[Crazy Jetty]

One thing that's important to remember is that the term "Gimmicks" envelopes a great deal of play patterns, not just the way it's used in this thread. Which I believe it's being used as a term specifically for "Action Features," right?
Gimmicks mean a wider grouping. A particular theme that encompasses a group of toys (The Star Trek TMNT figures would be concidered a gimmick). The very core of the Transformers brand is a gimmick, yet other gimmicks, such as themes that unite simular transformers, or groups that are ment to work as accessories for other transformers (Dinobots, or Soundwave and his Cassettes) are equally valid as gimmicks.

Gimmicks then, AND now are an odd thing with me. I didn't question them, even up to my very early teens (12, 13), but I did notice when they disabled a toy. Like some sort of throwing or punching gimmick completely negating a toy's ability to move it's arm in a functional way (I can't think of an example off hand, but I know there are dozens). Even before I was ten, that would drive me crazy. And if they were outright idiotic (The gimmicks in the Darkwing Duck figures were just hidiously aweful, trying to capitalize on that these were cartoon characters, when the designers obviously never knew who or what the chatracters were. Hey, this Launchpag guy is the comedic relief character right? Let's make his head spin around, and be completely unagle to look forward!"), then it was aweful.
If a gimmick made a lot of sense, like Toybiz' first Jim Lee style Cyclops having light up eyes, then that didn't bother me that he couldn't turn his head.
Even as a kid, if a gimmick completely negated my ability to act out an adventure with my toys, from my imagination, then I didn't want that gimmick to exist.
My ninja turtle figures that were sans gimmicks, or their gimmick was some themed sculpt (Like a set of them that were sculpted in trenchcoats for disguise) got played with waaaay more than than ones that had some built in actuon feature, like the mutating turtles, or wind up turtles.
My G1 transformers, again... a gimmickless toy, or a gimmick that enhanced the play patter, like the combiners (Or Soundwave/blaster and the cassettes), got way more playtime than ones that had detracting gimmicks, like the Headmasters or Pretenders.

For me, even as a child, when the corporations assumed I was "too young to know better," I didn't like most action feature gimmicks. I fully feel they misjudged what kids wanted back then. And I think they underestimate children of today even more. The difference between now and the eighties, is the toys didn't have any competition.
Another difference, there wasn't as great a contrast between fiction and toys.
Mid to late eighties, through to mid to late ninties, a big TV show went hand in hand with a big toyline. He-Man. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Spiderman. X-Men. Transformers. Voltron.
If it had a successful television show, it usually had a successful action figure toyline.
Since about the late ninties, this has been hugely hit and miss. Shows go on air, and can be half overwith before the toyline catches up and gets released.
Transformers Animated was finished with it's second season before it's toyline launched. TF Prime will be done with it's first before it's toyline launches. Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes will have no supporting line (Not that it has any Disney support either).
Avatar: The Last Airbender came and went with only the most halfassed attempted to produce a toyline.
Most of the successful shows over the last decade, either don't have a toyline, recieve only the most mediocre support, or are an import show that's based on some form of game to play, and don't get action figures for their support (Bey Blade, Yu Gi Oh).
Meanwhile, all the major toylines are based on one shot bits of fiction. Movies.
Dark of the Moon. Captain America. Iron Man. Green Lantern. Pirates of the Caribbean. Shrek. The action figure companies largely only support and produce toys for the blockbusters movies. Which are largely an "Out of sight, out of mind" thing for children.
May- "Green Lantern? OH YEAH! THAT'S GONNA BE AWESOME! I wanna see that! I want all the toys!"
June- "Green Lantern, that was cool. Mebbe I'll get this neat looking guy that's a giant head. Oh wait, they got Captain America out? Oh YEAH! I WANT THAT!"
July- "Green Lantern? They still got that old thing? Lame. Captain America? Boring, all they do is got a dozen different caps, and hardly anyone else. Let's see what video games came out this week."