Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Suckers!

Sucker Shooter
A group shot from the back of Suckers! packaging

What: I'm always amazed how it's possible to find information online about even the most obscure toy lines, so I'm a bit surprised that there is so little out there on the toys pictured above, called Suckers! The line consisted of rubber monsters and other zany characters sculpted as cylindrical figures with a suction cup on the top of each, as well as a plastic "Sucker Shooter" gun. The idea was that you were supposed to place the 2"-3" figures into the Sucker Shooter and blow into the end of it, shooting out the creatures to stick onto a hard surface. While the construction of the gun does send the figures out with surprising force, I don't recall ever being very successful in getting them to stick--which could help explain why these toys didn't really take off! The figures were sold in various multi-packs and the Sucker Shooter was sold separately along with a couple of starter figures ("Screwie Louie" and "Birdy Billy"). My personal favorite sculp is "Chester Chicken Leg," a truly foul piece of fowl (apologies...). All in all, a fun and unique (albeit short-lived) line of toys. Does anyone else remember these?

When: All of the figures I have are marked 1987.

Where: U.S. (at least). I distinctly remember getting these from Toys R Us as a child. I'm not sure where else they were available.

Who: The bases of the figures are marked with LJN, a defunct company that produced many 1980s lines such as Wrestling Superstars, official E.T. toys, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons action figures and a variety of video games. They are also marked with "Kiscom," a name I'm not familiar with.

2 comments:

  1. Yes, I remember these.I actually still have two of the suckers Hatchet Harry and Chester Chicken Leg.I really enjoyed these as a kid too but they didn't stick very well for me either. I don't have a need to keep these anymore so if anyone is interested they're welcome to have them. Slrimmer1@msn.com

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  2. Yeah man! I´ve got the shooter, Sharkbait Sam and Freaky Franky in my hands! I am seeking for the rest!

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