Kenner Lil' Loggers Ranger Rob & Chops the Beaver Review (1983)

I never ever heard of this toy line growing up. I may have passed them on clearance at Toys 'R' Us or Kay-Bee Toys dozens of times over the years, but I have no active memories of seeing or holding them.

"Hey there! Need us to chop down some wood??"

From what I can gather, Kenner tried making a boys toy equivalent to their popular Sea Wees line of mermaid dolls and instead gave little boys different lumberjacks to collect. As I was three years old at the time, I may have missed the memo that lumberjacks were an 'in' thing. As the line faded into obscurity during the past 33 years since it came out (WOW I feel old...), apparently no one else thought they were cool either.

Who can blame kids though? In 1983 we had Masters of the Universe G.I. Joe and Transformers was showing up a year later in 1984. What chance did a line of water-squirting lumberjacks have against those toys??

That being said, this is a goofy fun little line that has some pretty decent toys in it. The sculpting is on par with toys of the decade (the little animal pals and the lumberjack head sculpts are very well done, very full of character) and goes to show that you didn't need hyper realistic detail to make a toy.

Contents! What do you get??
The pair of Lil' Loggers I grabbed are Ranger Rob and his beaver companion Chops. You also get a sponge log for the two of them to ride on while in the bathtub, sink, kiddie pool, lake or pond. That is all the accessories they have, even the saw that Ranger Rob is clutching in his right hand is apart of his arm and is non removable. That works out fine with me, as I know something that small would have gotten sucked down the drain quickly as a kid, so this was a smart move on Kenner's part back then.

Ranger Rob & Chops the Beaver MOC (Front)

Ranger Rob & Chops the Beaver MOC (Back)

Okay cool, tell us about 'em!
They each have matching hats, a theme amongst all the Lil' Loggers and their Pet Pals, with squishy heads or bodies so they can absorb and squirt water. Each Logger has 3 points of articulation with simple rotation points at their shoulders & head. The little animals are non articulated and are really just companion pieces. Aside from doing that and floating in their sponge logs, these guys don't do much else.

Ranger Rob & Chops Front View

Ranger Rob & Chops Right Side View

Ranger Rob & Chops Back View

Ranger Rob.....or Yukon Cornelius with blonde hair: YOU decide!

Chops the Beaver: a born killer

Close-Up of Chops' Unpainted Beaver Tail

They stand up well too, although Ranger Rob is at bit of an angle so on un-even surfaces he will take a header very quickly. Chops is solid though and will stand or sit fine. Only nitpick I have is Chops' tail. I know the extra paint applications probably didn't cost out, but for a beaver I feel it is important that his tail be shown prominently. Here, it just blends in with the rest of the sculpt. Other then that it's fine, I'd even go as far as to paint it but I'd rather leave it as it is; how else would I play with it in the sink??

Just a Lumberjack and his Beaver floating downstream...waitaminute..

The line had a three other figures in it, Jumper Joe & Rocky Raccoon, Trapper Tom & Paddles Bear and Woody Warren & Buzzy Beaver.

(Cross-Sell Picture from the card back)

(Cross-Sell Picture from the card back)

Ranger Rob was originally named "Ranger Rick" but apparently Kenner did not know about the magazine of the same name and shortly after his name was changed to Ranger Rob. Some card backs show the original name, but the later releases featured the change PLUS a glimpse of an un-produced new figure...

Bluster Bear & Dither Duck Un-released Figure cross-sell picture

Bluster Bear & Dither Duck were shown in I believe a Kenner Toy Fair Catalog for 1983, but for whatever reason (I guess the line not selling well should qualify as a reason...) it never saw production. This was part of the reason why I wanted this particular carded version of Ranger Rob so much, it actually showed this un-made toy on the back. This line is obscure enough, I don't even want to think how hard this toy is to find even if it was made. Hell, for all I know it could have been made- there is simply not enough known about this line.

Should I try to get this brand new?
That's hard to answer. If you want them in the most pristine condition possible so when you yank them off of the card so they will be in great shape, look for them carded. If you don't care about that & just want the toys, look for them loose. Prices on these on eBay vary greatly so you may see one seller with just one of the Pet Pals loose for $25.00 OR a carded sample for the same price. I paid $21.50 for this but I've seen some sellers list these at $200+, and this line does not have the collector drive to warrant that price. Sure they are old and obscure as hell, but I doubt there are more then 10 people on the internet actively hunting for them- myself included.

So what do you really think about it?
This is a fun toy. As a kid I love playing with my toys in the water, so if I was given this as a gift I'd totally have had fun playing with it in the tub. I doubt I would have sought them out on my own as I loved monster toys and a lumberjack with a pet animal might not have struck the fancy of my 3 year old younger self. As a grown up toy lover, they are cool and I will definitely be hunting them down to at least round out the set if possible.

If you come across one during your own toy hunts and are into lumberjacks, toys with animal companions, toys that squirt water OR weird odd-ball things from the 1980's- pick it up, you won't be disappointed.

Ranger Rob & Chops in their Sponge Log

Oh! Be sure to check out the video I made below for this as well. I try not to talk about the same things here in the blog and there, but if you want to see the toy IN ACTION, check out the link below to our YouTube account. It's kinda bare-bones right now, but the videos work and you can see everything clearly, the snazzy stuff comes out later on.