Tex Willer
According to John Bonavita, author of Mego Action Figure Toys, the Mego Corporation in the 1970s maintained offices and established distribution agents throughout Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. In many instances, Mego would receive requests from foreign affiliates to produce exclusive action figures based upon TV, comic books and movie personalities popular in that particular country. The Tex Willer line was derived from a popular Italian comicbook and released by Baravelli, Mego's licensee in Italy. The line debuted in 1974 and consisted of four characters released in colorful solid box packaging: Tex Willer, Kit Willer, Kit Carson and Tiger Jack. Each figure came sealed inside a plastic bag containing accessories such as a hat and rifle. Not enough can be said about their colorful costumes and detailed facial sculpts which help set these figures apart from so many others. The box art, unique for each individual character, is extremely colorful and makes them extremely popular with modern Mego collectors. Mint in box specimens regularly sell for $300 or more, depending upon the condition of the packaging. In addition, heads from the Tex Willer figures are often used to create entirely different characters for other lines. For example, Tex Willer is used to fabricate a custom Bruce Wayne, Kit Willer for a POTA Astronaut, Kit Carson for a Buffalo Bill Cody, and Tiger Jack for a Cochise. |
