40th Anniversary of the LEGO Minifigure

Here, side by side, are two minifigures, 40 years apart! On the right, the very first minifigure, the Policeman, from set #600, made in 1978.  On the left, the "chase figure" from the newest (Series 18) set of Lego Collectible Minifigures, who is based on him!  As you can see, this first minifigure featured a sticker on the body, rather than printing. Happy birthday to the Lego Minifigure!  

Bootleg Gigan Figure (unauthorized, c.1985?)

You have probably seen this at some point in your travels.  It's almost a Gigan figure, but if you look closely, you will see that whoever designed this thing completely  missed the hook hands...and the eyes are wrong.  But, hey, good try.

The yellow figure on the right, I have had for some time.  The one on the left is a brand-new acquisition, and somehow it's an inch shorter than the yellow one.  At one time I had operated under some mis-information and thought that Imperial had made this, around the same time as their 1985 Godzilla (they didn't), but nobody knows who did.

I can tell you that both just say that they were made in China (on the feet), and do NOT have any Imperial logos anywhere.  So, it's basically what collectors call a "Chinasaur," and just an interesting collecting oddity.  At least it gave kids somebody for their Imperial Godzillas to fight!

The list of Godzilla bootleg items is a pretty interesting one, and could be a whole topic in itself.  It's one of those lists that grows on a daily basis, and will never stop being added to!

"Godzilla King of the Monsters!" Poster (Banning Enterprises, 1985)

Without a doubt, the two biggest tidal waves of American Godzilla merchandise from my youth, were:  1978 (to promote the Hanna-Barbera series, etc.) and 1985 (to promote, of course, GODZILLA 1985).  Today's item belongs to that second group.  

What we have here is a lovely 24" x 36" poster, by an artist named Aldrich.  It was produced by Banning Enterprises, and, much like today's posters, came rolled up in a plastic sleeve:

Inside was a flyer that included a surprisingly accurate history of Godzilla.  You really have to give them credit; aside from misspelling "Serizawa," they did a great job:

On the back, an advertisement for THE GODZILLA FAN CLUB, where, for the cost of only $2.50, you would get a button and a year's subscription to THE GODZILLA GAZETTE! It would be interesting to know whatever became of this endeavor...I don't see how $2.50 was enough for a year's worth of newsletters, even back in 1985.

EDIT:  You can see the pinback button here in this post, where it suddenly dawned on me what it was!