and Animal did your part to slake the blood-thirst of the masses, meaning we can avoid cruelty to lions and save matchsticks otherwise wasted on 'illuminating' christians.

"They say just be yourself, so, what if you're a copy-cat by nature?" - Rihia2k.