11.28.2021
Thanksgiving has come and gone with so much to be thankful for. The Christmas holiday season has begun and so have the feelings of nostalgia. Christmas in the 70s was the best. Christmas commercials took over TV and life was all about the Sears and JCPenney Christmas catalogs.
What was on their pages showed up under the Christmas tree. In the late 70s, Godzilla toys took over.Throughout the year kids we reminded our parents, saying, “I want that for Christmas.” And our parents made our wishes come true with the Mattel Shogun Godzilla, Godzilla’s Gang, Godzilla Game, GAF Godzilla Talking View-Master, Godzilla punching bags, puzzles and more.
HG Toys Godzilla 150 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles print advertisements
In 1978, HG Toys released three Godzilla puzzles “City Rampage” (458-02), “Harbor Havoc” (458-03) and “Air Attack” (458-04). They were 10’x14’ interlocking jigsaw puzzles. Apparently, these puzzles were the response to the failure of American Publishing’s “Godzilla, King of the Creatures Puzzle” in 1977 featuring an image of the original Godzilla 1954. HG Toys is known for produced the Godzilla Battles The Tricephalon Monster play set.2 HG’s puzzle and box art was illustrated by fantasy artist Earl Norem (April 17, 1923 – June 19, 2015),1 who painted covers for Marvel Comics. His Godzilla is very much a prehistoric dinosaur.
They were an important part of my small collection at that time. The puzzle art added color and interest to my shelves. But my Godzilla puzzles didn’t survive the 80s. The other day, I found the “Air Attack” puzzle on eBay. It’s in good condition and it’s great to have one back in my collection again.
