Review > Catra (Masters of the Universe)

July 29, 2011 | Poe

Though mostly forgotten now, there was some mild controversy around MOTUC Catra. At the time she was shown, fans weren’t sure whether Mattel had the rights to do her “Filmation” look. It turned out they did, owing to a depiction of the character in a Mattel-created style guide from the 1980s. And thank heaven, because otherwise we might have had a figure based on her vintage look. (“Cobie Smulders is Demeter in Cirque du Soleil’s Cats!“)

Unlike the sausage-fest that was the Evil Warriors (Evil-lyn excepted), the Evil Horde was a more equal-opportunity organization. In addition to Catra, there was Shadow Weaver, Scorpia, Entrapta and Octavia. And while Hordak was the boss, most of the other male characters were dumb grunts while the women were smarter and often held positions of authority. After Adora’s defection to the Great Rebellion, Catra became the Force Captain of the Horde. Like Shadow Weaver, Catra once teamed up with Skeletor in an attempt to overthrow Hordak. [Source] (more…)

Power-Con/ThunderCon Update

July 29, 2011 | Poe

The folks behind Power-Con/ThunderCon send along this press release. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it–thus is the price of living on the other side of the continent. But it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun.

July 18, 2011 – Three of the 1980s most blockbuster properties are joining forces for their first ever fan convention. Power-Con, LLC is proud to present POWER-CON / THUNDERCON — a celebration of Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power, and ThunderCats all together for one great fan convention.

The convention is being presented at the Four Points LAX in Los Angeles, California, on September 24th and 25th 2011. Reduced ticket pricing is available through September 1st 2011 (1-day pass: $20/person, 2-day pass: $30/person) and kids 12 and under get in free with paying adult. For fans wanting more, a Power Package bundle is available that includes exclusive convention memorabilia. There is also a Roast Gooble Dinner Package which offers a limited number of fans the rare opportunity to dine with celebrity guests from the show.

Guests include Larry DiTillio, writer of numerous He-Man and She-Ra episodes and developer of She-Ra; Don Glut, writer of the original He-Man mini comics; Michael Halperin, writer of the original Masters of the Universe series bible; Larry Kenney, the original voice actor for ThunderCat’s Lion-O; Roger Lay Jr., filmmaker of the upcoming Toy Masters documentary; Ted Mayer, one of the original designers of the Masters of the Universe toy line; Mattel, creators of the original He-Man and She-Ra toy lines and current producer of MattyCollector.com’s Masters of the Universe Classics; Earl Norem, painter of the iconic He-Man magazine; and Dean Stefan, lead story editor of the 2002 He-Man series on Cartoon Network. But, that’s not all! Our complete guest list can be found online at: http://www.thepower-con.com/guest-list/

For more information on Power-Con / ThunderCon 2011 and all of its offerings, please visit http://www.thepower-con.com


 

Thoughts on the MOTUC Reveals

July 29, 2011 | Poe

The Four Horsemen were kind enough to provide some glorious high-res studio shots of the MOTUC reveals from SDCC, so here’s my figure-for-figure thoughts on each one.

Demo-Man > Easily my favorite reveal among a lot of awesome reveals. Not only does he have a highly detailed, almost entirely original sculpt that’s dead-on to the artwork, but he comes with a bad-ass scimitar, a huge flail, and two extra heads, including an Alfredo Alcala-style Skeletor head, which will placed on my “default” Skeletor as soon as Demo-Man arrives. I’m not sure what the deal is with the other skull, though it reminds me of the Evilution Demon. (more…)

Poe’s Point > Obligatory Club Infinite Earths Post

July 28, 2011 | Poe

A few fellow collectors have asked me to promote Club Infinite Earths. I recommend you read NoisyDvL5’s thoughts on the matter, as he’s much more passionate about it than I am.

Thing is, the Club isn’t doing so well. As of this writing it hasn’t even hit 20% of the subscriptions needed to put it into production. And as I imagine the majority of these subscriptions are sold in the first day or two of the sale, I have to say this seems like a lost cause already.
(more…)

A Big Announcement from Spy Monkey Creations

July 28, 2011 | Poe

Spy Monkey Creations has some big news:

Fans,

The time has come for Spy Monkey to take the next step in our evolution. We started in 2009 and since then our fanbase has grown to heights we couldn’t dream of. However, both our designs and the level of demand for our products have finally outgrown the “garage” style resin production methods we utilize.

Effective immediately the Spy Monkey Creations Store is on hiatus.

All standing orders will be processed and shipped but no new orders will be accepted. The reason for this is that we finally have plans in motion to move to full mass production. If all goes as planned 2012 will usher in an all new era for Spy Monkey with familiar and all new items, the durability of injection molded ABS and PVC and an all new way of using SMC items to accessorize and expand your collections that puts YOU in charge.

MANY of the existing items will return in injection molded plastic at a much lower price point. Those that do not will return in 2012 as limited run resin items.

You’re probably asking “Why the hiatus? Why not continue the resin items until the new items are ready?” The reason is simple. We are a very small company. There are only 3 of us and the time commitment it will require to move to mass production precludes continued working in resin at full capacity.

We know how much you all love the current items, but we firmly believe that injection molded mass produced product is what SMC needs to grow and evolve. Again, resin items are not gone forever, but they will no longer be our main focus. We will still have some 2011 items like Convention and Partner exclusives but ideally when the store fully re-opens it will have our all new mass produced line.

Thank you so much for making all of this possible, SMC would not be where it is without YOU.

Jeremy Sung, Bill Murphy, Brian T. Stevenson

I have a few inklings of what the SMC guys have up their sleeves, and I think you’ll all be pleased when they kick back into production.

Toy Aisle Trolls > Tex Vex

July 27, 2011 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: DC

The Problem: The Lizard has been replaced with, of all things, Wave Rider Nemo; Mary Batson has been replaced with a DC Direct Deadshot.

What It’s Supposed to Look Like: This and this

DC writes:

I found these at my local Wal-Mart, here in Arlington Texas, across the street from where they had the Superbowl. There were two more I didn’t take pictures of. Oh, One of the DCUC, Hourman I think, had a Marvel Legends Nick Fury in it.

I turned them over to the toy dept. manager and asked to speak to customer service and someone in returns and tried to explain the scam, how someone was taking the BAF parts, and most likely selling the full BAF figure on ebay, not too mention the loose figure alone would recoup their cost, not to mention making money back on the return. I explained how to easily check on figures what the actual figure is (I mean deadshot in a Mary Batson? C’mon. I didn’t even get into how it was not even a DCUC Deadshot)

Anyway I was treated to a LECTURE about how I was wrong because collectors do not open figures, so no one would open a figure to take out a BAF piece. I got this from the Toy Dept. manager, and the Returns Department Manager.

I’m a 45 year old Recruiter and Trainer and I was stunned at how they treated me like an idiot, in the face of proof. I mean, they literally treated me like I was wasting their time, and I was HANDING them proof of theft, and explaining a pervasive scam.

Amazing.

P.S. After it was all said and done, I bought the DCUC with the Nick Fury, because, hey, Marvel Legends Nick Fury…