Swords and Spaceships

New TF toys revealed These are the two preview toys for the new TF flick, Revenge of the Fallen. I won't be buying Bumblebee, since I bought two of those back for the first movie, and I don't think I'll buy Soundwave either. What exactly is this? The link says it's a jet, and if that's what passes for a jet on Cybertron, it's no wonder the Autobots kicked the shit of the Decepticons in the first movie even though they're just automobiles and the Decepticons are war machines. Then I've heard it's a satellite, which makes a little more sense, and is a logical thing for Soundwave to be. Of course, I ended up with at least one toy version of every character from the first movie, and I professed to hate that, so I'm pretty sure I'm buying this dude anyway. I just wish I knew if the Universe line was going on hiatus again for the movie toys, because I'm starting to like what that line has to offer.

Good news, everyone! WB and Mattel have a real chance to outclass Hasbro and Paramount here, and I hope they realize it. Roughly half the TF fanbase hates the movies and the other half hate the first half just because they hate the movies, and the GI Joe movie is DOA, because it looks terrible. (Just wait until the Super Bowl pregame and the trailer for it then. You'll see what I mean.) I know there will undoubtedly be elements I downright HATE from this MOTU movie, but as long as I don't hate everything about it as I do the GI Joe (and to an extent, the TF movies) I'll be OK.

Received the Masters of the Universe Classics Skeletor yesterday. Man, is it fantastic. You should buy yourself one while you have the chance. You may or may not know that He-Man and Beast Man are 'no longer available' on Mattycollector.com, and this will be the case with Skeletor in about 21 days from this post, so there it is. Mattel plans to retire the previous month's figure just before the new one goes on sale, but we'll see how that pans out since demand will undoubtedly become less as time goes on. I'd err on the side of caution. Besides, it's not like Mattel will never offer He-Man again. A little anecdote- I've made mention (several times on this blog) that the original Skeletor was my first action figure. I got it for my third birthday in 1984. Every picture of the rest of the day I had Skeletor in my hand. I wouldn't dare part with it, because it was so cool. I mean, it was a blue-skinned guy with a sword and a possibly-satanic staff that was ...

I'd do this with the money. And I'd probably waste the rest.

I bet the last thing on your mind after seeing 'The Dark Knight' was "man, I wonder what a 16-bit video game of that movie would look like!" Well, that must have been somebody's first thought, so they made a video of what that might look like, and I found it and now you're going to have to watch it.

I picked up these duders at my local Target. Never did own the original versions of Raph or Don (or Mike for that matter) so I assume Playmates Toys and Target were happy to sell me these rereleases for $9 a whack. And I remember when Target dedicated half the toy aisle to the TMNT, and they sold them for less than $4. Of course, that was the early 90s. Apparently, this is the lineup- the four TMNT, Splinter, Casey Jones, April, Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, Foot Soldier, and Slash. Good choices, though Slash is a little strange. I do remember an interview with Kevin Eastman, where he stated his favorite action figure was Slash, and Slash is one of the most popular characters on the secondary market these days, so I think it made sense for Playmates to release him with this series. It stands to reason that these could be the only toys they rerelease like this (well, the Party Wagon/Turtle Van is up for preorder at BBTS for $33, so there might be some type of future for this line after a...

These arrived yesterday morning just before I went to work. I ripped open the box with much gusto, and was greeted with these kick-ass action figures. But alas, I had to go to work, so I didn't open them. But when I got home, I took an X-Acto to the bubbles and set them free. Damn, they're awesome. These are what Masters of the Universe toys SHOULD be like. Massive, well-thought articulation, spot-on sculpts, the right accessories, and that spirit that was sorely lacking in all previous relaunches of the mythos. Of course, this line is aimed squarely at people like me, who grew up in the 1980s having battles with their MOTU toys everywhere they could. You can tell this by the 'adult collector' tag on the insert in the packaging. I initially thought kids were missing out by not having this sold to them, but fuck them. They didn't get on board in 2002, so it's our turn. And no one should give these to kids either. Nowhere on the packaging is there a choking hazar...

See that pose he's in? That's about all the action you'll get from this figure. I managed to get this dude as soon as he hit Hasbro Toy Shop. It's great to get another Joe, because I love this line, but this guy kind of missed the mark in execution. We'll start with the mask/helmet. Hasbro is the undeniable king of removable headgear for toys, and I personally think with this release, they got a little too cocky making the mask seperate from the helmet. At least on my sample, they refuse to stay attached. I'm considering gluing them together, it's so bad. Then there's the flamethrower. It's nigh impossible to get him to hold it with both hands if the hose from the mask is plugged into his chest. I also had the same problem with the weapon and backpack with Flash last year- the hose from the weapon refuses to stay plugged into the backpack. It's absurdly annoying. His colors are bright, just like the vintage figure, so that's a plus. He'll...

I traded my Wraith variant for this. Considering Wraith is a crummy toy, I don't regret it. Ah, the Cobra Frogman. Easily one of the most popular figures from the vintage line, judging by how expensive he is on today's secondary market. Naval Joes are my favorite group, so after picking up the SRO set with Cutter, Deep Six, and Torpedo, they needed a nemesis. Well, I have one, and only one. Hasbro saw fit to include this guy one per case, and while that sucks now, he'll ship for a while. I hope this figure becomes as plentiful as the Snow Serpents from wave 9. For a month or two, I couldn't throw a rock without hitting one of those. The Eel is based on the Torpedo mold, which can't be a surprise. Torpedo is one of the best figures in this line, and Hasbro's getting a lot of mileage out of the mold. To make him look like the faceless Eel, this figure features a masked head and a fearsome helmet. Looks great. Quit buying them, everybody. I need a few more. Hasbro ...

I found this on clearance at my local Wal-Mart for $15. Couldn't resist, especially since I've been looking for it for a couple of months now and it has Serpentor in it. This set features three figures- Serpentor, a new-enough BAT, and Dusty. Also included are weapons, a DVD with the 'Arise, Serpentor, Arise' miniseries, a piece of the MASS Device that can be assembled after buying all five current Battle Packs, and a glorified accessory taking the place of a figure in this set, Montezuma's Skeleton. We'll start with the figures. Dusty will be first. You, as of press time, can't get Dusty anywhere else, so for most collectors, he's the big draw of the set. He looks great. The original Dusty came out in 1985, and looking back on it now, you can see the strides Hasbro has made in paint apps. Now Dusty looks like he didn't fall face first into a pile of shit, so that's got to count for something. The BAT will be next. He's exactly the same as th...

Yeah, I'm more than a week late. Oh well. I received the Cobra Wolf for Christmas in 1987. I don't remember asking for it, but my parents knew I'd enjoy whatever I got as long as it was He-Man, Transformer, or GI Joe related. Back in the day, Hasbro used to sell vehicles disassembled, like a model car. My dad built model cars when he was a kid, so I think he enjoyed getting these for me and putting them together. This was one of my few vehicles. I seemed to have more Cobra vehicles than Joe, which didn't really bother me. After all I had more Joe figures. Cobra had to make up the difference somehow. Of course, this vehicle, like many other toys I had, didn't survive in a complete state very long, since I had two brothers. I have most of the pieces in storage somewhere, but like every other toy I used to have, I have promised myself I'd get a new one, but I never do. I guess this is relegated to memories of playing in the backyard with all my Joes, losing all the...

Well, I finally ordered the Masters of the Universe Classics He-Man and Beast Man. I ordered them last Friday, so I'm hoping they'll be here by the end of the week. They shipped on Monday, and I chose the UPS 2-day option. Can't wait. It's driving me mad.