Excel Toys

The Excel toy company was responsible for the 8 inch Kojak figure (based on the Telly Savalas character of the 1970's TV show fame, and also for 9 1/2 inch well-articulated and equipped figures based on fairly well-known Western and Military persons.

If you have any further information, please feel free to contact me at: lmelogra@optonline.net:

8" Excel Kojak Figures				Kojak Accessories
Kojak Blue Suit	Kojak Pinstripes	Bad Guy		Emergency Set	Headqtrs (catalog only)	Headqtrs (instructions)

Kojak - packaging
Mailer Box	Card	Card (back)	HQ Box	Hand Design

"Who Loves ya, baby?". Who can ever forget the line that Telly Savalas made popular in his 1970's tv show about a detective that was bold and in control. Excel decided to mold him into an 8 inch figure complete with several lollipops and cigars to scale. Needless to say they were lost within minutes by any 6 year old. He also came with a hat, sunglasses, gun, and depending on the version you bought, a whole lotta other goodies! His hands were specially designed to hold the accessories and the card pointed this out. The carded version was on a blister card which was molded to fit his body to a "T". This is the more common blue suited version. The mail order version came with a pinstriped suit with different accessories than the blue suit. Both are very cool and a relatively good likeness of Telly himself. The Police Emergency Set was just a blister carded bunch of accessories. You could also mail order through a catalog for the hard to find Kojak Headquarters. This set came with a cardboard foldable office space with some accessories (including a bright pink telpehone..WTF?!!). But even more cool is the knockoff bad guy. He is an unmarked figure, not made by Excel. You can see more of him here.

*** Thanks to Greg Mason for the pics of the Kojak headquarters playset and figures

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Legends of the West
Annie Oakley	Belle Starr	Buffalo Bill Cody	Calamity Jane	Deadwood Dick	Jesse James	Wild Bill Hickock

The Legends of the West series were 9 1/2 inches tall and typically came in a window box, but there are carded versions as well. They are well articulated and came with some nice accessories. The sculpts are rather good as well. They probably would work well with your Gabriel Lone Ranger series figues.

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Military Legends
Admiral Halsey	General MacArthur	General Eisenhower	George Washington	Robert E. Lee

Ulysses S. Grant	Paul Revere	Theodore Roosevelt	General Stillwell

These are 9 1/2 inch versions of famous military figures. They are nice representations and sculpts of the men they represent. All versions I have seen thus far have been in a window box.