How many LJNs have you personally opened?

[mesteve]

With the Major Bendies Big Rubber Guys (BRGs) bringing back some new discussions about LJNs, it got me curious if there is anyone here who can say they've opened all the figures in the collection, either individually carded or part of a tag set. How about ALL of them, including the variants?

I'd be surprised if there was anyone who has opened one in the last 5 years or so, given the surge in prices in recent years, unless the package was just torn to shreds. The last one I opened was a Mean Gene I purchased off ebay for a good price about 8 years ago, just so I could experience that "new LJN figure smell" again, which BRGs have come close to, but not quite nailed in my opinion. Crazy, I know.

- That distinct new figure smell
- The plastic spacer pieces that were placed behind some of them
- The oils - yes, some people are unaware that these figures sometimes were very oily fresh out of the package. I remember my Kamala had so much I had to wipe him down before playing with him
- Unrolling the poster for the first time

I had the pleasure of opening almost the whole collection as a kid (thanks to this thing called Layaway, which allowed my Mom to grab the ones I needed and pay for them a little at a time, and of course the Wrestling Ring and Series 6 order forms), but with the caveat that I only ever had as a kid one of each figure. I never had the red shirt SD, red shirt Hogan, Jimmy with hearts on megaphone, Mean Gene with WWF logo on mic, gold skirt Liz, etc., nor did I ever get the Hogan/Hillbilly tag set or the Shiek/Volkoff tag set since I already had those figures. I do remember getting Strike Force, Killer Bees, Bulldogs, and Hart Foundation as tag sets.

I never had any of the referees as a kid, and the only other two figures I never opened personally were Series 1 Andre which my brother picked up for me loose at a local tag sale, and Snuka which I was able to get loose from one of my cousins.

Those were fun times!

[Grumpyoldman]

I only had 1 figure. Roddy Piper. I opened it & he sat on my shelf, but got a weird "sticky" feel to him after a few years. I'm guessing from a non air conditioned house & awful changes in the weather. So I kept him in a bag of baby powder. Then his left hand lost color & turned white. I eventually sold him on 3bay for a lot less than I had hoped.

[Midnight: Dark Knight]

Had a full set of them as a kid (variants too) plus Bendies, thumbs, stretch…opened them all, played with them all. Sold them all plus my lego collection to pay for my wedding. Over the years since then I’ve rebuilt most of the rubber guys set loose, mostly acquired from bulk lots when i was customizing them on a regular basis. Still missing about 5. Hopefully one day i can get the rest as i love the big rubber guys line and have added those and will continue to do so

[mesteve]

Feb 25, 2024 13:50:58 GMT -5 Midnight: Dark Knight said:

Had a full set of them as a kid (variants too) plus Bendies, thumbs, stretch…opened them all, played with them all. Sold them all plus my lego collection to pay for my wedding. Over the years since then I’ve rebuilt most of the rubber guys set loose, mostly acquired from bulk lots when i was customizing them on a regular basis. Still missing about 5. Hopefully one day i can get the rest as i love the big rubber guys line and have added those and will continue to do so

Impressive. Most impressive.

[@Chair.Shot]

Never opened an LJN or similar. Years ago I ordered a custom Andre (loose). I’ve received a handful of beat up LJN’s in various lots as well. The BRG Andre will be the first one that I will have opened brand new.

[PJ]

Back in the day when I had them I opened all of them.

[LaParka]

I had opened most of them. Goth the yellow shirt SD bought the red one later on. Bought what missing from the line loose at decent prices in the 90's. Have pretty much the whole line except the red shirt hogan and the variants but as a kid didn't really pay much attention to that mostly was playing with them.

[BoneCrunchingCustoms]

Just one. Slick. And I regret it every time I think about it.

[newgenandy]

Never an ljn - not actually owned one

But have open a few cool things:

Hasbro winged eagle (the hard plastic with sticker for belt detail) as has this as a kid and got it signed on the strap by bret and nash (as diesel). When I opened the sealed box the sticker was still on the belt but some of the goo / glue / sticky stuff permeated the foil sticker somehow. Guess expected since it wasn’t ment to sit in a box for 30 years snd not sure how it was stored

Opened a bendies owen hart which my daughter used to chew when teething lol

Lots more but they’re prob the most interesting wrestling wise.

[@Chair.Shot]

Feb 26, 2024 7:30:35 GMT -5 newgenandy said:

Never an ljn - not actually owned one

But have open a few cool things:

Hasbro winged eagle (the hard plastic with sticker for belt detail) as has this as a kid and got it signed on the strap by bret and nash (as diesel). When I opened the sealed box the sticker was still on the belt but some of the goo / glue / sticky stuff permeated the foil sticker somehow. Guess expected since it wasn’t ment to sit in a box for 30 years snd not sure how it was stored

Opened a bendies owen hart which my daughter used to chew when teething lol

Lots more but they’re prob the most interesting wrestling wise.

Not to thread-jack but speaking of Hasbro, for Christmas 2018 my wife bought me the last real figure I needed to complete my collection: a MOC 1-2-3 Kid. I waited several months before opening it as I am a loose collector. After seeing it go from $300+ to $1300+ I was kicking myself lol. I would gladly have bought loose and pocketed the extra grand. Though I did manage to sell the card and bubble for over $100 so I guess that’s a silver lining.

[ozz]

Dozens as a kid, none as an adult.

[warriorheart]

Only 4 for me. Christmas 85 I opened Hulk, JYD, Sheik, and Volkoff. I was more of a Remco kid since they mixed well with He-Man figs. Just found them more fun to play with. As an adult I have collected the LJN figs I want now since they display cooler than the Remco figs.

[Zincdust]

I only opened the few that I had at the time: Savage, Steele, Muraco, One Man Gang, and a Bundy bendie.

[darkprophet]

I opened (and still have) the “full” collection, all as a kid when they were new. My most recent was I rebought a carded Studd at a comic convention about 10 years ago. Unfortunately, I had to put it in storage for a short time while packing for a move, and the “climate controlled” storage unit got water damage, ruining the packaging. I was able to open, salvage and keep the mint fig and poster still in good shape, but was sad to open this figure. Got an insurance claim payout, but would have rather kept the MOC figure.

[Prophet of Ash]

in like 93 or 94 I got a Terry Funk inexplicably. I opened him because I was still playing with LJNs sometimes. only LJN I've ever got new or carded

[hbkjason]

I am not sure how readily available the original LJNs were here in the UK and I have never opened one or even held on for that matter!

However, in 90-91, a discount store where I lived in Scotland got a crap ton of LJN Bendies and I got the whole set, plus a knock off American themed wrestling ring to go with them. I had so much fun with those, I had the WrestleMania III VHS and would have countless Steamboat vs Savage and Hogan vs Andre matches. For some reason, Hillbilly Jim was a huge star in my LJN Bendies fed!

[walter7paisley]

Feb 28, 2024 3:27:12 GMT -5 hbkjason said:

I am not sure how readily available the original LJNs were here in the UK and I have never opened one or even held on for that matter!

However, in 90-91, a discount store where I lived in Scotland got a crap ton of LJN Bendies and I got the whole set, plus a knock off American themed wrestling ring to go with them. I had so much fun with those, I had the WrestleMania III VHS and would have countless Steamboat vs Savage and Hogan vs Andre matches. For some reason, Hillbilly Jim was a huge star in my LJN Bendies fed!

My memory isn't the best, but I don't really recall seeing any LJN in shops in the late 80s to very early 90s, but that doesn't mean that they weren't around, I suppose.

My one and only LJN was a hand-me-down Steamboat that I got in 1989/1990 or thereabouts, which I still have, and he's seen some action. I was very much a Hasbro era kid. I don't even really remember any friends having any LJNs as a kid, tbh.

[@Chair.Shot]

Feb 28, 2024 3:27:12 GMT -5 hbkjason said:

I am not sure how readily available the original LJNs were here in the UK and I have never opened one or even held on for that matter!

However, in 90-91, a discount store where I lived in Scotland got a crap ton of LJN Bendies and I got the whole set, plus a knock off American themed wrestling ring to go with them. I had so much fun with those, I had the WrestleMania III VHS and would have countless Steamboat vs Savage and Hogan vs Andre matches. For some reason, Hillbilly Jim was a huge star in my LJN Bendies fed!

You’re a terrible booker. Have any pictures of the ring?

[hbkjason]

Feb 28, 2024 6:34:30 GMT -5 @Chair.Shot said:

Feb 28, 2024 3:27:12 GMT -5 hbkjason said:

I am not sure how readily available the original LJNs were here in the UK and I have never opened one or even held on for that matter!

However, in 90-91, a discount store where I lived in Scotland got a crap ton of LJN Bendies and I got the whole set, plus a knock off American themed wrestling ring to go with them. I had so much fun with those, I had the WrestleMania III VHS and would have countless Steamboat vs Savage and Hogan vs Andre matches. For some reason, Hillbilly Jim was a huge star in my LJN Bendies fed!

You’re a terrible booker. Have any pictures of the ring?

Hey man my federation was a huge success sold out the living room, bedroom and even garden during the warm summer months 😂

I don't have any pics it was a white ring with an American flag kind of design on the skirts/panels. It was used with those He-Man knock off style wrestling figures. Im sure we talked about it on here before and someone posted pics of it or a similar ring.

I just remember the store had the rings stacked on the floor what felt like 20 feet high lol.

[nomorexclusives]

None and probably never will with how hard these are to find carded still. Probably was a lot of fun to do as a kid. Im guessing they had that 80s new toy smell Haha.