Talking Mr. T (1983)

Talking Mr. T (1983)

Another entry in the half-assed attempt to document some of the things from my childhood that I'm now rehoming. Galoob's Talking Mr. T doll was released in the UK in 1983, afaik. I received it for Xmas, along with a bunch of A-Team stuff. It was a good year!

There's not much to say about it beyond that. He stands approx 12" tall. His clothes are fabric. His bling is one piece of moulded plastic. Articulation is basic: arms move at the shoulders; hips and knees have forward and back swing; the head moves left and right, but only so far as the necklaces allow. Both hands / fists have a hole for accessories, which is a well-stocked toolkit in a toolbox that can hang awkwardly over his shoulder. (Ten pieces, inc. the toolbox itself.)

Like the title says, he talks. It's a pull-cord mechanism, fed through a small hole near the back of his left shoulder. Four different phrases play in random order when the cord is pulled:

01. Study hard in school. 02. Always listen to your parents.

03. Murdock you're crazy! 04. I pity the poor fool.

The latter two are A-Team related, so methinks there might've been some licensing payments required there because it's a Mr T doll, not a B.A. Baracas one. The mechanism is mechanical and still works at time of writing. I miss the days when toys didn't need charging from a wall socket.

I know my pics aren't good and the lighting sucks, but it's the best I was able to do under the conditions. It is what it is. the immutable nature of a moment in time and a wintery day with too many clouds. But it's Mr T and is therefore cooler than any Action Man that I've ever seen.

- Squirting action is not a phrase that I want to see associated with Mr T ever again. -