Unproduced 12 inch Lion-O Figure

One of the most awesome toy sites on the web, "Super Toy Archive" by Alex Bickmore has lot of pictures and info about many toylines including the ThunderCats. The prototypes of the TCats toys in Alex's collection are no doubt fantastic, however there was one item which I was particularly intrigued by. This is the Head prototype of an "Unproduced 12 inch Lion-O Figure". (http://www.toyarchive.com/Thundercats/Prototypes/LionOProtoHeadSculpt.html)

So far I have never seen or heard about this particular figure. It has never appeared in any catalog or website. In fact there are more pictures and details about the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman than there are about this toy! ;) So my first question is, does anybody here have any info on this particular figure? If so, please share it here with us.

My second question concerns the head prototype itself. The thing about this sculpt that baffles me is the circular base that it is on o_O. I'm no toy expert but I'm pretty sure that any head which is to be part of a figure would NEVER be sculpted on such a base. Such heads are usually sculpted with a neck so that they can be inserted onto the rest of the figure's sculpt. Which makes me wonder if this head was really supposed to be part of a figure or for something else like a pencil topper or a wall light etc.

What are your thoughts?

"Wilycub, post: 103477, member: 25043" said:

One of the most awesome toy sites on the web, "Super Toy Archive" by Alex Bickmore has lot of pictures and info about many toylines including the ThunderCats. The prototypes of the TCats toys in Alex's collection are no doubt fantastic, however there was one item which I was particularly intrigued by. This is the Head prototype of an "Unproduced 12 inch Lion-O Figure". (http://www.toyarchive.com/Thundercats/Prototypes/LionOProtoHeadSculpt.html)

So far I have never seen or heard about this particular figure. It has never appeared in any catalog or website. In fact there are more pictures and details about the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman than there are about this toy! ;) So my first question is, does anybody here have any info on this particular figure? If so, please share it here with us.

My second question concerns the head prototype itself. The thing about this sculpt that baffles me is the circular base that it is on o_O. I'm no toy expert but I'm pretty sure that any head which is to be part of a figure would NEVER be sculpted on such a base. Such heads are usually sculpted with a neck so that they can be inserted onto the rest of the figure's sculpt. Which makes me wonder if this head was really supposed to be part of a figure or for something else like a pencil topper or a wall light etc.

What are your thoughts?

This is pretty intriguing information you've brought up here, Wilycub. A 12" Lion-O figure probably would've been too expensive.

"Wilycub, post: 103477, member: 25043" said:

One of the most awesome toy sites on the web, "Super Toy Archive" by Alex Bickmore has lot of pictures and info about many toylines including the ThunderCats. The prototypes of the TCats toys in Alex's collection are no doubt fantastic, however there was one item which I was particularly intrigued by. This is the Head prototype of an "Unproduced 12 inch Lion-O Figure". (http://www.toyarchive.com/Thundercats/Prototypes/LionOProtoHeadSculpt.html)

So far I have never seen or heard about this particular figure. It has never appeared in any catalog or website. In fact there are more pictures and details about the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman than there are about this toy! ;) So my first question is, does anybody here have any info on this particular figure? If so, please share it here with us.

My second question concerns the head prototype itself. The thing about this sculpt that baffles me is the circular base that it is on o_O. I'm no toy expert but I'm pretty sure that any head which is to be part of a figure would NEVER be sculpted on such a base. Such heads are usually sculpted with a neck so that they can be inserted onto the rest of the figure's sculpt. Which makes me wonder if this head was really supposed to be part of a figure or for something else like a pencil topper or a wall light etc.

What are your thoughts?

I agree the circular base seems odd. Unless they were just finalizing the head before adding the neck.
LJN made 2x large (18" I think) figures in their WWF line. Unlike the regular figure which were solid rubber the had neck, arm and hip articulation. Maybe this Lion-O would have turned out something like them.

Very interesting. A 12" Thundercats line would have been cool but can't see it selling as well. I wonder what if any features and articulation this would have had. Maybe Alex would be willing to answer some of our questions?

I've stared at those pictures many times, still have no idea. As the description states, it is the standard Lion-O sculpt with added materials for new details and thats about it. I have never seen any proof of a planned 12" figure. This could be literally anything: a pitch piece, fan-made, anything. I'll need a little more "official" information on this before buying into this.

"Daremonger, post: 103478, member: 25241" said:

This is pretty intriguing information you've brought up here, Wilycub. A 12" Lion-O figure probably would've been too expensive.

I don't think it would have been expensive. Remember, back in the 80s, these things were toys, made for children to play with. Nowadays, it would have probably been released as a collector's item, to be bought by adults for display purposes only, and would have cost a fortune!. :)

"Mark M, post: 103479, member: 5058" said:

I agree the circular base seems odd. Unless they were just finalizing the head before adding the neck.
LJN made 2x large (18" I think) figures in their WWF line. Unlike the regular figure which were solid rubber the had neck, arm and hip articulation. Maybe this Lion-O would have turned out something like them.

I agree. It is quite possible that this Lion-O figure would have probably been along the lines of the 18" WWF figures. I do believe that even the TMNT line had giant 12" figures of the four main Turtles.

"adssse, post: 103482, member: 25051" said:

Very interesting. A 12" Thundercats line would have been cool but can't see it selling as well. I wonder what if any features and articulation this would have had. Maybe Alex would be willing to answer some of our questions?

It sure would have been cool but I doubt if they would have made a whole line. It would have probably been only Lion-O or maybe Lion-O and Mumm-Ra. I don't think they would have made many 12" figures. Just like they only made the Snarf Plush toy, even though I would have loved to have had a Ma-Mutt Plush toy as well!. :D

"thunderianroyalguard, post: 103483, member: 524" said:

I've stared at those pictures many times, still have no idea. As the description states, it is the standard Lion-O sculpt with added materials for new details and thats about it. I have never seen any proof of a planned 12" figure. This could be literally anything: a pitch piece, fan-made, anything. I'll need a little more "official" information on this before buying into this.

The feeling's mutual, my friend. I'm just as skeptical about this piece as you are. Unless some more information about it pops up in the future, I doubt if we will ever be able to confirm what it was truly made for. :)

"Wilycub, post: 103487, member: 25043" said:

I don't think it would have been expensive. Remember, back in the 80s, these things were toys, made for children to play with. Nowadays, it would have probably been released as a collector's item, to be bought by adults for display purposes only, and would have cost a fortune!. :)

I agree. It is quite possible that this Lion-O figure would have probably been along the lines of the 18" WWF figures. I do believe that even the TMNT line had giant 12" figures of the four main Turtles.

It sure would have been cool but I doubt if they would have made a whole line. It would have probably been only Lion-O or maybe Lion-O and Mumm-Ra. I don't think they would have made many 12" figures. Just like they only made the Snarf Plush toy, even though I would have loved to have had a Ma-Mutt Plush toy as well!. :D

The feeling's mutual, my friend. I'm just as skeptical about this piece as you are. Unless some more information about it pops up in the future, I doubt if we will ever be able to confirm what it was truly made for. :)

Yeah I don't think a 12"+ line would have had any more characters other than Lion-O and Mumm-Ra.
The TMNT line did have giant versions of the 4 turtles. Also of Beebop and Rocksteady. I believe they also made the movie variant as giants. A trend they kept with the 2003 series, 2012 and the new movie.

"Mark M, post: 103488, member: 5058" said:

Yeah I don't think a 12"+ line would have had any more characters other than Lion-O and Mumm-Ra.
The TMNT line did have giant versions of the 4 turtles. Also of Beebop and Rocksteady. I believe they also made the movie variant as giants. A trend they kept with the 2003 series, 2012 and the new movie.

The TMNT toy line is MASSIVE! Started in 1988 it has continued to release and re-release figures, vehicles and playsets almost every year. I'm pretty sure that the line has more Leonardos than the entire ThunderCats LJN line! :)

Is the TMNT toyline the biggest one? Or does that honor go to another line like "Star Wars" maybe? I've always been curious as to which toyline had the biggest total number of figures, vehicles and playsets combined.

"Wilycub, post: 103489, member: 25043" said:

The TMNT toy line is MASSIVE! Started in 1988 it has continued to release and re-release figures, vehicles and playsets almost every year. I'm pretty sure that the line has more Leonardos than the entire ThunderCats LJN line! :)

Is the TMNT toyline the biggest one? Or does that honor go to another line like "Star Wars" maybe? I've always been curious as to which toyline had the biggest total number of figures, vehicles and playsets combined.

Yeah there has been over 30+ different Leonardo figures made and that isn't even counting the larger 12" figures etc. Just variants in the regular size.
I would have to say Star Wars when you consider the vast amounts of figures and vehicles they have made. The endless repaints and repacks. Since 1980 they have made 20 versions of Luke in his Degobagh outfit alone.

"Mark M, post: 103490, member: 5058" said:

Since 1980 they have made 20 versions of Luke in his Degobagh outfit alone.

WOW! :00 I did not know that. Can you imagine what an entire complete collection of every "Star Wars" figure ever produced would look like?

"Wilycub, post: 103491, member: 25043" said:

WOW! :00 I did not know that. Can you imagine what an entire complete collection of every "Star Wars" figure ever produced would look like?

I don't have to imagine it. I have seen my friends humungous collection. They have made so many variants of the characters in their various outfits. They even made a figure of Luke in his sandstorm outfit. I bet your thinking as you read this 'what sandstorm?' The sandstorm was a deleted scene from return of the jedi after the battle with Jabba. But to celebrate this, they made, Luke, Han, Chewie and Lando as they appeared in that scene.
I am really glad that Thundercats never went down that road of having multiple variants of different characters.
Just look at the He-man MOTU 200X toyline. They had about 20 version of He-Man and Skeletor each. When I think of the 200X line I always found it funny how instead of a character people wanted we got Samurai, ninja and Martial art variants which are all pretty much the same thing!
Utterly pointless. Much like the TMNT variants of the mid 90's which saw such highly demanded variants as two series of Universal Monsters, Star Trek, Farmers, Sumos, Olympic athletes, extreme sports, cave men, military, cowboys, superheroes and knights.

"Mark M, post: 103492, member: 5058" said:

I don't have to imagine it. I have seen my friends humungous collection. They have made so many variants of the characters in their various outfits. They even made a figure of Luke in his sandstorm outfit. I bet your thinking as you read this 'what sandstorm?' The sandstorm was a deleted scene from return of the jedi after the battle with Jabba. But to celebrate this, they made, Luke, Han, Chewie and Lando as they appeared in that scene.

It's a good thing you told me because I had no idea about that deleted scene. "Return of the Jedi", despite all its flaws, is my favorite movie in the original trilogy. It has a rather "feel-good" vibe to it and everything gets resolved in the end. :)

"Mark M, post: 103492, member: 5058" said:

I am really glad that Thundercats never went down that road of having multiple variants of different characters.
Just look at the He-man MOTU 200X toyline. They had about 20 version of He-Man and Skeletor each. When I think of the 200X line I always found it funny how instead of a character people wanted we got Samurai, ninja and Martial art variants which are all pretty much the same thing!
Utterly pointless. Much like the TMNT variants of the mid 90's which saw such highly demanded variants as two series of Universal Monsters, Star Trek, Farmers, Sumos, Olympic athletes, extreme sports, cave men, military, cowboys, superheroes and knights.

I'm with you here. Never been a fan of unnecessary variants which are made only to milk the cash cow and have no relation to the original characters. I'm not too familiar with the MOTU 200X line, but the TMNT line had really weird and perplexing variants. The original line had "Disguised Turtles" (with a space cadet Raph?!?!!?), "Sports Turtles", "Rock N' Rollin Turtles", "Military Turtles", "Olympic Games Turtles", "Movie Star Turtles", "Sewer Spittin Turtles", "Wild West Turtles", "Birthday Turtles", "Cave Turtles", "Monster Turtles", "Troll Turtles", "Farmer Turtles" (Are you kiddin me???!?!?!), "Star Trek Turtles" and many many more.

It's like they turned the Turtles into LEGO figures. Any theme they could think of, they would make Turtles dressed up in that style, no matter how silly it may be! I'm pretty sure that there are more TMNT variants than there are LEGO themes.:00

"Wilycub, post: 103494, member: 25043" said:

It's a good thing you told me because I had no idea about that deleted scene. "Return of the Jedi", despite all its flaws, is my favorite movie in the original trilogy. It has a rather "feel-good" vibe to it and everything gets resolved in the end. :)


I'm with you here. Never been a fan of unnecessary variants which are made only to milk the cash cow and have no relation to the original characters. I'm not too familiar with the MOTU 200X line, but the TMNT line had really weird and perplexing variants. The original line had "Disguised Turtles" (with a space cadet Raph?!?!!?), "Sports Turtles", "Rock N' Rollin Turtles", "Military Turtles", "Olympic Games Turtles", "Movie Star Turtles", "Sewer Spittin Turtles", "Wild West Turtles", "Birthday Turtles", "Cave Turtles", "Monster Turtles", "Troll Turtles", "Farmer Turtles" (Are you kiddin me???!?!?!), "Star Trek Turtles" and many many more.

It's like they turned the Turtles into LEGO figures. Any theme they could think of, they would make Turtles dressed up in that style, no matter how silly it may be! I'm pretty sure that there are more TMNT variants than there are LEGO themes.:00

I love Star Wars, the original movies, collected a lot of the figures in the mid 90s. Return of the Jedi is my favourite also. I grew up watching I. It wasn't until 95 when thy re-released the movies on VHS that I seen A New Hope ad Empire Strikes Back.
In farness though to the Turtles, all the first few series did sell extremely well. The cartoon was also still doing good so they kind of had to be inventive and do new things. They did make all the bad guys and even the Channel 6 News team. In a way I suppose they can't keep just the regular versions on the shelf all the time.
I could see by the variants though if they at least appeared in he cartoons if the characters changed costumes etc.

I've seen that pic a bunch of times. I've always wondered if Alex was mistaken, and if that head is supposed to be part of a craft plaster model kit where you paint a bust of Lion-o

"matt, post: 103527, member: 323" said:

I've seen that pic a bunch of times. I've always wondered if Alex was mistaken, and if that head is supposed to be part of a craft plaster model kit where you paint a bust of Lion-o

There was so much Thundercats merchandise produced who knows what this could have been produced for.