The toys of the ‘80s just hit different. Maybe it’s the nostalgia factor or maybe it was just a simpler time when ideas were still fresh, but The Nacelle Co. is on a mission to revive some of the iconic toy lines and legends from 40 years ago.
Nacelle is big on pop culture history, known for its documentaries such as The Toys That Made Us, The Movies That Made Us, and Disney+’s Behind the Attraction, among others. Now the company is helping bring back some cult-favorites from the ‘80s with the revival of the popular Sectaurs and Robo Force action figures.
We caught up with Nacelle CEO Brian Volk-Weiss at New York Comic Con (NYCC), who recounted the history of how these toys came to be. CBS purchased the Robo Force toy line in the early ‘80s with the intention of creating its own toy company so that it wouldn’t have to license to toy giants like Hasbro and Mattel, according to Volk-Weiss. The launch was massive, with more than three dozen action figures and plans for all sorts of licensed products, from bandaids and bedsheets to clocks and phones. Toys “R” Us and KB Toys were placing some of the biggest orders they’d ever placed, but it all fell into the toilet when Hasbro introduced Transformers toys the very same week.
Now, Nacelle owns the Robo Force copyright, with plans to launch the first two figures in stores before Thanksgiving. Robo Force will be Nacelle’s debut toy line. The original figures were famous for their suction cups that you could stick on windows or refrigerators. Nacelle made sure to keep those recognizable suction cups, but added legs to the characters.
Nacelle is also relaunching the Sectaurs action figures line to make new characters, like Stellaura, using the original molds from the ‘80s. “Sectaurs was an incredible line of toys that combine puppetry and really well-designed figures created by Tim Clarke, a puppeteer for the Jim Henson Co.,” Nacelle Vice President of Content Strategy Rich Mayerik says. “They were doing wildly well in the ‘80s, but they were cut short in their prime.” Now, Nacelle is bringing the figures back using the original molds and tooling, so it’s like an extension of the original line with some minor improvements, such as increased articulation and additional characters that never got made the first time around. (Click here to read more about the Sectaurs resurgence).
Volk-Weiss is also tapping into his previous career working in the stand-up comedy business to create the Legends of Laughter line, announced earlier this year. The action figures will feature comedians Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, and Bill Hicks.
Nacelle is also expanding its documentary books and films with the goal of acting as a pop culture encyclopedia, bringing fans the history of classic IPs that have never been explored in-depth before. On the film front, Nacelle is working on upcoming documentaries about the story of Magic: The Gathering, the history of the Fast & Furious franchise, and a deep-dive showcasing children’s television guru Margaret Loesch — the woman responsible for some iconic TV series of the ‘80s and ‘90s, including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Batman: The Animated Series, Goosebumps, Bobby’s World, Muppet Babies, Animaniacs, and more.
“When I was interviewing [Margaret Loesch], I thought she was full of shit. I was like there’s no way someone could have done all of this and I’ve never heard of her,” Volk-Weiss says. “That’s our whole thing is we try to take things that are famous and in your face, but nobody knows anything about.” That’s what makes an interesting story.
History buffs can also check out the Nacelle Pop Channel that launched on Oct. 4. The channel will air almost all of Nacelle’s documentaries and shows on streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime, Tubi, Roku, Pluto, and more.
Although the time period when a toy or TV series is considered “nostalgic” or “retro” may shift as we all grow older, everyone will always hold an affinity for the toys and fandoms they grew up with.
“I do not believe the world is a great place at the moment, and I would not say that the world was perfect in the ‘80s by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, there actually are many things about 2022 that are better than 1983,” Volk-Weiss says. “But the way human memory works, you forget about these things, and that’s what nostalgia is. It reminds you of who you were when you were 10 years old. And that’s what I think motivates a lot of people to buy these toys because it’s like a talisman or a totem of who you were at that time.”
