Love Boat

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Love Boat – 1981

Mego’s Love Boat toy line from 1981 was definitely a bit of a head scratcher when it comes to action figure lines. The Love Boat had a very successful 9 year run on ABC, so merchandising items for the show was never in question, but Mego releasing a 3.75 inch action figure line was a surprise since action figures typically catered to the young boy market at that time. The Love Boat line included six figures and a Love Boat Ship playset. This line was short lived and the figures can be easily found on the secondary market. The ship playset is another matter, as it is considered rare and does not come up for sale often. 

For more information about Mego’s Love Boat line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Love Boat (1981): Basic Action Figures

There were six figures in total for Mego’s Love Boat line in 1981, with all being dedicated the crew the famous cruise ship. Included were Captain Stubbing, Doc Bricker, Gopher, Isaac, Julie and Vicki. I can’t help but think how cool it would’ve been to release a 2nd wave of guest star passengers.

Captain Stubbing

Market Value:
Carded $50 – $75
Loose $15 – $25

Captain Stubbing
Accessories: Hat
Years Released: 1981
Difficulty To Find: Less Common – Appears often but some hunting needed
Notes: Captain Merrill Stubbing was the top dog aboard the Love Boat and was portrayed by Gavin McLeod on the show. He comes with his officer’s cap. The likeness on this figure is actually not bad with some solid sculpting.

“Doc” Bricker

Market Value:
Carded $60 – $85
Loose $15 – $25

“Doc” Bricker
Accessories: Hat
Years Released: 1981
Difficulty To Find: Less Common – Appears often but some hunting needed
Notes: Dr. “Doc” Adam Bricker was the ship’s chief medical officer and portrayed by Bernie Kopell on the show. Doc comes with his officer’s cap and no other accessories. It wouldn’t have hurt to have him carry some sort of medical bag as an additional accessory.

Gopher

Market Value:
Carded $50 – $75
Loose $15 – $25

Gopher
Accessories: Hat
Years Released: 1981
Difficulty To Find: Less Common – Appears often but some hunting needed
Notes: Burl “Gopher” Smith was the ship’s Purser and portrayed by Fred Gandy on the show. In case you were wondering what a Purser is, it’s just a nautical word for Steward. Gopher comes with his officer’s cap and no other accessories.

Isaac

Market Value:
Carded $75 – $100
Loose $30 – $45

Isaac
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1981
Difficulty To Find: Less Common – Appears often but some hunting needed
Notes: Isaac Washington was a bartender on the Love Boat and was famously played by actor, Ted Lange on the show. Fun Fact: Ted Lange reprised his famous character of Isaac in a BUNCH of other TV cameo’s such as Charlie’s Angels, Fall Guy, Weird Science, Martin, King of Queens and several other iterations of Love Boat reboots.

Julie

Market Value:
Carded $50 – $75
Loose $15 – $25

Julie
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1981
Difficulty To Find: Less Common – Appears often but some hunting needed
Notes: Julie McCoy was the Cruise Director aboard the ship and was played by Lauren Tewes on the show. She does not come with any accessories and it should be noted that her skirt is made of cloth, but her jacket is not removable.

Vicki

Market Value:
Carded $50 – $75
Loose $15 – $25

Vicki
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1981
Difficulty To Find: Less Common – Appears often but some hunting needed
Notes: Vicki Stubbing was the daughter of the Captain, and was played by Jill Wheelan on the show. She does not come with any accessories and it should be noted that her skirt is made of cloth, but her jacket is not removable.

Love Boat (1981): Accessories

Mego did not release any toy related accessories for their Love Boat action figure line in 1981.

Love Boat (1981): Playsets

Mego released only one playset for their Love Boat line in 1981, and that was the one and only, Love Boat itself! This set was made by Grand Toys and primarily distributed in Canada. There were not many ordered by retail chains due to to slow Love Boat sales, making this a tough find on the secondary market.

Love Boat Playset

Market Value:
Boxed $800 – $1,000
Loose $200 – $300

Love Boat Playset
Accessories: Captain Stubbing, Gopher, Doc, Isaac, Julie, Vicki Figures, Furniture Pieces for each room
Years Released: 1981
Difficulty To Find: Rare – Rarely seen in any condition on the secondary market
Notes: The Love Boat ship was the lone playset produced for the line, but it was a good one. Coming in at a whopping 33 inches long and six separate compartments, this thing was not small. The set was made of styrene plastic, which was the same material as the Motion Picture U.S.S Enterprise and Pocket Heroes Bat Cave. Each of the six compartments was unique and themed to a particular character. There was Gopher’s Dining Room, Doc’s Office, Captain Stubbing’s Quarters, Vicki’s Cabin, Julie’s Cabin and last but not least, Isaac’s Pub. The ship comes with all six figures and decorations for each room and exterior areas. It should be noted the furniture that came with the ship was not actually produced by Mego, but rather contracted out by other toy companies and came unmarked. This set is a tough one to track down nowadays and will not come cheap.

Mego’s Love Boat toy line from 1981 was definitely a bit of a head scratcher when it comes to action figure lines. The Love Boat had a very successful 9 year run on ABC, so merchandising items for the show was never in question, but Mego releasing a 3.75 inch action figure line was a surprise since action figures typically catered to the young boy market at that time. The Love Boat line included six figures and a Love Boat Ship playset. This line was short lived and the figures can be easily found on the secondary market. The ship playset is another matter, as it is considered rare and does not come up for sale often. 

The love Boat action figure line by Mego may have been a strange choice, but Mego certainly didn’t skimp when it came to the effort they put into it. The figures were well sculpted with accurate costume choices. There were six figures in all, with Captain Stubbing, Doc Bricker, Gopher, Isaac, Julie and Vicki. In addition, there was the very large and very Love Boat Playset. Mego had always been known for their elaborate and fun playsets, and this was certainly no different. It should be noted the initial release of Love Boat figures had straight leg action figures, but Mego actually altered the figures halfway through to be able to bend at the knees. Some bent knee figures are harder to find than others.

The packaging for the Love Boat toy line was colorful, eye catching and just very well designed. All six figures were released on a traditional blister style card. It featured the figure at the bottom right of the card, with a beautiful colored illustration of all six characters inside of a life preserver to the left. The character’s name was on the bottom part of the life preserver. The Love Boat logo sat at top left of the card with the famous cruise ship at the very top of the card. The box for the playset featured a similar color scheme but with a slightly different design due to being distributed by Grand Toys. The Love Boat action figure line was not very popular at the time of release and quickly disappeared from store shelves, but are fairly easy to find nowadays. The ship playset is a coveted hard to find item by hardcore Mego collectors, and does not appear often on the secondary market.