While writing about a bunch of these awesome bedrooms from 80s movies I figured at some point, if I want to keep finding new rooms to deconstruct I’d eventually have to branch out into TV series as well. I was actually kind of psyched about this because I remember there being some amazing bedrooms in shows like Silver Spoons and Punky Brewster, and while both of those series do feature neat bedrooms (Rickey has a race car bed and Punky slept in a freaking wheel barrow/carriage) surprisingly there really is little to no actual pop culture junk to dissect. Then the other night the girlfriend and I were watching some old episodes of Who’s the Boss when a bunch of fun stuff caught my eye in Johnathan’s room. Enough that I felt like it warranted a bit more examination, so let’s take a closer look at Johnathan Bower’s awesome bedroom…
As you can see in the screenshot above the majority of the stuff in Johnathan’s room is pretty generic kid’s junk ranging from the super cheapo carnival stuffed animals to over-sized novelty sunglasses. But the Darth Vader Star Wars action figure carrying case caught my eye which is what prompted me to take a closer look at the room, so let’s start there…
1). Kenner Darth Vader Star Wars Collector’s Case from 1980
2). Giant Crayola Crayon Plastic Novelty Coin Bank
3). Imperial Dragons & Daggers Battle Sword from 1983
If ever there was a product in the 80s that I coveted hard core and never managed to procure it was those damn giant crayon banks. At some point I managed to get my hands on a giant Coke bottle bank, but what I really wanted was the crayon bank because they looked so cool. I remember seeing over-sized stuff like this in flicks like The toy, Big, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash and for some reason felt like my life wouldn’t be complete without one. Guess I managed to survive alright though. As for that Imperial Battle Sword, one of the set designers must of loved that line of toys because as you can see in this next shot Johnathan had practically one of every release from that series…
4). Imperial Dragons, Knight & Daggers Sabretooth Serpent from 1983
5). Imperial Dragons, Knight & Daggers Battle Beast from 1983
6). Imperial Dragons & Daggers Fantasy Creatures from 1983
7). Imperial Dragons, Knight & Daggers Rhino Revenger from 1983
From what I can gather on these Imperial fantasy toys, they all came in multiple color combinations, so there were green and orange Sabretooth Serpents with red saddles as well as Purple and blue with gold (or red) saddles, and ever combo in between. Any which way you cut it these were cheaper Masters of the Universe knock-offs that are pretty damn awesome for what they are. Basically they were designed to be interchangeable with the MOTU figures as animal beast accessories that all came advertised with “12 Warrior Weapons” that you could use for your existing Masters figures. Kind of ingenious.
Speaking of Masters of the Universe, the last main thing I wanted to point out in Johnathan’s room is a pretty super rare sought after item….
8). Spectra Star Trap Jaw Kite from 1982
These Spectra Star kites were freaking awesome and featured an almost 5 foot full body version of the character. I love that Johnathan has his hanging on his wall (as it’s what I would do with one if I could get my hands on a cheap one now.) From time to time you see the He-Man and Skeletor kites pop up on ebay, but I’ve never seen a Trap Jaw.
Huge thanks to Liz Vitale from the rad Puppatoons site for identifying a couple more toys! When it comes to stuff like plush dolls and horses, unless they’re Ewoks or 30-30 from Bravestarr I’m pretty clueless, so thanks Liz for adding a bit more info! Here they are…
9). JC Penny Exclusive Breyer Chestnut Stallion from 1982
10). Giant Pink stuffed Snake from Kay Bee Toys
Be sure to check out all the other Awesome 80s Bedrooms I’ve deconstructed…