Customer Reviews

Action Figures of the 1980s (A Schiffer Book for Collectors)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is certainly good for reference. However, the author obviously thinks very highly of himself and his humour, which is often childish. He is also convinced that he *knows* what is good and what sucks, and if you disagree, it's because you don't know as much as he does. This may be partly because he grew up in the 70's rather than the 80's, and as such views these toys as a collector rather than as a fan. He also occasionally shows ignorance of the subject matter. For instance, he refers to Sectaurs as Warlords of Symbion, rather then Warriors. He is also unaware of the fact there was a Defenders of the Earth cartoon in the 80's, evidenced by his puzzlement at the very existence of such an action figure line. The frequent typographical errors are also irritating.

This book does have a lot of information and some great photos but it seems lacking. Some toys lines are missing or not completely covered and some have no photos at all. My biggest gripe is the errors in the book... the author is supposed to be some kind of toy expert but he refers to Powermaster Optimus Prime as a "Pretender" and some figures have the wrong name assigned to their picture. All in all, it's not a bad book but not worth the price of it.

I bought this book for a friend of mine and it's a great book for anyone into either toys, or the 80's. (My friend happened to be into both). It lists prices in the eighties, and then a price for today's market (which would be 10 years before today as the book is written in the 90's) Great book, great pictures. And I payed a great price. Can't beat any of that.

John Marshall is THE toy guru, and his expertise shines through in this informative and entertaining guide. This is bound to take anyone who grew up in the 80s back down memory lane.

Action Figures of the 1980s is very well written with alot of detailed information cocerning the toys from the 80s that we all remember and cherish! there are ALOT of colour photos 400+ and they are all very clean and proffesioanl! the idea of a price guide feels somewhat redundant seeing as prices change from day to day and from location to location you may end up paying alot more then what an item is truely worth whith the seller in question thinking that the price he is asking for it is reasonable and refering to an out of date price due to a rerelease or whatever!

All in all it is a good book though it is a shame that there aren't more books in this genre out on the market!