Tim Mee 'Legendary Battle' fantasy figures (2013 reissue)

Last year I was really glad to learn that certain vintage figures from Tim Mee Toys / Processed Plastic were getting the reissue treatment. I first found out that Tim Mee's old sci-fi, Star Wars-inspired Galaxy Laser Team mini figures were being re-released in black and gray. Later in the year, more Tim Mee reissues began to appear, including the Battle Mountain and the Caveman figure set, among others. This year there's been even more old sets brought back, including the six sculpts pictured above--the "Legendary Battle" fantasy figures!

The original figures were produced by Processed Plastic (Tim Mee's parent company) in the mid-1980s. Those figures were reworked from earlier sculpts depicting Marvel Comics characters and were turned into generic fantasy warriors. For example, the Hulk became a club-wielding caveman and Dr. Doom became a snarling sorcerer with a sword. You can see a photo of the old figures on this site (scroll down to the bottom). As the photo on that page shows, they were released in a variety of bright colors.

As with the previous Tim Mee reissues, the 2013 versions of the fantasy figures have come thanks to J Lloyd International Inc. and VictoryBuy, and are made in the USA in a sturdy, hard plastic. They use the same molds and tooling as the originals, but now come in two colors: bright green and gray. They're sold in a 32-piece bag, with 16 figures in each color. You can currently pick them up on Amazon for just under $13 per bag.

When you have the figures in hand, the first thing you notice is that they're larger than most other Tim Mee figures and other mini figures. Each character is around 3 inches tall, so they actually tower figures like MUSCLE and Monster in My Pocket (check out the comparison photo to the right to see what I mean).

Here's a closer look at each of the six Legendary Battlers, shown with the Battle Mountain reissue as a backdrop (it goes great with them!):

The MEDIEVAL VIKING must have been Thor in his previous Marvel character life. I mean, even in his re-tooled form he still looks an awful lot like the Norse god superhero. MV's waving an axe and in a kind of running pose. If I broke the characters into good vs. evil, he'd be one of the good guys, for sure.

The FANGED NEANDERTHAL is just what he sounds like--a caveman with a more beastly twist. As cavemen go, this one's pretty fantastic. You might recognize this figure. The sculpt is used in smaller size in the Tim Mee Cavemen set.

SUPER SORCERER is sort of like a wizard combined with a superhero (which of course makes sense, considering the sculpt began life as a superhero). I'm pretty sure he'd be another character fighting on the side of good in the Legendary Battle.

WINGED TIGER-DEMON is probably my favorite of the set. He'd be one of the bad guys in my fantasy battle. WTD has an excellent man-meets-beast face sculpt and his wings add a really cool touch.

MYSTERIOUS HOODED SAMURAI WARRIOR was obviously re-tooled from a Dr. Doom figure. While he still resembles the Marvel villain, this grouchy-looking fellow was altered enough so that he could serve as a villain of his own in a toy fantasy battle for the ages.

Finally, we have the SKULL-FACED SORCERER. This guy's another one of my favorites, although I can't place exactly why. Maybe it's because his top half (robed necromancer) looks strangely mismatched with his bottom half (bare-legged, booted superhero), which is kinda fun. I don't know, but he's great.

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It was a really unexpected surprise to find out that these fantasy warriors had been given new life. I'd seen the originals pop up online from time to time, but never had any myself, so I'm glad they're back and readily available. I'd love to see them produced in more colors in the future, too.

If you want to stage a Tim Mee Legendary Battle of your own, pick up a set here.