Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Mego 70's Kiss Dolls

I was 7 years old when I first found out about KISS in 1974. Their music and image, seriously everything about them just shocked me into the realization that loud, rockin, superhero-esque theatrical entertainment was what I wanted to do with my life as well (and as some of you already know, I did just that, for a while anyway.) But back to the 70's, by the time I was 8 I had all of their available albums, and by the time I was 9, a mass marketed assault of KISS merchandise was flooding stores everywhere, including the hotter than Hell line of KISS dolls produced by MEGO. Unfortunately, these were really hard to come by in my area, and only a few of my friends were even lucky enough to find one or two, but never the entire set. Me? I never found a single one, nor did I ever get one for my birthday or xmas despite endlessly crying for 'em to the parents. Fast forward to 2022, and shout it loud-- thanks to my buddy Greg --I now own at least half of them, and it's a Gene and Paul, no less! Both are loose but in really good condition, the only minor fault seems to be an appropriately heart shaped scuff on Paul's nose, (which I don't think I'll even bother fixing since he's the Starchild Lover anyway.) I freakin' love their hair, and the addition of chains to Gene's chest and Paul's boots is just so rockin' that you can easily ignore some of the other slightly off-model, typically wonky Mego details, because that's the stuff that still makes these dolls some of the most unique KISS collectables ever. Now to find Ace and Peter! Do you have them? Are you looking to sell or trade? Please contact me. And yes, at the end of this post is a picture of me and my two friends dressed as KISS in 5th grade for Halloween. Little, 10 year old me as Paul Stanley wasn't too pleased about trick 'r treating with two Aces, but this was still one of the most monumentally memorable Halloweens of my crazy, rock 'n roller childhood.

9 comments:

Tom said...

The question is, where's the chest hair on the Paul Stanley figure? Talk about off-model!

Doc Briar said...

Those faces are pretty detailed for Mego. Nice find.
Kiss Destroyer was among the first lp's I bought as a teenager. Purchased mostly for the cover art.
I wasn`t able to get the Marvel comic with "Real Kiss Blood!". Anyone have it?

Kid said...

Agghhh! Sacrilege! They're not 'dolls', they're 'action figures'. Dolls are for girls.

Mr. Cavin said...

So cool. And not for nothing, but this Paul figure would look preeeety natural in a pair of roller skates. I always thought that disco jumpsuit was pure-t derby. And speaking of "off-model," I suppose you should probably hit that shiny expanse or torso with a mascara brush, too.

Mr. Karswell said...

As someone who collects both action figures and dolls (and is not ashamed to say so or call them that), these are absolutely dolls. I only wish they had made some for the New York Dolls as well!

I guess I knew there’d be some Paul Stanley chest hair jokes, haha

Mr. Karswell said...

And yes, I have both of the 70’s Kiss comics from Marvel

Kid said...

Dolls have limited articulation, action figures are more posable. But hey, if you want to think of them as dolls, feel free. (But they're action figures 'cos that's what Mego made.) Having said that, given the amount of 'make-up' these figures have on, maybe you're right.

Mr. Karswell said...

I’m not saying I’m right, I’m just saying these seem more “doll like” than action figures to me, in their general size and just overall doll vibe. It’s what we all called them in the 70’s when they first came out, “the KISS dolls.” I call GI Joe’s dolls too for the same reason. It’s not slagging on them to call them that, and I don’t feel the need to argue the technical definitions of “dolls vs action figures”, just like I don’t believe for a second that dolls are just for girls.

Brian Barnes said...

As somebody who has thought about collecting Mego (just to recreate my childhood!) -- and has spent some time searching them out -- those are very nice survivors.