1985 LJN Thundercats Lion-O with Ring (MOC, Unpunched)

1985 LJN Thundercats Lion-O with Ring (MOC, Unpunched): The Crown Jewel of 1980s Toy Collecting

If you grew up in the mid-1980s and owned a television, you almost certainly watched Thundercats thunder across your screen every weekday afternoon. The cartoon launched in 1985 and immediately became one of the hottest properties in children's entertainment. LJN Toys moved fast to capitalize on it, releasing the first wave of Thundercats action figures that same year. Among that lineup, Lion-O stands apart as the most coveted piece for serious collectors. Finding one mint on card is already a feat. Finding one unpunched — the card hook never having been punched for display — is something else entirely.

The Rise of LJN and the Thundercats License

LJN Toys was a New York-based toy company that had built a strong reputation through licensed properties in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They held some of the most sought-after entertainment licenses of the era, including Dungeons and Dragons, A-Team, and Thundercats. When Rankin/Bass Productions and Telepictures launched the Thundercats animated series in January 1985, LJN was already prepared with product. By the time kids were watching Lion-O and his companions defend Third Earth, the toys were hitting store shelves.

The initial line consisted of a tight assortment of figures: Lion-O, Tygra, Panthro, Cheetara, Mumm-Ra, WilyKit and WilyKat, and Snarf (as a companion pack rather than a standalone figure in Wave 1). Lion-O was the main character and naturally anchored the lineup. His figure came with a small version of the Sword of Omens and a replica of the Claw Shield — and crucially, a small plastic Thundercat Signal Ring, which was a huge draw for kids at the time. The ring gave the toy a genuine play value hook beyond the figure itself.

What Makes the Unpunched Card So Significant

Every toy retailer in 1985 used pegboard display systems. Cards had a preformed punch hole at the top so they could hang on pegs. When a toy went onto a store shelf, that hole was typically punched through by a display rack or stock worker. An unpunched card means the toy went from the factory straight to a collection without ever being hung on a retail peg. It strongly suggests either a case-fresh specimen or one purchased directly from a display stack rather than a hanging peg.

For collectors, unpunched is a significant premium indicator. It correlates strongly with better card condition — no ring stress, no crease from the hanging hardware, less chance of handling damage at the corners. In AFA (Action Figure Authority) grading, unpunched status is noted explicitly and frequently corresponds with the higher numeric grades needed to achieve significant market premiums.

Hair Color Variants: Orange vs. Red

One of the more nuanced aspects of collecting the 1985 LJN Lion-O concerns hair variants. The first production run featured Lion-O with orange hair, consistent with the original cartoon design. A later production variation came with noticeably more red hair. The accessories — the Sword of Omens and the Claw Shield — were also produced in slightly different shades across production runs.

If you are buying a carded example to add to a collection, pay close attention to this. Mixed variants, where the figure has one hair color but the accessories match a different production run, are more common than buyers realize. Authentic matched orange-hair figures with orange-matched accessories represent the first production, which most advanced collectors prefer. On unpunched cards, you can often view the accessories through the bubble and verify the match before purchase.

Identifying an Authentic 1985 LJN First Run

Distinguishing genuine 1985 LJN US examples from international releases is important:

The card back: Original LJN US cards feature the full LJN copyright notice, the Thundercats logo, and show images of other figures in the line. The copyright text should read "1985 Telepictures Corporation and Rankin/Bass Productions."

The bubble seal: The original seal is a tight, clean bond between the clear plastic bubble and the card. Yellowing, lifting, or visible glue residue suggests restoration or re-sealing.

International variants: Rainbow Toys released Thundercats figures in the UK. Playful produced them for Argentina. Childbro handled Germany. These versions have different card backs and often slightly different figure details. They are collectible in their own right but should not be represented as LJN US examples.

The ring: Lion-O came with a plastic Thundercat Signal Ring. Many loose figures circulate without the ring. On a sealed MOC, verify through the bubble that the ring is present — it is visible if you know where to look.

The figure's copyright stamp: On the figure's back or leg, look for "LJN Toys Ltd. 1985." This is the primary authentication mark.

Condition Grading and Values

The Thundercats toy market has been consistently strong. Lion-O is the most recognized character and commands the highest prices in the line. Values below reflect recent auction and private sale data:

An unpunched, high-grade example represents the top tier of the market. Recent eBay completed sales show sealed examples regularly clearing $1,000 to $1,675 depending on card grade, with AFA-graded top-tier copies reaching significantly higher at major auction houses.

The Battle-Matic Feature

One detail worth understanding: the standard Wave 1 Lion-O had a "Battle-Matic" action feature. Pressing down on his head triggered the arm to swing. This mechanism involves a small spring assembly that can, over decades, develop issues if the figure has been played with. On a sealed MOC, the feature should be intact and functional. When examining a carded example, look through the bubble for any obvious deterioration of the soft plastic parts, particularly around the joints.

The figure stands approximately 6 inches tall, consistent with the rest of the LJN Thundercats lineup. All figures in the series were scaled to work together, which was a deliberate design choice by LJN to encourage collectors to build out the full cast.

The Market Today

The Thundercats property has seen renewed interest through reboot attempts and continued nostalgia for the original 1985 series. The original LJN figures have benefited accordingly. Unlike some 1980s toy lines that have plateaued, Thundercats prices have trended upward over the past five years, driven in part by generational wealth hitting the collector demographic born in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Unpunched MOC Lion-O examples appear infrequently on the open market. When they surface in high grade, they reliably generate competitive bidding. For collectors focused on the 1980s action figure space, this piece represents one of the genuine key items — not manufactured scarcity but actual rarity driven by the realities of retail distribution and the passage of time.

The combination of the main character of an enduring franchise, first wave production, MOC condition, and unpunched status makes a specimen like this genuinely hard to replicate in the current market.

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