Vintage Collectibles: Kenner's 1991 Techno-Punch Terminator Action Figure

 


The Kenner company will forever be associated with Star Wars for most, but also for their Aliens and Terminator 2 toyline. While most Terminator collectibles drop in prices, the (packaged) Kenner figures do seem to hold their price.

Kenner did 3 series' of their Terminator 2 line. The first one must have been designed pretty early as it didn't look that they knew much about the characters other than the surface information. For example, their first T-1000 from series one, does have the motorcycle cop look, but its presented as a conventional, solid machine with hidden transforming weapons. Sure, toys back in the days were never faithful to their source and had pretty whacky variants and additions, but the second series already presented the T-1000 as a liquid metal villain who doesn't have any firepower on his own.

Anyway, the first series, consisting of four figures, brushes just a little but with the outlandishness but is  the closest to representing the characters as they were in the film visually. Well, I'd say tied with the second series which had a liquid, exploding T-1000 and young John on a motorcycle. The first series had some looney features for both the T-1000 and the Power Arm T-800, but for the most part they resembled what was onscreen (the T-1000 with the motorcycle cop look, the T-800 with the bandolier and leather). The other two in the series were the most grounded and closest to the their onscreen counterparts (along with the mentioned John and the T-1000 from the 2nd series) - it was the T-800 in a grey shirt with a shotgun, and a Terminator T-800 endoskeleton, which is my latest addition to the vintage collection. 

While the endoskeleton itself sounds like a simple figure, it is presented with the great 90's whackiness - it isn't even called and endoskeleton, but a "Techno-Punch Terminator with Super Smashing Action!". As oppose to many other figures from Kenner, the endoskeleton, or rather, the Techno-Punch terminator does not have any over the top, action-figurey weapons and is just equipped with a piece of a wreckage that he can smash his opponents with, and with futuristic scope. 

Also, Kenner went a little extra mile here and made the eyes glow under direct light. Must have been a pretty cool feature back in the days. He is the only one in the first series without any cartoon special features, which in an ironic way makes him unique in his series. 

I have always been and still am a big fan of vintage packaging art, and I love the artwork done for this Terminator 2 toyline. Here's an artwork for the Techno-Punch Terminator from the card

While Techno-Punch Terminator might not be the hardest to find from its series (that title goes to the packaged Power Arm), it is one of the most sought after, due to the fact it represents something that is actually in the movie the way it is (save for its scope), and any endoskeleton figures are always popular due to its terrific design 

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