For me, it is the other way around. When most of the popular toys came about, I was already a Dad and by then, wishing that what was available could just, be better.

When I remember having a Marx Batman and Robin, or even the larger red plastic static Spiderman as a kid, my thoughts even then were "If only they could make it so it could move, like the 12 inch GIJOE." That the suits were offered with Captain Action was okay, but it was not as if one could schlep your whole Captain Action and acoutrement everywhere. Backpacks and sling sacks and the like were quite rare.

Then as the '80's came around, I marveled at seeing the wealth of created figures, but the proportions and articulation was just not doing it for me. I just knew there had to be a better way, but they just didn't hit it yet. ARAH Joes were a great leap in the right direction, especially the arm swivel disguised in a rolled up sleeve. But coming from a military family and household, the last thing I wanted was more of that in my home. I wanted the superheroes. I wanted the icons that I thought I would never see, like a Tarzan or a Conan or even the Hanna Barbera fair of personalities.

By the time GIJOE had gone through its incarnations, I was still hoping that they would evolve better, or someone would find a way to really bring out the articulation to where the imaginative play would not be limited by a Frankenstein-like movement, or sacrificing proportion just to nail color or outfit scheme.
I'd say middle run Star Wars hit that for me nicely, with great articulation for most of the comic pack fare, and some of the singles. Then with Marvel Universe, it was a resounding "Woooooot!!!", just to see and own some of the heroes of my youth that I am still into, like Spiderman, Sub Mariner, and the Fantastic Four and such. Sometimes, they would go a bit crazy, such as giving a figure great leg and foot articulation, but have it concealed or stuck in a static robe or clothing piece, like much of Star Wars and even Bridge Direct's Hobbit fare.

So for me, it isn't nostalgia, more than a restlessness of knowing that what was available could be made better in time, or better yet, they are actually making toys of genres and universes that I thought would never see the light of day, such as gaming personalities that weren't the cutesy or popular icon fare. Just living to see the likes of 1:18 Assassin's Creed or Red Faction, or even anything pushed by a movie with character/actor likenesses is fascinating.

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As my tag line used to say. More articulation does not make for more playability.
Arah came out when I was in my mid teens and are my favorite of the 18th scale figures.

I grew up in what IMO was the greatest time period for action figures the 70"s.
So many diverse figure with so many different sizes of figure.
When the Joe's hit the shelves I thought, finally good articulation and the perfect size for large scale battles. They were just detailed enough and just articulated enough.

Yes modern figures are pretty and can be posed in a variety of ways that ARAH never could but I find posing them for active play to be tedious. ARAH were much easier to pose and quicker it made playing with them much more enjoyable.

That being said I'm far to busy to break out the toys set them up and have a glorious battle covering my living and dining rooms. So the ARAH stay in the box while the modern figures get posed and set into mini dios like little bits of art.

For playability make mine ARAH but for sitting on a shelf looking nice, modern figures work better for me.

There's got to be more to it than just nostalgia, though. At least for me. Because I "LASER BLAST" HATE vintage Star Wars now.

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I think that makes a lot of sense.

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Yeah, this. That's what I was trying to get at with my original post. I don't care for original Star Wars figures at all, and in fact, got rid of all of mine. It really does boil down to the expressiveness of the toy.
This: just has no appeal to me where as this: does.

Why? Because that second figure is more emotive (yeah, it's the same block of wood emotion that Mark Hamill had in the movies, but it's still there) and has more character. To stray away from GI Joe and Star Wars, look at the Acid Rain stuff that is super detailed and articulated. It leaves me cold. There are no characters there; there's no personality. There are beautifully crafted little anonymous figures. They're all masked, dehumanizing them even more. There's just nothing there to pull me in.

RAH figures had smirks, scowls, grins, and all sorts of facial designs to give them character and personality. But modern collectors don't want the 'goof expressions', or at least that's what the manufacturers are led to believe. They want a neutral face that works in any setup. Look at all the grief "Screaming Duke" got (admittedly some from me, because I'll admit, he was a bit too animated).

I love the modern figures. Love the added articulation. But I can tell you a lot of the stuff that makes me like them are things that would tick me off as a kid. When I go do photoshoots outside I have to bring a box or ziplock bag for all the figures and accessories. Forget teeny tiny stuff like Storm Shadows throwing darts, I'm talking about hats and pistols and knives. All of those removable things that make the figure cool, get lost so quickly outside. The softer hands are great for not breaking thumbs any more. Seriously, not a single thumb has broken since the 25th line started. But on a hot day I have trouble having a figure hold a knife once I start moving it around. And I'm not even getting into the hit or miss times when the ankle or wrist joints are locked in place right out of the package (has actually only happened to me with Marvel Universe figures).

So when I go on vacation, I usually bring an o-ringed figure with me. I know the backpack won't fall off and the gun will stay in the hand (for the most part). Worst that might happen is the foot peg on the figure stand might break off in the foot. Easy enough fix for that. But I could chalk all this up to me having 30 years worth of experience knowing what an ARAH figure can handle and how hard another one is to track down. Modern figures, on the other hand, might be impossible to find at retail, sky rocket over night on ebay, show up at Ross on clearance to stabilize the secondary market, only to remain in the $20-50 range for a few years until Hasbro releases a more ultimate version for GI Joe 3.

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I 'll only add this to the topic...

There is a subjective line that differentiates a toy action figure that i'd buy because it is "fun" or it's sculpt / color combination / features exude a positive attention grabbing energy and a piece of art masquerading as an action figure that i would not.

There are many modern action figure lines that have wonderful engineering , aesthetics and play value that do not ignite the toy passion that i've had since the age of 4. With that said ...by far today's toys , generally speaking, are far and away superior to 80's toys.

ARAH was just the right mix of the 2 toy eras in that it had enough articulation to reenact most of the scenes from the cartoon or our imagination while not being so perfect that it reduced the toy to art (that you may prefer not to handle roughly or take on a trip for fear of losing parts). Boring art at that.

And i was very much aware of the short comings / imperfections of ARAH figures back in the day but they still had a measure of magic . Case in point - these figures are wacky, fun, and have just enough articulation to be taken seriously as an action figure as opposed to a plastic brick. Corny? Sure...but look at Batman, Freeze, Penguin, Deadshot, Doctor Fate, Wolverine , etc, etc, etc,







Are they all decked out in black with super realistic weapons and a stoic face? No. Do they look like miniature representations of brave men and women that just came back from Afghanistan or Iraq? No. But i'll be damned if Metal Head v2 doesnt look like fun. The Eel has a robotic missile launching SHARK. General Hawk was "LASER BLAST" Buzz Lightyear before Buzz Light Year

So , yes, modern toys are superior in build but lacking quite often in character. These days I buy only modern toys with a classic feel.

I think, like others have said, a large part of it is nostalgia. I prefer Firefly v3 to every toy ever made. It looks cooler, it's more fun, etc...and it is the brightest green humanity has ever seen. I don't even think I could actually argue that he's a better figure than the three pack Retaliation Firefly, but I still think he is, and that's probably because I had him when I was a kid.

Also, due to my nostalgia of when I was born, I look at the thread title and have no idea what you guys are talking about, because the 90s was clearly way more fun for toys. Street Sharks was a better toyline than He-Man to me.

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Kids these days...

That torso and backpack were exactly what I was looking for with my own version of Buzz Lightyear.

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Did your Wild Bill figure try to convince him he wasn't the real General Hawk?