American Made Hulk Hogan
Mattel - Ringside Collectibles
Another Hulk Hogan variant made before the scandal that did more damage to Hulkamania than No Holds Barred and McCinsey's Island combined. While the mass-released Mattel figures disappeared from shelves within months, this one survives as an internet exclusive to Ringside Collectibles. It's still available at around $22-24, and its a must-have variant for any wrestling collection.
While the body, pads, necklace and shirt are reused from the Defining Moments figure, you get an all-new paint scheme, bandana, and head sculpt. The American Made paint up is great, but it may not have been enough to get me to buy into this figure. It's the head that really sold it.
It's a really wide-mouthed, crazy-eyed Hogan. You know, the look you'd get after a couple of failed punches into a "Hulking Out" drive. Yeah... right before the finger waggling and point but before winding up to the big boot. It also reminds me of some mugging to the camera moment's in "Suburban Commando." I wonder if Mattel had plans to reuse this head before everything went south?
This figure has no accessories other than the 24-inch pythons. C'mon, Mattel... pretty close to the Defining Moments mold, but you couldn't throw use a spare championship belt? Not even a flag? It's just a plastic stick with a big sticker! How many fractions of a cent could that have cost? Oh well, still a great figure. Maybe the bonus is him being that close to a Rip custom?
As a bonus, I'm throwing in this kid-sized, classic winged-eagle championship belt replica. I believe it was a Target exclusive. A set of gold panels have been left off on the sides due to it's size, but it still looks decent enough on the shelf next to the classic figures. This is one example where the vac-metal finish looks good. If only it were era-accurate with the logo...damn panda bears.
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