I'm an old fart and I know it. I was a child of the 70's, but with that said I think my generation grew up with some of the greatest toys ever made period. I honestly believe that. I had all the greats growing up, original Kenner Star Wars, Bionic Man, Megos, Marx Johnny West, Colorforms, Lite-Bright, Fisher-Price Adventure People, and Gabriel Lone Ranger which captivated my 70s. Then in the early 80's we had Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Super Powers, Marvel Secret Wars, Thundercats, and more. My generation saw the dawn of them all, but the ones that stole my imagination were the 1970's Adventure Team GI Joes. Flocked HAIR!!, KUNG-FU GRIP!!, cases of gear, equipment, and enough vehicles to choke a horse!!! It was pure toy nirvana. Since I wasn't born until 1970, I never had a clue Joe once came to us with painted hair, clean shaven, and hands frozen in arthritic poses. No Sir, my Joes came to me bearded burly and brawn with hands that could grab anything including a rather harrowing episode where my Adventurer got a hold of my sisters hair in "The Adventure of the Long Road Trip".....it was close....but Joe and I got out alive minus a few tuffs of my sister's hair and few swats on my 7 year old behind. So, why the trip down memory lane?
For those that know me know I make toys through Marshall Made Collectibles. I specialize in 1/6 scale figures mostly. I don't consider myself an artist though I've been told I am....to me I'm a guy who makes toys. I should have been born at the North Pole because I'm pretty sure I'm an elf trapped in a man's body. I've been pretty successful but almost all my creations have been for other people. So this year I finished up everything I had outstanding for clients so I could do a personal love letter to my younger self.
Enter The BRiTS! When I heard Hasbro was done with their 12" figure line and only the club would be offering up Joe items from now on....I felt a strange sadness. The BRiTS is a brain child I had to bring back my beloved figures of my childhood. It was the end of an era, and the chances of seeing the pieces in the vein I grew up with were slim to none. So, I wanted to make my own flocked 12" figure on a classic Joe type body with gear and accessories to rival what I had as a kid.
I reached out to a friend of mine, Lyle Kozak (who does flocking), and together with my idea The BRiTS were born. Since this was a collaboration I didn't want to set this ship a sail on my MMC banner so we came up with MarZak Toyz. Our first two offerings are 'Oswald the Egyptian Explorer' and 'Nigel the Jungle Explorer'. Each figure comes with a hand cast resin head - hand painted and custom flocked (Oswald has red hair while Nigel has black hair) on a vintage type GI Joe body, with Jolly Good Grip Hands (hey we couldn't forget a nod to KUNG FU Grip) and each figure will be fully deck out in their respective Explorer Gear, a Baker Rifle, as well as a hand numbered COA. All in a handsome custom coffin type box with original artwork reminiscent of the Adventure Team look and style. The BRiTS are sold as sets of 2 for $225 plus shipping. We are only doing a limited number of these first sets to see where the interest lies.
To be completely honest, we are doing these figures for ourselves and hope there are others out there just like us that feel the same way. Other characters are planned including the White Haired leader of the group, Reginald. Depending on the feedback, we have outfit sets, playsets, and more figures planned, but that totally depends on how well these initial pieces do.
So, if you remember a time when you could explore the furthest reaches of the whole world, uncovering massive treasures, or fighting monsters of myth and legends...all without leaving your backyard....then The BRiTS are here for you too. If interested we are now taking Pre-Orders. Figure set will ship in 6-8 weeks. Why so long? Because we are not Hasbro, we are just a couple of bros custom making these to order. Please email me at: MarshallMadeCollectibles@gmail.com
Thank you and Take Care ~
Jase Marshall
Jase is a Customizer, Reviewer, Fabricator, Toy Broker who has been running Marshall Made Collectibles (MMC) out of the foothills of NC for close to two decades.