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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1984 (LJN)

For its Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom action figure line, LJN had big plans at the beginning, but only three figures (Mola Ram, Giant Thuggee and Indiana Jones) were released. Two more (Willie Scott and Short Round) were advertised, and even on the card backs themselves, but never actually released.  Another prototype was a Mine Cart accessory that would come with Indy and Shortround, but with new head molds of each figure. LJN did not create any playsets or vehicles for their small line of figures.

For more information about LJN’s Indiana Jones line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): Basic Figures

For their release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom action figures, LJN released only three characters. We got two bad guys, Mola Ram and Giant Thugee, to go along with the man himself, Indiana Jones.

Mola Ram

Market Value:
Carded $250 – $350
Loose $60 – $85

Mola Ram
Accessories: Ceremonial Head Piece, Staff, Dagger
Years Released: 1984
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: Mola Ram was the big bad character from the Temple of Doom. He was the one who was secretly pulling all the strings behind the scenes, and the cause for all the bad stuff happening. Mola Ram comes with a “Battle Matic Action”, which allowed his arm to move when a button on his back is activated. He comes with his ceremonial head piece, staff and dagger.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): Unproduced Figures

LJN Toys only released three figures for their line of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom action figures, but that doesn’t mean that’s all they planned. LJN was also going to release figures of Shortround and Willie Scott, as advertised on every figure’s card back. There was also an Indiana Jones variation called “Mine Cart Indy”, that would’ve come with an actual mine cart accessory. Some prototypes to these figures actually sold on eBay in 2021 for hefty amounts of money.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): Accessories

LJN Toys did not release any Accessories to be used with their small line of action figures in 1984.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): Playsets

LJN Toys did not release any Playsets to be used with their small line of action figures in 1984.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): Vehicles

LJN Toys did not release any vehicles to be used with their small line of action figures in 1984.

If adventure has a name…..it must be Indiana Jones! That was the tagline from the newest Indy film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The movie was released in 1984, and went on to become a smash success by grossing over $333 million worldwide. It was the highest grossing film in the world that year. After Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981, Paramount Pictures knew a sequel was a no-brainer. Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas all returned for the sequel, but the same could not be said for Kenner Toys. After slower than expected sales of their action figure line from 1982-1983, Kenner decided to opt out of their contract in 1984. The fact that Temple of Doom was being advertised as a more “adult themed” movie, probably influenced that decision as well. With the Indiana Jones license available for the taking, a small toy company called LJN swooped in and grabbed it. LJN had been around since 1970, with their big claim to fame being figures based on E.T, Michael Jackson and Dungeons & Dragons. It definitely seemed like an odd choice at the time, but the truth is, there just wasn’t a ton of interest in the Temple of Doom action figure line with the big toy companies.

For its Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom action figure line, LJN had big plans at the beginning, but when it was all said and done, only three figures saw the inside of a retail store. The figures made were Mola Ram, Giant Thuggee Guard, and of course, Indiana Jones. Two more were advertised in the catalogs and even on the card backs themselves, but never actually released. Those two figures were Willie Scott and Shortround. The exact reason for these figures never seeing release is unknown, but prototypes and molds of these two come to surface every now and then on the secondary market. Another prototype was a Mine Cart accessory that would come with Indy and Shortround, but with new head molds of each figure. The figures were designed as 6″ tall, which was certainly not the norm at the time. LJN did not create any playsets or vehicles for their small line of figures.

The packaging for the line of Temple of Doom figures was certainly very attractive and eye catching. It prominently featured a large photo of Indiana Jones as a backdrop across the entire card. The Temple of Doom logo went across the top of the card in big bold red letters. Each character had a beige colored backing behind the figure. The figure itself sat on the right hand side of the card, in a traditional blister pack bubble style, but a larger bubble was used to house the weapons and accessories that came with the figures. The name of each character was on a red sticker at the bottom of each figure bubble. Despite many fails on this line, LJN actually did a great job with the packaging on their Indiana Jones line, and it was definitely memorable.