Police Academy Hand Cuffs by Kenner

(super high resolution pictures of this and more here)

I think here at Raging Nerdgasm we revel in older toys. There's a certain undeniable charm to them, they come from a day and time in the past where today's political correctness didn't exist and they represent the period in world history. Megatron represented a simpler time where kid's playing with toy guns wasn't demonized the way it is today, 2 foot tall jumbo Shogun Warriors shot missiles and fists hard and quick enough to put an eye out or otherwise seriously injure your siblings and LJN wrestlers were made out of enough petroleum that three to five of them could have filled your gas tank if they'd remained in their crude form. I'm drawn to these toys, not only as a child of the 80s and 90s but as a toy and pop culture historian. Today, while digging through all the treasures in my storage I found something I couldn't pass up talking about.

In 1988, banking on the success at the box office, Warner Brothers had Ruby-Spears productions create a Police Academy cartoon show. The show only lasted a year but they squeezed two seasons out of the thin premise (remember, they were still making Police Academy movies through the 90s) and even a short run comic book series (via Marvel/Star Imprint Comics). The show even had a theme song by then popular "The Fat Boys" and featured them in two episodes if I remember clearly. The real jewel of this cartoon was the toys. Let's face it, the 90s brought us toys based off of R rated properties like Alien, Predator, Robocop and Terminator but Kenner used the cartoon as an excellent segue to introduce kids to the characters made famous by their cinematic counterparts. The series was great, covering every member of Commandant Lasard's team and a good selection of their nefarious no-good-nics they locked up in each episode. The line also had it's share of tie-in accessories so kids could play out the cartoon action in their own living room. Wallet with badge, tear gas cans, policeman's hat with radio but the stand out piece for me was the handcuffs.

(more pictures here)

Growing up I never got the role play pieces of my favorite lines. Just like my explanation from past blogs when I discussed carrying cases, my money was spent acquiring figures and vehicles and playsets. That and also I was big for my age and holding a Sword of Omens looked dumb and carrying around a Proton Pack looked even more silly. It's almost even funnier being a grown man tracking down these pieces I never owned but I can't say I specifically hunted them down, I just pick up what comes my way. I found these Police Academy handcuffs in a dollar bin at a flea market months ago. These are great, giant comically over-sized hands that "lock" into place around whomever's wrists you choose. I can see these being a personal favorite if I had them as a child, I think the ridiculous factor is key in making these just that much cooler than a sword or even another piece of role play from the Police Academy line. Mine, most unfortunately, came without the keys but luckily they aren't a piece necessary to be able to enjoy the handcuffs.