Bart Simpson

Let's pretend I'm on a Simpsons kick. So way back when the Simpsons first started, toys quickly became a reality. Including action figures from Mattel. This was first season stuff, so the figures were limited to the core family and Nelson the bully. (With a garbage can to shove Bart into!)

I was able to get my grandparents to get me a figure, and I chose Bart. He's actually a pretty good figure. More articulation than the Playmates figures, his head is soft hollow plastic and the rest is a nice hard plastic.

Oddly enough, this is one of the few figures I've been able to hold onto since my childhood. Even though I could have lost the figure when I used it as part of a science project display in high school. But I've held onto the figure and his skateboard. I did lose the other accessory. All the figures came with a plastic speech balloon that you could use to hold cardboard dialogue phrases. The speech balloons fit into the top of each figure's head using a peg/hole system.

The TV is actually from the line's playset. You got the TV, or Boob Tube as it was called on the box, and the family's couch from the infamous couch gag. I don't know where my couch is, it's possible I accidentally through it away in high school, but that's the television right there. You  might notice that the TV has pegs sticking out the top of it. That's so you can put one of the figures on top of it and have them ride it like a skateboard. The TV also allows you to swap out the screens, since they're all cardboard pictures. And in case you think the couch was just a couch, it had an ejector seat.

These days the figures can be found online for a reasonable price, depending on what you want. I've seen the Boob Tube & Couch set for under $20. And Homer for under $10. Seriously, consider them before you get the Playmates figures. These are a lot nicer.