Your Personal Jakks Holy Grails

[The-Rock]

What were some of your personal Jakks Holy Grails - be it a figure you knew you needed the second you saw a proto for it or on the back of the card, a figure it took you a while to hunt down, or a long felt need in your collection/fed, etc.?

I collected for about 10-11 years so there were quite a few over the years amongst BCA's, TTL's, R3's, and RA's. Grails were a lot more prevalent prior to 2004. Around 2004 online shopping became a lot more legitimate, the WF classifieds were much more prevalent than they'd previously been, and Jakks was producing figures much more steadily and regularly

With BCA's I remember Superstars 9 Christian alluded me for a while. Edge and Christian had just started to blow up in 99-00 and I had an edge but needed a christian. Every time I got excited I found him i stores it turned out to be Gangrel. The attire wasn't accurate for Christian by the end of 99, but as a kid you didn't really care.

TTL's I could go on for days and days about because this is when Jakks really took off. The House of Pain series, Rebellion 1 Benoit, the spring 2001 wave of TTL10/ROTR 3, Rebellion 4 Regal, KOTR Brock, UCF series 1.

RA's were produced pretty widespread and were easy to obtain because of the internet and it's offerings. RA 1 Lesnar was a grail that eluded me but I ultimately just ordered it online. By 2005 I was able to drive and could figure hunt on my own, which also greatly increased the ability to find figures I wanted. I'd say Carlito and Chris Masters (RA 15 and 15.5) were somewhat of grails since we got the protos a long time before they came out in september 2005 and both guys were pretty prominent on Raw. AD 22 Umaga took me a while to get a trade for since I missed it in stores and everyone wanted him since he was one of the top heels in the company. But honestly with RA's Jakks usually released a million of each guy in subsequent months. It did seem like I was constantly having to get a new Batista, HBK, and Edge because they seldom produced one that was perfect head to toe until like 2008.

[Bpatrick]

I was pretty fortunate in finding most I looked for while I collected. I collected from start of BCA and stopped collecting Jakks around the start of Ruthless Aggression.

Main grail I never got as a kid I’ve thought about getting for my collection as an adult is Blue Blazer.

Out of grails obtained, I fondly remember tracking down and getting the first release of the Outlaws, Fully Loaded 2 Shane McMahon and Godfather when they were first release. One that was so exciting to finally find was X-Pac Series 7. Had some fun tracking down many initial releases in the Rulers of the Ring sets too but the BCA stories jumped to mind when opening this thread.

[Scott!]

Without a doubt, my 1/100 collection is the "grails" of my collection. The Undertaker is my favourite figure of all time and it took me so long to get one ... but, as a kid my absolute favourite figure was RA5 Kane. I'll never forget the day my dad took me in to our local toy shop and the guy that ran it was super cool, and he'd always help my dad get me what I was after. I remember in 2001 I really wanted to go as Kane for halloween, I was 8 at the time and I just was in awe of Kane. The look, the music, the mask etc. As a kid seeing that I was totally in love with the whole idea of Wrestling. So my dad and stepmum made me a Kane costume using old joggies that they painted and a vest they painted, but we couldn't get a mask. This was before we had access to a computer. So the guy in the store would go to different toyfairs here, similar to what we all know now, and he managed to get one of those superstar dress up kits with the mask, glove, wristpad etc. I'll never forget that. So to go back to my point, the RA5 Kane was coming out and my dad ordered one from the store. We went in after school and I remember asking the guy did he have one, and he kind of joked and kidded on about being sold out. I was upset, and before we were about to leave he came out from the back store and said "look what I found" and gave me it. I don't think I've ever been happier with any figure, kid or adult, than I was in that moment.

[@brit_figs]

RVD 1/5000.

It's still to this day the only figure I've spent over £50 on shipping over to the UK.

[wolfpac]

I had a lot more holy grails during the TTL days, with RA I almost always found the figure I wanted And like you said with online orders it became a snap

However I remember never finding Rotr1 so I had to buy everyone’s second released figures
It always bothered me how the only taz I had for so long was TTL6

Bubba I got ttl8 and Dvon had me throw down 30$
For the cold day in Dudleyville box set.

Years later I got al snow, ivory and the taz but they were the last TTLs I need to have one of everybody at the time. Never had ror1 dudleys still to this day

I’m also going to put rotr2 Scotty on this list because he was the only rulers figure moving forward I never saw in stores but it wasn’t as bad since they released a ring side chaos a bit later so I had a Scotty pretty quick compared to those damn dudleys

[Nivro™]

Well originally my one of a kind ring gear strike force....yep 1 of a kind, the torso's were never split and had full movement so no cutting or gluing etc....


Right now (because I have few JAKKS left) its my Mr. Fuji hand painted proto. Seeing as I personally was involved with getting Fuji signed, owning the proto is pretty sweet.

[Nivro™]

Apr 30, 2020 18:37:09 GMT -5 @ham said:

Apr 30, 2020 18:16:36 GMT -5 Nivro™ said:

Seeing as I personally was involved with getting Fuji signed, owning the proto is pretty sweet.

Why do I not know this? Why haven't you filled me in? Please tell me all about this.

It was pretty common knowledge here cause I got in super deep craplol. Pretty much Jakks was looking for Fuji to sign him to a deal but couldnt find him. At the time he was working at a movie theater about 35mins from my house. I contacted someone that helped get Sherri Martel signed and he put me in contact with someone at Jakks. They sent me a contract and a couple figures to deliver to Fuji.....now my dumbass comes here and posts the contract in on the boards....whoops, needless to say it was taken down...Then Fuji got signed and his figures were released.

Last year I was in Kentucky and came across a toy store that had acquired a lot of protos from people tat worked at Jakks. One of the protos was a Fuji that I quickly scooped up. Here's a pic of it in the last photo on this post....

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ZZgUtgtn-

[y13]

Any time someone’s first figure was out was usually my grail at the time. I’ll never forget finding the first Kurt Angle figure. It was around that time I got a computer for the first time. I found Ringside and saw all these new protos. My mind was blown. I never saw that figure in stores again so I was lucky. And this is what I assume is the fall so this is when Angle is red hot and about to win the title.

The other one is BCA Kane. Now this is the age of walking into a store and seeing new sets you didn’t know existed (for me). Not sure who I found first in that Slammers set, but I looked at the back of the box, saw Kane and the hunt was on. Eventually found him in a 2 pack with Undertaker that must have came out around the same time.

If we’re talking one that eluded me. KOTR Brock Lesnar. Never saw it once. Never owned it. Hunted like a madman for that one. Just could never find it. That set hit around the holidays so that made it tougher. I would look through all the RVDs and X-Pacs and whoever else was in the wave hoping Brock was there. No luck. As a matter of fact, pretty much any ring gear Lesnar eluded me. When the RA series 1 hit. Couldn’t find that either. Only Brocks I had were street gear. Jakks really didn’t capitalize on Lesnar

[HHH316]

It was probably the ROTR1 set. Al Snow and Edge were always on my TRU shelves, but I could never find Tazz or the Dudleys.

Fast forward a few months, my mom and I are driving cross country and stop at a mall in Nebraska to stretch our legs. They had a KB Toys, and sure enough, had all 3 in stock. I don't think I've ever had a more gratifying pickup in my life.

[The-Rock]

Apr 30, 2020 16:31:19 GMT -5 wolfpac said:

I had a lot more holy grails during the TTL days, with RA I almost always found the figure I wanted And like you said with online orders it became a snap

However I remember never finding Rotr1 so I had to buy everyone’s second released figures
It always bothered me how the only taz I had for so long was TTL6

Bubba I got ttl8 and Dvon had me throw down 30$
For the cold day in Dudleyville box set.

Years later I got al snow, ivory and the taz but they were the last TTLs I need to have one of everybody at the time. Never had ror1 dudleys still to this day

I’m also going to put rotr2 Scotty on this list because he was the only rulers figure moving forward I never saw in stores but it wasn’t as bad since they released a ring side chaos a bit later so I had a Scotty pretty quick compared to those damn dudleys

I actually never found DS 4 or ROTR 1 in full. My KB had everyone but the Hardy's (the only set I needed) and everyone but the dudleys. I picked up Taz and Ivory...a year later I got Al Snow for $2.99 at TRU's big blow out of TTL's in 2001. I remember thinking ugh i must've just missed out on the hardys.

I never got dudley's until the at-release Rebellion 3 variant D'von (which was really a meh figures because no cargo pockets, no elbow joint, and molded t shirt arms...whereas d'von wore sleeveless). A Cold Day in Dudleyville holds a really sad memory in my heart. I had heard about and seen it and needed both dudleys...but TRU boxed sets were $27.99...and my parents said no. So i hopped on the AFR forums and made a deal with someone to send them rebellion 2 Benoit and Jericho (which I would buy at my local target) for the dudleys (but no rock)...almost immediately afterwards I discovered I had been ripped off by a notorious bad trader. This was in the days before they could ban IP addresses and do other things to prevent bad traders. Also you'd just get random AIM messages from people. I eventually got my figures back (opened up) with a TTL 9 HHH (which I already owned) but as a result of it my parents never let me send first again and that prevented me from being able to do a lot of deals until 2004 when I was able to rack of references.

A few months later one of my friends stopped collecting and sold me his TTL 8 bubba ray for like $4. Ironically he also sold me his ROTR 2 Too Cool Figures Which i didn't really want, but liked the accessories

On the subject of Too Cool, I remember begging my dad to take me to Wal-mart to get them and MAYBE the ring gear austin from the No Way Out Series. unfortunately, they only had a GMS left...so I got that. That Scotty Kind of Sucked because he had molded on jacket arms.

Discussing ROTR 2, brings up an interesting issue that happened with the Holiday 2000 release. There were so many new, incredible figures that came out that essentially you had to make tough decisions and ultimately you weren't able to get everyone you wanted/needed. For instance, the DS5 APA were on my Channuka list, but I didn't get them..despite my mom getting me the supremely more difficult to get HOP Undertaker, Rock, HHH and ROTR 2 Rikishi (as well as the rest of the HOP series, DS 5 Edge & Christian, TTL 6 Jeff, and a few others). Too Cool, Steve Blackman, Bossman, and Crash weren't even a priority or of interest for me when you need to make sure you get the main eventers. While incredible, little overwhelming as a kid to get like 10 new figures at once.

[The-Rock]

Apr 30, 2020 19:10:38 GMT -5 y13 said:

Any time someone’s first figure was out was usually my grail at the time. I’ll never forget finding the first Kurt Angle figure. It was around that time I got a computer for the first time. I found Ringside and saw all these new protos. My mind was blown. I never saw that figure in stores again so I was lucky. And this is what I assume is the fall so this is when Angle is red hot and about to win the title.

The other one is BCA Kane. Now this is the age of walking into a store and seeing new sets you didn’t know existed (for me). Not sure who I found first in that Slammers set, but I looked at the back of the box, saw Kane and the hunt was on. Eventually found him in a 2 pack with Undertaker that must have came out around the same time.

If we’re talking one that eluded me. KOTR Brock Lesnar. Never saw it once. Never owned it. Hunted like a madman for that one. Just could never find it. That set hit around the holidays so that made it tougher. I would look through all the RVDs and X-Pacs and whoever else was in the wave hoping Brock was there. No luck. As a matter of fact, pretty much any ring gear Lesnar eluded me. When the RA series 1 hit. Couldn’t find that either. Only Brocks I had were street gear. Jakks really didn’t capitalize on Lesnar

Similar sentiment from me with regard to first time figures, especially of upper middle card and main event guys. I also remember seeing him on RSC (which if they're reading this, your ads in WOW magazine paid off!), and at the time my thought was well he's gonna be like all the others like DS 4, ROTR 1, TTL 3 Jericho (which initially I didn't find, or TRU was holding it for someone and I had to come back to get it), TTL 4 (which I never saw in stores)...and he's gonna be tough to get. But low and behold, I found him at target and scooped him up. I can still remember trying to find my Mom so we could check out. Was that an incredible figure...removable singlet, first TTL IC title belt. I had similar experiences with TTL 6 Big Show & Jeff Hardy, TTL 7 Stephanie, and Rebellion 1 Benoit.

One of the reasons I downsized my collection in 2004/2005 was I wanted to return to that nostalgic feeling of 99-01 where you only had a few figures, one of each guy...maybe 2. They all fit in your ring, you could take them with you places.

I definitely remember the not knowing new sets existed in the BCA/early TTL days. As fun as that was, it was a little overwhelming as a kid because you had to make judgment calls sometimes of "hey they've got HHH 1 here, but I see on the back of this package they make a HHH 2 that I'd rather have...but I don't see it here, don't know when I'll get to come back to ToysRUs, and who knows if I'll ever even find it...and what if then HHH 1 is gone and then I'm HHH-less!?!"

Your Brock story is nearly identical to mine. Except I got to KB the day they put out all the Holiday 2002 stuff on the Tuesday or Wednesday before thanksgiving and Brock and Rhyno were both gone. My consolation prize was r3-5 RVD that I wanted...but honestly really didn't need. I looked high and low for Brock, was on my Hannuaka list...my mom couldn't find him. Same thing again with RA 1...I called the same KB on a whim in early february asking if they had RA 1 since people had found them on the boards...somehow they did...they had Rey but no lesnar. It was BOGO at the time and I needed Rey, Bischoff, and Lesnar. However, Orton had just joined evolution and I was like..eh I better get him...but without Lesnar I was forced to take another figure for free. I contemplated getting a KOTR Jericho or something else but ultimately decided getting another RA was the right move. I went with Chavo over Cena, which ended up being the right move since Cena was the only one they had at TRU like a few weeks later when they had a sale for $5.99. In hindsight, getting that orton turned out to be flash of brilliance because by summer 2003 he was an integral part of Raw and only had that 1, hard to fine figure available. The Survivor Series 03 Orton came out in early 2004, along with various street gear ones that sucked. Ultimately I had to order RA 1 Lesnar in April 2003 from Figure Toy Co. for so much above retail, and my mom was so worried her credit card would get stolen. I learned my lesson with Mattel series 7 Sheamus and just paid the $25 for it from the get-go rather than risk never being able to find it...unfortunately he started getting mass produced and I was done collecting figures within 6 months of that.

But damn did I have fun with those first 4 RA's because they were so much fun and so easy to play with. I just wish I could've had Lesnar in the early goings.

[The-Rock]

Apr 30, 2020 20:47:27 GMT -5 HHH316 said:

It was probably the ROTR1 set. Al Snow and Edge were always on my TRU shelves, but I could never find Tazz or the Dudleys.

Fast forward a few months, my mom and I are driving cross country and stop at a mall in Nebraska to stretch our legs. They had a KB Toys, and sure enough, had all 3 in stock. I don't think I've ever had a more gratifying pickup in my life.

Similar situation with my TRU. That edge was tricky because it was almost identical to that Smackdown Series 2 Edge. Both had on molded coats, and maroon tights. But obviously ROTR 1 was real scan (and actually had an awesome head scan that I don't think was used again until the WM XX Edge).

In an alternative universe of the year 2000, where parts swapping was a lot more main stream like it became with RA's, that Edge would've sold a lot better.

This also reminded me of how friends that collected also kind of had a hodgepodge collection of only 1 of the dudleys, edge, jeff hardy, 2 or 3 of the 4 DX members, etc. You'd have ROTR 1 Taz that your friend really liked, but he'd have TTL 5 Kurt Angle. Etc etc. You'd have kane and a ministry taker, but he had ABA taker. Or you'd have DS 5 E & C, but he'd have the Picture Perfect Boxed set. So you'd combine your Christian with his Edge. I remember being envious of my friend having Too Cool, APA, Dudleys, and the SD! stage...but I had Big Show, Hardys, Taz, X-pac, Edge and Christian, and the real sounds arena. Our negotiations for trades always stalled because he always wanted something I didn't want to give up, and I always wanted something he didn't want to give up...and it became an issue of you can't fill a hole by making another hole.

Nevertheless, it was fun when you got together with friends who collected, you'd finally be able to put together a complete show with the full tag teams and actual roster and all the ring and stage set ups.

[sirpaul]

I’m working on a complete ruthless aggression set talk about a daunting task. Currently my grail is some of the harder to find ones the box great Kali, big show Andre Two pack come to mind. Worst thing is I had those at one time and sold both of them. Oh well

www.youtube.com/kylepeterson1980

[cordless2016]

Apr 30, 2020 19:10:38 GMT -5 y13 said:

Any time someone’s first figure was out was usually my grail at the time. I’ll never forget finding the first Kurt Angle figure. It was around that time I got a computer for the first time. I found Ringside and saw all these new protos. My mind was blown. I never saw that figure in stores again so I was lucky. And this is what I assume is the fall so this is when Angle is red hot and about to win the title.

The other one is BCA Kane. Now this is the age of walking into a store and seeing new sets you didn’t know existed (for me). Not sure who I found first in that Slammers set, but I looked at the back of the box, saw Kane and the hunt was on. Eventually found him in a 2 pack with Undertaker that must have came out around the same time.

If we’re talking one that eluded me. KOTR Brock Lesnar. Never saw it once. Never owned it. Hunted like a madman for that one. Just could never find it. That set hit around the holidays so that made it tougher. I would look through all the RVDs and X-Pacs and whoever else was in the wave hoping Brock was there. No luck. As a matter of fact, pretty much any ring gear Lesnar eluded me. When the RA series 1 hit. Couldn’t find that either. Only Brocks I had were street gear. Jakks really didn’t capitalize on Lesnar

I had the same issue with ring gear Lesnar figures. I was 12 when the first RA set came out and remember searching every weekend with my dad for that RA1 Brock to no avail. We found the RA1 Orton once which I was lucky my dad grabbed and remember it being one of my favorite figures for years (despite the outdated haircut by the time the series hit).

I agree that Jakks dropped the ball with Lesnar figures. I get him leaving abruptly probably killed a lot of upcoming figures but I only ever found street gear Brock figures like you. As a kid it sucked because I’d have everyone else fighting in their ring gear and Brock would always fight in his workout gear.

[shanieomaniac]

HAHA, I remember when that House of Pain set was advertised to have the Stephanie figure. I searched forever for the figure before my silly a$$ figured out it was never made.

Also, holy grail figures, I'd have to say getting my hands on the KOR '01 Kurt Angle figure was pretty cool after two decades. I wanted him when the set came out but couldn't find him anywhere. Then when they made the Mattel KOR Shane figure, I realized I should probably go back and get the Kurt to match. I was happy to find one, and now enjoy posing them beating the tar out of each other.

If I had anything resembling a grail right now it would be the wrestling attire Stacy Keibler figure. I really really need her to make Super Stacy, but I can't find one anywhere, and there's pretty much no way to customize one to the proper height with other women's figure parts.

[brm]

As a kid:

TTL 1 Gangrel
Adrenaline 1 Jeff Hardy
RA 16.5 Viscera
Extreme Superstars 2 Pack Terry Funk
ECW 1 Sandman
ROTR 3 Raven

[Deleted]

As a kid, Rebellion Series 1 Benoit was a big one. I got it after the bowling league one Saturday in early 2001 and was the happiest kid in the world. Still think it's an amazing figure.

But THE definitive grail for me was Famous Scenes 2 Cactus and HHH. At the time, it was going for $50+ on eBay and mom wasn't gonna drop that cash to get it for me and it was sold out on RSC and everywhere else. I had to settle for TTL 4, I think, Mick Foley (and that's not a suitable replacement) until 2017 when I scored the 2-pack MOC for like $28 shipped. I recently opened it due to the bubble yellowing. I love those figures.

Reading these threads makes me wish I still had all my old figures and rings in one piece. Hearing other people talk about the TTL era reminds me of a much simpler, better time in life. I really miss those days.

[👑🇵🇭⭐️]

Figure sized versions of:

UFC Ultimate Ultimate Championship Title Belt (if there was one)
Pride Grand Prix Championship Title Belt

1/100 die cast version of:

UFC Championship Title Belt
Pride Championship Title Belt
TNA Legends / Global / Television / King of the Mountain Championship Title Belt

[y13]

This thread is throwing me down the nostalgia trail. I like reading these stories. Trying to think of others. I saw Rebellion 1 Benoit mentioned and that was another one for me. I think I was at Target every weekend looking for it. I actually remember the first time waking in and seeing all the new sets with that Wrestlemania 17 packaging. I ended up with a street gear Austin and the Hell in a Cell set that wasn’t (no roof). Eventually found it. Nothing beats those figure hunts as a kid and finding what you wanted.

[wolfpac]

Apr 30, 2020 22:37:41 GMT -5 The-Rock said:

Apr 30, 2020 16:31:19 GMT -5 wolfpac said:

I had a lot more holy grails during the TTL days, with RA I almost always found the figure I wanted And like you said with online orders it became a snap

However I remember never finding Rotr1 so I had to buy everyone’s second released figures
It always bothered me how the only taz I had for so long was TTL6

Bubba I got ttl8 and Dvon had me throw down 30$
For the cold day in Dudleyville box set.

Years later I got al snow, ivory and the taz but they were the last TTLs I need to have one of everybody at the time. Never had ror1 dudleys still to this day

I’m also going to put rotr2 Scotty on this list because he was the only rulers figure moving forward I never saw in stores but it wasn’t as bad since they released a ring side chaos a bit later so I had a Scotty pretty quick compared to those damn dudleys

I actually never found DS 4 or ROTR 1 in full. My KB had everyone but the Hardy's (the only set I needed) and everyone but the dudleys. I picked up Taz and Ivory...a year later I got Al Snow for $2.99 at TRU's big blow out of TTL's in 2001. I remember thinking ugh i must've just missed out on the hardys.

I never got dudley's until the at-release Rebellion 3 variant D'von (which was really a meh figures because no cargo pockets, no elbow joint, and molded t shirt arms...whereas d'von wore sleeveless). A Cold Day in Dudleyville holds a really sad memory in my heart. I had heard about and seen it and needed both dudleys...but TRU boxed sets were $27.99...and my parents said no. So i hopped on the AFR forums and made a deal with someone to send them rebellion 2 Benoit and Jericho (which I would buy at my local target) for the dudleys (but no rock)...almost immediately afterwards I discovered I had been ripped off by a notorious bad trader. This was in the days before they could ban IP addresses and do other things to prevent bad traders. Also you'd just get random AIM messages from people. I eventually got my figures back (opened up) with a TTL 9 HHH (which I already owned) but as a result of it my parents never let me send first again and that prevented me from being able to do a lot of deals until 2004 when I was able to rack of references.

A few months later one of my friends stopped collecting and sold me his TTL 8 bubba ray for like $4. Ironically he also sold me his ROTR 2 Too Cool Figures Which i didn't really want, but liked the accessories

On the subject of Too Cool, I remember begging my dad to take me to Wal-mart to get them and MAYBE the ring gear austin from the No Way Out Series. unfortunately, they only had a GMS left...so I got that. That Scotty Kind of Sucked because he had molded on jacket arms.

Discussing ROTR 2, brings up an interesting issue that happened with the Holiday 2000 release. There were so many new, incredible figures that came out that essentially you had to make tough decisions and ultimately you weren't able to get everyone you wanted/needed. For instance, the DS5 APA were on my Channuka list, but I didn't get them..despite my mom getting me the supremely more difficult to get HOP Undertaker, Rock, HHH and ROTR 2 Rikishi (as well as the rest of the HOP series, DS 5 Edge & Christian, TTL 6 Jeff, and a few others). Too Cool, Steve Blackman, Bossman, and Crash weren't even a priority or of interest for me when you need to make sure you get the main eventers. While incredible, little overwhelming as a kid to get like 10 new figures at once.

Mentioning Double slam brings back some great memories I forgot

I went on a family vacation and begged my mom
To go to tru since we couldn’t order summer slam 2000 while on the road as a way to make me happy, and before internet I had no knowledge of future line ups and I stumbled across TTL3 Jericho and DS4 Hardy’s which was absolutely mind blowing. I never saw ds4 again and really didn’t know how rare those Hardy’s were and how lucky I was till i joined AFR. I don’t think I ever found another Jeff or Matt till maybe TTL8 and the signature jams sets so that’s over a year later I think. It would have been such a omission if I never got the Hardy’s that day.

DS5 APA could be another set I really wanted and my friend had them and that always bothered me.
I think one day I bought a big figure lot from eBay for like 50$ that had so many of my wants at the time like apa, picture perfect set, ror2 Scotty (noting I never found it in stores), a few others might go look at my eBay history if I can to see what else was in that lot because for TTLs it was insane

I also never found TTL5 Kurt angle either, but I got TTL7 angle for Christmas and it was a far better figure.